CHAPTER 6
A/N: Thanks to pacumeme57, Cissou28, Tishamay, Itsskik, Flmagic11, Supergirl2121, santana is my satan, Mariu4 and BizzleB90 for the reviews. Special thanks to WhitWalk for proofreading this chapter.
And a happy, healthy new year to all readers!
AT THE HOSPITAL – IN DIEGO'S ROOM - SANTANA POV
"No…" Diego sadly shakes his head, before turning to us like he's about to cry.
"You just woke up, mijo…" I say with a smile, in my most reassuring voice. "You have to give your body some time…" I add, squeezing his hand to comfort him, while discreetly grabbing Britt's with my other hand.
I have no idea if time will change anything but I'm not ready to accept any other outcome and above it all, I don't want hope to be taken away from my son.
"Your mother is right…" Dr. Collins says but I can't tell if he means it or if he simply doesn't want us to panic just yet. "Let's see if other parts of your legs are already awake… can you feel this?" He asks, touching the left foot this time.
"Yes!" Diego says in an enthusiastic voice, opening wide his hopeful eyes and I finally release the breath I was holding in.
"Okay, that's excellent!" Dr. Collins comments in an encouraging voice. "And here…?" He says, touching the sole of his right foot again but I can see that he's pressing harder this time.
'Please, God… Take mine if you want but please, please make his legs work…' I silently pray. 'Besides, if you don't, Abuela will be on your back day and night… You know how relentless she can be! She will probably contact the Pope and all the churches in the world to pray for a miracle… Whereas if you give me a sign right now, to let me know that my son will be okay, I won't even have to tell her about this. So… do we have a deal?'
"I feel some tickling…" My boy answers and I exhale in relief, raising my eyes toward the ceiling in gratitude. 'Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!'
"Alright…" The doctor says, scribbling on his notepad. "You're doing great, Diego." He nods with a smile.
"This is Rita…" He adds, pointing at his colleague. "She's our very best nurse and she'll take good care of you while I talk to your moms, ok? We'll be back in a few minutes."
"See you in a bit, mijo…" I smile at him, bringing his hand to my lips while Brittany kisses his forehead.
A FEW MINUTES LATER – JUST OUTSIDE DIEGO'S ROOM
"So… it's too early to make a real diagnosis but I just wanted to say that the first tests are very encouraging. He has already regained some feelings in both legs, which is a significant improvement compared to when he was brought in. His right leg seems weaker than the left one at this stage but we have to wait and see if it persists. I recommend starting physiotherapy tomorrow and we'll reassess in a few days."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Collins…" I nod in gratitude.
"Of course…" He replies. "I'll give you a moment…" He adds, before walking away.
Brittany and I silently look at each other, both of us sighing as if a huge weight had been lifted off our chest. She smiles timidly at me and I immediately pull her into a tight hug.
"I've never been this scared in my entire life…" I confess as she hugs me back.
"I know… I was terrified too…"
LATER THAT DAY (EARLY EVENING) – AT THE HOSPITAL
I'm leaning against the doorframe of Diego's room, watching him interact with Sofia and Gabriel, when Brittany gets back.
"Hi!" She whispers, stopping right next to me, to avoid interrupting the kids' discussion.
"Look at them…" I say, nodding towards our children as they are laughing. They might have only 10 minutes together, as Diego needs to rest, but I can tell that they all really needed this.
"Reunited at last…" She comments with a smile.
"I know I'm biased but… we really have great kids." I say.
"That we do…" She smiles in agreement.
THE NEXT AFTERNOON – AT THE HOSPITAL
"You're sure?" I ask Brittany.
"Yes! He's making great progress and now that he managed to wiggle his toes on both sides, he's not so scared anymore… We don't need to both be here, San." She confirms. "And since Nick is still on the night shift, I can stay with Diego tonight. So, go home!" She shrugs. "Be with Sofia and Gabriel, we have abandoned them for long enough! And spend some time with your girlfriend!"
"Okay, okay… But when Nicholas is back on the normal shift, I can sleep here so you can go home too, ok?"
"Sure…" She smiles.
"Okay… I'll go say goodbye to Diego then…" I add. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow? But you call me if there is any change, ok? I mean it, Brittany! Any change, good or bad!" I warn her, raising my index finger.
