A/N: I know that this chapter was supposed to be about the interview and their wedding, but I wanted to tie up some loose ends before diving into those chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry it's another long one, but it moves the story forward. The next chapter will be about the interview.
Always Me & You
Chapter 15
The rest of the week flew by and before they knew it they were sitting in the Great Officiants' office waiting for Alan Katz to meet with them.
"The past two and a half years have led us to right now!" Naya said, overjoyed.
"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you as your wife," Heather said, and had tears in her eyes.
"I feel the same way," Naya said as she grabbed Heather's hand and kissed it.
Just then a chubby, but tall man approached them.
"Naya and Heather…" Alan said.
"Hi, Alan," they said in unison.
"You two ready?"
"More than you'll ever know," Naya responded with a grin.
"Follow me please!"
They walked into his office which was pretty large. They noticed that the notary was present. Heather waved and he waved back.
"Please sit down," Alan said and pointed to two seats.
"Thank you for meeting with us and for all of your help," Naya said.
"My pleasure…Ok, just a few routine questions."
"Sure."
"First, you two are entering into this 'Confidential Declaration of Domestic Partnership' of your own choosing?"
"Yes," Heather and Naya said together.
"Good. Why are you entering into this partnership together?"
"I can't imagine my life without Heather in it. I want to share my whole life with her including my last name," Naya said.
"Heather?"
"I love Naya with my whole heart and with everything I have now and will ever receive in the future. She is the person I am meant to spend the rest of my life with."
"Great!"
Alan then handed the certificate, he had already created, to the notary and he stamped it. Both Heather and Naya watched him. They both were so extremely excited, but they held their feelings inside.
The man handed the certificate back to Alan.
"Congratulations," he said and handed them the certificate.
"Do you mind if I kiss her?" Heather asked.
"Not at all! You are officially married…"
Heather leaned over and connected her lips with Naya's and they just gravitated there for a few seconds.
"Wow. Thanks, baby!" Naya said and grabbed Heather's hand and didn't let go of it.
"That was great. Now we can talk about the wedding?" Alan asked as he ushered the other man out of the room.
"Thank you," Heather said, and waved.
"Congratulations," he said and smiled.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to prepare any vows or did you just want the traditional ones from me?"
Naya looked at Heather and then Heather said, "We can do our own."
This really surprised Naya, but she was over the moon about the idea.
"Yes," she replied.
"Ok, I want to explain the 'confidential domestic partnership'. We did it that way because you two are in the 'public eye' and we wanted to keep that part of your lives as a private and personal as possible. You'll also receive, in the mail, 'Your Future Together' which is an informative pamphlet from the State Department of Public Health. Take a look at it."
"Great!"
"Yeah."
"Also here is the itemized list for your parents." Alan said as he extended two pieces of paper, one for each woman.
Naya took the paper and looked at it. It looked self-explanatory.
"We'll look these over later and tell them. Do we need to tell them that they need to pay each vendor or just give you one total check and you'll distribute the money among the different people," Naya asked.
"Tell them to make out one check to 'Great Officiants' and we'll take care of the rest."
"Ok…We are so happy that you are helping us and marrying us," Heather said.
"I love my job!"
'Um, is there anything else?"
"Right now, not that I can think of…oh, yes, we didn't talk about cars and seats for your guests to sit on at the beach, but I included those two things in the list. The drivers will pick you both up separately at the hotel and take you the ceremony and they will also take you back to the hotel in one car after. Is that okay?"
"I think that's good," Heather said.
"If something else does pop up please let us know!"
"Will do, Naya."
"Oh, I just thought of something!" Heather exclaimed.
"Yes,"
"Could you make sure the DJ has extra microphones in case some of the cast want to sing or something?"
"Good idea!"
"Now I just thought of something," Naya remembered, "Flowers. We are 'allowed' have flowers on the beach as long as they come on their own stands?"
"Yes, I don't see any reason not to. How many should we expect?"
"Two outside and maybe three in the restaurant," Naya decided and Heather nodded her head.
"Ok, I'll make a note of it. I'll be in touch as we get closer to the date," said Alan with a smile.
"Thank you." Naya and Heather collected their belongings, shook Alan's hand, and left the office.
Once outside, Heather picked Naya up from the ground and spun her around a couple of times.
"We did it!"
Heather lowered her down to the ground and kissed her passionately. Neither one of them wanted to go to work but they had to prepare for the interview on Monday. They got in the car and sped off to the studio. As they drove Heather held onto Naya's free hand and caressed it with her thumb.
Unbeknownst, to them, back at the studio, Dianna called an emergency meeting.
"Good…We all here?"
"Yea, I think so," Lea looked around.
"Ok, I know we have some time, not a lot, but some. I wanted to see what we are getting Naya and Heather as their wedding gift…"
Dianna looked out and saw a mixture of blank stares, a yawn there, and a scratching of the head there.
"Come on guys. Think. They should be here soon. I saw people here for their Diane Sawyer interview."
