Family Matters
"Guess what, guess what, guess what?! Guess why I'm so excited!" Tai jumped up and down.
"You won the lottery?" Joe asked.
"You are not the father after all?" Matt guessed.
"Hey, we're talking about me, not you!" Tai flicked him in the head.
"Oooh, is Catherine coming to visit?" Mimi gushed.
"I wish, but no. But something even better! Kari's gonna be here for two weeks!" Tai exclaimed.
"Oh my God, that's crazy!" Sora gasped.
"Unfortunately, she's bringing Davis along too," Tai huffed.
"What's wrong with Davis? We like Davis," TK said.
"Hey, I like the guy too. It's just that he's...," Tai paused.
"Son, you know Davis. I shouldn't have to explain. Do I?" Tai asked.
"Dad, I'm sitting here listening to your stories on my eighteenth birthday when I just really wanna get lit with my friends. You didn't even get me a car. Or a bottle of Patron. Which is messed up, considering how much times you've referenced a bar already," Tai's son said.
"I don't condone underage drinking, but fine...just once. I'll give you a small bottle as a present or reward, but don't tell your mom. Just let me finish telling my story," Tai said.
"I don't care! I'm just happy to see at least some of them come here!" Mimi gushed. "Hopefully I'll get to see the others soon! I miss Yolei especially!"
"Same, it would be nice to see everyone again. Maybe we should plan a get-together soon, like in the summer," Izzy said.
"Oh yeah? With what money? Japan's expensive as hell now!" Matt huffed.
"Okay, so we take time to plan and we save up. Easy! Even if we cut out a cup of coffee or two. Small changes," Izzy said.
"But what if we're already living paycheck to paycheck?" Sora asked.
"Really? That's what credit cards are for! I just pay all my bills with them and worry about them later! That's how I'll pay for my plane ticket too!" Mimi grinned.
"Oh my God, are you serious?" Tai gasped.
"What? Is that bad?" Mimi blinked.
"Not if you can pay everything off on time," Izzy said.
"Hey, I could come over and help organize your expenses so you better keep track of everything," Joe suggested.
"Wow! That would be great, Joe! Thank you!" Mimi said.
"It's not a problem. I'm glad to help," Joe said.
"Yeah, he'd be glad to help," Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, thank you so much, Joe...," Mimi winked.
"What's going on here? Did I miss something?" TK asked.
"No, not that I know of?" Izzy shrugged.
"I don't know what to do when Kari gets here! There's a bunch of stuff to do in the city and she's only here for two weeks," Tai grumbled.
"Maybe the first step is to clean your apartment?" Sora giggled.
"Hey! I keep my place clean, thank you very much!" Tai scoffed.
"But no harm in tidying up a bit. You do have a beer can pyramid in the corner of your living room," Izzy said.
"That you helped me contribute to," Tai pointed at him.
"Izzy! Is that true?" Matt gasped.
"Guilty as charged," Izzy shrugged.
"Never took you for a beer drinker," Mimi smirked.
"Never took you for a beer can pyramid builder," Sora quipped.
"What if I told you it was in the name of physics?" Izzy said.
"And what if we told you that was in the name of bullshit? All these years and you're really not any better than the rest of us," TK laughed.
"I never said I was better than you guys- did I?" Izzy gasped.
"You kinda implied it," Joe shrugged.
"I think the only mature one now here is Joe!" Tai said. "You hear that buddy? You have a lot of responsibility on your hands!"
"Great...story of my life," Joe groaned.
"Alright, I don't have much time to plan! They're gonna be here tomorrow afternoon! I need to get in crunch mode! Oh my God, what am I going to do? Everything has to be perfect!" Tai said.
"Hey, we can always take them to Little Italy. Davis loves food and they can meet Claudia," TK blushed.
"And Pino!" Mimi interjected.
"That's not a bad idea!" Sora said.
"Cool, that knocks down the first night, but we have 13 more days to go!" Tai heaved.
"It's okay, I think we'll be okay. Why don't we help clean your apartment?" TK asked.
"I should come along as well. I feel like I'm partially responsible for that," Izzy said.
"Are you serious?" Matt gasped.
"For once, I agree with Matt. Of course you're responsible. Get your ass up. Thank you for helping out, Teeks! Anyone else care to help?" Tai asked.
"No, not really," Mimi shook her head.
"I...I have to fix Mimi's expenses!" Joe said.
"Jerks. Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Tai said.
"Are they gone?" Matt subtly turned his head.
"Oh my God, why?" Sora groaned.
"I have a plan!" Matt grinned.
"I don't like when you smile like that. I've noticed that you usually say or do something creepy when you smile like that," Mimi frowned.
"No, I have a fun idea!" Matt smirked.
"Fun for who?" Joe gulped.
"Kari's coming over...you know what that means?" Matt grinned.
"Tai gets to see her again for the first time in a long time?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"No...," Matt said.
"Davis is joining her?" Mimi asked.
