Feb 14, 2022
The call to Mercedes' mom and stepdad had been similar to the one she and Sam had with the Evans. From there, they called up their siblings and friends to share the good news. With the exception of their immediate family, Kurt had by far been the most excited. "I would love to plan yours and Sam's wedding!" was his response while the three dined for lunch. He knew the question was coming and Sam and Mercedes were glad to have an acclaimed events planner as one of their closest friends. In the past couple of years, the media was calling Kurt, "The next David Tutera." They brought him to the airport around 1 that afternoon, knowing that their wedding would be in good hands.
Upon calling the Changs with the news, Mercedes not only asked Tina if she would be her matron of honor, but also asked if she would want to design her dress.
"Yes! Of course!" a hormonal Tina blubbered, right after bursting into tears. "I'm so happy for you and Sam!"
Two other McKinley alums they kept regular contact with were Santana Lopez and Brittany S. Pierce. The latter woman was in the middle of her second year of teaching kindergarten, while Santana had a rising career in politics. Ohio was one of the hand-full of states that had yet to legalize gay marriage, so she decided to bring her fiery personality into the ring of politics in order to make the change. Until it happened, she and Brittany remained faithful and loving partners to one another.
"God, your poor children," Santana teased on the phone. "Between you and Trouty, your kids are gonna have some mega-luscious lips."
"I'm never gonna live down that nickname, am I?" Sam asked with narrowed eyes as he emerged from the bathroom, overhearing Santana's response.
"Nope!" she promptly replied. "But in all seriousness, congrats you guys."
"Thanks Santana," they both said.
"So when's the big day?"
Mercedes looked to Sam, wanting to laugh. Everyone had asked them that and their response was always, "We don't know yet."
"Well, let us know when you find out. Britt and I will be there to make sure he doesn't swallow you whole at the altar."
"Always a pleasure, Santana," Sam sarcastically said.
She chuckled, "Later you two. Oh and congrats on the Grammy, Troubletone Jones. It's about time."
The only friends of theirs whom they hadn't spoken to directly were Rachel, Finn and Quinn. The couple left messages on all of their phones and hoped that they would hear back from them soon. By the time they finished their list of calls, Mercedes prepared an early dinner for them. She hummed her way through a salad toss while salmon baked in the oven. As per usual, Sam wandered in and out of the kitchen, leaving flirty kisses on her cheek or stealing cherry tomatoes out of the salad bowl—which always earned him a playful swat and empty threats from his fiancée.
Fiancée. The word coupled with the sight of his future wife made Sam feel like he was viewing Mercedes in a new light—a brighter light. Standing behind Mercedes, he leaned against the adjacent counter and folded his arms across his chest. His eyes looked up and down her backside while she ground some pepper over the top of the bowl. He knew he would never be able to explain it to her, but her acceptance of his proposal meant more to him than the words in his vocabulary. Prior to this morning, he didn't know his heart could feel more love for Mercedes than he'd already felt. Yet here he was, basking in it entirely.
"Sam, can you set the table?" Mercedes turned and asked, plucking Sam out of his private swoon.
"Sure thing," he replied while hastily moving to the utensil drawer.
Minutes later the two were sitting down for dinner. As a Valentine's Day present to him—in addition to the dinner—Mercedes surprised Sam by telling him that in between her calls, she purchased two round-trip tickets for a week in Kentucky. After beaming a nose-crinkling grin, Sam thanked her with a kiss that eventually led to them wandering back to their bedroom.
After another hot shower, Sam and Mercedes dressed for their evening plans. For the second night in a row, Sam suited up. This time, he was clad in dark grey three-piece with a scarlet tie; rather than styling his hair back with gel again however, he merely tidied his golden mane for the upcoming occasion.
"Benz are you ready to go?" He pulled back the left cuff of his jacket to glance at his watch. "We're already running late!"
"I knowww," Mercedes called from the bathroom. "It's called 'Fashionably late' for a reason, Babe."
Sam's eyes gazed skyward at her sass but he was quick to think of how to bait her out, "Our ride's already here, Mrs. Evans."
His mouth quirked into a smile from saying it but a few seconds later, he saw Mercedes emerge with a smile of her own from hearing it.
"I like the sound of that."
"Get used to it," he murmured smartly. "You look beautiful by the way. Are you ready to go?"
Mercedes faced the mirror above her dresser to triple check her sensational make-up application, and then she looked down at herself to make sure everything was in place. From her chest to her knees, she was covered in a red, empire waist party dress. She shifted her weight from foot-to-foot to flaunt her sparkling crimson pumps and then looked up decidedly. "Yep, I'm ready! And thank you for the compliment."
