Seriously guys, I am so sorry that I haven't finished this story for you all. I haven't forgotten about it at all! Here's a quick chapter update for you. I can't promise to have another chapter posted promptly but I will try my best!
Chapter 21
Amy truly hadn't thought the surprise wedding would go as well as it did. Nobody had any idea that she and Carlos had invited them to the house for a surprise wedding. Everyone had spent the first hour milling around the big new house, and every single guest had been completely dumbfounded when they saw Amy in her dress. Some people had jokingly asked if they were pregnant and then laughed before she or Carlos could deny it. Evidently just the mere idea of Carlos having a baby was hilarious to all of their friends and family. Well, except Elisa who was practically begging for babies.
Monday at work was a little bit less productive than normal, everyone was still buzzing about the wedding. Ella had been particularly pleased about it, which showed when she made them seared salmon with a creamy dill sauce, rice pilaf and roasted asparagus for lunch. Other than that, the work week went as normal. Bobby checked her blood pressure Monday during lunch, which was normal. Amy felt great being back to work and didn't miss the couch at all, at least until she got home from work when she would take an hour-long nap almost every afternoon. Their time off of work however was spent worrying about their court date for the adoption hearing. Carlos just kept reassuring her that it would go well. The same thing their lawyers kept telling her.
Thursday morning, Carlos and Amy were both quiet on the drive into Trenton. They were meeting at their lawyer's offices at 8 before going to the court house for their 9am appearance. Their lawyers didn't tell them anything they didn't already know, Carlos' past shouldn't be an issue. They had built up a stable foundation for Lexi; Amy and Carlos co-owned a very successful security business and they had the new big house. Lexi had friends, she had her dance classes, Carlos' family loved and accepted her into their family whole-heartedly, and now she had a father figure as well as two new siblings on the way.
Carlos and Amy sat at the table with their lawyers in the courtroom, and Lexi sat in the chair between them. Carlos held Amy's hand in his with both of their arms resting on the back of Lexi's chair. Judge McDonald read off the pertinent information and then started asking the three of them questions, which they had been prepared for.
Judge McDonald smiled as he looked at Lexi, "Alexa, do you know why you're here today?"
Lexi nodded in response, so Amy nudged her arm lightly and whispered to her to talk. "Yes, I do." She said quietly.
"How do you feel about Carlos being your dad?"
"Well," Lexi paused looking at Amy and then Carlos, both just smiling at her reassuringly. "He's pretty nice. And he just married my mom."
Everyone in the courtroom chuckled, including the judge. "What does he do that makes him nice?"
"He makes me breakfast almost every morning. He always asks me what I want to do, instead of just telling me what to do all the time. I like that he let's me pick any movie I want to watch on movie nights."
Judge McDonald smiled and nodded, "That is pretty nice."
He looked down as he wrote on some paperwork in front of him and then looked at Amy. "Mrs. Manoso, where do you work?"
"Rangeman Incorporated. I am the Securities Technology Specialist."
The judge nodded, "How long have you worked there?"
"Almost seven years, I started at the Miami branch and moved up to Trenton when Alexa was about seven months old."
The judge nodded, "I've read your file, and the reason why you moved. Has your ex-husband been in contact with you?"
"Yes," Amy nodded. "Through his lawyer."
"Troy already signed his parental rights over, so his request doesn't make an impact on my decision today." Judge McDonald looked at Carlos. "Mr. Manoso, where do you work?"
"I own Rangeman Incorporated." He squeezed Amy's hand.
Judge McDonald smiled at Carlos and Amy, "So now we know how you two met. Does that make working together easier or harder?" He asked from genuine curiosity.
"It hasn't changed anything for us at work. We've always been able to work well together, which was actually why we avoided dating. That obviously didn't work."
That had the court room, and the judge, chuckling again. "What is your home life like?"
"We just got settled in our new house out in Princeton, well it's an acreage outside of Princeton. It's close to my parents house, where we go every Sunday for lunch. Lexi, Alexa, has dance classes every Thursday and she and I just got signed up to start taking Tae Kwon Do classes together."
"I would assume that in your business, and with your military history that you wouldn't need Tae Kwon Do classes now."
Carlos smiled down at Lex before looking back at the judge. "I don't need Tae Kwon Do, but Lexi wanted to try it and she didn't want to do it alone so I told her I would take the classes with her."
"Alexa," Judge McDonald had a big smile on his face. "Do you want Carlos to be your dad?"
"Yes!" Lexi smiled as she practically bounced in her chair.
Judge McDonald shuffled all of his paperwork together in one stack and smiled at Carlos, Amy, and Lexi. "You have clearly provided a stable home for Lexi, and it is obvious that Carlos cares for Lexi. I don't see any reason to prevent Mr. Manoso from adopting her. I am hereby granting your petition. Congratulations Manoso family. I hear that you're expecting as well?"
