Second Meet Up
"Why aren't we meeting him at the park?" Jessica asked with confusion as AJ helped her down out of the car. Tuesday had very quickly come around and after AJ picked Jessica up from her track practise, she was meeting Punk at a coffee shop.
"It's too late to go to the park. It's getting dark out." AJ told her.
"But there's street lights." Jessica put her hands up.
"You can get a hot chocolate in here. We'll go to the park another time." AJ nodded to her as Jessica just shrugged and sighed, "How can you have the energy to go to the park after spending an hour running?" She shook her head, amazed at how someone so little had so much energy.
"Mommy, I had two Capri-Suns today, that's why I have energy." Jessica told her, holding her mother's hand whilst AJ closed the car door over, "Hey, why are you bringing my bag in?" She wondered.
"In case you wanna do your homework." AJ said.
"Oh." Jessica nodded, "Do you think he'll have another present for me?" Jessica looked up at her mother as they approached the coffee shop.
"Jessica." AJ shook her head.
"Cami said he gives really good presents." Jessica told her as AJ opened up the door to the pretty much empty coffee shop beside a man in the corner with his laptop and an elderly lady sat reading a book.
She looked over and saw Punk sitting at the corner table, looking like he was setting up a new phone, "There he is." Jessica whispered to AJ.
"I know." AJ laughed, "Go on." She smiled as Jessica skipped her way over to the table whilst AJ followed. It was nice to see Jessica excited to see Punk again. She and Punk of course had their differences but she always wanted to see her daughter happy with him, and vice versa.
"Hello." Jessica exclaimed as Punk jumped a little and looked up, not even noticing them come in.
"Oh, hi." Punk smiled, noticing her in her running shorts and a hoodie that was way too big for her, "Did you run here?" Punk teased.
"No, we drove. Mommy drove." Jessica told him, climbing onto the chair across from him as AJ approached the table.
"Hey." AJ nodded to him.
"Hi." Punk nodded to her briefly, watching her sit down beside Jessica, "Got you the usual." He said to AJ, "And someone told me you like hot chocolate so." He nodded to Jessica.
"You know too much about me." Jessica concluded as Punk laughed and nodded.
"I uh… I don't drink coffee anymore." AJ shook her head as Punk looked at her.
"Right." Punk nodded slowly, "I can get you a soda or something-"
"I have a water in my bag, it's ok." AJ nodded to him.
"Mommy doesn't drink coffee anymore because she says it makes her worry." Jessica spilled as AJ rolled her eyes.
"And I… am gonna stop telling you secrets." AJ shook her head, "Be careful with that, it'll be warm." She nodded as Jessica lifted up the small hot chocolate.
"Makes you worry?" Punk shook his head.
"Yeah just… trying to stay away from caffeine." AJ nodded to him as Punk just nodded. He was constantly reminded, even just by little things, that he had missed out on a lot of not only his daughter's life, but also his ex, "New phone?" She smiled.
"Oh, yeah. I'm trying to… set it up." He nodded, "The girl at the shop offered to do it but I thought it'd be simple enough… I was possibly wrong." He nodded.
"Do you want me to take a look?" She asked him. She tended to be a lot better than him with gadgets and appliances. Probably because she had a lot more patience.
"Go on then." Punk nodded to her, turning to Jessica who had cream on her top lip, causing him to smile, "You might wanna…" He wiped his own lip to show Jessica.
"Oh." Jessica realised, wiping her mouth, "What are you having?" She knelt up on her chair, curiously looking over into his mug, "Is that coffee?"
"Yeah." Punk nodded.
"Is that your favourite?" Jessica asked him.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Punk said, "Were you at your track practise?" He asked her whilst AJ fiddled around with the new phone, letting Punk and Jessica talk.
"Yeah, I was." Jessica nodded, sitting back down flat on her bottom, swinging her legs back and forth, "This is my hoodie for my club." She explained to him.
"It's… a little big." Punk said, turning to AJ who just eyed him and then turned back to the phone.
"They had no extra smalls left." Jessica shrugged, "I like it. Do you like it? It has my name on the back." She said, shuffling around so he could see.
"Your name isn't Jess." Punk said.
"It's more expensive for more letters." AJ added in, "And… no one calls her Jessica." She cared to tell him, having noticed that he adamantly continued to call her Jessica. It wasn't an issue, but he really was the only one who called her it.
"I call her Jessica." Punk nodded to AJ.
"What's your name?" Jessica asked Punk.
