Chapter 72: New People
Santana's POV
Saturday 18th January 2025*
"What the hell? Did we sleep here?" I say aloud to myself as I wake up to find myself and my wife lying on our living room floor. "Brittany…wake up" I say as I shake my wife awake.
"I was dreaming" Brittany groans as she begins to wake up.
"We fell asleep" I state.
"Generally, that happens at night" Brittany chuckles as she sits up.
"I meant we fell asleep in this stupid fort last night" I say as I sit up gingerly, rubbing my neck.
"So it seems" Brittany says amused.
"This isn't funny, my fucking neck hurts with the way we've been lying on the damn floor" I tell her as I stand up.
"I think I better make a pot of coffee because someone needs their morning coffee" Brittany says as she gets off the floor.
"I'm not in a bad mood because I haven't had my coffee yet, I am in a bad mood because everything hurts. I knew being in that fort last night was a bad idea" I sigh.
"We can't blame everything on the fort because the kids loved it and, you and I did have some fun in it last night" Brittany shrugs.
"I think I would have had some more fun last night if I was in my bed" I point out.
"Honey, we would have still fallen asleep last night in bed around the same time as we did in the fort so I doubt the night would have been much different" Brittany reasons.
"It's still early so I don't think the kids will be awake yet so we can have some coffee before we go upstairs" I say as we walk to the kitchen.
"I'll make it" Brittany tells me as she follows me into the kitchen. "So, what are our plans for today?" she asks as she starts making the coffee.
"Apart from spending time with the children, I think I'll be resting most of the day. Everywhere just hurts right now" I groan.
"Maybe this caffeine fix will help and give you some energy" Brittany points out.
"I doubt it" I shrug.
"Here's your coffee anyway" Brittany says as she hands me the mug.
"Thank you" I reply. "Hey, remind me I can't breastfeed Olivia right now when she gets up, we'll need to use the milk that's already been expressed" I say.
"Why?" Brittany asks me confused.
"Because you convinced me to drink wine last night" I reply.
"Hey, you don't need convincing when it comes to wine. You made that decision all by yourself" Brittany laughs.
"Are you able to read the room this morning?" I ask my wife. "Like, is it not obvious I'm not in the mood for your jokes today?"
"Yes, it's very obvious" Brittany laughs.
"Stop it then" I say seriously.
"I can't help it. You're just giving me too many openings. Plus, it's real cute when you get mad" Brittany smirks.
"My patience is wearing thin so believe me, I'll get even cuter in a second" I state.
"We fell asleep in the fort last night; it wasn't the end of the world babe" Brittany states with a shrug.
"I know but it's put me in a bad mood" I say.
"Anyway, I better clear the fort away before the kids get up and see it and want to play in it again" Brittany says.
"Good idea" I state seriously.
Brittany goes to the living room and starts clearing away all the materials from the fort while I stay in the kitchen and drink my coffee. A part of me feels like I should help Brittany because it's the nice thing to do but another part of me feels like I shouldn't help because there was never supposed to be a fort this morning. Brittany was supposed to have it all tidied up last night so technically there is no reason for me doing it this morning.
"I'm going to go upstairs and see if the kids are awake yet" Brittany says as she walks into the kitchen.
"I'll come with you" I say as I stand up from my chair.
"They'll probably all be hungry and ready to have breakfast. I mean I know I am" Brittany says as we head upstairs.
As soon as we get all three of the children up, we all head back downstairs again. Brittany makes some breakfast for us and Jaxon and Xavier while I feed Olivia her bottle. Once we've all eaten, we spend some time hanging out with the kids as they play with their toys. We all then get ready for the day with me watching the kids while Brittany showers and then we trade. I'm just getting dressed after my shower now when Brittany walks into the room.
"Has your bad mood shifted yet?" Brittany asks me.