Then Lea, much like Rachel, shouted, "Hey, I think I got the perfect idea. How about we sing to them as they walk down the 'aisle of sand', as they are calling it?"
"I love that idea, Lea," Dianna said and smiled at her. Lea blushed.
"Ok, yeah. What song?"
"OOhhhh….I know, I know!" Chris blurted out, "How about 'I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden?"
"That's an awesome song. I think it fits perfectly with Naya and Heather."
"Ok, who can Google the song, print out the lyrics and make enough for all of you? I can't help because I'll be a part of the ceremony with Lauren."
"I got cha!" Amber said. She then took a headcount of the people in the room.
"Thanks, Amber. I'll ask Naya if they happened to pick a wedding march song. I'll try to be vague."
"Cool. This is a great idea, Di," Lea said, again.
"Aw, thanks. They should be here soon so unless anyone else has something I think we're good."
"Practice?" Kevin asked.
"Oh, yeah, I think if we try to do two practices, one soon and the other right before we all go to Santa Cruz, I think we'll be good. Ok?"
Everyone nodded, got up, and went on their separate ways.
Dianna grabbed Lea's arm as she was about to leave.
"Lea, wait a second."
"Ok."
As soon as everyone left the room, Dianna gave Lea a hug which totally shocked them both. It was their first real hug.
"Um, I'm not complaining, but what was that for?" Lea asked.
"Just cuz. Are you ready for our date tonight?"
"You have no idea!" Lea smiled.
Dianna smiled and chuckled.
"Are you picking me up?" asked Lea.
"Absolutely. Be ready by six?"
"I'll be ready by 5:30 sharp!"
Again Dianna laughed and so did Lea. Then they left the set each going in opposite directions.
Dianna had a mission: find Naya. By that time Naya and Heather went to their separate trailers even though they wanted to spend every minute of their new married life together, they had to work. They would meet later with people with Diane Sawyer to talk about the interview.
Dianna knocked on the door, a couple of minutes after Naya got inside.
"Come in!" Naya yelled, happily.
"Well, somebody's excited!" Dianna said and walked into the room.
"That's because 'somebody' is half of an officially married couple!"
"Oh my god, that's fantastic!"
"I know right," Naya beamed. "…give me a hug!"
Dianna obliged. Naya squeezed the blond so tightly that she cracked her back a little.
"Whoa. I didn't know I had that!"
"I'm sorry. You ok?"
"Yup, fine. That actually felt good."
"Wait until you see my bill!"
Dianna chuckled.
"So, tell me, tell me. I guess you meet with the wedding presider?"
"Yeah, he's name is Alan Katz with Great Officiants. He's a great help. He was able to do practically everything. All of my parents, including Heather's Mom, just have to split the bill and send him one check and he'll disperse it out among the different things."
"That's very helpful. So you got the domestic partnership certificate?"
"Yup! It's in the car. I want to hang it in our house."
"Cool. Did you pick out a song for your first dance?" Dianna asked as nonchalantly as possible.
"Yeah, yesterday morning."
"What is it?"
"'Just You 'n Me' by Chicago," Naya said, cheerfully.
"Hmm, never thought of you two as Chicago fans."
"That's what Dot said too."
"Are you planning on any other songs for your wedding?"
"Um, I don't know. I'll ask 'my wife' later!"
"Oh boy…is that how you're going to refer to her from now on?"
"Yes I am."
"Good. Guess what I'm doing tonight?"
"Um, going to the movies?" Naya asked and she played along.
"No."
"Getting a mani and pedi?"
"No, but I need one…" Dianna looked down at her fingers and toes.
"Haha. You're going out with Lea tonight aren't you?"
"BINGO! I'm starting to get nervous. Where should take her? Paris? Cancun? Hawaii?"
"Haha, very funny…well, actually whatever works!" Naya said and winked.
Dianna burst into laughter. "No, seriously…where?"
"Take her a place where it'll hold memories later on down the road. I just realized that Heather and I have only had one 'official' date to Santa Cruz! Wow! It feels like so much more. Do you mind if I sent her a quick text?"
"Go for it!"
Naya texted, "Hi, wife. I'm taking my sweetheart out tonight. No excuses. You pick the place. I love you."
I'm sexy and I know it!
Heather read it and got excited and texted back, "Hi, wife, I can't wait. Our second date! I'll b thinkin'. I love you more."
Naya's phone buzzed.
"She said, 'our second date'!"
"Ok, ok…back to me!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'd say let's double date, but I think Lea would get the wrong idea. We'll do that another time."
"Yeah, I want her all to myself anyway," said Dianna and surprised both people in the room.
"Find out what her favorite restaurant and her favorite flower is. Go from there."
"Yeah, excuse me now…"
"Only fair."
Dianna retrieved her cell from her pocket and sent a text to Cory.
"Do you know Lea's favorite flower and favorite restaurant?"
