Color

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Memories II

While Brittany played with the dogs outside, Santana stayed inside and looked around the house. It was lightly decorated, mostly with copies of modern art painting and sculptures. There was a fireplace and sitting on the mantle were several pictures. There were pictures of Katie and another woman, a head shorter than her and Santana assumed that she was the other aunt. Katie saw Santana looking at the pictures and walked over.

"That's Trisha." She stated, pointing to a photo of the two women in a white dress. It was a wedding picture.

"Oh." Santana replied. "How long have you two been married?"

"Hmm, about three years, I guess. We moved out here about five years ago."

"Where were you before?" Katie laughed lightly.

"I suppose you really don't remember me." Santana cocked her head to the side. "When I said 'it was nice to finally meet you', that wasn't entirely true. We'd met before, it was just a very long time ago. I used to live in Lima! I taught dance class at McKinley High." Santana shook her head.

"I was too young, I guess."

"Maybe. I remember seeing you and Brittany together waiting for the bus when I went to work in the morning. You two were so adorable back then, she'd bring a pop tart and you two would break it and share it." Santana turned red at the embarrassing memory. She instead turned her attention to the pictures again. On the far right, there was a photo of a young Brittany in a silver leotard jumping in the air in what appeared to be a dance competition.

"Did you teach Brittany to dance?" Santana asked, moving closer to the picture.

"For the first few years. As soon as she hit eight, I swear she was better than me." Katie said, looking fondly at the picture. "That was her first competition. She won it hands down." Santana couldn't stop staring at the picture. It was there, the look of concentration that Santana knew all too well. It was a look Brittany only got when she danced and it made Santana breathless every single time.

"San!" Brittany burst through the door, scaring both of them. "I totally forgot!" She rushed over to the brunette's side and grabbed her hand. She dragged her upstairs into the bed room and started rifling through her suitcase.

"Did you forget something?" Santana asked. Brittany finally found what she was looking for and presented it to Santana.

"Here! I made it for you!" She announced. Santana looked down. It appeared to be a duck but there was hardly any resemblance to the animal. It looked like an impressionist's take. The bill was uneven and looked lopsided. The head and body were lumpy, probably the result of too much stuffing in some areas and too little stuffing in others. She could see the stitches that held the eyes in place too.

"Um... B... it's hideous." She said, trying to fight a laugh. Brittany pouted.

"Hey! I worked really, really hard on it!" She frowned and crossed her arms. Santana couldn't stop herself from bursting out into laughter.

"I'm sorry, B. I had a hard time recognizing what it was!" Brittany's eyebrows knit together even more and Santana hugged her. "I love it. It's... adorable." The blond brightened instantly.

"Yay!" She said, hugging her back.

"But what's the occasion?" Santana asked.

"Well, I made it in home economy . They made us sew something and I picked out the duck pattern! You should name it, San." Santana looked down at the stuffed animal.

"Yeah, I'm definitely naming it Picasso." She responded. Brittany grabbed a pillow and hit Santana over the head.

"You're mean! Mean, mean, mean!" She said. Santana cried out in shock and grabbed the other pillow and fought back.