"Eh, but not what I'm getting at...okay. I was thinking we invite Claudia and Pino with us, and then randomly separate the groups in half and see if Davis and TK can tell the girls apart! How funny would that be?" Matt laughed.
"But what if TK grabs Kari's ass or tries to kiss her, thinking she's Claudia?" Mimi gasped.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Joe shook his head.
"Only you would come up with something so creepy!" Sora looked horrified.
"Hey, I just thought it would be funny! It's not like I was really going to do it!" Matt rolled his eyes.
"It would be kind of funny...," Mimi giggled.
"Don't entertain him," Sora sternly said.
"Come on, it was a joke! You guys are too serious!" Matt huffed.
"Impeccable, I think we deserve a nice cold one," Tai proudly looked at his apartment.
"You got any?" TK leaned on the couch.
"Yep! Catch!" Tai tossed a beer can at TK and Izzy. "We earned it, boys!"
"Cheers," Izzy chugged his can and placed it on the floor in the corner.
"What are you doing? Isn't that what what we literally came here to clean up?" TK sat up.
"I know, but there's just something weird about this corner- like something belongs here. Look," Izzy picked up the beer can and stepped away.
"Dang, he's right. Now the whole room looks weird," Tai made a face.
"Maybe we can just move a piece of furniture there?" TK suggested.
"Nothing fits," Tai shook his head.
"The only solution is to make another pyramid!" Izzy snapped his fingers.
"You're right!" Tai gasped.
"We still have some beer cans-" TK opened up a trash bag.
"No! We must use new beer. It's beer can pyramid law," Tai put his hand over TK's hand.
"Okay...," TK put the trash bag down. "New beer cans it is..."
"Konichiwa bitches! What's up?!"
"Hey Davis. It's good to see you," TK laughed and hugged him.
"Aww! Kari! I missed you so much! Don't ever leave again! I'll get a bigger apartment and you can stay there!" Tai squeezed Kari.
"I missed you too, Tai...," Kari wheezed.
"Oh wow, it's been so long since we've seen you!" Sora gushed.
"I know! It's definitely nice to see everyone!" Kari smiled. "We have some really exciting news for you guys, but first, we need to drop everything off at our hotel!"
"Hotel? What? I cleaned up my apartment for you guys!" Tai gasped.
"Well, Mom and Dad will be coming in next week, so there won't be room for everyone in your apartment," Kari said.
"What?! They're coming too?" Tai gasped.
"And so are my parents!" Davis asked.
"What's going on?" Joe asked.
"Yolei, Ken, and Cody are coming as well...," Kari grinned.
"Okay, seriously. What the hell is going on?" Matt asked.
"We're getting married!" Davis showed everyone Kari's hand.
"Oh my God! Congratulations!" everyone gasped.
"Oh my God! Kari, why didn't you tell me?!" Tai grabbed his chest.
"I wanted to surprise you! And I always wanted to get married in the most romantic city in the world," Kari sighed.
"You mean here?" Sora asked.
"I literally kicked a dead pigeon out of my path on the way to work today," Izzy grimaced.
"A homeless man tried to make eye contact with me while he was masturbating on the train...again," Matt frowned.
"Hey, was that the guy on the G train?" Mimi asked.
"Yep! That one," Matt nodded.
"Yes, as you can see, this is the most romantic city in the world!" Tai grinned.
"There's Rome, there's Paris...but you pick New York as the capital of romance?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"It's where Sex and the City takes place though," Kari shrugged.
"Oh boy," Joe made a face.
"So you guys hungry?" TK asked.
"We know where this is going," Matt smirked.
"I could definitely eat!" Davis patted his stomach.
"Awesome! I know a great place in Little Italy! And you can meet someone special too!" TK grinned.
"You can meet two someone specials!" Mimi grinned.
"Oh yeah, they're both seeing people. Isn't that adorable?" Matt mocked.
"Aww, that's nice!" Kari cooed.
"Let's go! I'm so excited for you to meet my new beau- well, we've only been on a couple of dates, but hopefully it leads somewhere more. He's such a gentleman!" Mimi grinned.
"Alright! You don't have to twist my arm! Lead me to the food!" Davis laughed.
"Hi, welcome to Il Pomodoro- oh, hey guys! How's it going?" Claudia beamed.
"Hey Claudia," TK went up and kissed her. "I want to introduce you to a couple of my friends. This is Kari, Tai's little sister and the girl everyone says is your twin!" TK said.
"What?" Kari and Claudia said in unison.
"Are you kidding me? She's gorgeous!" Claudia said.
"No! Stop! You're beautiful!" Kari gushed.
"You're too sweet! You're even prettier in person! You should have seen these guys though! They were swearing up and down that I was you, it was hilarious! It's such a compliment though, you really are gorgeous!" Claudia said.
"Hey, stop it. I'm getting jealous here...," TK winked.
"You're too sweet though! Thank you!" Kari said.
"Oh, and this is her fiance Davis! He's been a long-time buddy of mine! They're gonna finally tie the knot next week!" TK grinned.