In a second, "tulips" and "Sushi" popped up on her phone's screen and she told Naya.
"There you go! Listen I got to go. I have a scene. Then I gotta meet people from Diane's team! Good luck tonight. Let me know what happens?"
"You'll be the first to know." Dianna said as she opened the trailer door and exited. "Oh, Naya…"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry about the other song…something will come through." Dianna said and winked.
"Oh, ok…Good luck tonight!"
Once Dianna left her trailer Naya rushed over to the costume department and got her Cheeri-o's costume and put it on. All of a sudden she realized that her first scene today was with Heather. "Our first scene as a married couple!" She ran out of the room and to the set as fast as she could.
Heather was already there as usual as she was always early. Heather's head was down, but when she heard Naya coming in her direction, her head shot up.
"Hey, you." Heather kissed her on the cheek.
"Hi, wife," Naya whispered in her ear.
"Why did you whisper that?"
"Oh, I don't know. I thought we were waiting until after the interview to tell 'everyone'. Was I wrong?"
"No, not really!" Then Heather stood on a plastic, bucket seat which Naya held onto just in case.
"Hey, everybody….I have an announcement! Today me and Naya," Heather pointed behind her which made Naya come out from behind the seat. She still held onto it with one hand.
"Got officially married!"
The room and hallways exploded with thunderous applause, hoots, and hollers.
"Thank you…Thank you…Ok, back to work!" Naya helped her wife down and then Heather curtsied for no apparent reason which made Naya laugh out loud.
"Ok, we are officially out as a married couple…Come over here right now."
"I love it when you act tough," Heather walked over and Naya gave her the juiciest kiss she could. The people in the room noticed this and the thunderous applause started again.
Once it died down, Naya bowed and said, "Thank you, thank you!"
After that they did the scene and then they got a break.
"That was fun!"
"I know…even better now…don't get me wrong it was amazing working with you, but now…wow!"
"I get it…can't wait to see what Ryan has in store for 'Brittana'!"
"Me too!"
"Oh, Dianna and Lea are going out tonight!" Naya said in a whisper.
"That's nice. Hope they can create something special." As they walked, Heather looked at Naya who was looking at something else.
"Were you surprised when I said that I wanted us to write our own vows?" Heather asked.
"Kinda…but very happy. You sure?"
"There's so much I want to say to you."
"Well, you don't have to wait until July 14th to tell me, baby!" Naya confided.
"Oh, I know, but if I were to tell you now then it wouldn't be special."
"Whatever you tell me is already special because it's coming from you…But I understand."
"Thanks."
"Heather, you do know you can tell me anything?"
"Of course…I married you today because you make me so extremely happy, Ms. Rivera. I feel safe and secure…and if I tell you anything else, I'll ruin my vows."
"Oh ok." Naya laughed.
"I do want to work on them later today."
"Ok…I'll work on mine too."
"Can I pick the place for our second date?" Heather asked.
"Yes, you can!"
"How about Santa Cruz…"
"You know I'd love to, but we gotta finish planning and then prepare for Diane on Monday."
"Good points. Guess Santa Cruz will have to wait until July!"
"It'll be here before you know it."
Just then they saw a person who looked confused as they walked up to them.
"Hi, can we help you?"
"Yea, I'm trying to find the GLEE set. I'm sorry."
"Well, you've walked up to the right people!"
Just then the person recognized who they were.
"Oh, hi Ms. Rivera and Ms. Morris…I'm with Diane's crew."
"Hi, thanks for coming. I'm Heather and she's Naya. And you are?" Heather said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is John, and I'm one of the producers."
"Hi, John. Follow us."
Naya checked with the personal assistant who was in charge of the shoot. He told Naya to take him first to Ryan's office and then Ryan would direct him next.
"Ok, John, follow us. First, we're going to Ryan's office and he will guide you to your next location."
When they got there, Ryan was leaving the building.
"Hey, Ryan. We have John, one of the producers for Diane Sawyer. I was told to bring him to you."
"Thanks, Naya. Hi, nice to meet you." Ryan got into one of the golf carts and said, "Hop in John. Thanks ladies I'll take it from here."
John and Ryan scooted away as they talked.
"There goes our fearless leader," Naya said and smiled.
Heather remembered that she was late for another scene so she said, "I think I have a scene with Jane in a couple of minutes. Walk with me?"
Naya grabbed her hand and they started to walk back. When they got to outside the studio Naya gave her a kiss and said, "Don't forget to pick a place to go out. Really go out!"
"Ok, sweetheart, I'll meet you back in your trailer when I'm done?"
"Counting the minutes." Naya kissed Heather on the cheek and then said, "Tell Jane hi."
Heather walked away and Naya just stood there and watched. She said, "There goes my life!"
"I heard that!" Heather said as she continued to walk away. She wore the biggest smile on her face.
"I hoped you would," Naya yelled.
"Mushy, mushy!" Heather yelled in return and threw up a "peace" sign which made Naya laughed.