"No, not really" I glare at my wife. "I don't appreciate you asking me that either. If I'm in a bad mood then I'm in a bad mood. I don't need to suddenly be all happy and cheerful every moment of the day. It's ok to have days like this, and constantly asking me to cheer up will not make me cheer up, I can assure you" I state.
"Ok, message received. I will give you some time on your own" Brittany nods before kissing my cheek and then leaving the room.
I understand Brittany doesn't like it when I'm in a bad mood and I don't like it either but it can't be helped. Sometimes we have days like this where we're not as cheerful or we're tired. I mean I do have genuine reasons as to why I feel like this so my wife making light of the situation doesn't impress me. I mean I slept awkwardly on the floor last night so I'm in pain. I also had wine last night which I don't often have these days considering the pregnancies and everything so I have a headache from it. I feel exhausted after a busy week with work, parenting and everything else. These are all acceptable reasons to feel like this so what's so wrong with that? Also, I don't like the fact Brittany wants me to snap out of this funk. I just kind of want her to understand and support me a bit.
XXX
"Hey" Brittany says as she walks into the room where I currently am.
"Hi" I reply, looking at her curiously.
"Don't worry, no smart remarks from me" she assures me.
"Ok" I nod.
"The kids are all napping so I thought I would come and see you for a minute. I also want to apologise" Brittany tells me. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have been joking around like that when clearly you weren't in the mood for my behavior" she says.
"I know you just wanted to help but sometimes I just need to let myself feel better. I just needed a minute to calm down and let the mood pass itself" I explain.
"I know and I realise that now" she nods.
"I do feel a little better now and I do realise I was overreacting. I was mainly just pissed that you weren't taking me seriously more than I was pissed about falling asleep last night in the fort" I say.
"I know" Brittany replies. "Shall we forget about it and start over today?" she asks.
"Sure" I smile.
"So, how are feeling? Are you still sore from falling asleep on the floor?" Brittany asks me.
"A little bit" I nod.
"Maybe I could give you a neck and back massage" my wife points out.
"I like the sound of that" I smile at Brittany. "Keep it clean though" I smirk as I turn around.
"I will" Brittany smiles as she begins gently massaging my shoulders.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sunday 19th January 2025*
We're doing something special today because we're all going to visit Brittany's sister and her family. Her older sister Haley gave birth to her second child, a baby boy, yesterday so we're finally getting to meet him. We didn't want to overcrowd everyone at the hospital yesterday so we said we'd wait until today once they were home from the hospital that we'd visit. Brittany's other sister and her family along with her mom and dad are going to be there too so it'll be a nice family day.
"Are we ready to go?" Brittany asks me as she walks into the bedroom where I am with the kids.
"Yeah, just about" I smile.
"That's good. I'm just going to put the presents and food in the car and then I'll get the kids into the car" Brittany tells me.
"Sounds good" I smile as I put my jacket on.
As soon as we're all ready and Brittany has the car loaded up, we get the kids and get them into the car. Brittany and I then get into the car and she drives off in the direction of her sister's house. After a short while later, we arrive.
"Ok, we're here" Brittany says as she puts the car in park.
"Mommy and I need to get a lot of things from the car so can you two boys wait a second until we can get you out" I tell my two oldest children who look desperate to get out of the car.
"Yes mommy" Jaxon smiles at me.
Once we get everything out of the car and get Olivia into her stroller, we get the boys out of the car. Brittany juggles the food and presents while I have the stroller, and the boys walk together.
"Shall we go inside now and meet the new baby?" I ask.
"Another baby" Jaxon giggles.
"Yes, there's another baby in the family now" Brittany smiles at Jaxon.
"Yeah, Olivia was the baby of the family for a month and then auntie Grace had a baby and now auntie Haley has a baby" I smile at Jaxon.
"Ok, let's go and meet your new little cousin" Brittany says as we all make our way towards the house.
"Let's go" Jaxon smiles as he rushes in front.
"Hey, it's us" Brittany says as we walk into the house.
"Hi, in you come" Haley says from the living room so we all head in there where everyone else is.