"Congratulations!" Claudia gasped.
"We'd love it if you come! Save the date!" Kari said.
"Okay! I'll see what I can do! It gets busy at the restaurant, but it's a wedding! They'll have to understand!" Claudia said.
"Hey, is Pino here?" Mimi coyly asked.
"No, he's in Brooklyn today helping my pops out," Claudia shook her head.
"Oh...," Mimi said.
"I can give you the address, but my pops probably wouldn't be too thrilled to have everyone over unless you want to get taxes done or something," Claudia frowned.
"That's okay. We wouldn't want to distract Pino or upset your father," TK said.
"But we are definitely hungry! What's good here?" Davis asked.
"One of our popular entrees is the buffalo chicken pizza," Claudia shrugged.
"Let's get one of those!" Davis exclaimed.
"Coming right up," Claudia nodded.
"Uh...," TK paused.
"I put the order in. And this is for you," Claudia placed a large glass of milk in front of TK and kissed him on the cheek.
"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" Pino rushed inside.
"Pino!" Mimi smiled.
"This is my sister Kari, and her fiance Davis! Just showing them around town!" Tai said.
"Nice! Wish I could hang more, but just grabbing lunch for Claudia's dad. I hope it'll still be somewhat warm by the time I get back!" Pino rapidly said.
"The order's on the back counter," Claudia said.
"Thank you!" Pino dashed to the back.
"Claudia! You're going to have to change your plans after your lunch shift. Me and Tina want to go shopping," a petite, young-looking woman sashayed over to everyone, struggling to carry a toddler in her arms.
"But Mom! You said you'd take care of Giacomo today! I don't ask for much from you," Claudia sighed.
"Oh no...," Izzy hid behind everyone.
"What's wrong?" Tai asked.
"I hope I might be mistaken, but I think I went on a date with that woman before," Izzy gulped.
"Are you serious?" Mimi smiled.
"It was a dark time. I just recently moved here and I just wanted to settle in, okay?" Izzy whispered.
"You sure you went on a date with Theresa? As in Claudia's mom, Theresa?" Pino paused.
"I'm 85 percent positive I did," Izzy winced.
"Isn't this place amazing?" Theresa gushed.
"It is. Everything is good. I'm having a great time," Izzy sipped at his wine.
"Me too," Theresa moved from her seat and sat next to Izzy. "Here, open up," she fed him a piece of tiramisu.
"Thank you," Izzy said.
"Hold on, I have to call my husband. He thinks I'm in Jersey right now," Theresa gently squeezed Izzy's arm.
"Wait, what?" Izzy blinked.
"Yeah, didn't feel like watching my grandson. Also, I'm having a such a good time here with you, you're probably the best date I've ever been on!" Theresa smiled.
"Hold on! You're married? And have a grandson? Not that it matters, but exactly how old are you? I thought you were 25 at most," Izzy gasped.
"Oh you're so sweet! Just give me one minute," Theresa held up her finger and talked into her phone. "Hi honey, it's Terri!"
"Of course, something happens every time...," Izzy muttered as he gulped down the rest of his wine and poured another glass.
"That sounds like my mother," Claudia shot Theresa a dirty look.
"Oh, I remember you...," Theresa approached Izzy and stroked his jaw. "Isaiah?"
"It's Izzy," Izzy stiffened up.
"Why didn't you call me back? I thought we had a good time," Theresa pouted.
"You're married," Izzy said.
"Well, you didn't seem to care after we left the restaurant. You really know how to use that tongue," Theresa winked.
"Whoa, is that so?" Mimi smirked.
"Mom! That's gross!" Claudia gasped.
"What? He's a very good kisser," Theresa flirtatiously said.
"You made out with Claudia's mom?" TK gasped.
"Hey! I didn't know you guys back then! And I had literally moved into the city a week! And you have to admit Theresa looks pretty good for her age! Look at them, they look like they could be sisters!" Izzy protested.
"Yeah, it's pretty hard to age when all you do is go shopping and go on dates behind Dad's back!" Claudia yelled.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Izzy turned red.
"Don't worry about it, if it weren't you, it would be some other unsuspecting schmuck," Pino shook his head. "Oh my God, I really have to go! I should be out at three, so text me if you guys want to do anything!" Pino ran out the door.
"Hey, here's a suggestion! Maybe you should ask your baby father's family for help instead of trying to be Miss Independent! Cause news flash, it's taking a damn village to raise your retarded child!" Theresa yelled.
"Hey! And he wouldn't be deaf if someone was taking care of him properly that night instead of sneaking out the apartment like a damn teenager! When are you going to grow up, Mom?!" Claudia yelled.
"I didn't give birth to Giacomo, I shouldn't have to be responsible for him! You want help? Stop being stubborn and contact that Jimmy moron! I can't do this anymore!" Theresa shook her head and walked away.
"I'm sorry guys. I'm so embarrassed," Claudia sighed.
"You have a kid?" TK asked.
"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you later, it's just...," Claudia sighed.
"That's okay," TK bit his lip.