With her new found free time, Naya decided to go back to her trailer t think about her vows. As she walked, she thought:
What do I want to tell her that I haven't already? What do I think she knows, but may not totally know?
These two questions lingered on her mind as she got to her trailer. Once inside, she found some paper and the pen that had helped her express her feelings the first time. She was hoping to have the same luck.
"Heather, you are 'my everything'. Ever since we first met, you have been everything I wanted and everything that I've needed to get through this life. Before I met you and became your best friend I was lost. You found me! I promise to always protect your heart because you have found mine. I promise to love you everyday for the rest of my life. You opened my eyes and heart to love. I love you for the person you are right now and for the person I know that you will become in the future. I am so very proud to become your wife! Always me & you!"
Happy with her first draft, she tore the piece of paper off of the pad, folded it and put it in her pocket. Then she laid her head back on her couch. She thought she closed her eyes only for a minute. She must have fallen asleep because Heather entered her trailer, saw that Naya was asleep, walked gingerly over to her, bent lower and placed a kiss on Naya's lips. Naya stirred, but stayed asleep.
"Heather, don't go!" Heather heard Naya say in her sleep.
She really does dream about me! Where am I going though?
Naya tossed and turned and then woke herself up.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty…How was your nap?"
"Hey, baby…when did you get here?"
"Couple minutes ago. Did you feel the kiss I gave you?"
"I thought that was a dream!"
"Ha, nope!"
"Thank you then!"
"Welcome." Heather said and smiled.
"So I know where I want to go tonight!"
"Oh yea, where?"
"Is Mexican alright?"
"Yea, that's fine. You sure though?"
"Yup! Nice and easy."
"Done!"
"Cool. What are you doing right now?"
"Right now…staring at you!"
"Haha!"
"Other than that, nothing."
"Wanna find John? See if he needs help?"
"Sure!"
They went to find him and found him on the set talking with Jane.
"Hi, John…Hi, Jane!"
"Oh, hi, ladies…Jane has been telling me a little about you two."
"She was extremely helpful to both of us!" Heather commented.
"We wanted to see if you need help with anything? We also wanted to know where we'll be talking with Ms. Sawyer?" asked Naya.
"No, I don't need anything. I think Diane wants to do the interview in the 'choir room'."
"Oh cool. Well, if you need anything we'll be here for awhile."
"Ok, thank you. I appreciate it! You don't need to stay for me though." John answered.
"I need to do some stuff," Heather said as she remembered she wanted to work on her vows.
"I think I have another scene!" Naya said.
"Ok…" John said.
Heather told Naya that she would be back in her trailer. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked away.
Naya had another scene to do with Cory so she found him quickly and they prepared. Heather wanted to get at least a rough draft of her vow down on paper.
She got to her trailer and plopped down on her couch with a pad of paper and a pen and started to write.
"Naya, ever since you walked into my life it has become fuller and richer. You make me want to be a better person. You make me want to strive for things that seemed unattainable. When I'm in your presence I feel better about myself. I promise you that I will protect you from anything bad. I promise you that I will love you unconditionally through the good times and bad. Always me & you."
Satisfied with what she had written, Heather tore the piece of paper off of the pad, folded it and put it in her pocket. Then she held her left hand up to admire her ring.
"Ah," she said and smiled.
"What cha doing?"
Heather was startled, but smiled when she saw who it was.
"That was quick!" Heather extended her hands to her Latina goddess. Naya grabbed them and was pulled over to the couch.
"Just admiring my beautiful ring!"
"I did the scene…nailed it!"
"Of course!"
"And then ran into John who gave us the green light to go. I gave him my cell number in case he needed us. Are you finished for today?"
"I believe so! Let's get outta here. Casa Rivera, here we come!"
While the girls left, John was busy getting sound bites from practically all of the cast and Ryan.
When the ladies got home they changed for dinner.
"Dinner's on me!" Naya said.
"Margarita's all around!"
Naya chuckled.
For now they placed their certificate in the middle of the kitchen table. They wanted to hang it in a prominent place in there home.
"We should hang the certificate right here…" Heather said and pointed to the wall facing the front door.
"We'll pick out a frame tomorrow when we go shopping."
"Good deal!" Naya said as she walked out of the house and locked it.
Heather got into her car and sped away as soon as Naya sat down and put her seatbelt on.
"Whoa!"
"Sorry…you okay? I'm thirsty!"
Naya laughed.
When they got to the restaurant, they sat down in a booth next to each other. They ordered their food and then Heather turned to face Naya.
"So…when you were napping in your trailer you said, 'Heather, don't go!' What did you mean by that?"
Naya looked surprised and said, "I did?"
Heather said as she chomped on a chip, "Yup!"
By now their margaritas had arrived and Heather took a big sip.
"Um, I, um, don't know," Naya said and looked down.
"Sweetheart, what's going on?" Heather asked really concerned.
"I don't know…maybe I still think this is a dream. And that you'll realize what you did you'll leave."