Amy was crying tears of joy with Lexi so Carlos answered, "Yes, your honor. Twins due next spring."
"That's exciting for all of you. I'm glad to be able to help unify your family. Now you can go celebrate."
As soon as they walked out of the courtroom Carlos scooped Lexi up in one arm and wrapped the other around Amy's shoulders. "My girls." He whispered in their ears.
"Son." Ricardo patted Carlos' shoulder.
"Oh, dad. Mom." Carlos released Amy and put Lexi down. "I'm sorry, I almost forgot you guys were coming today."
Marie had already crouched down and swept Lexi up into a hug. "Oh sweetie, you were already part of our family but it's even better to have you share our name."
Ricardo pulled Amy into a hug, "My girl, thank you for what you've done for our family."
"I can't take the credit. I didn't do anything." Amy sniffled and then brought her hand up to wipe away a stray tear. "It was you guys, and your son. Lexi and I are so lucky to be a part of such a wonderful family."
Marie stood up, holding one of Lexi's hands firmly in hers. "You guys are coming for Sunday lunch aren't you? We need to celebrate."
Carlos nodded as Amy answered, "We wouldn't miss it. What do you need me to bring? And you can't say nothing."
Marie smiled with a knowing gleam in her eyes, her daughter-in-law was the perfect match for her son. "Whatever you want to bring, darling. We're not picky."
"A salad," Carlos added, "or some vegetables."
Amy rolled her eyes but kept smiling, "I'll figure something out."
"What are you guys doing now?" Ricardo asked.
"I honestly had no idea how today would go so I hadn't planned anything, but now I think we need to do something fun to celebrate." Carlos got down on one knee in front of Lexi and took one of her hands in both of his. "We can't really go anywhere to celebrate right now because of the babies, but what do you say to going home and playing some games together and watching movies? We can just have a fun family day at home?"
"Can we get pizza for supper?"
Carlos smirked at Amy before looking back to Lexi, "Of course, whatever my girl wants."
The three of them spent the rest of the morning at home playing Sorry, Monopoly Junior, and a few harrowing games of go fish. Carlos made their lunch, which consisted of grilled chicken with steamed rice and roasted veggies. They all settled down in the entertainment room in the basement for a movie after lunch; Lexi picked Moana. Amy made it about fifteen minutes into the movie before she fell asleep. Carlos and Lexi weren't surprised. They watched half the movie in silence.
"Carlos?" Lexi said his name quietly.
Carlos sat up and leaned forward so he could hear her better. "Yeah Lex, what's up?"
"Since you're officially my dad, can I call you dad?"
Carlos smiled and gave Lexi a quick nod, "You can call me dad. But I want you to know that if you're not ready to do that yet, you don't have to call me that. Today made it legal, but you can decide what you want to call me."
"I've never been able to call anyone dad," Lexi was looking down at her hands in her lap.
"I would really like it if you called me dad." Carlos finally said after a few silent moments.
"Christmas is my favorite holiday." Amy said to Carlos as they walked off the elevator onto the third floor of Rangeman on Friday. "We need to get the decorations out this weekend. Lex and I always go get a tree for the living room, but having so much more room to decorate this year is kind of fun. I'd like to get a really tall tree for the family room and another tree for the formal living room."
Carlos shot her a quick look out of the corner of his eye but nodded his head in agreement, "How many trees are we going to need?"
"Just the two. I have a small artificial tree that I've always put up in Lexi's room." Amy turned into the break room, Carlos followed. "But I know I'm going to need to go shopping for new decorations. My entire stash of Christmas décor will take care of the family room and the kitchen maybe."
"You're going to turn the whole house into the north pole aren't you?" Carlos asked warily.
"I know you're not huge on decorating, but this is the one holiday that I go kind of crazy for." Amy smiled as she turned back to the door, holding an apple and a banana in one hand and a cup of yogurt with granola in the other.
Carlos cocked his head to the side slightly, "We just had breakfast less than an hour ago."
Amy scowled, "I'm hungry, like all the time now, second trimester and all that. The morning sickness is gone, now I'm starving."
"Don't think I didn't notice the oatmeal cream pies in the pantry." He teased.
Amy jabbed him with her elbow on her way by him as she walked out the door. "Don't come between a pregnant woman and her food." She teased, then looked around to make sure no one had heard her say that. "Besides, it's all healthy. Well, not the oatmeal cream pies. I don't eat those all the time though."
Carlos put his hands up in surrender, "Sorry." He whispered.
The photographer e-mailed Carlos the edited pictures for their Christmas card slash pregnancy announcement that afternoon. As soon as they got home from work, Amy sat down in the family room with Carlos and Lexi and designed their Christmas cards. After an hour of looking through different layouts and designing a few different cards they all three finally agreed on one. The front had a picture from the wedding of Carlos and Amy kissing, with a large chalkboard sign saying 'Thank You' propped in front of them. Written across the top of the card in bold silver was the banner saying 'Merry Christmas.' The back of the card was a picture of Lexi standing in front of Carlos and Amy who both had a hand on Amy's stomach. Lexi was holding the same chalkboard sign which now said 'I asked for one little sibling, but mom is having TWO! Manoso Twins due May 2018.'