"I think you guys should go," Claudia shook her head.
"What? Don't be silly! We're still up for some num-nums and I heard this was a good spot! Besides, we're here for a real New York experience!" Davis patted his stomach.
"I mean, I don't think buffalo chicken pizza is exactly New York cuisine, but our pizzeria was featured in Time Out a couple of times, so let that speak for itself," Claudia turned red. "Hold on, it should be ready in a bit. I'll be right back."
"Wow... I have to say that whole thing was awkward, I kinda wanted to run away with Mimi's boyfriend too," Davis remarked.
"Davis!" Kari hissed.
"I can't believe she had a kid and she never told me...," TK shook his head.
"You know what I can't believe? That Izzy made out with Claudia's mom," Matt heckled.
"Matt...," Izzy groaned.
"Hey, is that all you did, or did you guys go further? Cause I'd kinda tap that too. I don't care if she's a grandma, she's still got it," Matt nodded.
"Oh my God," Izzy put his head down.
"Oooh, did you?" Sora gasped.
"Oh my God, TK...watch it, Izzy's gonna be your father-in-law," Matt smirked.
"Will you knock it off?" Tai flicked Matt in the head.
"Thank you, Tai!" Izzy sighed.
"Yeah, as far as I know, you can't be married to more than one person in this state, so unless Claudia's mom gets a divorce, it ain't gonna happen," Tai said.
"Hahahah," everyone, except Izzy, Kari, and TK burst into laughter.
"Guys, this isn't funny," Izzy groaned.
"Seriously, did you sleep with her?" Mimi grinned.
"I don't really remember... I drank a lot of wine after she called her husband. I just wanted to erase everything," Izzy turned red. "And like I said, I didn't know that was Claudia's mom, I didn't know Claudia or Pino back then!"
"That is hilarious! Six million people in the city, and this is what happens. And you don't even remember," Sora shook her head.
"Here's your pizza! Do you guys need anything else?" Claudia asked.
"I'm sorry about your mom! I swear, I didn't know it was her or that she was married! Heck, I don't even know if I slept with her! I'm sorry about everything!" Izzy blurted.
"About that, I'll be right back...," Claudia said.
"Oh no, what did I do?" Izzy's eyes grew.
"Here," Claudia came back with a small pizza box and handed it to Izzy. "Don't take it personally, I just find you extremely disgusting right now. You need to leave. Everyone else can stay, but you have to go."
"Fair enough. I'm not really liking myself too much right now," Izzy sighed.
"Just go," Claudia shook her head disapprovingly.
"I'm leaving," Izzy packed up his box and awkwardly left.
"We're really sorry about everything. Just everything," TK's face turned red.
"You don't have to apologize. This is all my mother's work," Claudia groaned.
"You sound like you need a day off. You should join us for some sightseeing today. We'd like that very much," Kari said.
"That would be great, but I can't. I don't have anyone to take care of baby Jack," Claudia said.
"Come on! I can take care of him!" Mimi volunteered.
"I don't know about...," Claudia paused.
"I'll help watch over! I'm a doctor-in-training!" Joe cut in.
"Is a chiropractor really a doctor though?" Matt muttered.
"Are you sure?" Claudia asked.
"Yeah! You and TK have a good time!" Mimi beamed.
"Thank you! My shift ends in another half-hour, so that would be great! Thank you so much guys!" Claudia sighed.
*buzz buzz*
"Hello?" Izzy picked up his phone.
"Hey Izzy...," Tai said.
"What's up?" Izzy said.
"So, Claudia's gonna be joining us on our sightseeing tour, so would you mind just staying home or something?" Tai awkwardly said.
"Are you freaking serious?" Izzy asked. "I had to eat lunch by myself!"
"No one told you to go out with Claudia's mom!" Tai hissed.
"I didn't know it was her mom at the time!" Izzy huffed. "And great, I'm getting weird looks on the subway!"
"Hey, well yeah... it's just for one day!" Tai said.
"Great, so everyone's gonna have a good time without me! Sounds like the norm, right?" Izzy huffed.
"Not necessarily. Joe and Mimi offered to take care of her kid so she could even go out," Tai said.
"Jesus freaking Christ on a cracker! Are you serious? Who let that happen?!" Izzy groaned.
"Hey, that's why Joe volunteered! I wouldn't trust Mimi alone with a kid either!" Tai scoffed.
"So you leave her with the most neurotic one in the group? That's some real smart thinking, Tai! Where's the address? Do I have to do everything myself?" Izzy groaned.
"Oh my God, you and Sora sound too much alike. Is this like a redhead thing?" Tai said.
"TAI!" Izzy barked.
"Okay, okay, let me get it!" Tai said.
"You know, it's so funny! I've lived in Manhattan my entire life but I've only been to Times Square maybe like 3 times! Complete tourist trap!" Claudia said as she looked at her surroundings.
"And yet, look at you," TK smirked.
"Sorry, it's just so weird to picture that I'm not that far off from where all the morning news programs are filmed. And I still find it hard to imagine people live and work here too," Claudia said.