Heather looked hurt, but said, "I know that I haven't told you this, but I will not leave you. How could I? It would be like ripping my heart out of my chest. I can't live without it and I sure as hell can't live without you!"
Naya looked deeply into Heather's blue eyes and found the truth lying in there. The truth was her.
"Are you sure?"
"Sweetheart, what did we do today at 10am?"
"We got married!"
"Yes, we did. You're stuck with me!"
"For life!"
"And beyond!"
Heather had an afterthought and said, "When we have little arguments cuz it's bound to happen, we should promise each other that we will sit down and discuss it like two rational people and come to an agreement. And never, ever go to bed angry, agreed?" Heather extended her hand and Naya shook it.
Then Naya kissed Heather and right after their food arrived. After they devoured the food they ordered another round of margaritas. Once they ate and Naya paid the bill they left the restaurant. Naya spotted a random Sushi restaurant and remembered Lea and Dianna's date. Not thinking too much about it, Naya pulled Heather in that direction. They were shocked to see Lea and Dianna who sat at the window table, kissing. Lea had her tulip from Dianna out on the table.
"There's something definitely in the water!" Heather said as they walked away hand in hand.
The next morning, on their first full day as a married couple, Heather woke up first and made breakfast in bed for Naya.
"Wake up sleepy head," Heather coaxed.
"What? What time is it?"
"8:30!"
"Five more minutes…"
"Come on…I made you breakfast in bed."
Naya sat straight up when she heard that.
"There you go. Coffee, two eggs scrambled, and toast all for the woman I love!"
"If you keep this up, you're going to spoil me."
"That's my goal!" Heather said and kissed Naya on her cheek.
After breakfast, Naya and Heather got dressed and went shopping for flowers and for outfits.
When they walked into their first store, Heather asked, "Ok, what type of outfits are we looking for?"
"I dunno. When I see it I'll recognize it!"
"Are we wearing the same thing?"
"Nah, unless you want to."
"No, now that I think about it!"
"Do you not want to show each other, you know? Save the excitement for when you walk to me?" asked Naya.
"Yes, I love that idea. No peeking then!"
"Yup."
Heather walked away now feeling like she was totally in her element.
Naya wasn't as excited as this type of clothes shopping always seemed to bug her. Then Naya saw it. She walked up to a three piece, black woman's suite. The accompanying shirt was gray with a small collar, and buttoned down. She immediately pictured what she would wear under it. It wasn't too extravagant. She thought it looked "beachy".
"I got it!" she yelled.
"Already? That has to be a new world record!" Heather said and chuckled.
Naya chuckled also.
I'll be in the changing room."
"Ok."
Naya found her size and walked off happy with her selection. Meanwhile, Heather searched the racks and finally came across the dress for her. It was a knee length, spaghetti strap, off white dress. It wasn't too formal, but it wasn't too casual. It screamed, "Get married in me!" Heather found her size and then searched for Naya in the dressing room.
"Nay, you still here?"
"Yeah, babe. You find something?"
"That I did."
"Great! My outfit fits perfectly…I'm just playing around with it."
"That's good." Heather said as she pulled the dress over her head. Once it was down over her body, Heather looked at herself in the mirror.
"Oh my God…"
"What…What happened? Is the dress okay?" Naya asked and sounded concerned.
"Everything's beyond wonderful! I wish you could see it. This is the dress that I will be walking down the aisle to you in." Heather now started to cry.
"No, babe, no tears," Naya said as she tried to get Heather to stop crying. Naya got out of her new outfit, put it back on the hanger, and hung it up on the clothes rack in her little changing room.
"Heather, take the dress off and hang it up. Put your other clothes on the hanger so they cover it."
"Huh? What?"
"Just do it. Are you doing it?"
"Yes," Heather said as she tried to stop crying, "Finished."
Naya was already standing outside of Heather's changing room and she lightly knocked on the door.
Nay, what are you doing?" Heather said as she opened the door a little.
"I'm trying to make you stop crying." Naya said as she walked in, shut the door, and took Heather's hands into her own.
Heather immediately stopped crying and had a glint in her eye.
"Ms. Rivera, have you ever made out in a changing room before?" Heather asked.
"Um, no. Ms. Rivera, I haven't…"
And with that Heather grabbed Naya's lips in a ferocious kiss. Heather then picked Naya up and fell forward which made Naya's back hit the confines of the smaller room.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize. Keep kissing me!" Naya commanded and Heather obeyed. While they were still kissing, Naya's hands were free to roam. They caressed every part of Heather's body that was accessible to her. Naya then grabbed Heather's butt which made her giggle in the kiss. Just then someone tried to get in.
"Occupied!" Naya yelled.
"Ooppss, sorry," the intruder said. They listened quietly as the woman walked all the way down to the last changing room and shut the door. Naya laughed, but Heather covered her mouth with her hand.
"Go get dressed," Heather whispered in her ear.