"I will." She nods and although I could kiss her goodbye on the cheek like I usually do, I decide to hug her instead.
"I don't think I could have gone through this nightmare without you…" I whisper in admission, hugging her tight.
"Me neither…"
A FEW DAYS LATER – AT SANTANA'S HOUSE
"So he was finally discharged?" Melissa asks me.
"Yeah…" I sigh in relief. "He won't be playing baseball any time soon but… the doctor said the swelling around his spine has gone down even more and he should make a full recovery."
"Oh, that's really great, San!" She says with a wide smile, before giving me a hug. "He's staying with Britt?"
"Yeah, we figured it was best… He can actually walk with a cane now but he doesn't have the stability to use the stairs yet. And unlike us, Brittany has a guestroom on the ground floor. Besides, Nicholas will be able to help with his physiotherapy and lift him if needed, so… Diego is going to stay there for a while. But Britt said I could come see him whenever I wanted."
"I think it's indeed wiser like that…" Melissa says, caressing my cheek.
As she's about to step away from me, I pull her back right away and passionately kiss her by surprise, holding her face between my hands.
"I missed this…" I admit in between kisses while she wraps her arms around my waist.
"Me too…" She whispers, smiling against my lips.
"I'm sorry I've not been here much lately… But I'll make it up to you." I nod. "And since the kids are with Britt, how about we start today, with a romantic evening?" I suggest, wiggling my eyebrows.
"Well, you know me… I always love romantic nights…" She says in flirty voice, pressing her lips back on mine.
ONE WEEK LATER (DANCE RECITAL) – AT THE DANCE SCHOOL
I really love coming to Mike and Britt's dance school! Since the staff has known me for years, they always treat me like a VIP: I'm greeted as if I was the Pope, I have my own reserved seat on the very first row, without forgetting the best part: I have backstage access! And I'm sure as hell going to use it.
"Hi mija!" I say as I enter backstage, spotting Sofia stretching.
"Mama!" She smiles. "You're here early."
"That's true…" I hear Brittany say behind me. "How come you're here so early?" She squints, obviously finding this suspicious.
"Why are you both trying to make it look like I'm always late?" I ask, offended.
"Because you are always late." Sofia immediately says.
"No, I'm not!"
"Here you go, Sof…" Someone suddenly says and as I turn my head, I see the Irish midget hand a bottle of water to Sofia, before kissing her lips right in front of me. What the hell?
I'm about to say something but Brittany is quick to grab my arm. "We'll be right back." She tells the kids, dragging me further away.
"Don't." She says once we are far enough, looking me straight in the eye.
"What?" I frown in confusion.
"I know you were about to say something either unpleasant, insulting or embarrassing."
"I wasn't!" I object. "I was just about to ask what the leprechaun is doing here, that's all!"
"Why do you constantly mock his Irish origins?" She asks. "You have Irish friends!"
"Yeah well, my Irish friends do not have sex with my daughter, so…"
"Sshh…" She says, looking around to make sure that Sofia and Liam didn't hear us. "Let me remind you that you're not supposed to know that so… you're going to be nice to the boy, Santana."
"Oh, because that won't be suspicious?" I say sarcastically. "I have never been nice to him!"
"I know. He's even scared of you."
"Well, good! He should be." I say, crossing my arms.
"He's here to watch his girlfriend dance."
"You mean he's here to leer at girls." I correct her, making her roll her eyes.
"San…" She sighs. "Your daughter is very excited about going on stage tonight." Britt says. "So don't you dare ruin this for her, ok?" She warns, raising her index finger at me.
"Fine." I sigh.
"You promise?" She asks, unconvinced.
"Yes!" I say, impatient. "What, do I need to swear on the Bible?"
"No, as long as you give me your word."
"If he behaves, I'll behave too." I shrug. "Happy?"
"Yes." She replies. "But now, seriously… tell me. How come you're here so early? It's not like you at all."
"I don't know! I just left earlier than usual, I guess! What's the big deal?" I frown.
"San…" She insists, clearly not buying it.
"Fine." I sigh. "Melissa's parents are staying with us for a few days…" I eventually say. "And there is no change: every time I'm in the same room as them, the word 'marriage' seems to come up a lot, so… I may or may not have told them that our daughter's dance recital was… starting a little earlier than it really is…"
"A little?" She chuckles. "You're two hours early!"