"Phil." Punk said, "Well my name is Phillip but… Phil is fine… you don't need to worry about that, though-"
"I'm gonna call you Phillip." Jessica grinned.
"You're gonna call him daddy." AJ told Jessica who just scoffed and turned back to her hot chocolate, "Do you want your homework out?" AJ asked her.
"Yeah, I guess." Jessica nodded, sliding her drink to the side whilst AJ passed her bookbag to her.
"What homework you got?" Punk asked her. There was obviously more talking involved since Jessica was sat permanently at the table, and it wasn't as terrifying or awkward as he thought. She was pretty chilled out and easy-going.
"Uh… I don't know." Jessica said, "Maybe I have math stuff." She shrugged, throwing her pencil case out on the table with some books as AJ looked over, spotting Jessica's lunch still in her bag.
"Jessica." AJ said as Jessica turned to her, "Is that your lunch in there?" She asked as Punk looked on.
"I wasn't hungry today." Jessica explained quietly.
"Baby, that's your full lunch. Why aren't you eating?" AJ shook her head.
"I just wasn't hungry." Jessica shrugged, quickly zipping up her bag, as if it wouldn't exist if her mother could no longer see it, dropping her bag at her feet and turning back to her homework.
"We went to the store and you picked things you wanted." AJ said.
"I did eat my banana." She told her, "And I had a lot of dinner." She explained to her mother whilst Punk watched the conversation play out, "I have math homework and I need to concentrate." She told her mother so she would stop getting on at her as AJ just shook her head.
"Can I take a look?" Punk asked her as Jessica nodded, sliding her notebook over to him as he looked at the very simple sums on the page, "These are hard." Punk scratched his head as AJ smiled to herself, "Man, you're gonna need to do them, I got nothing." Punk said, sliding the book bag as Jessica smiled.
"Here you go." AJ nodded, putting the phone together and turning it on, "And I… put my number in too." She told him, sliding it over to him.
"Oh, thanks." Punk raised his eyebrows, taking the phone from her.
"Cami told me that you were looking at apartments around here." AJ said.
"Yeah, I uh… I actually got one. Just a few blocks down." He nodded.
"Oh, really?" AJ raised her eyebrows, "You're… you're moving fast." She nodded.
"I gotta put my mind to it." He nodded, "I'm gonna look for another job too." He told her.
"Fitness centre not working out for you?" She asked him.
"No, it's not that. I just… I like the work and the people there are great but…it's just not me. I don't know, maybe I'll never get used to… not being a cop." He shook his head as Jessica gasped and looked up at him.
"You were a mister police man too?" Jessica asked him, "That's what Jamie is." She nodded.
"Mhm." Punk said, "Yeah, I was. Not anymore though." Punk said as Jessica frowned and turned back to her book.
"I don't like the police house." She said whilst filling in the homework questions.
"The police house?" Punk shook his head.
"The station." AJ translated for him as Punk nodded slowly.
"Why not?" Punk asked.
"Everyone looks at me." Jessica said as Punk turned to AJ who just shook her head, "I always think I've spilled something on my t-shirt." She admitted cutely as Punk smiled, "It's rude to stare. I only like Joan."
"Joan still works there?" Punk turned to AJ who nodded, "Hey, kid don't pay attention to those people." He shook his head.
"I don't." Jessica said, "But I still don't like it." She shook her head, "And Jamie always takes me even when I ask him not to." She said as Punk narrowed his brows and turned to AJ.
"Why is he taking her there?" Punk shook his head quietly to AJ.
"Sometimes he has to swing by." AJ said, "And if he has no one else to watch her, he… he can't do anything about it." AJ nodded, "He doesn't do it often." She said as Punk just looked at Jessica and sighed. He obviously knew the reason why they stared at Jessica so much, and it annoyed him that the things he had done, was affecting her life.
"You been working lately?" Punk asked her.
"Off and on. I try and take the little cases, so I can still be there for Jess." AJ said as Punk nodded.
"Doesn't sound like the April I know." He admitted bluntly as AJ looked across at him.
"Yeah well-being a single parent you have to start changing your ways a little." AJ said bitterly as Punk stared at her.
"You're not single." Punk said as AJ stayed quiet.
"Well I was, and I had to change things so I could be there." AJ said as Punk just put his hands up and nodded.
"I'm just saying… I know you loved your job, maybe now I'm here you could get back into it more, take on the bigger cases again." He shrugged.
"Yeah, maybe." AJ said as Punk looked on at Jessica.