She grabbed her small purse and headed arm-in-arm with Sam out of the condo. Beyond the driveway, a sleek black limo idled with the driver waiting at the rear door. He greeted the couple and opened the door for them—Mercedes stepping inside first—and then drove them to the Four Seasons Hotel. Both were already braced for the barrage of cameras and requests for attention.
One thing Mercedes could credit the paparazzi for was their hawk-like vision. Were they trained or something? She swore they could spot a balloon in space if it'd afford them money for the proof. Before she and Sam reached the lobby doors, several camera wielders started shouting things like, "Let's see the ring, Mercedes!"
"How'd you pop the question, Mr. Evans?"
"When's the big day?"
Neither answered the questions; they merely strode into the hotel, musing to themselves on their way to the Grand Ballroom. Upon entry, one photographer requested their photograph.
"Don't worry—I was hired for the occasion!" she cheerfully assured them while holding up a laminated badge that read, "Star Jones Annual Red Ball: Press".
Already standing behind his fiancée, Sam slid an arm around Mercedes as she turned into him slightly to pose. He smirked at the camera just as the flash went off.
"Beautiful! Thanks you two! And Happy Valentine's Day!" said the perky photographer before scampering away.
Inside, the large ballroom was practically bleeding red when they took notice of it all. In addition to the table cloths, the chair drapes, the orchestra and balloon bouquets, every celebrity floating about the room donned some shade of red in their formalwear. Most were swaying with partners to the twinkling of the grand piano at the opposite end of the ballroom. Others were standing about the skirts of the group, carrying on small conversations and munching on the refreshments.
Sam and Mercedes walked over to the refreshment table—red, heart-shaped cookies, fruit punch, red wine, water and a chocolate fountain—and helped themselves to a glass of fruit punch. At nearly the same moment, the two noticed a bright red box at the end of the table with small banner across the front that read, "Thank you for your donation."
Seasoned actress Zoe Saldana approached the end of the refreshment table and dropped a rectangular slip of paper inside slit at the top of the box. As she turned to rejoin the crowd, the petite woman spotted Sam beamed a smile and waved to him and Mercedes.
Sam bowed his head with a smirk and waved back just as Mercedes turned a wide-eyed, giddy grin on him.
"Oh my God, Sam!" she gaped.
"What?"
"That was Zoe Saldana! Zoe Saldana!" she reiterated in hushed excitement.
"Yeah I know," he answered coolly. "We've met."
When his fiancée's brows nearly shot up to her scalp, he fought back a laugh and reminded her, "Avatar movies, remember? She's been in all of 'em."
A second later, Mercedes was lowering her head and pressing two fingers to the bridge of her nose. She grinned and sighed, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks now. "Right."
Sam let himself chuckle now, "You know, I don't think I've seen you geek over a celebrity like that since we met Adele."
"Hey, there's a short list of people I'm allowed to lose my cool in a good way over," she stated—her shamelessness returning.
"Oh really?" he curiously asked.
"Mhm. You'll know the rest if I meet them."
Sam laughed softly and set his drink down. "Come on, let's make our donation and have a dance."
Mercedes followed suit with her drink and followed Sam to the end of the table. Each of them wrote out a check and placed it inside the box, and then walked out towards the center of the ballroom together. On their way, they were greeted and seized by various actors, producers, artists, and songwriters—most of who either wished them both a Happy Valentine's Day or gave Mercedes congratulations on her Grammy win. Only a few noticed and inquired her engagement ring, to which she and Sam gave an honest answer about.
The pianist was covering Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky" by the time they had a moment to themselves, so Sam pulled Mercedes close with a secure arm around her waist. His other hand held hers while they swayed hip-to-hip to the smooth melody.
While staring up in her favorite sage irises, Mercedes' lips curled up. If asked, she couldn't count the number of times she had smiled that day. But every single smile that graced her face that day was thanks to Sam—that much she did know.
"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked her.
Her smile grew a content fraction as she softly answered, "Just…how happy I am. How happy you've made me today and so many days before now." She saw him faintly blush which only made her smile spread before concluding, "And how this has been the best Valentine's Day of my life."
Taking advantage of the slight boost her heels gave her, Mercedes raised herself an addition two inches and tipped her chin up for a kiss. Unfortunately her stature still kept her from being able to surprise him with a kiss while standing up, but luckily Sam was happy to close the gap.
With another swell in his heart, Sam murmured against her lips, "Likewise."
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