"I'll put the food in the kitchen and join you all in a second" Brittany says.
"Ok" I smile at my wife.
"So, how is everyone?" Brittany's mom asks us as Jaxon and Xavier run over to their grandparents while I take Olivia from her stroller.
"We're all good. The boys are excited to meet the new family member" I smile.
"Yeah, and so am I" Brittany says as she joins us.
"Would you like to hold your new nephew?" Haley asks Brittany.
"Definitely" Brittany smiles as she gently takes the baby from her sister and sits down.
"Boys, why don't you sit with mommy and you can see the new baby too" I tell my two oldest children.
"Ok" Jaxon smiles at me.
"This is Ellis, everyone" Brittany says as she cradles the baby in her arms as Jaxon and Xavier sit down next to her.
"He's cute, isn't he?" I say to the kids as I sit down next to them all with Olivia.
"Yeah" Xavier nods his head.
"So, how are things going?" Brittany asks her sister.
"They're going ok so far but we've not fully settled in yet since I just got home from the hospital this morning. I can't believe this time yesterday I was still pregnant and now I'm home with a baby today" Haley replies.
"Yeah, they kinda throw you out when you get to the second child. With the first child you can be taken care of for a few days in the hospital but once you have your second then you're out the next day" I chuckle.
"I guess they assume you know what you're doing since it's not your first baby" Brittany shrugs.
"Yeah, probably" I agree.
"Do you want to trade?" Brittany asks me.
"I would love to" I smile. "Ok Olivia, you go to mommy while I get to hold Ellis for the first time" I say to my daughter as Brittany and I trade babies.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sunday 26th January 2025*
Brittany, the children and me have all had a quiet morning together so far. We had some breakfast, we played with some toys and we watched some cartoons. It's now nap time for all three of the children so they're sleeping right now while Brittany and I have some time to ourselves. Brittany has been doing some laundry while I've been catching up with some work emails. I'm not going to lie though, I quickly got bored of the emails so I found myself scrolling through social media for a while.
"Hi" Brittany smiles at me as she walks into our home office.
"Hey" I smile back.
"Hard at work, are you?" my wife asks as she sits down on the chair next to me.
"I wish I could say yes but I'm really not" I laugh.
"Why, what are you up to?" Brittany asks amused.
"I was checking emails but I got bored so now I'm on my phone" I admit.
"You better not be texting another girl" Brittany teases.
"Definitely not, you're the only one for me" I smile at my wife.
"The feeling is mutual" Brittany smiles back before leaning in and pecking my lips.
"I was actually texting someone though" I say. "Do you remember I told you about my friend Jenny, from college that lives in France now after moving there to be with her French boyfriend?" I ask my wife.
"Yeah, I think so" Brittany nods.
"Well, she's coming over here to visit some family this week so wanted to see if I'm free to catch up soon while she's here" I tell her.
"Sounds good" Brittany smiles.
"We've not seen each other in so long, I mean I don't think you've even met her" I point out.
"No, I don't think that I have" Brittany agrees.
"To be honest, I don't think Quinn has met her that much and she's been my best friend for decades" I say.
"Tell me something, did you date her?" Brittany asks.
"Quinn? No, we've never dated. Only ever been friends" I shake my head.
"Haha, very funny" Brittany laughs. "You knew what I meant. So, did you and Jenny ever date?" she asks.
"Would you be jealous if we did?" I ask teasingly.
"I might be a little threatened because if you did date then it'd mean there was an attraction there. I'm not sure I'd like you hanging out with someone you find attractive" Brittany admits.
"You don't need to feel threatened though because I'm with you. You're the only one I find attractive now" I smile.
"Does that mean you did used to date?" Brittany asks curiously.
"No, we didn't" I laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" Brittany smiles at me.
"Because you're cute when you're jealous. I kinda like it" I smirk.
"You like it when I'm jealous?" she asks.