"So?" I shrug. "I'm sorry, is my presence an inconvenience or something?" I ask, offended.
"Oh no, you're always welcome here, mama!" Britt laughs, before walking back to the kids.
"I don't see Nicholas anywhere around by the way!" I shout, poorly trying to get back at her for mocking me.
"He's working tonight." She shrugs, still laughing.
LATER THAT NIGHT – AT THE DANCE SCHOOL
"And now, for a very special number, please give a warm welcome to my goddaughter, Sofiaaa LOPEEEZ- PIEEEERRCE." Mike announces while the audience claps enthusiastically.
As the first notes of music play, Sofia starts dancing and I'm immediately in awe. I know I have seen her dance all her life and Britt already started teaching her when she was barely walking… but damn, she's good! And she gets even better with each performance! She's so… precise, and elegant! And clearly, I'm not the only one to notice, judging by the way Liam is looking at her right now, his mouth hanging open.
"Hey, McNugget." I whisper, leaning closer. "You may want to close that mouth or I'll close it for you, capisce?"
"Um… yes, ma'am. Sorry…" He says, looking embarrassed, before closing his mouth.
My eyes return to the stage but my jaw drops in shock when I see Brittany joining Sofia and dancing with her in perfect synchrony. What is happening? I know Brittany used to perform at the school's recitals but she has not done so in years!
"Did you know about this?!" I ask Tina.
"Yeah, I did." She smiles. "Apparently, Sofia insisted that Brittany perform with her."
"But why didn't they tell me?" I ask, confused.
"They wanted to keep it a surprise!" Tina replies. "They're great, though! Don't you think?"
"Yeah…" I nod, my eyes still set on them. "They are."
I've always said that even if Sofia has my genes, she moves just like Brittany. They both have the exact same posture, whether they are sleeping, sitting, walking or dancing! No wonder they can synchronize their moves so perfectly!
I haven't seen Britt perform in such a long time but God, she still got it! She's just as sensual and confident as ever! And that damn body of hers… I don't know many women in their 40s that still have abs and such long, sexy legs…
My eyes travel her body and I suddenly feel like the temperature is a million degrees… Oh my God, what the fuck am I doing? I can't be looking at my ex-wife like that! I have a girlfriend!
To keep things appropriate, I decide to focus solely on my daughter. But it doesn't take long before I'm drawn to Britt again, completely mesmerized by the way she moves. Nicholas is a really lucky guy…
Despite my best efforts, I can't seem to look away, until I feel eyes on me. As my head turns to the right, I see Liam smirk ironically at me and that's how I realize that my mouth is hanging open, just like his was.
"Shut up…" I say in embarrassment as I quickly close my mouth and sit up in my chair.
TWO WEEKS LATER (LUNCH TIME) – OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT
I'm so pissed today that I'm even smoking a cigarette, outside the restaurant where I just had lunch.
I was in such a bad mood that I even told Quinn she shouldn't join me because I would be horrible company.
I knew that working again with Lee Paulblatt was a bad idea! I don't even know why I agreed to this! He's just the same arrogant, self-centered jerk he was 15 years ago! How am I going to go through a whole day with him when it only took him one hour to piss me off?
"San!" I suddenly hear someone calling me, pulling me out of my thoughts. As I look to the right, I spot Brittany waving at me enthusiastically.
"Britt?" I say, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh you know, shopping…" She smiles but I quickly see her frown once she notices the cigarette in my hand.
"You're smoking?!" She asks in a reproachful tone while I roll my eyes. I know she always hated it when I smoked but I'm not in the mood for one of her lectures.
"So, you have a problem with that?" I ask in a defiant tone that seems to catch her by surprise. "Because you know what, Britt? Unlike when we were married, you can no longer punish my smoking by withholding sex! If I want to have sex, I just go home to Melissa and have it."
"Sorry, I didn't know it was such a crime to care about your health, Santana." She replies in an angry tone, crossing her arms.
"Did you actually want something or you were just saying hello?" I ask, impatient.
"As a matter of fact, I needed to discuss something with you, yes." She replies in a cold voice. "I know it's my week but I wanted to know if you could take the kids this weekend? It's a long story but Nick got free tickets to a wine tasting out of town and…"
"Okay, no." I cut her off. "We agreed on a schedule, Brittany, and I basically organize my whole life around it! You can't change it all the time like this! And you're the one who wanted to have children, so you don't get to drop them on my doorstep just because you're in the mood for a sex weekend with your boyfriend!"
