Epilogue.
The small boy totters ahead, his eyes widen at the pretty lights hanging around the roof of the restaurant. He's on his tip toes, trying to reach the door handles to open the entrance when he loses his balance and falls against the door, effectively pushing it open. He smiles at his own ingenuity and waves at his parents. "Hurry!" he points to his stomach, "hungry!"
Brittany laughs and holds the door open. "Ok, ok, let's get something into that tummy of yours." She keeps the door open and gestures for her wife to enter. "After you, m'lady," Santana giggles and enters the restaurant, grabbing her son's hand at the same time. She takes a look around the restaurant; the familiar smells from the kitchen fill her nose and the chatter among the other patrons fill her ears. She's about to head towards their old booth before they're greeted by a young school-age waitress, her hair in a messy bun.
"Hi, welcome to Breadstix," she greets heartily.
"Hi, just a table for three thanks," Santana says. The waitress heads towards an obscure booth near the back of the room when Santana frowns. She knows it's not her place to request to sit anywhere else, but it's been ten years since she's been back to Lima, and she misses her usual spot.
"Sorry, but I was wondering if we could sit in that booth in the middle. It's just where we used to sit as kids," Santana turns her head at the sound of Brittany's voice and grins widely.
"Oh, of course. Take a seat," the waitress says as she puts the menus she's carrying onto the table.
"Wow, it's like you read my mind Britt," Santana says as she lifts her son up onto the seat of the booth.
"Well, we've been here so many times, they should have named these seats after us," Brittany states, "it's good to be back though. Santana nods in agreement and looks around the room. The booths are still situated in the middle of the room, though the leather covering the seats is now a green colour. Smaller tables still form a perimeter, and now five larger tables are found around the room. The room is relatively full with families and couples all chatting and enjoying a meal. Santana sinks into her seat, taking up the familiarity of her surroundings. Yes, it's definitely good to be back.
"Sad that Jill isn't here though," Brittany continues, "poor lady could never get rid of us,"
"She'd be of retiring age now, right? I hope she's off enjoying herself. She's probably got people waiting on her now. She deserves that much at least," Santana reminisces about the familiar blonde hand continually changing into grey, the way she smiled every time she and Brittany would charge into the restaurant demanding to be fed, and the way she was so used to their antics. Santana looks to the counter, expecting to see Jill, as if imagining her will cause Jill to magically appear. Alas, Jill does not materialize and instead she is roused by a loud banging noise. Santana looks next to her to find her son playing with the menus on the table. "You must be hungry Dylan. What do you want to eat?"
"Ice cream," he automatically answers without missing a beat.
"We can get ice cream for dessert if you're a good boy," Santana replies, emphasising the word 'dessert'.
"You know he gets that from you," Brittany says as she watches from across the table. Santana knows she's telling the truth, so she shrugs nonchalantly. She opens up a menu and flicks though it. Different foods jump out at her, foods which she had become so acquainted to in her teenage years. She remembers the years she spent eating salads to keep healthy as a cheerleader (so perhaps she also had fries on the side; that was always Brittany's fault), the meals she had with her family whenever her mother was too lazy to cook and the times she's come in with her friends and causing a total ruckus. Eventually she decides on spaghetti and meatballs and she figures that she can share with Dylan (the boy will eat anything).
The young waitress returns with a bucket of breadsticks and Santana finds she has to sit on her hands to stop herself snatching one immediately. "Ready to order?" she asks.
"Yep, can I please get a plate the spaghetti and meatballs, with extra meatballs? You love meatballs, don't you Dylan?" his eyes brighten and he nods enthusiastically, "Can I get a spare plate so I can share with my son?"
"And could I get a chicken salad?" the waitress writes down their order and is about to collect their menus when Santana suddenly gasps.
"Oh! Also, can I get a prawn cocktail for my wife?" Santana says with a slight wink. The waitress smiles and walks away with their order.
"Wow, what a dork," Brittany says as gives Santana's leg a gentle kick under the table.
"Only for you, honey,"
As soon as she can, Santana reaches for a breadstick and snaps it in half, passing one end to Dylan. "You have to try this Dylan. Mami used to eat these by the barrow-load," she feeds her son, while simultaneously taking a large bite out of her own end. Once the breadstick hits her tongue, Santana swears she can hear angels sing. "Wow, I've missed you. This has made coming back to Lima worth it," Santana says breathlessly.
"Get a room Santana. At least wait until after my funeral or something," Brittany says with a smirk on her face.
Santana shrinks in her seat. "But they're so good," she says quietly, "we need a Breadstix back home," Dylan seems to agree as he sits quietly (this is possibly the quietest she's seen him) and munches on his breadstick.
Soon enough, their food arrives (much to the joy of Dylan).
(And perhaps Santana).
(Ok, Brittany too. They really miss Breadstix food, alright?).
Santana starts to portion out her food, sharing some of her spaghetti with her son. Once she's done, she digs in, instantly savouring the taste. It was no secret that Breadstix was her favourite place to eat back in Lima, and the only way she could convince other people was to take them there herself. The food said it all.
"Are you excited about the reunion tomorrow Britt?" Santana asks.
Brittany lowers her fork and pauses for a minute. "You know what? I think I am. It's going to be so weird seeing everyone again. Class of 2012. Feels so long ago, yet I feel like can still remember everything," Brittany looks out into the distance, as if she's reliving every moment right at this moment.
"It's sad we didn't really keep in touch with everyone,"
"Mmm, true. But that's pretty normal, right? I think it's just because everyone got so busy in the end. Plus I only had one person I wanted to stay in contact with after high school,"
Santana looks up and sees Brittany looking straight at her. "Me too,"
They're interrupted when Santana suddenly feels something wet hit her arm, and Brittany gasps. She looks over next to her to find Dylan attempting to twirl his spaghetti with−
"A breadstick? Really Dylan?" Brittany can't contain herself and bursts into laughter, causing nearby customers to look over in curiosity. Dylan looks up at his mom, and seeing her amusement, joins in with the laughter and starts twirling the breadstick with more ferocity, leaving Santana's arm freckled with spaghetti sauce. Santana reaches for a napkin and wipes her son's mouth. And chin. And cheeks. And neck.
"Ok there Dylan, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Let's try eating with a fork next time," Santana says as she cleans her arm (with a new, clean napkin). "You know he gets that from you," Santana says.
Brittany shrugs, "What can I say? Our boy's a genius,"
They continue eating their dinner and enjoying each other's company. Dylan eats a lot cleaner, Brittany steals a meatball and Santana takes a prawn from the cocktail. Once they finish, they lean back in their seats. "That was good," Santana says, patting her stomach in satisfaction.
"Ice cream!" Dylan says excitedly, throwing his arms up in the air. Santana chuckles and wipes her son's face again. Brittany gestures to the waitress and orders some ice cream sundaes.
"We're going to have to make sure Abuela doesn't spoil you with more ice cream tonight,"
"Tonight? I thought we were dropping him off with your parents tomorrow night, when we go to the reunion?" Brittany asks with confusion in her voice.
"Oh no, I've already talked to my mum about it. She's got him for tonight and all of tomorrow. She wants to take him to the zoo or something,"
"Oh, that's nice," Brittany says genuinely.
"Not as nice as an empty hotel room," Santana winks, a hint of something more in her tone.
It's brief, but Santana swear she sees Brittany blush.
A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you've enjoyed Santana's journey in Breadstix as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I just wanted to thank everyone for reading, and for all the comments you've left me. They've been really sweet, and really push me to keep writing. If anything, you guys have made me blush almost as much as Santana has.