"Add the rush shipping." Carlos said as he got up off the couch to go refill Amy's water bottle.
"It'll only take four or five days to get them. I don't think rush shipping is necessary."
"You won't be able to hide that belly much longer, even you admitted this morning that you were surprised people weren't asking about it."
Amy scowled at him, "I'm not that big yet."
Carlos stayed quiet from the kitchen, not exactly boosting Amy's confidence.
"Fine, I'll add the rush shipping." Amy started going through the ordering prompts. "How many cards do you think we'll need?"
"Well we have a few hundred Rangeman clients." Carlos said from the kitchen. "Plus all of my family, your family, the Rangeman employees."
"Why the clients? We usually just send out a generic company card with a picture of some of the employees."
"The bigger clients will be mad if they don't find this out from us." Carlos returned to his spot next to Amy.
"I'll design another one for the clients. They weren't at the wedding, so the Thank You on the front seems weird. I'll put the picture of all of the Rangeman employees together at the wedding on it." Amy grabbed a piece of paper and started trying to make a list of her family and friends. "I think we're going to need about a hundred and twenty cards for us to send out personally. I'll talk to Ella and find out how many cards are usually ordered for clients."
"Do you think one twenty will be enough?"
"I don't have a huge family, but I know you do, it should be good."
"And the employees, order another twenty to be sure."
"Ok."
"I ran into Steph today." Carlos said as he watched Amy's reaction carefully. "When the cards come in I think I need to take one to her personally."
"Ok. What did she say, when you saw her today?"
"She'd heard about the wedding, she said Congratulations and that she wished us well." Carlos' face wore his usual blank expression.
Amy looked at him suspiciously, she knew better. "That's it?"
"She said she saw this coming. She mentioned that saw us at the Christmas party two years ago." Carlos paused waiting for Amy remember, but she kept staring at him in confusion waiting for an explanation. "We kissed under the mistletoe."
"Ah," Amy nodded. "That was the party that you had brought her to."
"Yes." Carlos affirmed.
"Did you know she had seen us kiss?"
"Not until today. I should have known then, she got back with Joe shortly after that. But that was always the ebb and flow of our relationship."
"So what else did she say?" Amy feigned indifference as she focused on finishing the order and started on the client card design.
"She was mad. Just a couple months before my last hospitalization, she told me that she was done with Joe and she wanted a real relationship with me. I turned her down. I wasn't ready then." Carlos paused, just for a moment. "So now she's mad, because she feels like I lied to her. I told her that at the time I didn't want to settle down, but things change. I wasn't going to argue with her in the parking lot of a client's business. And I also wasn't going to give her the details of our relationship, it would just make her more upset. But I think the news of us having twins should be found out from me and not from office gossip."
Amy nodded in agreement, "Probably."
"You seem a lot calmer than I thought you would be." Carlos said with genuine surprise.
Amy shrugged, "It seems silly to be upset about it, Stephanie is part of your past. Not only can I not change that, I wouldn't want to. It brought you to this point in your life, the same as my past with Troy brought me here. It would be a little hypocritical of me to be upset about you talking to Stephanie when you just legally adopted my daughter, and your helping me deal with my deadbeat ex."
Carlos smiled and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. "Thank You, for understanding."
"Of course." She smiled back then reached a hand up to his neck and pulled him back for another kiss.
"Ewwwwww!" Lexi declared from the other couch. "I'm going to go play in my room." She hopped up and scampered up the stairs while Amy and Carlos chuckled.
"Now that she's upstairs." Carlos moved one hand to the hem of Amy's shirt and lifted it to skim his fingers up her side. "Claire is already gone for the day, so we're alone…" he trailed off as his hand cupped her breast and he pressed his lips harder against hers.
"We've got to get supper out of the oven soon." Amy pulled her head back, which only gave Carlos access to her neck.
He scooped her up in his arms and started off down the hallway to their bedroom. "I don't care, wife, I want to make love to you."
"You've got about twenty minutes until the timer goes off for dinner." Amy said breathlessly against his neck as she rained kisses from his shoulder to his ear and back.
"We'll have to settle for a quickie then," He teased as he kicked their bedroom door shut behind them then locked it. "The real fun will have to wait for later."
He set Amy down next to the bed and grabbed the bottom hem of her Rangeman polo shirt, pulling it up over her head. Amy did the same to Carlos then started on his belt. They were both naked a minute later when Carlos lowered her to the bed and lifted her to the center. He took a moment to take in the changes her body had gone through in the last week. He put a hand over her lower stomach where their twins were nestled safely and growing like crazy. He scooted down the bed to press his mouth to her burgeoning belly. Then he looked up at her with a knowing glint in his eyes.