"A 'sex weekend'?" She repeats, stunned. "We're going to a wine tasting!" She objects, raising her arms in frustration.
"Same thing." I argue. "I know how horny drunk you get after a couple of glasses." I add and she opens her mouth wide in shock, looking both pissed and offended.
"You know what?" She says, looking me straight in the eye. "At least, I won't be the one dealing with your explosive temper when you go home tonight! You're Melissa's problem now, and I really wish her good luck because she'll need it!" She adds, before walking away.
LATER THAT DAY (EVENING TIME) – AT SANTANA'S HOUSE
I'm pacing in the living room, contemplating if I should light the cigarette I'm holding in my hand. Just like I suspected, I had the most awful afternoon with Lee and even though I have been home for a while, I'm still on edge! And since Melissa is at her pilates class, there is no one here to calm me down so… I really could use a smoke.
I place the cigarette between my lips and I'm right about to light it when Brittany's angry face suddenly flashes through my mind.
Dammit! Even though we're not married anymore, she still has a fucking hold on me!
And the truth is that I actually spent the whole afternoon thinking about our fight. I really shouldn't have taken my anger out on her, she had nothing to do with that…
I sigh and put the cigarette back in the pack, before grabbing my phone. And for the 500th time since we got divorced, I start typing the letter "w" in my contact list as a reflex, wrongly looking for "wifey". Old habits really do die hard…
After correcting and typing the letter "b" instead, I select Britt's name, to send her a text.
TO "BRITT": I'm sorry I was such a bitch earlier.
EVEN LATER THAT NIGHT – AT SANTANA'S HOUSE
"Hi!" Melissa says as she gets back home, kissing my lips before dropping her sports bag on the floor.
"Hi…" I mumble.
"Someone is grumpy…" She squints in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I had a bad day at work…" I sigh.
"Oh, what happened?" She asks. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Mmh okay… Do you want to shower with me?" She offers.
"Oh God, I thought you would never ask…" I reply, making her chuckle.
"Well, meet me in the shower? I just need to start the washing machine first."
"Yeah, ok…" I nod, watching her walk away.
At least, Melissa didn't force me to talk about it. If it was Brittany, she would have kept nagging me until I got it off my chest.
I quickly check my phone, for the hundredth time tonight. But even though Brittany read my message, she has not replied yet.
THE NEXT MORNING – AT PARAMOUNT – SANTANA'S OFFICE
I feel a lot calmer this morning, not only because I had sex last night but mostly because I won't be seeing Lee today! And I even get to spend the whole day in peace in my office, since I'm supposed to write scripts!
I have only been working for 20 minutes but I can't resist checking my phone once more. Unfortunately, there is still no news from Brittany and I'm starting to worry. Since she won't tell me anything, I will have to go to other sources if I want to find out how pissed she really is…
TO "SOFIA": Hi mija, how are you? All good in school? What did you guys do last night? Love you.
I have barely put the phone back on my desk that it already beeps. That's the great thing about teens, they are always glued to their phone!
FROM "SOFIA": Hi mama, all good here, and you? I went to the movies with Liam yesterday, it was great! X"
Goddammit! Of course, the one time I need inside information, she's out, sucking faces with the Irish midget!
TO "DIEGO": "Hello mijo, are you ok? I hope you're still doing your physiotherapy exercises? It's really important! What did you do last night? Te quiero."
FROM "DIEGO": Hi mama,yeah, I'm ok. YES, I do the exercises! You don't have to ask me every day, you know!"
Seriously?! He didn't even answer my question! Why is it so hard for them to tell me what their mom was up to last night? This is probably why I have three kids! So that the third one can save the day when the other two drive me crazy.
TO "GABRIEL": Hi mi cielito, I hope you're having a great day! What did you do last night? Love you!
FROM "GABRIEL": Hi mama :) I watched the game with Nick and Diego last night. And you, what did you do? Love you too!
It figures that my sweet boy would be the only one answering the question, although I still don't know what Britt did.
TO "GABRIEL": That sounds fun, mijo! Mom was not there? Mel and I stayed in last night.