"Do you get a lot of homework?" Punk asked her.
"Some. Not a lot." Jessica shrugged.
"What's your favourite subject? Do you like this math stuff?" He asked her.
"No, not really. I like reading time." She explained, "We get to choose a book and sit on the bean bags and read. We only do that on Thursdays and Fridays though." She said.
"So you like reading?" Punk nodded.
"Yeah, as long as I'm not too tired. Then I get mommy to read to me." She said as Punk nodded.
"When are you moving into your apartment then?" AJ asked him curiously.
"In a couple of days." Punk nodded, "And then… I'm gonna look into other jobs. I'm trying to figure out if there's anything close to a cop I can do which… doesn't require me not having a criminal record." He said.
"Good luck with that." AJ said as Punk nodded, not very hopeful about it either, "I uh… I wanted to say that if you need help with money. I'm aware that you had a lot and… gave it all to me through the divorce so… I feel like it's still your money-"
"It's yours. For you and Jessica." Punk nodded, "I'm fine." He assured her as AJ just nodded.
"Well I'm just saying… if you need any help with anything." AJ made clear.
"Well thanks but… I've got an income so I'm good for now." He nodded as AJ watched him turn back to watch Jessica, smiling at her as she continued to do her homework.
"How is your health?" AJ asked him as Punk turned back to her, "Staying clear of hernia's?" She asked him.
"Trying to." Punk nodded, "My health is fine." He nodded to her, "How is yours?" He asked her as she nodded.
"I'm fine." She nodded briefly as he just smiled back, "I guess we'll just keep doing this until… until Jess is fine to go on her own with you, which don't be bummed out if it… if it takes a little while."
"Hey, as long as I get to see her, I don't care who else has to come along." Punk made clear as AJ smiled and nodded.
"Well I'm glad you've got a place of your own and you're working on the job thing… I don't imagine it's been easy getting out of prison." She said.
"No, it wasn't." Punk assured her, "But I'm not taking things for granted anymore." He said. She could definitely see he was a lot more humble and appreciative, not that he wasn't before. She assumed that being in prison with little to no life anymore had really made him appreciate life on a whole new level, and in a way it made her sad that he'd had to go through this journey.
"I'm finished." Jessica exclaimed, quickly packing up her notebooks and tossing everything back in her bookbag.
"Hey, why don't you and daddy go pick a cake to have before we go?" AJ said, taking her wallet out and extending some money to Jessica who took it and nodded.
"Come on then." Jessica nodded to Punk, getting off her chair as AJ smiled, watching as Punk stood up and walked around the table, she then smiled as Jessica took his hand and lead him down to the counter. She knew that would mean the world to him.
Punk and Jessica shared a muffin and they stayed a little while longer until leaving the coffee shop which Punk walked them to the car, getting another hug goodbye from Jessica before AJ helped her in and shut the door over.
"So I guess I'll text you on your phone then." AJ said as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so." Punk said, "Whenever you're free again, or I guess whenever Jessica is free. I know she's a busy woman." He teased as AJ smiled and nodded, "I'm doing ok, right?" He asked her as AJ looked at him with confusion.
"What do you mean?" AJ asked.
"Well… I never really was a dad, I was with her for a few months and she was a baby then… I don't know what I'm doing here… you clearly do, I just wanna make sure I'm doing and saying the right things, I wouldn't be offended if you said I wasn't-"
"Phil, you're doing fine." AJ shook her head, her heart breaking that he had really just asked her that, "You do not need me to judge you on that. Jessica… she finds it hard meeting new people and you've came into her life and you… you make her comfortable. You're doing everything right." AJ assured him as Punk nodded.
"I don't wanna let her down, you know." Punk shook his head.
"You won't." AJ shook her head, "You're doing great." She said, "Not just with Jessica but with everything. I just… hope you don't overdo it, I'm sure all of this is super overwhelming, there's no rush." She reminded him as he nodded, "And just because we're not together, it doesn't mean you can't talk to me." She made clear. Although they had disagreements on things and they were very much separated, she would never turn him away if he needed someone to talk to.
"Yeah, I know." Punk said, "But I'm fine." He smiled to her, "Thank you for letting me see her."
"You don't have to thank me for that." AJ shook her head, "I'll give you a text, maybe we'll go to the park again next time, she likes that." AJ said as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." He said, "Get home safe." He told her as she smiled and nodded.
"You too." She said, getting into her to drive off one way as he headed down the street the other.