After they exited the changing room, Naya looked at the other options, but was totally sold on the choice she had made. Heather walked in front of her not even taking a second glance at other possibilities.
"You like the dress," Naya asked as she caught up with her.
"It's the third best decision I've ever made in my life."
"What are the first two?"
"Well…falling in love with you…and marrying you!"
Naya smiled and blushed.
They arrived at the cash register and paid separately for their new clothes. As the salesperson rang up their items, both Naya and Heather averted their eyes so that the other person didn't see the clothes.
They dropped off the bags to their car and decided to walk to the florist which was just a block or two down the street. Naya grabbed Heather's hand and their arms swayed back and forth. They laughed and were very happy to be alive and to be together.
When they saw the florist they entered the building.
"Good morning!"
"Hi," they both said.
"Can I help you?"
"We hope so. First can you tell us if you deliver flowers outside of LA or do you have another store closer to Santa Cruz," asked Naya.
"Well, we do both!"
"Great," Heather said.
"Can I ask what the occasion is?"
"We are getting married on July 14th in Santa Cruz and are hoping to order some flowers for a beach ceremony," Naya started.
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you," Heather beamed.
"If I'm not too forward, could I see the ring," asked the florist.
"I never get tired of showing it off!" Heather exclaimed as she thrust her engagement ring in the florist's direction.
"It's is gorgeous! Wear it proudly."
"Every day of my life!"
"It was my grandmother's," Naya said as she thought of her grandmother.
"Beautiful," the florist said. She then got a big book of all of the flower combinations.
"Here…look through these. I'll be around if you have any questions."
"Thanks." Heather and Naya said.
They looked at all of the choices. Their eyes fell upon one floral arrangement. It was a big red heart and in the center you could have something written to connect both sides.
"I like that one…"
"Yeah."
They kept looking and saw many center pieces for the restaurant.
"Ooohhh, that's nice."
"Yea…"
"Should we get flowers for our four people plus your Mom and my Dad," Naya asked.
"That's a great idea."
"Ok, three corsages for you: Mom, Jane, and my Mom. And four boutonnieres for me: me, my Dad, Lauren, and Dianna."
"Sounds good."
"Great. I asked for a boutonniere because it'll go with my manly, but feminine attire."
"Cool."
"Ok, we're getting the heart, the three corsages and four boutonnieres, that center piece for the tables?" Naya asked.
Just then Heather flipped the page and saw something else that she wanted to get. It was a standing display of flowers that can be shaped to make out words.
"That's interesting. We'll ask."
The florist walked over and said, "See anything you like?"
"We saw a lot actually. I think we're ready."
"Ok…let's do one item at a time so that there are no mistakes."
"Sounds good. Ok first we're interested in the standing heart."
"Ok. What do you want it to say?"
"Naya and Heather."
"N-A-Y-A and Heather?" The florist said as she wrote it down.
"Yes. Is it possible to have two different colors of the flowers as the sides of the heart to symbolize their connecting?" Heather asked.
"I think so."
"Ok, can we have pink and red roses?"
"Aww, our favorite flowers," Naya blushed.
"Sure…What's next?"
"Next, we'll need three corsages and four boutonnieres for the people walking us down the aisle and standing up for us."
"Do you want the same color choices, red and pink?"
"Heather…" Naya said and looked to Heather for confirmation.
"Yea, that's great. Hey, Nay, those can be our colors then. I'll text everyone to wear those colors later."
"Cool."
"We need small center pieces for 8-9 tables. Same colors."
"Ok."
Finally we were wondering how much the flower words on a stand would cost?" Heather showed the florist the photo.
"That's $250."
"A letter?" they asked sadly.
The florist chuckled and said, "Nope, total."
"Sweet!"
Heather looked at Naya. That's all she had to do to persuade Naya.
"We'll take one of those."
"What do you want it to read?"
"'Always me & you'."
"That's so sweet!"
"Is that all?"
"I believe so."
"Great! I'll go ring this up."
"Could you give us a total so we can tell our parents?"
"Of course. It'll be on the receipt. I'll make sure that the flowers are designed in Santa Cruz so there's no trouble with transporting them."
Naya and Heather held hands as the florist rang up their total. As she came back, Naya smiled.
"So what do we owe you?"
"$600.00 total."
"Really?" Naya asked kind of surprised.
"Yes. How will you be paying?"
"I guess I'll put it on my card and our parents can reimburse us," Naya said and looked to Heather, again. This truly was a partnership between both of them.
"Yeah. We need to call them today when we get home."
"Good idea."
Naya handed the woman her credit card. The florist swiped the card and handed it back to her.
"Thank you. Here's your receipt."
"Thank you for all your help."
Heather waved as they walked out of the store.
"Flowers…check!"
Heather extended her hand up in the air for a high five. Naya smacked, held onto it, and pulled Heather towards her for a kiss.
"I like those high fives!"
"Let's go home and call our parents."
"Sure. We never told them about yesterday."