Carlos brushed light kisses down her belly to the juncture of her thighs. Amy pushed her head back further into the pillows and closed her eyes on a gasp as he pressed himself between her legs and brought his mouth down on her slit. Thanks to the pregnancy hormones causing increased blood flow and making her more sensitive, it didn't take long before she was saying his name as she came.
Amy grabbed onto Carlos' shoulders and was pulling him up as he crawled up the bed over her. "Please," she begged, not even completely sure what she was begging for.
In one quick thrust Carlos was buried in her heat to the hilt, he paused for just a moment to watch her eyes glaze over. He groaned her name just as he started to slowly thrust into her. "I've had you every day for the last week and a half, and it's still not enough."
"Yes!" Amy moaned as Carlos quickened his pace, sending her over the edge again.
"God Amy," He groaned as her channel tightened around him. He only lasted another minute before he found his own release. He held himself up off of her on his elbows to keep his weight off of her belly, but nuzzled his nose into her neck. "Did that fill the brief?" He whispered teasingly.
Amy smiled lazily and slowly opened here eyes, "More than filled the brief." She pulled his face back to hers and brought his lips to hers. "You always do."
"I want to spend all weekend in bed with you." He reluctantly pulled back and sat on his heels, casually rubbing her hips.
"Me too." Amy stretched then sat up. "But now we need to get out of bed and get dressed."
Carlos got off the bed and started putting his clothes back on. "I'll go check on supper, take your time getting dressed."
Amy was scooting off of the bed before he'd even gotten out of the room. She took a quick detour to the bathroom before going to the closet and changing into a pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting Army t-shirt she stole from Carlos' side of the closet. She walked back into the kitchen just as Carlos was calling Lexi down for supper over the intercom.
"There's a really nice Christmas tree farm a few miles south of Princeton, they're open at ten tomorrow morning. I was thinking about making cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then we can go get our trees." Amy said as she grabbed three plates out of the cabinet. "What do you think?"
"That sounds like a plan." Carlos put the hot casserole dish on the trivet on the counter.
"What did Claire leave for us tonight?" Amy asked as she finished setting their places on the kitchen island.
"Zucchini and eggplant lasagna." Carlos turned to the fridge and pulled out a bowl of mixed lettuces.
"I would love some carbs right now." Amy smiled when Carlos scowled at her. "What? Not all of us are happy with the no-carb diet."
"I know you still eat carbs." Carlos put a glass of water at his spot and glasses of milk at Amy's and Lexi's. "Hey Lex." He greeted their daughter as she got to the bottom of the stairs. "There is a bowl of Claire's homemade fettuccini alfredo in the fridge, that I know she made just for you."
"The babies really like her fettuccini alfredo." At Carlos' intense stare Amy smirked, "Did you know she makes the noodles from scratch?"
Carlos rolled his eyes, "Let's sit down and eat."
Their Christmas cards came in the mail Monday afternoon. Amy spent all evening addressing their personal cards while Carlos and Lexi were at Tae Kwon Do. Thankfully Ella had printed out address labels for the business Christmas cards. Carlos wanted to make sure all of the cards went out at the same time. Amy was just finishing up the last couple dozen cards when Carlos and Lexi walked in the door.
"Hey guys, how was Tae Kwon Do?" Amy sat up and tilted her head to one side then the other to stretch it after sitting hunched over for so long.
"Mr. Gillespie said that dad will probably be ready to do his first belt test next month." Lexi practically screeched in excitement.
Amy smirked at Carlos, "That was quick."
"I'm not testing until Lexi is ready." Carlos squeezed Lexi's shoulder, "I told you, we're doing it together."
"I'm not learning it as fast as you though." Lexi seemed a little dismayed.
"Hey," Carlos picked Lexi up and parked her on a stool at the kitchen island. "I've got more experience with martial arts than you do, so it's not surprising that I seem to be learning it more quickly. You are picking it up really fast too though, and we have been practicing at home too. Don't forget, Mr. Gillespie told you that he could tell you've been practicing."
"Yeah, I guess." Lexi shrugged her shoulders a little dramatically and sighed.
"Why don't you go up and get changed into your pj's, it's almost time for bed girlie." Carlos tugged on her braid.
Carlos waited until Lexi was up the stairs before he sat down on the couch next to Amy. He turned her so she faced away from him and started rubbing her shoulders. "So the cards are ready to go?"
"Almost, I've got about twenty left." Amy groaned as Carlos dug his thumbs into the tense spots on her shoulders.
"How many cards are leftover?"
"Ten."
"Good thing I told you to order one forty then." Carlos couldn't help but remind her.
Amy just ignored him as she enjoyed the shoulder massage.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to type the addresses and print them out onto labels so you could just stick them on?"
"I like writing them out by hand. I'm kind of weird like that, but I actually enjoy writing. When I was little I'd practice my handwriting, writing the same words and sentences over and over to perfect my penmanship." Amy turned back to the table to continue working on the cards.