"Hey! Let's go on those horses!" Davis pointed at the carriages waiting at the sidewalks.
"Ooh, I've never done one of those before!" Sora sighed.
"Hey Mister! We'd like to rent three carriages! One for this lovely couple right here," Matt shoved Davis and Claudia into a buggy. "One for this adorable pair," Matt pulled TK and Kari into another carriage. "And the rest of us will share another one!"
"As you wish," the man said.
"But-" Davis said.
"Climb on in!" the man said.
"Okay?" Davis made a face.
"Have a good time, everyone!" Matt grinned.
"Soooo, I think they might have mixed you and Claudia up," TK nodded.
"That's what it looks like," Kari giggled. "As beautiful as she is, I'm quite offended. How can Matt not tell me apart from a complete stranger?"
"Hey, maybe you should visit more often!" TK smirked.
"Touche!" Kari playfully shoved into TK.
"So you and Davis? Never saw that coming!" TK said.
"Neither did I, to be honest, but it's that a bad thing? Sometimes it takes you a long time to realize that what you've been looking for had been right there all along. Hopefully you just realize it before it's too late, and luckily I did. I'm so lucky, I just don't want to let go," Kari giggled.
"That's really nice. I'm really happy for you guys. Especially for Davis," TK nodded.
"Especially for Davis?" Kari smirked.
"Heck yeah! My buddy finally got the girl of his dreams! You better not break his heart!" TK poked her in the arm.
"Hey, what about me? We've been friends since we were like two!" Kari gasped.
"Fine! Don't break each other's hearts!" TK said.
"Much better!" Kari said.
"So... You're TK's girlfriend, right?" Davis awkwardly said.
"Yeah, but you can call me Claudia for short," Claudia smirked.
"I don't get it, I don't think you look like Kari. I mean you both have short brown hair, the same eyes, the same small nose, but you don't look alike, if that makes sense?" Davis shook his head.
"Maybe it's a test! Maybe they want to see if you boys can tell me and Kari apart," Claudia smirked.
"Why would they do that? That's mean," Davis frowned.
"You never know...you wanna play a prank though?" Claudia flashed a devious smile.
"What are you thinking?" Davis raised an eyebrow.
"Hold on, let me call TK. I'll put him on speaker," Claudia pulled out her phone.
"So, are you guys a throuple?" the horseman asked.
"What?" Sora asked.
"A throuple, you know? A menage-a-trois? A threesome?" the horseman asked.
"We're three people who are sharing a carriage," Tai firmly said.
"Oh, I apologize. It just seems like there's something going on between the three of you and I don't see much of that, especially in public. It's refreshing. I mean, why is it so taboo? I have so much love to give, why should anymore have to be ashamed of that?" the horseman said.
"I feel the same way! But noooo, people always want you to themselves, and I'm not that kind of person!" Matt shook his head.
"He calls it love, I call it STDs," Tai whispered to Sora.
"So hold on, you're seriously all just friends?" the horseman asked.
"Just friends, nothing more!" Sora blurted.
"Lady calls the shots," the horseman whistled.
"Hey, oh my God! Is that Davis and Claudia?" Matt interrupted.
"Hold on," Tai peered back at the other carriage. "Yep, that's Claudia! He just kissed the top of her head! I knew it! I don't think that moron should marry my baby sister if he can't even tell her apart!"
"Hey, you couldn't tell your sister apart from Claudia either," Sora pointed out.
"But I'm not gonna marry her!" Tai said.
"TK's looking pretty chummy with Kari himself," Matt said.
"Oh no, what did you guys do? You're gonna break up an engagement!" Sora gasped.
"Rightfully so! Davis is too stupid for Kari! She deserves better than that," Tai said.
"Oh my God, how dare you? Davis is a great guy! He's loyal and a hard worker, and I'll take that over someone 'smart' any day! Besides, you don't have any room to be talking smarts, Mr. Hot Shot!" Sora pressed her lips together.
"Yo Tai, you really crossed the line right there. That's just wrong, and you know it. I know you want Kari to have the best, but you really gotta bash Davis? He's an upstanding dude, you know that! I thought you liked the guy." Matt said.
"I do. I know but...why Kari?" Tai groaned.
"No one's gonna be good enough for her, are they?" Sora said.
"I think I get it. For example, if I were to be completely honest with you, I don't care for Claudia," Matt said.
"What? But she's a nice girl," Tai said.
"Yeah, she's cute, she's smart, nice, and she's always working, but there's just something about her that I don't like. I feel like she's too secretive. And I was right! I don't really like that she hid the fact that she had a kid from him," Matt said.
"Can you blame her? She's a young mother, and she's probably had bad experiences in the past. She probably wanted to wait and see if she could trust TK before she told him," Sora said.
"And how long would that take? Look, if you can hide something that huge, imagine the smaller things you can hide! I'm sorry, but I don't like girls who lie," Matt said.