"In a way I do, yeah" I nod. "It's nice to feel wanted and it keeps us on our toes" I add.
"I suppose that is true" Brittany smiles.
"Don't misunderstand me though, I don't like you feeling sad about something. I don't like that part" I say.
"That's good" Brittany nods.
"Seriously though, we were only ever friends so you have nothing to worry about" I assure my wife.
"Ok" Brittany smiles at me.
"Come here" I say motioning for Brittany to move closer to me which she does.
"Are you going to kiss me?" she smirks.
"Uh…duh" I laugh before leaning in and kissing my wife.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Wednesday 29th January 2025*
Brittany and I are both not working today. Brittany is going to spend some quality time with the children while I have some lunch plans. I'm meeting one of friends from college to catch up and see what's being going on in each other's lives. We haven't seen one another in years so it's going to be interesting to find out what we've both been up to. We message each other at birthdays and holidays but we've never spent that much time together in a long time.
I'm currently at the restaurant waiting right now for Jenny to turn up. Usually, I am always running behind and I'm never on time but today I'm not as stressed. Brittany had everything under control at home with the kids so I had plenty of time to get ready for the day and managed to leave the house on time. I'm only sitting for another few minutes before I see Jenny walking towards our table so I stand up.
"Hi, how are you?" I say as we hug.
"I'm good, how are you?" Jenny asks.
"I'm really good" I smile. "Let's sit" I say as we take our seats.
"It's been a while since I've been here to this restaurant" Jenny says as she takes her jacket off.
"Me too, well maybe not as long as you but it's been a while" I smile.
"I am so glad you picked this place though because we had many a drunken night here with our friends so it brings back good memories" Jenny laughs.
"Yeah, it's just a shame I can't handle my liquor as well these days or we could have done it again" I laugh.
"I know" Jenny laughs.
"Ok, shall we look at the menus and order some food and then we can catch up?" I suggest.
"Sounds good" Jenny smiles.
We order some drinks and then begin looking at the menu. Once we know what we want to eat, the waiter comes over and we order. We're now just getting a chance to catch up with each other.
"So, what's been going on in your life? We don't keep in touch as much as we used to" I say.
"Nothing overly exciting has been going on personally. My business is still doing well and my marriage is going strong. My daughter on the other hand is just growing up so quickly. Honestly it feels like she was just a baby and now she's almost 6" Jenny replies.
"Is your husband and daughter here visiting too?" I ask.
"Yeah, they are. My daughter is spending the day with my parents and my husband is catching up with some friends" Jenny says.
"So, tell me. Are you fluent in French yet?" I ask amused.
"No, not at all. No matter how long I have been living there, I can still barely speak the language" Jenny laughs. "My daughter speaks both French and English though" she adds.
"I'm guessing your husband has a lot of translating to do at times if you can't speak the language" I laugh.
"He does" Jenny laughs. "It maybe wasn't the best decision to leave here and move to France but love always wins right?" she smiles.
"Yeah" I smile.
"Anyway, enough about me. What's going on in your life?" Jenny asks.
"What's not going on?" I chuckle.
"Three kids I see, that must be a bit of work?" Jenny smiles.
"It can be but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way" I say smiling at the thought of my children. "Plus, my wife is amazing so I don't need to worry about anything" I add.
"Yeah, you're married now as well" Jenny smiles.
"I am and very happily married at that" I say smiling, thinking about Brittany now.
"I am so sorry I couldn't make it to your wedding" she tells me.
"It's ok. We don't live in the same country anymore so it's not as easy to keep up with each other as much" I smile.
"So, tell me everything, how did you meet Brittany and was it love at first sight?" Jenny asks.
"Brittany and I met through work and I'm not sure it was love at first sight, probably loathe at first sight" I laugh.
"I knew you and Brittany worked together now but I didn't realise you met because of work. Was she working for another fashion company at the time?" Jenny asks.
"Uh…no" I chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Jenny asks amused.