Carlos shook his head and stood up. "I'm going to go shower, want to join me?" He teased.
Amy just shook her head but couldn't stop herself from chuckling, "No thanks. Maybe next time."
Amy held onto the Christmas cards until Wednesday, putting all of them in the drop box at Rangeman on her way into work that morning. So she wasn't surprised when Carlos told her he wouldn't be at the office for their usual lunch date. She didn't have to ask why he was missing it. She knew he was going to talk to Stephanie to break the news to her about the twins. Without Carlos there to dictate her diet, she decided to order in Chinese takeout. She even ate it in the conference room alone so that Carlos hopefully wouldn't know, but of course one of the guys in the control room ratted her out before she'd even known Carlos was back in the building.
"I know that you know I'm standing behind you." Carlos said as he walked into the room from his perch at the doorway to her office.
Amy just kept typing without turning to look at him. "I know. I'm just busy."
"Uh hu." He said quietly. Carlos came around behind her desk and leaned a hip against the edge of her computer desk. "How was your Chinese? Let me guess, crispy orange chicken and fried rice?"
She started off speaking to him conversationally but grew more upset by the end. "Growing tiny humans is hard you know. I'm hungry all the time, and salads and veggies just aren't cutting it right now. I can't grow two babies on twigs and berries, I need more filling foods than that. And the babies want what they want. I wish you knew what it was like to have crazy food cravings and then have someone else tell you that you can't eat whatever it is your craving. Then you just want it even more! It's not very fun." Amy shook her head. "This is ridiculous, I'm getting upset over food. And it's all your fault!" She pushed her chair back from her computer desk and crossed her arms over her chest. She sniffled, having barely managed to stop the tears from falling. "Ok, I'm done talking about food. How was your lunch?" She wiped her thumbs under her eyes to clear away the moisture.
Carlos took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It went about as well as you could imagine. She left without finishing her lunch, so I probably won't hear from her again."
Amy just stared at him for a few seconds before she tilted her head slightly, "Details?"
Carlos rolled his eyes and slowly let out a breath, "She was surprised, of course, and definitely dismayed and upset. I won't repeat our conversation word for word, because she said some not-so-nice things about you that I neither believe nor want to even give voice to. Things you can probably come up with on your own if you think about our whole situation from an outsiders perspective." Carlos paused as Amy nodded her head slightly, understanding that Stephanie thought Amy had thrown herself at Carlos and then gotten pregnant on purpose to trap him. "I told her that Rangeman would still assist her in any way that she needs, but that I would no longer personally see to any problems that she might have as I have done in the past. And I know that you would never ask that of me, I didn't tell her that because of you and I. I told her that because I didn't want her to think that me showing up to help her would ever be anything other than a friend helping out a friend."
Carlos kept his expression blank, but Amy could see the slight tick in his cheek. He was trying to fight off a frown. "I know that she truly was a good friend to you, and I really am sorry that she probably won't talk to you again. I'm not going to placate you and say that maybe she'll come around, I know she's stubborn enough that she won't." Amy stood up and put her arms around Carlos' neck. "Maybe she'll surprise us both and she'll get over it. I kind of hope that she does, because I know that you're going to carry around guilt over this and I don't want to see you do that to yourself." Amy leaned back to look into Carlos' eyes, "Try not to beat yourself up too much." She pressed her lips lightly to his. They usually tried to keep PDA to a minimum at work, so she was caught off guard when he deepened the kiss.
Carlos dug one hand through Amy's hair, pinning her head in place while his other hand gripped tightly onto her hip. He backed Amy up against her desk and was seriously contemplating going further but he broke off the kiss and pulled back so that their noses were touching.
"Tank." Carlos said in way of greeting and asking Tank what he needed.
"Hey boss," Tank winked at Amy as she looked over her shoulder at him. "Hi Amy. I'm sorry to interrupt…"
"No you're not." Amy muttered under her breath.
"Haven't you guys done enough of that yet anyways?" He teased.
Carlos stared at Tank, but as usual Tank didn't lose his big grin.
"Albert, Carter, and Lockhart on hold for you, and they sound pissed."
Carlos furrowed one brow ever so slightly before giving Amy another quick peck then started for the doorway. "I'll see you at quitting time." Carlos said.
Amy tilted her head then quickly turned toward Carlos' retreating back, "Hey, isn't that the firm representing Troy?"
Carlos stopped in the doorway and turned back around. "It is. They just found out about the adoption. They've been calling me all morning. I referred them to our lawyers, but they seem to think that calling and bullying me is going to get them somewhere."
"The adoption is final, so there's nothing they can do anyways. Right?" Amy couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.