FROM "GABRIEL": Mom was home but she was in the dance room, working on a choreography. Did you see the poem I sent you this morning?
So, Britt was in the dance room… probably trying to dance her anger away, like she does when she's really pissed. God, I'm definitely in trouble.
TO "GABRIEL": Yes, I read your poem! You're getting better and better every time, mijo! And even though you didn't say, I know this one is about Stella! :)
LATER THAT DAY (AFTERNOON TIME) – AT PARAMOUNT
Taking a break from my writing, I check my phone again. But when I see that I still have no message from Britt, I decide to send her another text.
"Fucking hell!" I let out when I realize I searched again for "wifey". When will my brain ever learn?
TO "BRITT": Please, Britt… Say something. I hate when we fight.
EVEN LATER THAT DAY (EVENING TIME) – AT SANTANA'S HOUSE
I sigh when I see that my two messages to Brittany are still unanswered.
TO "BRITT": Come on, Britt… I already said I was sorry… Can we please make peace?
After another hour of silence, I reach the peak of my impatience and decide to call her. Fortunately, she picks up.
"Hi Satana!" I hear a male voice say, much to my surprise. "It's Nick. Britt is a bit busy right now so she asked me to pick up. How are you?"
This catches me completely off guard and I find myself at a loss for words.
"Hello?" He says.
"Yes! Yes, I'm here! Hi Nicholas! Sorry, I um… I got distracted. I'm good, how are you?"
"I'm good too, thanks!" He replies. "What can I do for you?"
"I um… I was calling because…" I mumble, not knowing what to say. I never thought he would pick up the phone! "… Britt asked me if I could take the kids this weekend since you had tickets to a wine tasting and um…" I add, trying hard to find a reason for my phone call. "… at the time, I told her it was not possible but um… it turns out that I could move some things around so… if you guys still plan to go out of town, I can take the kids." I say, in spite of myself.
"Oh, that's great news! Thank you so much, Santana! Is it ok if we drop them at your house Friday night?"
"Sure, it's fine!"
TWO DAYS LATER (LATE MORNING) – AT BRITTANY'S HOUSE
I sigh loudly as I ring the doorbell.
"Santana?" Britt says, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" I repeat in an angry tone. "I had to come here since your phone is apparently broken." I say sarcastically. "You can't ghost me like this, Brittany! We have children together, I have to be able to reach you!" I add, looking her right in the eye.
"I…" She mumbles. "I'm sorry… you're right." She eventually nods in admission. "I just… I got so mad at you!"
"I know…" I sigh. "Look, Britt… I was having a terrible day and you just caught me at a bad time, that's all." I shrug. "But I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, I'm really sorry…" I admit. "Can we please talk for a minute?" I plead with apologetic eyes.
"Okay…" She sighs. "Come in…"
A LITTLE WHILE LATER – AT BRITTANY'S HOUSE
"I suppose Nicholas told you but um… I can take the kids this weekend." I say.
"Yeah, he told me…" She whispers. "Thank you."
"Sure…" I say with a timid smile but we immediately fall into an awkward silence.
"I don't even smoke." I eventually whisper out of nowhere, desperate to get the conversation going.
"You're allowed to do what you want…" She replies, after a moment of confusion. "As you said, we're not married anymore… It's not my business." She shrugs.
"I just… Look, I don't want to get into the details but… I'm working on a short web series on the side, with Lee Paulblatt, and he…"
"Lee Paulblatt?!" She repeats, stunned. "Why would you even work with that guy?!"
"I just liked the series' concept." I shrug. "It's about Hispanic immigrants and I'm sure Abuela will be proud of me for taking on this project." I say. "I thought that after 15 years in this business, I was more experienced and I could deal with Lee more easily but… this guy sure knows how to push my buttons!" I add, raising my hands. "Anyway… I was so pissed and frustrated, I took a cigarette. But that was my very first cigarette in years, the first one even since you made me quit! It tasted disgusting, by the way…"
"And I can't stand it when you're mad at me, Britt…" I admit. "So… to help you forgive me, I brought you a little something…" I sigh, handing her a small box.
"What is it?" She asks, surprised.
"Open it…" I shrug.