"Brittany didn't used to work in fashion. She joined my company as a member of my accounting and finance team" I admit.
"Oh, Brittany was your employee" Jenny says surprised.
"Yep, I was Brittany's boss" I nod. "Technically I still am her boss actually but I don't really see it like that because she's way more than an employee in my company" I add.
"I'm not sure I could mix business and my personal life" Jenny admits.
"Initially I never thought I could either but something about Brittany and I together was different so in the end it worked out" I admit.
"It wasn't plain sailing then?" Jenny asks.
"No" I shake my head. "We didn't get off on the right foot because she would do things that really pissed me off but she wasn't like any other employee. She worked so hard for my company so I couldn't just fire her even though I would have done had she been a different employee. I needed someone like her in my business and even though she annoyed me at the time, it worked out for the better" I say.
"So, what brought you together or made you realise it wasn't just a work thing?" Jenny asks curiously.
"We just ended up spending more time together during work and then sometimes we'd find ourselves hanging out in a sociable level so it brought us together. Eventually we realised it was something serious and we liked each other so we became a couple" I explain.
"You seem very happy now so I'm happy for you" Jenny smiles.
"Thanks" I smile back.
XXX
"Lunch is finished now so do you want to come back to my place and you can meet my wife and, my children if they're not napping?" I ask.
"I'd love to" Jenny smiles.
"Ok, let's go" I say.
As soon as we pay for our meal, we head outside and into my car before making our way back to my place. Once we get there, we head inside where I go to find my wife.
"Jenny, this is Brittany and Brittany, this is Jenny" I say introducing the two of them.
"Nice to meet you" Brittany smiles.
"You too" Jenny smiles. "So, you're the woman that finally tamed Santana Lopez" she smirks.
"I mean I married her but no one could ever tame her" Brittany smirks at me.
"I know you think you're joking but it's actually very true. No one will ever tame me" I shrug.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want you to change anyway" Brittany smiles at me.
"Good" I smile back at my wife. "So, where are our children?" I ask.
"They were all napping but they probably should be awake soon" Brittany replies. "I'll go and check on them just now" she adds.
"Ok" I nod. "I'm going to make some coffee while you do that" I say.
"Ok" Brittany says before heading upstairs to check on the kids.
"Why don't you make yourself comfortable and I'll get us the coffee" I tell Jenny as I show her to the living room.
As soon as I've made the coffee, I head to the living room with it. Jenny and I talk for a few minutes before Brittany appears in the room carrying Olivia as Jaxon and Xavier run in front of her. The boys immediate run towards me while Brittany takes a seat next to me with our daughter. I then introduce Jenny to our three children.
"I've seen pictures of the children from your posts but my goodness, Xavier looks just like you" Jenny smiles at me.
"Yeah, he does. Xavier is my double; Jaxon is Brittany's double and so far, Olivia is like a mashup of the two of us but that could change as she gets older" I say.
"They're all cute anyway" Brittany smiles.
"Yeah" I smile back at my wife.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Saturday 8th February 2025*
It's date night with my wife tonight and I couldn't be more excited. We've been so busy lately with work and being parents to 3 little people so it's going to be nice tonight to mix things up a bit and do something different. All three of the children will be spending the night with my parents so Brittany and I can be out as late as we want to be and we'll have the house to ourselves for the entire night when we get home.
My parents have just arrived at our house to pick up the kids and take them back to their place so we're just catching up with them right now. Once they leave, Brittany and I will get ourselves ready for date night.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" my dad asks Brittany and I.
"Not really" I shrug. "Good luck to you both is all I can say now" I laugh.
"We've looked after 3 small children at the one time before so we'll be fine. How do you think we coped with you and your brother and sister?" my mom points out.
"We understand you've looked after 3 children before but have you looked after 3 Santana's before?" Brittany asks.
"Now there's a point Maribel. One toddler Santana was more than enough for us all those years ago so maybe the girls shouldn't have a date night anymore because I don't think we will cope with 3" my dad teases me.
