A/N: I actually lived in the town south of Buffalo I've written about here. There is a hotel almost directly across from the mall; a large chain grocery store (Wegman's: the best chain in the area...it's seriously amazing) across the street from the mall, and the small jewelry shop mentioned used to be owned by a friend's family.
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Chapter 8 – Buffalo, NY (September 8 – September 16)
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The next month was a blur: shows in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York.
They were in Scranton Pennsylvania on September third, for Santana's birthday, and Brittany googled to find something fun to do since they actually had the third off. There wasn't a lot that interested her or that she thought would interest Santana. They ended up at the Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den. Brittany invited Mercedes so the three of them went and actually had a really good time; it was definitely better than she'd thought it would be and Santana seemed to enjoy it as well.
They enjoyed a nice dinner and walked around the town for a bit before returning to the buses. Mercedes' gift to Santana was to stay in one of the other buses with some of the female crew for the night. Santana and Brittany both appreciated that gift … all night and into the early morning hours.
After five shows in Binghamton, they were off to Buffalo for their eight day/eight show stop. They got in late on the eighth, after their evening show in Binghamton. They were booked into a small hotel just south of the city of Buffalo but fairly close to one of the malls they were performing at. They were exhausted and crashed immediately; their first show was the following evening and they needed the rest.
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They spent every day in Buffalo sight-seeing. After their performances, between them, before them; Brittany filled every spare moment they had with activities.
On the fourteenth, Brittany woke up achy with a slightly sore throat. Thankfully, they had the day off but had two shows on the fifteenth. She pouted when she realized they couldn't do all the things she had planned for their only day off. She didn't have a fever but Santana dragged Mercedes to the nearest grocery store to find stuff to knock whatever this was out of Britt; they also needed to restock the cupboards on the bus since they hadn't really had a chance to do that.
When they got back, Britt was sleeping; Santana hated to wake her up but wanted to get some of the medicine into her. Britt was bleary eyed and groggy but took the proffered little cup of liquid and downed it with a grimace.
"That should knock you out for about four to six hours Britt. We bought soup. Is there anything else you want?" Santana fussed over her.
Brittany shook her head no. "Wait. Maybe some tea? But, like, chamomile or lemon soother? Not black tea."
Santana nodded. "Yeah. We'll go get that." She kissed the blonde's forehead. "You get some rest, we'll be back soon."
Santana dragged a protesting Mercedes off the bus. "Girl, we just got back from the grocery store. You didn't think to ask her if she needed something before we went?"
Santana looked at her and rolled her eyes. "Did you not see the box of lemon soother tea? Of course I knew she'd want that. She's also going to want the ice pops and the dots I bought. I know my girl's comfort stuff. There are three jewelry stores in the mall we performed in yesterday and the day before and a little mom and pop store around the corner from here."
"Ohhhh, gotcha … let's go, then."
The mall proved to be a bust; from what Santana could tell, the mall was dying out. There were empty storefronts. Like, the big ones, there was no Macy's or Kohl's or even a Sears. The jewelry stores didn't have what she was looking for and what they did have seemed ridiculously over-priced.
"Okay. One more stop." She sighed. 'Madame Carmela' had told her she'd find what she was looking for in Buffalo so she'd had her fingers crossed, hoping that meant she'd find the ring here.
The small storefront shop had a cozy feel to it. The glass cases all sparkled and were full of beautiful pieces. Santana drifted over to one when a woman, probably in her mid forties with light brown hair, came out from the back.
"Hi. I'm Renee," she smiled softly.
Santana was surprised; it wasn't one of those big fake smiles that most salespeople have on when they want you to trust them and spend a lot of money.
"How can I help you ladies today?"
Santana sighed. "I'm looking for a diamond solitaire. Probably a carat, in a platinum band. I would really like a pale blue diamond but not an aquamarine. Simple setting."
Renee nodded her understanding and moved to a case at the far end of the shop, motioning for Santana to follow. Once there, she unlocked the case and pulled out a tray of solitaire diamond rings. There were fifteen rings on the tray but Santana's eye was immediately drawn to the one three over and one down from the left hand side.
"Oh, girl," Mercedes said, "that's the one." She pointed to the one that Santana's eye had been drawn to.
"Can I see that one?"
Renee nodded and slipped it out of the tray, handing it to Santana. "It's an excellent choice. One point two five carats, ideal cut, flawless, and fancy light blue in color, set in a platinum band."
Santana nodded and held it to the light, turning it this way and that. She pulled out her wallet and put it on the counter.
"I want to take it to the window; that's got my ID and all my credit cards in it so you don't think I'm trying to walk out the door."
Renee actually chuckled as she nodded.
Santana moved to the front window to look at the ring in the natural light. It was perfect; it reflected the light brilliantly. She slipped it on her finger; it was slightly loose so it should fit Britt perfectly. She walked back and handed the ring back to Renee. "What's the size?"
"Seven and half."
"Perfect. I'll take it. Um, any chance it can be engraved?"
Renee nodded. "It'll take about twenty minutes. I can do it now, no charge." She smiled brightly at Santana.
"Great. Just one word … Always."
Renee nodded and went into the back; Mercedes and Santana drifted around the store, looking at the bling. Santana smiled to herself. She finally found it; the perfect ring for her perfect girl.
Twenty minutes later, Renee came back and showed Santana the engraving. She had polished the ring and the stone and it gleamed in the store's lights.
"Perfect." She smiled happily.
She opened her wallet and extracted the card connected to her trust fund. She never used that card; that was her rainy day/buy a house/start a family money. But. But this was the start of all of that. The blue diamond was rare, she knew that. She knew that it was going to be more expensive. It hadn't been a deal breaker but it meant eternity, truth, and devotion; she felt all that and more for Britt and she wanted her to have a ring that reflected that.
"With tax it comes to seven thousand, four-hundred, twenty-eight dollars. Did you want to put a down payment on the card?"
Mercedes looked at her. "Girl …"
Santana shook her head. "No. I need to take it with me." She laughed a little. "We're only in town for two more days and it's taken me months to find it." She was giddy. "It's perfect. Just like Britt."
Mercedes shook her head and laughed as Renee rang up the purchase and got all the paperwork together.
"Never thought I'd see the day when Santana Lopez finally went completely soft."
Santana didn't even have it in her to glare at the other girl. "Only for Britt, Mercedes." She looked at Mercedes and raised an eyebrow. "And you'd best not forget that."
Mercedes grinned as Renee put down the paperwork, explaining the guarantee and how to register the diamond. Santana signed everything and grinned as Renee put the ring into a red velvet box and slipped that into a small, black, velvet bag.
She smiled at Santana. "Congratulations. She's a very lucky lady."
Santana smiled broadly; dimples and crinkly eyes on full display. "If she says yes, I'll be the lucky one."
They thanked Renee and left the store; Santana's smile still broad. She felt settled; not so frenetic now that she had the ring.
She handed Mercedes the bag. "'Cedes, I need to trust you with this so Brittany doesn't find it in my bag. She's always going through them looking for stuff. So … can you?"
Mercedes smiled. "Girl, I got you. When you planning on doing this?"
"Not sure. Probably after the tour. Maybe when we get back to Lima. If I can figure out a way to do it in the choir room …"
Mercedes nodded her understanding. It may not have been exactly where their story started but it was probably the most important chapter to date.
