Chapter 7 - Having My Baby ;-)
"Always on time." Natalia muttered as she saw Frank's car pull up in her driveway. She was really hoping that for once he'd be late, so she'd have a few moments to pull herself together. The kiss with Olivia had rattled her. and her body had yet to settle down. She had almost called Frank to cancel, but thought better of it. Placing a slight smile on her face, she opened the front door. "Hey, Frank."
The shock was evident on his face. "Well, I guess I know one of the reasons you went away." She nodded and led him into the living room, sitting on one end of the couch while he sat on the other.
Looking in his eyes, she saw confusion rather than anger. "I want you to know that I was always going to tell you. I... just needed some time to think about and to deal with a lot of things." Holding up her hand to forestall him asking the other question she figured was most on his mind, she answered it for him. "Yes, I want Olivia to be a part of this child's life. I know that will be hard, but some way we'll all have to make it--."
"Okay." He said softly.
"That's it?" Could it really be that simple? She thought that he'd protest Olivia's involvement in their lives. The look on her face must have conveyed her disbelief, as Frank gave her a little laugh.
"I've had a lot of time to think while you were gone." Frank stood up and began pacing. "And although I think that eventually we could have had a good life together, I know now that deep down we didn't love each other enough, to have a great life. Not how you love Olivia and, if I'm really honest with myself, how part of me still loves Eleni."
She had no idea that he was still pining for his former wife. They had really never talked about why his marriage had ended. In contrast, she knew why every one of Olivia's had failed. The lack of communication between Frank and herself was one more thing that cemented, at least for her, the idea that their marriage never would have worked. Well, at least now, maybe as friends, they could talk about it. "Did you ever tell her that? That you still loved her?"
"No." Shaking his head, he went on. "You don't understand. See, I still love the old Eleni. The wife who cooks dinner, makes your lunch, sits by your side at the Policeman's Ball, and who at the very least works from home. Not the big time LA business woman that travels, whom you hear from once in a blue moon."
Smiling a sad smile Natalia nodded. "I reminded you of the Eleni that you fell in love with..."
Coming to sit beside her, he took her hand. "Yes, but trust me when I say that your cookies were much better." With that, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before rising.
"Thank you, Natalia, for the gift that you're giving me. Whatever you and the baby need... I'm here for you. And, as for Olivia... well, she and I have made our peace. I'm sure she'll tell you about it."
"I'm sure she will." She got up to walk him to the door. "If she ever speaks to me again."
Turning back, Frank said, "Give her time. Seeing you again probably just gave her a bit of a shock."
"You're probably right. Oh, and Frank, I've scheduled a sonogram for Friday at 3:00 pm, if you want to be there." She saw him hesitate, most likely waiting to see if she was going to mention whether or not he could expect Olivia to join them. She gave him credit; he was trying.
"Of course, I'll be there." And with that, she was left with her own thoughts.
****
"Yo, Ma? ¿Está aquí?" Rafe hollered, as he started up the stairs in search of his mother.
"Rafe! Hijo, I'm so glad to see you." Natalia said as her son rushed into her arms. "Easy, Sweetie, you're going to crush me."
"Sorry, Ma, but it's just that I've missed you and-- Whoa!!! Are you pregnant?"
It was hard not to laugh at the look on her son's face but, if they were to have a serious discussion, she had to keep a straight face. "Yes, I am."
"Aww... man, if she didn't flip before, Olivia's gonna do it now."
"Okay, just what does that mean? When I called you to tell you that I was on my way back, you said something about how you thought that Olivia was close to 'losing it,' if she hadn't already."
Guiding his mother down the stairs, Rafe began, "Well… she's been drinkin' a lot, for one thing. Then, she got arrested. Although I think part of that was my fault."
"Rafael Rivera, just what—what did you do??" He hadn't seen her this mad in a long time.
"Ma, calm down. I didn't do anything… I mean not really. It's just that I was sort of some place that I shouldn't been, and Olivia saw me and she… uh, she helped me out."
"Explain. Now." Natalia said sternly, as she sat on the couch.
Sighing he began. "Ashlee got a call from Daisy. She was drunk and… in The Blue Dolphin."
"Of all the places to be…" Natalia murmured.
"I know. Anyway, Olivia was there and, Ma, she handcuffed herself to the bar rail and started to shout 'Where is she?' and 'I know you know where she is'. Stuff like that."
"She? She who?"
Sitting next to his mother, he leaned closer and said, "You. I think she was referring to you." At his mother's confused expression, he went on. "See, at first I thought she was just kidding, but at one point I looked at her, right into her eyes, and I think at that point she was dead serious. Like maybe, for a brief moment, she lost it. Ya know what I mean?"
Nodding mutely, his mother got up and walked to the picture window, which looked out over the bench where she and Olivia sat almost every day. "Yes, I know how it is to lose yourself. It's one of the reasons I left. I had forgotten who I was... lost some of who I was... that's why finding out I was pregnant hit me so hard. Instead of a 36 year old woman, I was suddenly a frighten teenager again."
"I just wish you would have told me that, instead of just leaving."
"Everything just hit at once... the baby... facing you after the way I behaved when Daisy was pregnant… having to tell Olivia that, once again, we'd have to wait for there to be an us. It was just too much."
"So... you don't want to be with her?" Rafe asked, with a confused look on his face.
"Oh, no, Rafe, I love Olivia, and I plan on being with her. It's just that, at the time, so many emotions were bombarding me that I couldn't see a way that everything would work out. "
"But you can now?" If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he sounded hopeful.
"Yes. I know what I want. I want my family back. A big part of that is proving to Olivia that she can trust me again." Looking directly into her son's eyes, she continued. "And, I want you to be a part of that family. I know that may be a bit weird, but I would like for you to try."
"Ma, I want you to be happy, and I realize that Frank isn't the one that can do that. It was... hard... at first when I came back and saw you so happy with Olivia, but I think I get it now."
"You do?" Now it was her turn to be perplexed.
"Yeah, Gus will always be a part of you. I mean, he was your first love. But, at the same time, you can love someone else and be happy. Plus, Olivia and I have talked a bit, and she's not as…bad… as I thought."
Smiling Natalia cupped his chin, "You're definitely not a boy anymore. You've grown up."
"Well, hopefully, you'll still make this grownup his favorite peanut butter and banana sandwiches?" He asked hopefully.
"Si, mi amour." Getting up from the couch, she started towards the kitchen before turning back towards her son. "Rafe?"
"Yeah, Ma?" He stood up from the couch and walked towards her.
"I love you and I want you to know that I'm so sorry, Rafe, for leaving like I did. However, I hope you know that if Frank, and, Olivia, wouldn't have been here looking out for you, I never would have left. Although," She hastened to add, "I promise, I won't do anything like that again. Okay?"
At the nod of his head, she said one more thing. "And, I hope that you'll consider moving back here at some point."
"Let's take it one step at a time, okay?" He asked, before placing his arm around his mother's shoulders and walking with her into the kitchen.
Translations - Esta aqui? = Are you here?; Si = Yes; mi amour = my love; hijo = son