"But you lie all the time to get girls to sleep with you," Tai said.
"But that's different! I don't plan to see these girls ever again! This is someone that you're seeing repeatedly, over and over again, having a meaningful, or supposedly meaningfully relationship with- and this is how you're starting off?" Matt shook his head. "He deserves better than that. If Theresa can be honest with Izzy, Claudia should have been honest with TK."
"Yeah, but because Theresa was honest from the start, Izzy's not seeing her now," Sora said.
*knock knock* Izzy tapped on the door.
"Who is it?!"
"It's Izzy," Izzy put his hands in his pocket.
"Coming!"
*click click*
"Hey there," Theresa pulled him by his jacket and took him inside. "What a lovely surprise!"
"Uh, are Mimi and Joe here?" Izzy gulped.
"Oh, you're here to take care of the kid, huh?" Theresa pouted.
"Yes," Izzy groaned.
"They're in the living room," Theresa sighed.
"Hey, I have a question to ask you," Izzy took a deep breath in.
"What is it?" Theresa coyly smiled.
"After the restaurant, did we...do other things?" Izzy bit his lip.
"Depends what you mean by other things," Theresa winked.
"Never mind, forget I asked...," Izzy shook his head.
"I don't blame you for not remembering every detail. We had a lot of wine that night. Did you know wine is an aphrodisiac? By the way, would you like a glass?" Theresa pulled out a bottle from the kitchen cabinet.
"N-n-no thank you," Izzy shook his head.
"Okay, fine. I'll put it back. I don't like drinking alone, only alcoholics do that. I think I'll have a Popsicle instead. I like cherry a lot. Kind of reminds me of your hair, actually," Theresa quickly ruffled Izzy's hair and went into the freezer. "Do you want one?"
"No thank you," Izzy shook his head.
"They're so good...," Theresa slowly licked at her frozen treat.
"Well, you enjoy that... I'm going to check on everyone else," Izzy left the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with Theresa.
"Hey, is that a sausage in your pocket or are you happy to see us?" Mimi grinned.
"What?" Izzy looked down.
"Just kidding! We heard Claudia's mom in the kitchen so we thought you got turned on," Mimi teased.
"Mimi, not in front of the child!" Joe gasped.
"What? It's deaf, it can't hear me!" Mimi looked shocked.
"The gang told me you guys were babysitting so I came here to make sure you were okay," Izzy said.
"That's so nice of you, but you really didn't have to! We're doing just fine," Mimi said.
"Just fine," Joe sharply said.
"Oh yeah? Did you guys feed or change the kid yet?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh...," Mimi and Joe looked at each other.
"Nose goes! That means you have to change him! Sorry, Joe" Mimi touched her nose.
"This is awful," Joe grimaced.
"Hey, you signed up for the job! You should have known what you were getting into. It's a good thing I came by," Izzy crossed his arms.
"Face it, you're here because Claudia didn't you around and you're lonely," Mimi smirked.
"Oh? You're lonely?" Theresa snuck up behind Izzy.
"I'm doing just fine," Izzy said.
"Come on. Have a drink with. All of you guys! I'll break out the wine!" Theresa said.
"I don't think that's a good...oh, she brought the wine," Joe said.
"I was just finishing telling Izzy here that wine is an aphrodisiac until he rudely decided to walk away and come here," Theresa poured four glasses of wine.
"What's that mean?" Mimi asked.
"Like a food or drink that can make ya horny," Theresa stroked Izzy's cheek. "But a small amount won't kill you."
"Thanks!" Mimi drank her wine.
"Uh, thank you," Joe looked at Mimi and then took a small sip at his wine.
"Come on, drink," Theresa held a glass up to Izzy's mouth.
"I'm okay," Izzy said.
"You're the only one not drinking. That's bad luck you know," Theresa whined.
"Is it?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"It's just one glass!" Mimi slurped away.
"Fine," Izzy sighed.
"Wow! I'm just taken away by everything," Claudia said in awe.
"Isn't she the cutest?" Davis grinned.
"Yeah...," Matt whistled.
"This is weird. We can't let them go on like this long enough. Next thing we'll know, Claudia's gonna be shipped off to Japan in a place where she knows no one at all!" Sora whispered.
"Come on, it won't get that far!" Tai bit his lip.
"Oh honey, you got some mustard on your lip. Let me get that off from you," Claudia brought her face closer to Davis's.
"Stop, stop, stop! Are you serious?! You were gonna kiss Davis?" Matt barked.
"What's wrong? You don't like the idea of Kari and Davis together?" TK asked.
"No! I don't like the idea of your girlfriend making a move on an engaged man! I knew there was something about her!" Matt said.
"What?!" Claudia backed away.
"Hey! Serves you right for trying to play a switcheroo on us! You really think we're that dumb?" TK asked.
"That's a really mean trick guys!" Kari frowned.
"Hold on! What do you mean there's 'something about me'?" Claudia crossed her arms.
"Oh Jesus," Sora groaned.