"Wow. That's right."
They rode home while that sang along to the radio.
Once they arrived, they got their bags from the trunk of their car and hung up their outfits in the bags on their side of the closet.
When they both came downstairs, they examined the itemized list that Alan had given them. Once they thought that everything looked alright they called Heather's Mom and put her on speaker.
"In seconds, they heard, "Hello?"
"Hi, Mom," Heather said.
"Hi, Mom!" Naya said, from the background.
"Hi, girls…how are you?"
"Um, we are married!"
"Huh? You're what?" Jeannie said, shocked, but happy.
"We are married. We met with Alan Katz from Great Officiants yesterday and we have our marriage license! I'm sorry we didn't call yesterday, but we had to go to work and see if Diane Sawyer's people needed us." Heather said.
"I now have a fourth daughter…" Mrs. Morris whispered into the phone.
"Aww," Naya said and had tears in her eyes, "I'm honored and flattered to be a part of the family!"
"I never asked, but who took who's name?"
"I took Naya's, proudly." Heather said, happily.
"That's wonderful dear! I'm really happy for you both."
"And today we've gotten our outfits for the ceremony and also picked out the flowers which will be designed and delivered from the store's other location in Santa Cruz!"
"Oh, Mom, don't forget to wear some kind of red on that day," Naya suggested.
"Ok, I will."
"Ok, now we got an itemized list which I will mail you a copy. I'm also going to write down $600.00 for the flowers." Heather told her Mom.
"That's cheap." Jeannie pointed out, happily, "How much for the whole thing?"
"So the whole thing costs $10,600. Alan said that you can write one check for $10,000 to Great Officiants and they distribute the money from that check. I'll tell Naya's Mom also." Heather confirmed.
"That's only $5,300 each." Naya said, "I put the $600 on my credit card and can get reimbursed at any time."
"Oh, ok."
"Oh my God, Naya…"
"What?"
"I think we are done!" Heather exclaimed.
Jeannie laughed.
"You're right! Now all we have to do is the interview on Monday."
"Wow! You girls are good."
"No, Mom, we're not good…we're in love!" Naya said.
"I can see that!"
"Ok, we gotta go and call my parents."
"Thanks for calling…Naya, tell your Mom, I'll call her later today to start paying and figure other things out."
"Will do, Mom! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your help. Most importantly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for accepting me and my family. I love your daughter so much and I thank God every day for her!" Naya said.
"I love you too, Nay!" Jeannie said.
"Ok, Mom. Thank you very much. I know Dad is really happy and is looking down over all of this. I love you."
"I love you too, Heather. You make me so proud."
"Thank you."
"Talk to you soon," Naya said.
"Bye!"
Once they hung up the phone, Heather pulled Naya into a warm embrace.
"Ok, your parents are next!"
Naya dialed her family and within seconds, they heard.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mychal…Is Mom and Dad around?"
"Hey, Nay…Hold on. MOMMM!"
"Ok, I got it!"
"Hi, honey…How are you?"
"I'm great. Is Dad around?"
"He's right next to me. Hold on. Okay, we're both on speaker."
"Hi, Mom…Hi, Dad!" Heather said.
"Hey Heather!"
"Guess what!"
"What?"
"I am officially a 'Rivera'!" Heather announced.
"What? When did that happen?"
"We had a meeting with Alan Katz yesterday and he gave us our license…we are now officially married. Our marriage license certificate is downstairs," Naya explained.
"We're sorry we didn't call you yesterday. Right after the meeting we had to go to work to shoot some scenes and to help Diane Sawyer's people."
"We are so happy for you both. Now we have another daughter, George."
"I know. Naya, you make us so very happy. Heather thanks for calling me 'Dad'."
"Thanks for letting me."
"I love you both. Ok, so we have a total for you. I have an itemized list which I will mail to you." Naya said.
"Ok, let's have it."
"The grand total is $10,600. So half of that is $5,300."
"That's cheap."
Naya and Heather laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"That's what my Mom said," Heather answered, "Oh, she will call you today to figure this out more!"
Naya added, "Alan said that you can write one check for $10,000 to Great Officiants and they distribute it from that check. The other $600 I put on my credit card so after you speak with Jeannie can someone reimburse me?"
"Yes, we will."
"Also Mom, can you wear something red because that's my favorite color? We're doing a 'pink/red' color scheme," Heather said.
"Ok, super! What else do you have planned for the rest of the weekend?"
"I don't know about the rest of today. But tomorrow we should talk about the interview!"
"I agree." Heather said.
"Well, we were just about to go out for awhile so we will let you go!"
"Have a nice weekend. Good luck with the interview."
"Love you both," George said.
"We love you all." Heather said.
"Yup!"
"Byes."
"Don't forget Jeannie's calling later."
"I won't."
"Bye."
Then they hung up.
Naya held onto her phone and just looked at it.
"You okay, sweetheart?"
"Yea, I'm just grateful to have accepting parents. We are very, very lucky."