Carlos quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms firmly around Amy, holding her tightly for a few moments. He pulled back and held her face in his hands, making her look him in the eyes. "Don't freak out, the babies need you to stay calm. And no, there's nothing they can do. They're scrambling because they weren't expecting the new charges, and they sure as hell weren't expecting the adoption. I'm only taking the call so that I can tell them that our lawyers are drawing up paperwork right now to have them charged with harassment if they call us again."
Amy nodded and let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "Ok, good." She reluctantly let him go when Carlos backed away again. "I don't think I can handle any more surprises or drama."
"We're good. It's all under control." Carlos said as he winked at her. "I love you."
Amy sighed, "I love you too."
On Friday morning Amy found her desk covered in balloons, flowers and even a couple black Batman onesies. Carlos' desk however had an assortment of boxes of diapers, wet wipes, and cigars. Everyone at Rangeman was excited about their boss expanding his family. Amy and Carlos barely got any work done, they were so busy fielding phone calls from family, friends, and business associates who wanted to congratulate them on the news. The weekend pretty much continued on the same, with some extra visitors to their house as well.
Carlos' sister was the most surprised that she hadn't realized Amy was already pregnant at the wedding. She was also mad at her brother for not telling her, so mad that she called Amy's cell and not Carlos' or the house number. She got over it after she talked to Amy for a little bit. Amy actually told Elisa all about the entire first trimester of her pregnancy, including the loss of their third baby. Once she knew the whole story, Elisa understood a little bit better why Carlos and Amy had arranged the surprise wedding and why they kept the pregnancy a secret.
Sunday lunch at Carlos' parents was busy and loud. Everyone was too excited about the baby news so soon after the wedding to do anything but talk about pregnancy and babies, especially since they were having twins.
Marie had Amy sitting at the table in the kitchen, she refused to let Amy do anything.
"Marie."
"Mama, you can call me Mama." Marie interrupted.
Amy smiled, "Mama, do you have any family history records written down? We're kind of starting to talk about names, and we both want to use family names."
"Yes, of course!" Marie was busy rolling her famous homemade tamales. "After lunch you and I can sit down and look through the book I have. Ric's sister Benita would have better records for their side of the family. I only have mostly my own aunts, uncles, and grandparents."
"I would love that." Amy smiled. She stood up and tried to go help Marie with lunch, only to be ushered back to the table.
"You sit, carrying a Manoso baby, TWO Manoso babies is hard work. Trust me, I remember. In fact, if you need to go lie down the spare bedroom is at the top of the stairs." Marie continued on chopping veggies, sautéing something in a pan, stirring something-Amy hadn't figured out if it was sauce or soup, and checking on something in the oven.
"I may need it after lunch. I've been taking naps after work almost every day. Carlos laughs because I often fall asleep on the drive home from work. I just can't help it. If I'm tired, there's no fighting it off." Amy grabbed a baby carrot off of the tray in front of her, nibbling on it.
"That sounds about right." Marie looked at Amy and just smiled. "You look happy. You've made my son happy. A year ago I was visiting him in the hospital, telling him it was time to settle down. I never could have expected this!" Marie's eyes started to water a bit.
"You can't cry mama," Amy laughed as she turned her head away from Marie, her eyes already welling. "If you cry, then I'll cry. Just ask Carlos, I cried over food at work this week."
Marie laughed, "I'm sure that made him run from the room."
Amy laughed as well, "No, he didn't run. He definitely looked a little scared and confused though."
"Why don't you go ahead and tell the boys in the living room to start setting the table. Lunch will be ready in about ten minutes."
"I can handle that." Amy left the kitchen quickly, the last thing she needed was another hormonal breakdown.
After lunch Marie and Amy sat on the couch in the living room, Amy with a notepad to write down any names that she liked.
Marie opened the one family history book she had that her own Grandmother had started and began reciting names. "Let's see, we have Javier, Miguel, Omar, Pedro, and Eduardo well a few Javier's and Omar's. Are you guys finding out what your having?"
"No." Amy was looking down at the book. "We both want to be surprised when I deliver."
"Do you have any hunch or feelings about it? They say some women know. I didn't, I was just happy to be pregnant and I never seemed to get a feeling either way."
"I'm not sure yet. Everything has been so busy and crazy I'm just now getting the chance to really think about being pregnant, if that makes sense. I wanted Lexi to be a girl, but Troy thought we were having a boy. I wasn't really sure what we were having. Now, I kind of want at least one, if not both, to be boys."
"Ok, well there are a lot of really old traditional names. What do you think of these?"
Amy started flipping pages and reciting names out loud, she had written a few down for each gender when Carlos came in from the den. "Hey hun, we're looking for name ideas. What do you think?"
Carlos sat next to Amy and looked at the few names she had written down. "Omar, Nicolas, Sebastian, Theo, Lola, Celia, Adriana, and Isabel." He looked over the list again before nodding, "Yeah, those names are nice. But I told you we don't have to do just family names, or Cuban names. We've got plenty of time to decide."