"Ok let's stop there. 1 – I was a very well-behaved kid and 2 – my children aren't completely all me. They have a lot of Brittany in them so even if you thought I was bad then my kids aren't because they're not all me" I point out.
"We're kidding, we'll be fine so go and enjoy your night" my mom says.
"Ok" I nod.
"We should be going now so you two have time to get ready before you need to leave for your dinner reservations" my dad says.
"Yeah, we really should be thinking about getting changed before we're running behind" Brittany replies.
We help my parents out to the car with all of the kids' things before saying goodbye to them. We double check with my parents that they know everything they need to before we wave them off as my dad drives away out of the driveway. Brittany and I then head back inside and straight upstairs to make a start on getting ready for the evening.
"I am so looking forward to tonight" I tell my wife excitedly.
"I know, me too" Brittany smiles.
"It feels like such a long time since we had a night out together, just the two of us" I point out as I begin getting changed.
"It does but it is finally here so let's make the most of it" Brittany smiles.
"I agree" I smile back.
"Ok, what am I wearing tonight?" Brittany asks me as she walks towards me. "I'm assuming you'd like to pick out my outfit" she adds.
"I mean you are getting better with your fashion choices but I think I will still decide what you're wearing tonight" I smile.
"Ok" Brittany nods.
Once we're both ready for the night, we head downstairs and make our way outside, locking up behind us. We then get into the awaiting cab and it takes us to the restaurant. We're seated at our table relatively quickly so we go straight ahead and order our drinks. After we've had a look through the menu the waiter comes over and we order our food. We're now just spending time together, talking as we wait on our food arriving.
"Let's do a toast" I say while holding my glass up in the air.
"Ok, what are we toasting to?" Brittany asks with a smile.
"Let's toast to life and not getting pregnant for a very very long time" I smirk.
"Ok" Brittany laughs. "Here's to life and not getting pregnant so soon again" she says as she raises her glass in the air. We then clink them together before taking a drink.
"So, I finally have you alone so let's catch up" I say. "We don't need to be talking about babies' schedules and diapers and napping, we can finally have a discussion that adults can have" I add.
"What would you like to talk about?" Brittany asks me.
"Anything at all. Tell me anything" I smile.
"The first thing that comes to my mind that I can think of is that I have a zit on my face under this makeup that I need to squeeze but I'm guessing that's not something you want to know on date night" Brittany laughs.
"Not really" I laugh.
"I feel like you know everything about me right now so what can I tell you that you don't know" Brittany shrugs.
"I guess we do spend a lot of time together so we know pretty much everything about each other" I say.
"I mean I could tell you that you look beautiful but I hope you already know that" Brittany smiles at me.
"Thank you" I smile back. My wife always knows how to make me feel good.
XXX
After having a fun night out together having dinner and drinks, Brittany and I got a cab home. We've been home for a little while now so I'm looking forward to us having some alone time to hang out or do whatever we want to do. We can watch a movie if we want or have a few more drinks or anything since we're child free for the rest of the night so we're not going to get interrupted. I'm just waiting in bed right now, having just finished my nightly routine.
"Are you ready for bed yet?" I ask my wife.
"Yep, all ready" Brittany smiles as she walks towards my side of the bed. She climbs on top of me and rolls over me to her side of the bed.
"What are you doing?" I ask laughing. "Wouldn't it have been easier to slip in at your side of the bed?"
"Easier yes but not more fun" Brittany shrugs.
"I suppose that's true" I smile.
"I should probably just move back on top of you because it's inevitable what's going to happen now" Brittany smirks at me as she moves in her position.
"Really? What's going to happen?" I smirk back at my wife.
"We're alone tonight and we're in bed so there's a strong possibility of sex, am I right?" Brittany replies.
"Yeah, so come here" I smile as I pull Brittany's head towards me and I kiss her.
"I love it when you kiss me" Brittany smirks as she leans back in to kiss me this time.