"Yes, we are."
They hugged. After they hugged they both put the itemized lists in envelopes to be mailed to their parents as promised. Then Naya sat on the couch.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm bored. Wanna do something?"
It was already two o'clock.
"First we need to text our people about the colors. Then we can decide?"
"Good thinking!"
Naya grabbed her phone. She sent a text to Dianna.
DIANNA AGRON: Hi, if you can wear something pink on July 14th that would be great. Hope you had a good night!
She sent a text to Lauren.
LAUREN POTTER: Hey you, if you have something pink could you wear it on July 14th? Thanks.
Naya's cell beeped.
Dianna's text read, "Sure….it was very good. We're going out tonight. – D."
Lauren said, "Sure…will do. See you on Monday. ~ Lauren."
While Naya did that, Heather sent her text to Jane.
JANE LYNCH: Hi, Jane. If you have something in the red family could you please wear it for the wedding? Thanks.
A minute later, Heather heard.
I'm sexy and I know it!
Naya laughed.
Heather read that Jane would have to pick up something. Jane asked if she could wear pants.
"Hey, Sweetheart, Jane can wear pants, right?"
"Um, yeah…"
After all the texts were sent Heather asked, "Want to go to a movie, go for a walk?"
"I'd like to go for a walk and maybe rent a movie. I don't want to share you with anyone else today," Naya answered.
"Ok, we can walk to the store and back if you want to."
"Sure…Let's go!"
They left the apartment and walked together hand in hand.
"Is there anything I don't know about you, Nay?" Heather asked.
"Wow…we're getting deep."
"Yup. I mean I think I know everything there is to know..."
"Hmm…Well, I always thought I'd be alone in this world. Not have 'the person' by my side.."
"Why is that?"
"I dunno…I guess I don't see myself as attractive or even pretty."
"Really?" Heather asked really sincerely.
"Yeah. I guess that I never really knew what all the hype was about…I still don't."
"Hype?"
"All the attention my looks get."
"Oh."
"I don't see what other people see, I guess."
"I'm sorry you don't. Honestly."
"Thank you."
"Does it help or hurt the situation when I call you 'the most beautiful thing that God has created'? Please be honest."
"At first, it was kind of awkward. But I know it comes from a place of love…"
"Do you want me to continue to do that?"
"Yes, Heather. I still want you to tell me that because you are genuine when you say it. I've had guys tell me stuff like that, but they had 'one thing on their minds'. When you say it I know you say because you truly love me."
"That I do."
"I'm glad that I'm not going to be alone my entire life. I am happy that you chose to go through life with me."
"It wasn't even a choice to me…"
"Yes, it was. I was just offering you my heart. You had every right to accept it or not. You know that right?"
"When I said that it wasn't a choice, I meant that you've been in my heart since the first time I met you so not being with you wasn't a thought in my mind. It just feels…right!"
"Oh."
"Penny for your thought?"
"Just that I was so scared, Heather that if I chose to ask you to be mine that you'd reject me 'in that way' and that our friendship would suffer."
"What made you ask me then?"
"I put everything, my heart and love, on the line because I was afraid that if I didn't someone else would."
"The thing is, Naya, there was never anyone else who held a candle to you."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. It was always you and it will always be you."
"That's nice to hear."
"It's nice to get to say it finally. You had no idea how long I felt that way."
"Why didn't you come to me then?"
"Really because of the same reasons. I didn't want to lose you."
"That wouldn't have been possible."
"That's comforting." Heather said.
By this time they arrived at the store and picked out a comedy, a romance, and some snacks. They paid and were back outside on their way home within five minutes.
"So is there anything about you that I don't know?" Naya asked.
"Hmm…I was afraid the first time we kissed!"
"Afraid of what?"
"Of hurting you."
"Why did you think you'd hurt me?"
"It was my first kiss…well, first kiss that meant anything."
"What about when you kissed Collins?"
"That was different?"
"How so?"
"He was my first boyfriend and when you're that young you want to experiment. Try new things, but with you…"
"Yeah?"
"Kissing you matters to me. Being with you matters big time."
"Oh…I had dreamt of our first kiss for awhile so whatever might have happened would have been fine with me."
"That's the thing…I knew you thought about it and so did I. I wanted it to live up to all of the longing and expectations…"
"Every time you kiss me, Heather Heather, I feel your heart. It lives up to every expectation I've ever had."
"If there's ever a moment after I kiss you that you don't feel the intensity and passion I want you to come to me, ok? Promise me this."
"I promise!"
"Okay, good."
When they got back they watched the movies and had their snacks. At the conclusion of the movies they were stuffed and decided not to go out for dinner.
They spent the rest of the evening, lying on the couch as close to each other as possible. They fell asleep in each other's arms. They slept until 2 am and then Heather woke up and picked a sleeping Naya up and carried her to bed. She tucked her in and got in on her side. She kissed her forehead and just laid there and stared at her wife.