"I think I want to go home now. I'm sorry," Claudia sighed. "It was nice meeting you, Davis and Kari. Congratulations on your wedding."
"Thank you," Davis and Kari nodded. "Have a good night."
"I'll take her home. I'll see you guys later," TK said.
"I can get home by myself. I don't need you," Claudia began to walk fast.
"Don't be silly! I want to be with you!" TK grabbed her wrist.
"TK! I have a kid, and a mother who looks better than me, and when I'm not in school, I'm at the pizzeria! I don't think I can do this," Claudia's eyes began to water.
"Come on, I don't care about that!" TK said.
"I don't think you fully understand," Claudia shook her head.
"We'll get through this together. Let's get home now," TK held her hand and they went to the subway.
"Pino, you're here!" Mimi jumped into Pino's arms and gave him a kiss on the lips.
"Oh wow, don't you taste like a bottle of wine?" Pino brushed Mimi's hair out of her face and placed her back on the couch. "How's everyone doing?"
"Theresa gave everyone wine. She had three glasses," Joe looked at Mimi, "so I've been taking care of the baby alone.
"You didn't drink anything?" Pino asked.
"I had a couple of sips to keep Theresa happy, but then she broke out the box," Joe sighed.
"She broke out the boxed wine? Who else is here?" Pino asked.
"I feel like I made a mistake," Izzy shuffled out of a room in only his boxers.
"Oh my God," Mimi giggled.
"Oh my God, Mr. Rosa is going to kill him if he sees him," Pino gasped.
"Did we forget to mention Claudia kicked him out of the restaurant shortly after you left?" Joe said.
"She did? Wow! I don't know why she got so upset, she knows Theresa sleeps around behind her father's back. Nothing new," Pino shook her head.
"But has Claudia ever run across any of those men?" Joe asked.
"Point," Pino nodded. "We need to get him out of here before either Claudia or her dad see him!"
"Hahahaha, did Izzy sleep with Theresa?" Mimi giggled.
"We're gonna have to get rid of her too. She's too loud and I don't think Claude will be happy with the fact that Mimi got drunk when she was supposed to be taking care of baby Jack," Pino shook his head.
"I don't understand, why would you guys do such a thing in the first place?" Davis sighed.
"Hey, we thought it was going to be harmless. We thought that Claudia was Kari for the longest time, we were just wondering if you would fall under it like we would," Tai said.
"Well, we didn't think it was funny," Kari pouted. "That's really immature of you guys. And I'm really surprised that you didn't do anything to stop it, Sora!"
"What? What was I supposed to do? The guys are just shoving you every which way!" Sora gasped.
"Look, we're sorry! Can we not fight about this anymore? We messed up big time!" Tai groaned. "I'm sorry, this is definitely not how I wanted to spend your first day in the city. Everything was just really messed up! I wanted it to be perfect and fun!"
"Hey, maybe that's the problem! Nothing works the way you want it to here! That's New York in a nutshell! The trains never run on time, that Korean deli used to be a Jewish bagel shop a week ago, and you never know if you'll be able to afford your apartment next month because your shithole neighborhood in Brooklyn might be the next hipster haven by then. You can't plan things here!" Matt said.
"I really hope that's not the case. Rent is expensive as it is," Sora shook her head.
"I guess it's a good thing we're only here for vacation then," Kari said.
"You know what? Why don't you show us what YOUR New York is like? What do you guys really do?" Davis asked.
"I thought you'd never ask. Let's visit or favorite watering hole! I'll text everyone else if they want to join!" Tai said.
"Yay! We're going to experience the real New York!" Davis grinned.
"You guys are no fun," Theresa whined.
"Hey, you want Jerry to piss off on you? You should really be ashamed of yourself, Mrs. Rosa. Come on, Izzy. We have to get you out of here...," Pino lifted Izzy on his shoulder and left the bedroom.
"I feel like I did something bad," Izzy groaned.
"You were a really bad boy," Theresa winked.
"THERESA!" Pino yelled.
"Alright Joey pal, I'm taking Mimi and Izzy home. If anyone asks anything, Mimi got sick. Not drunk. And Izzy was never here, got it?" Pino pulled Mimi up from the couch.
"Me and Izzy were drunk but it's a secret!" Mimi hiccuped.
"Alrighty, we're leaving!" Pino shook his head.
"This is great," Joe held the baby at arm's length. "All this to impress some girl and she leaves drunk with two other guys."
"You like that girl?" Theresa raised an eyebrow.
"Uh...," Joe turned red.
"Hey, don't pretend like you didn't say anything. I heard you. By the way, you're wasting your time. She's not interested in you," Theresa said matter-of-factly.
"I know, I know...she likes Pino," Joe groaned.
"Nope. You ask me, she don't like him either," she grabbed a bowl of cherries and began eating them.
"What?" Joe asked.
"You ask me, she likes someone else," Theresa waved a cherry stem in the air.
"Who?" Joe asked.
"I dunno. It's not like I know all your little friends," Theresa scoffed and walked to the kitchen.