BRITTANY POV
I open the white little box and my jaw drops in shock when I see the turquoise necklace. Ten years ago, I spotted the exact same necklace in a shop and I fell completely in love with it. But since I was in a hurry, I decided to come back on the next day, only to find out that it had already been sold. I asked the shop owner where I could find another one, but he told me that it was handmade and that each piece was unique... I was so disappointed! Especially because I also loved the legend behind that necklace: whoever owned it was assured of 'eternal love'.
"Oh my God… but how…?" I eventually whisper in disbelief, raising questioning eyes towards her.
"Well… A few weeks ago, I went to a new shop, near Paramount. I was looking for a Valentine's gift for Melissa and… that necklace was on display!" She says. "I recognized it immediately, it was exactly the same as the picture you showed me 10 years ago! I was scared someone else would take it before I could tell you so… I bought it." She shrugs. "I wanted to give it to you right away, but it would not have been appropriate to do so around Valentine's day so… I thought I could perhaps give it to you for your birthday. But we had our fight in the meanwhile and… I really want us to be good so…"
"I'm really grateful but... I can't accept this, San. It's too much…"
"You have to accept it, Britt! It has kind of become an apology gift now so… it would be cruel to refuse it…" She argues.
"But you don't have to give me apology gifts, you know…" I say. "I would have forgiven you eventually."
"I know…" She nods. "But… have I already mentioned how much I hate fighting with you?" She asks with a shrug. "I'm not sure it was clear…" She adds, making me smile.
"I hate it too…" I admit. "But this…" I say, looking at the necklace. "I… I don't even know what to say…"
"Well, do you like it?" She asks.
"Of course! I love it!" I nod in confirmation. "I can't believe you remembered…"
"Well, it was not hard to remember… I think that ever since I met you, there are only two things you have wanted so badly: our kids and this necklace." She smiles.
It's true. And somehow, Santana is the one who gave me both.
"Do you want me to put it on you?" She asks.
"Sure…" I reply, holding my hair up.
"There…" She says, securing the necklace and I get a shiver when her fingers graze my neck in the process.
"How does it look?" I ask, as her eyes are set on me.
"It looks perfect." She smiles.
ONE WEEK LATER – AT BRITTANY'S HOUSE
"So… I know it's a bit early…" Nick says, sitting next to me on our bed. "… but since you'll have the kids next week for your birthday, I thought we could do something special this weekend, just the two of us. So... happy early birthday, babe!" He adds with a smile, handing me an envelope and I open it with excitement.
"You got us tickets to the ballet?!" I open my mouth in surprise. "But how? I've been trying to get tickets to this show for months and it's always sold out!"
"It was definitely not easy… I might even have posted a dozen of hopeless messages online…" He admits in between chuckles. "But I finally got them, and that's all that matters! And guess what? We even get to have dinner there, before the show!"
"Oh my God, I've always wanted to have dinner over there!" I say in excitement. "Thank you, honey…" I add, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss. "You really spoiled me…"
"Well, you deserve it." He smiles, pressing his lips back on mine.
"Are you still in the mood for Chinese tonight?" He asks.
"Yes!" I confirm enthusiastically, knowing we both like it.
"Great, I'm going to order it now then…" He says and kisses my forehead, before exiting the room.
As I place the envelope with the tickets on my nightstand, my eye catches the little white box I got from Santana.
I open it and take the necklace in my hand, observing it for the thousandth time. I really like how the light reflects off the venetian glass medallion, in so many shades of blue.
"Can I tell you a secret, Penny?" I tell the dog as she's resting next to me, on top of the bed.
Penny has always been my best confidant, it's almost therapeutic for me to share all my thoughts and feelings with her. Not only do I feel like she understands everything I say, but since she's a dog, it's not like she's going to repeat it to anyone else.
"Your daddy is a great man." I say, referring to Nick. "Can you imagine that he got me tickets to a ballet that I have been trying to see for almost a year? Everyone complains it's impossible to find tickets, and yet, he's such a superhero that he managed to get them! And how did he even guess that I wanted to have dinner there? I've never told him that! It's really a thoughtful gift from the man I love…" I add while petting the dog.
"So, how come I prefer your mama's gift…?" I eventually confess in a timid whisper, holding the medallion close to my heart.
ANOTHER WEEK LATER (BRITTANY'S BIRTHDAY) – AT BRITTANY'S HOUSE - IN THE GARDEN
"You have everything you need, guys?" I ask Sam and Mercedes, as they stand in front of the open buffet.