"I know, but there's two babies and we're not finding out what we're having so we have to at least have it narrowed down a bit before they get here. That's eight names-two boy first names and two boy middle names, plus two girl first names and two girl middle names. I think we should try to stick with family names." Amy said.
"I like those names, definitely keep them on the list." Carlos kissed the side of her head then stood up, "Don't forget the baby name book that Ella gave you. You go through and make a list and we'll decide. Like I said, we've got time."
"Okay," Amy was settled in bed that night with her baby name book and the list of names she'd made with Marie. "I really like the name Theo, and Nicolas is cute too. If they're both boys Theo and Nicolas sound good together."
Carlos nodded. "I like Theo too. What would you do for a middle name with it?"
"I don't know. I just started looking through the baby name book."
"We could do names from your side of the family too. What names do you like from your dad's family?"
"I'll have to call him tomorrow, I don't remember everyone's names. My dad is Kevin Randall, and his dad was Randall Joseph. Dad has one brother, David Allen, but they aren't that close now. That's as far as I can remember on my dad's side. My mom's dad was Louis, but I don't remember his middle name."
"What have you found in the book?"
"I just started looking." Amy opened the baby name book again. "Theo Luis or Theo Edward both sound good. Theo Edward Manoso." Amy paused, "I like that. Theo Luis Manoso." Another pause. "I think either of those sound really nice."
Carlos looked at the names as Amy wrote them down. "Those are both strong names too, I like both."
He pulled the name book out of Amy's hands and started flipping through the pages. "What other boy names did you get from mama's today?"
"Nicholas, Omar, and Sebastian." Amy wrote each name on separate lines on her paper.
Carlos hummed lightly to himself, considering as he read the names in the book. "I don't like those as much as I like Theo. They don't sound that good with Theo either."
"We could use one as a middle name for the other baby." Amy looked at the names with Carlos.
"What do you think of Oliver? Theo and Oliver." Carlos looked to Amy.
"That's kind of a cute combination. Or Samuel. Theo and Samuel. Or Sam? Theo and Sam?" Amy added those names to her list. "Oliver Nicholas? That kind of sounds strange. Oliver Nicholas Manoso."
"Oliver Sebastian Manoso." Carlos paused after he said it. "That sounds better than Nicholas, I think. It's still kind of a mouth full though." He kept flipping pages. "Oliver Randall."
"That sounds better." Amy said as she started writing the name on her list. "Samuel Louis."
"The double L is weird, Samuel ends in L and Louis starts with L. Plus we already have Luis on the list, they're too similar. We can't use both."
"That's true."
"I'm kind of stuck on Oliver now." Carlos admitted as he continued reading though names in the book.
"So am I. Maybe we need to come back to the boys another day."
Carlos turned to the girl names. "What girl names did you get from mama?"
"Lola, Celia, Isabel, and Adriana."
"Not Adriana, she'll be one of at least half a dozen Adriana's if we name her that."
"I've always liked Amelia."
"Hey Sweetheart," Carlos was talking as soon as he walked into her office Wednesday morning. "I've got some bad news." He stopped in front of her desk.
"What happened?" Amy's heart immediately began to race and her stomach dropped down to her feet.
"The Miami office had a fire. No one was injured thankfully, but I need to get down there to assess the damage and figure out the repairs and talk to our insurance carrier."
"When are you leaving?" Amy's heart rate started getting closer to normal but her stomach was still low, she didn't want Carlos to leave.
"As soon as possible. Tank is arranging a private plane to take us down there. We'll be gone at least the rest of this week through the weekend. Possibly most of next week also. I need to talk to my contractor down there and see if the damage can be repaired. If it's really bad we might be looking at buying or leasing a new location, which would mean having to start over." Carlos circled around her desk and stood behind her and started rubbing her shoulders. "The timing isn't ideal since we're just a couple weeks out from Christmas, but I promise I will be back by then. I just can't leave this to someone else."
"I get it." Amy nodded and gave Carlos her best fake reassuring smile. "Of course we'll miss you while you're gone, but I'm sure we'll manage just fine."
"It also means I'll miss your next OB appointment."
Amy shrugged a little, "Maybe that's not all bad, I think you stress Dr. Sayre out."
Carlos chuckled, "I do not. She likes me." He squeezed her shoulder once then went back to lightly massaging.
"This will be weird." Amy said after a few moments of silence.
"What's that?"
"This will be the first time we've been apart since we actually started dating."
Carlos hummed his agreement before adding, "We've been living together most of the time we were dating too. It will be weird to go down there without you. But there's no way your going. The babies have to come first."
"I know," Amy agreed.
"Plus with Tank and I gone, you're next in line to run the show. If you weren't here it would fall to Hal. And while I fully trust him to have my back in any situation, he doesn't like to run this place."
"Hey boss." Tank walked in without knocking or announcing himself. "Flight is booked, wheel's in the air at thirteen hundred."