"Hey, we're home," TK said.
"How'd you guys do?" Claudia asked.
"Mimi...she got sick, so I was here by myself," Joe fibbed.
"Thank you so much for staying," Claudia smiled. "Hi baby! Mommy's back!"
"Thanks Joe. We really appreciate it," TK said.
"No problem," Joe asked.
"Uh... whose is this?" Claudia held up a jacket. "MOM!"
"Uh-oh...," Joe muttered.
"What happened?" TK asked.
"Izzy...stopped by. He only came to check up on us, but then Theresa gave us wine and he got really drunk and I think they hooked up. Don't tell Claudia, especially since I don't think Izzy even knows he slept with Theresa just yet," Joe bit his lip.
"What?!" Theresa huffed.
"Are you serious?! In this house?! What about Dad?! How can you be so disrespectful enough to bring that here?!" Claudia waved the jacket in the air.
"Hey! Your father doesn't do anything for me anymore! He just goes to work and then comes home and bitches at me to make him dinner!" Theresa yelled.
"Hey! I was looking for that everywhere! I guess Mimi took it!" TK jumped in.
"Why would Mimi take your jacket?" Claudia raised an eyebrow.
"She takes our clothes when she doesn't want to ruin her own," Joe said.
"Oh. That's not very nice of her," Claudia said.
"Yeah. That's Mimi for you. Anyways, we gotta go!" TK grabbed the jacket and kissed Claudia.
"Have a good night," Joe said.
"You too. Goodnight," Claudia kissed TK.
"Hey guys, I see you introduced Davis and Kari to our spot," TK nodded.
"So you guys meet up here every day after work?" Kari asked.
"We try. Sometimes we come here more than once a day," Sora said.
"Where's Izzy and Mimi?" Tai asked.
"Pino took them home. I think it's best they decided to call it a night," TK said.
"What happened?" Matt smirked.
"Mimi and I were supposed to take care of Claudia's kid together and Izzy stops by because he probably thinks we're not capable of taking care of a kid- anyways, Theresa sees that he's here so she tries to give us a bunch of wine, which Mimi and Izzy end up drinking. Mimi gets too drunk to function, and Theresa lures Izzy into her bedroom so I get to hear giggling and *boom boom boom* from all over the apartment for several hours," Joe groaned.
"Ew," Sora made a face.
"Aww, Izzy banged Claudia's mom?" Matt smirked.
"Don't tell Claudia! Pino said it was a bad idea, and I'll take his word for it," Joe said.
"Yeah, she seemed pretty upset from earlier," Davis frowned. "I can't imagine how she'd react if she found out he went back for seconds..."
"Davis!" Kari gasped.
"Oh we missed you, pal," Tai chuckled.
"Hey, where's your keys?" Pino asked Mimi.
"They're inside!" Mimi giggled.
"Okay, Mimi. You're funny, but seriously, where are your keys?" Pino sighed.
"They probably really are inside...," Izzy heaved.
"What?" Pino gasped.
"She probably assumed that she was going to be with Sora all day, so she didn't bring her set of keys," Izzy groaned.
"Oh, it's like you know me so well!" Mimi gushed.
"Are you serious right now?" Pino gasped.
"We're like Will and Grace! Except we're both straight and hopefully less pathetic?" Mimi hiccuped.
"I'm not comfortable with this," Pino frowned.
"Neither am I," Izzy said. "She obviously doesn't have her keys, can we go outside? I have to...puke."
"Let's go. You're not puking on me," Pino shook his head and led the two drunkards outside.
"Thank you," Izzy ran to an alleyway.
"Will and Grace?" Pino asked.
"What? What's wrong with that? I like you!" Mimi giggled.
"Never mind," Pino steadied Mimi.
"I'm good. Thank you," Izzy nodded.
"You're welcome. By any chance, you have your keys?" Pino asked.
"Yeah, here!" Izzy pulled out his keys.
"Awesome. I'll hold on to these for now. I guess you two are just gonna have to sleepover," Pino took them.
"Yay, sleepover!" Mimi squealed.
"Ugh," Pino sighed.
The next day...
"Oh no...what the heck? What am I doing here?" Mimi gasped. She got up from the bed and searched for her phone. "Pino, pick up!"
"I see you woke up," Pino entered the room and sat on the bed next to Mimi.
"Oh my gosh! It's you, it's really you!" Mimi touched his face. "For a second, I thought I cheated-"
"Mimi, about that...we're going to have to talk," Pino put his hand over her hand.
"What? Did I do something?" Mimi gasped.
"Let's get freshened up, and we'll grab something to eat," Pino softly brushed Mimi's hair out of her face and kissed the top of her forehead.
"Okay," Mimi bit her lip.
Meanwhile...
"Claudia? What are you doing here?" TK asked.
"I wanted to tell you something before I go, but I wanted to do it in person," Claudia said.
"Wait, what? Go where? And what?" TK raised an eyebrow.
"I only have a couple of minutes, so I have to be quick. I'm sorry," Claudia said.