Home Is Where the Heart Is (Brittana)

Chapter 34

Santana's POV

I was busy at work the day before Thanksgiving, everyone getting their appointments in before the holiday. It was good for me, since, as much as I enjoyed the holiday season, I knew that once it was over, we'd be trying to get pregnant again. My anxieties were worsening as it drew closer, despite having nearly two months until we'd try.

Arriving at home after work that day, Brittany was in a frenzy. Everly was nowhere to be seen, but Max kept getting in Brittany's way as she cleaned and packed for our trip to Lima.

"Hey, B," I said, letting her know I was home.

"Hi," she replied. "Thank goodness you're home. If we want to eat before heading out, one of us needs to be cooking."

"Why don't you get the food ready, B? Just make something simple. I can continue packing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. What have you all packed so far?" I asked.

"I packed my bag and most of yours, you'll just want to look and make sure I got everything. Everly's bag is started, but, you know how it goes with her. And we still have to bring a key to Jessie's so they can check in on Max. Plus, the house is a mess-"

"It's okay. I've got it, Britt." I smiled at her, trying to get her to calm down. "I'll ask Jessie if they can come over and pick up the key before we go, and I'll get started on Everly's bag right away."

We'd had a "Friendsgiving" dinner with Jessie the night before and had forgotten to bring them a key to our house, since they were so nice about watching Max while we were in Lima. I knew why Brittany was stressed (the holidays could be incredibly stressful), but I also knew how much she loved Thanksgiving, and I needed to make sure she loved it this year too.

"Hi Evie," I said when I opened Everly's bedroom door to see her playing with her doll.

"Mami!" she squealed, running up to hug me.

"I missed you, my girl. Now, we have to pack your bags for Thanksgiving in Lima."

"Can I bring all my toys?" she asked, and I laughed, knowing what Brittany meant about it being a struggle to bring Everly anywhere those days.

"Well, I don't think we can fit all of your toys in the car, but we can definitely bring some. You know that there are lots of toys in Lima too, so why don't you pick four of your favorite toys?"

"But Mami..."

I gave her a stern look, and thankfully, she seemed to understand.

She handed me her doll before making her way over to the rest of her toys, a stuffed elephant, a bag of blocks, and her doll's stroller soon joining the doll.

"And we need to bring Bubbles... and my books," she stated, grabbing her stuffed dolphin, Bubbles, from her bed.

I smiled at her persistence. "How about four books?"

"Fine." She made her way over to her bookshelf and picked out her four favorite books. She loved having us read to her before bed, and I was glad to do it, so I had no problem with bringing books along to Lima.

I packed her books and toys she'd picked out into a bag (excluding Bubbles because she would need him for the drive), and also grabbed her favorite blanket that she needed to sleep before moving over to her clothes.

There was still a lot of room for clothes in Everly's pink suitcase after packing her hair brush, toothbrush, and other hygiene products. I picked out weather-appropriate clothes and Everly decided which ones she wanted to pack, since we'd learned the hard way that she knew what she wanted and wouldn't often accept anything else when it came to clothes.