"We do but I hope you have enough food, Britt… Because Sam is wolfing it down like he has not eaten in years!" She says, looking at him with reproachful eyes.
"But these are so good!" He says while chewing. "Where did you get that from, Britt?"
"Oh, it's a local catering company… Nick is friends with the owner. I'll send you the details if you want."
"Oh, please!" He says, nodding enthusiastically. "We've got to order from them for our next party, babe…" He tells Mercedes.
"Okay, okay…" She sighs. "In the meanwhile, leave some for the others, will you? Come on, let's go back to Quinn and Puck." She adds. "You're coming, Britt?"
"Um, I'll be there in a minute." I reply, spotting Santana and Melissa entering the garden.
"Hi guys!" I greet them with a smile. "I'm glad you could come!" I add, knowing that Santana always finds it weird to come to my birthday party. But I always tell her it would be equally weird if she didn't make an appearance, since we have the same group of friends.
"Of course! Thanks for having us!" Mel replies. "And happy birthday! We put our gift on the pile with the others by the way."
"Thank you but you didn't have to…" I say, embarrassed. Fortunately, the waiter brings us champagne right at that moment.
"I love your necklace, Britt!" Melissa suddenly says. "Is that a gift from Nick?"
"Oh, thanks! Um… no, it's a gift from… an old friend." I add, while Santana throws me a discrete smile. I know she doesn't want me to tell anyone it's a present from her.
"I don't know if Nicholas would be happy you got a necklace from your ex-wife, Britt. And I'm not sure what Melissa would think either, to be honest…" She said the other day. "It's better if they don't know, it can be our little secret!"
"Isn't it beautiful?" Mel asks, turning to Santana.
"Yeah, it's… lovely!" Santana replies. "Well, to you, Britt…" She quickly adds, raising her glass of champagne.
"Cheers!" I smile as we all clink glasses.
"Oh, by the way, San, before I forget…" I add. "I had Mr. Schue on the phone this morning and we discussed the Glee reunion of next weekend… He said he will hold a special workshop for the Glee kids the day before, on Friday. He asked me if our kids would join but since you're the one who has them next week, I was not sure when you were planning to fly to Lima?"
"Well, since the kids are on holiday, I was planning to fly with them already on Wednesday so… they would be free for the workshop." She replies. "And have you heard about the 'grandparents' surprise'?" She whispers, looking around to be sure that the kids can't hear us.
"Oh yeah, my mom told me. They want to take them to an amusement park or something, right?"
"Yeah! And even spend the night there!" She says in disbelief. "I get they want to do something fun with the kids but… I thought they would want to see us as well instead of going on a trip while we're back home!"
"Well, to be fair, we're pretty busy during the reunion anyway… so it's not like we would see much of them." I reply. "Nick doesn't even want to come along anymore because he gets bored!"
"Well, I can understand him…" Melissa says. "Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that you guys have an annual reunion, and God knows how excited this one gets about it…" She adds, pointing at Santana. "But…"
"I'm not that excited!" Santana objects. "Sure, I love seeing everyone but the reunion also means being stuck with Berry for two days!" She adds, making me chuckle.
"And yet, you seem to have lots of fun!" Melissa says sarcastically. "Anyway, my point is that although I know and love all your friends, it's hard not to feel like an outsider at those reunions… I mean, I can't sing or dance, and I can't relate to your show choir anecdotes, so… I prefer to just leave you Gleeks enjoy it among yourselves."
"Oh, so you're not coming either?" I ask Mel.
"Nope, not this year. I'll fly to Chicago instead, to see my parents." She says and I nod in understanding.
"And when are you flying, Britt?" Santana asks. "Do you want to come with me and the kids?"
"Thanks but I can't… I'm teaching a special dance class until Thursday so… I will have to fly on Friday morning." I reply. "But I can't wait for the reunion!"
A/N: As you can guess, we will next go to Lima, for the Glee reunion, and it will likely be split in two parts. What did you think of this chapter? Please let me know in the reviews!
I wanted to warn you that I may not update this story this month. I'm replacing colleagues and I have to do the job of 3 people right now. If I manage to update before that, I will, but if it takes some time, don't be surprised. Thanks for your understanding. In the meanwhile, you can check my other fanfic, "Tell our story", if you're curious to see how the kids were when they were babies/young children.