Carlos looked at his watch and nodded. "Good. I'll pick you up in the garage at noon then."
Tank nodded, "Bye Ames." He threw his hand up in greeting then was gone.
"So you probably need to go home and pack a bag right now."
"I do," Carlos walked back around to the front of Amy's desk. "Want to come with me and help me pack?" One corner of his mouth raised slightly in a grin, that she would've missed if she hadn't gotten used to his barely noticeable expressions.
"I suppose I could do that, since that is what a good wife would do." Amy teased.
"I miss you." Amy was lying in bed alone on Friday night, wishing more than anything that Carlos wasn't hundreds of miles away in Miami. The nightly video phone calls helped a little.
"I know Sweetheart, I miss you too. More than I ever could have realized."
"The bed is cold." Amy said quietly.
"I didn't realize how hard it would be for me to be away from you and Lexi."
Tears started to well in Amy's eyes. "Six months ago you and I were still ignoring our feelings for each other. Now I can't stand to be without you."
"I didn't even realize how necessary and essential you and Lexi had become to me. My mornings are boring. I've gotten so used to lying in bed next you and falling asleep touching you, it's taken me over an hour to fall asleep the last two nights." Carlos took a quiet breath, "I need to get this wrapped up, I don't want to be down here all of next week. I have the contractor coming out tomorrow. I had to pay him more to come on a Saturday but the fire marshal just cleared the building late this afternoon."
"The babies have been moving a lot. You can see my stomach move when I lay on my back, hang on." Amy rolled to her back and turned the camera on the phone so that Carlos could see her belly. She was afraid the babies wouldn't move, but about a minute later there was a little flicker of movement where one of the babies had pushed out on her stomach. "See?!"
Carlos couldn't quite find his voice, "Wow." He whispered. "I can't wait to feel that when I get back." He kept watching Amy's belly, waiting for more movement. "How was your appointment today?"
"Great. The babies are doing awesome. Calvin is measuring a few days ahead of Hobbes, but both are growing like crazy and there's not any signs of pre-term labor or anything yet."
"Good. If you have any weird feeling or are worried about anything, just call me and I'll be on the next plane back home." Carlos sighed. "What else did I miss?"
"Just the usual. Lexi missed you taking her to Tae Kwon Do, but Master Gillespie said she's doing really well for a beginner. I told him that the two of you practice at least twice a week outside of your classes, he said it shows."
"That's great. She's doing so well. I want to be back before our next class but I can't make that promise yet. I'll know more after I talk to the contractor tomorrow." Carlos sighed again. "Six months ago I would've laughed if someone told me I would be homesick because I missed my wife and daughter. Now I just wish I could leave this all to Tank and fly straight back home to you two."
"I would love that. Sleeping alone sucks. I did it for so long, I was used to it. But now, I don't ever want to sleep alone again." Amy gave a short laugh. "We're like love-sick teenagers, it's almost nauseating."
Carlos laughed loudly, "Can you imagine what a FaceTime call between the two of us would be like if we were teenagers?"
Amy laughed with him then sobered quickly, "Carlos, we're going to have a teenager in less than a decade. What if she does video phone calls?"
Carlos looked angry, "That shit definitely isn't happening. Lexi will NOT be having any video calls with boys. She won't even be allowed to date unless I know everything about the kid."
Amy smiled and then yawned. "I feel sorry for any boy who shows the slightest interest in her."
"I'm going to go sweetheart, you're tired. I don't want to keep you up too late."
"I like looking at you, I'm kind of used to you being on the pillow next to mine when I fall asleep." Amy yawned again.
"I love you, Amy. Just go to sleep."
"I love you too, but I miss your face."
"Sweetheart, prop the phone up by your pillow so you can still see it. I'll stay on until you fall asleep."
"Just watching me like a weirdo? That's kind of creepy." Amy yawned for a third time and did as Carlos had asked, propping her phone up by her pillow. "Can you at least talk to me, instead of just staring?"
Carlos smiled, "Sure. Did I tell you that Tank and I were scouting out possible new locations today, if the contractor tomorrow decides the old location is a loss?"
Amy's eyelids drooped as she smiled and snuggled deeper into her pillow. "No, you didn't tell me about that." She yawned, again. "What did you find?"
"There are a lot of good options. We've debated on relocating the Miami office for a couple of years, we've kind of outgrown the building anyways. There's one that Tank and I really like, but the price is a little bit more than we'd like to pay. I'm hoping to talk the property management company down on the lease." Carlos paused as he watched Amy's eyelids droop more. She made a noncommittal sound, nearly asleep. "I'm sure having a security company in the building will make them feel more secure and possibly more willing to negotiate the price." Amy's breathing had evened out, she was asleep. He really did feel like a creep now, because he didn't want to end the call. He gave himself another minute to stare at her and appreciate how lucky he was to finally have the wife and family he never could have even dreamed about or wished for. "I love you Amaya." He whispered, then ended the call.