"Hey," Andy said to her as he walked into the house. He closed the front door and immediately felt something on his leg. He looked down and grinned. "Hey, Pumpkin, have a good day?"
"Yes! Hi, Andy," she said with her huge smile. "Want to play dolls with me?"
"Emily," Sharon called out from the kitchen where she was trying to wipe off Ricky. Andy glanced her way and noted that it appeared they'd all eaten. The kitchen schedule they'd originally designed had been working out well. He normally didn't get home from work until later, and it was easy to see the kids needed to eat earlier. On occasion, Andy would eat with them, times when Sharon invited him to a home cooked meal. It wasn't a common occurrence, but it had happened plenty of times. Tonight, he was getting home from work just as the kids were about to start their bedtime routine. He'd been living here long enough now to know the drill. It was early February, and he'd hoped to catch a moment to talk to Sharon.
Jack was long gone now, and even the kids hadn't asked much about him the last week or so. The first week, Emily had asked a lot; he'd heard her asking Sharon about him, but that had dropped off, and it was almost as if things were back to "pre-Jack" standings. Andy knew Sharon was still worried about things, about Jack reappearing even down the line, but he also knew she was working hard to protect herself. She'd told him that she had contacted her lawyer and plans were in motion to legally protect herself as well as the kids. To Andy, it didn't sound like Jack would be swooping in anytime soon and seeing the kids on his own.
With his own kids, things were going pretty well. He was juggling both of his jobs as well as time with his kids. His money situation was a bit better. He had that old car and was making progress on his financial independence. He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Emily tugging on his arm.
"Andy, come and see Betsy. She's ready for bed," Emily grinned again. Andy couldn't help but smile at her; she was an adorable little girl, still dressed in her tutu from ballet. Sharon had told him that Emily appeared to like ballet, even though she seemed to be the worst in her class right now. She could barely spin around without falling-that was the least of her problems, but Sharon had said she was just glad Emily enjoyed it, even if it never amounted to more than a sweet hobby.
"Emily!" Sharon snapped, and Andy met her gaze. He tried to wave her off, tried to tell her it was fine that her daughter wanted to spend a moment with him. She sighed and gave Emily a look.
"Mommy, Betsy is tired. Andy needs to say goodAndy needs to say goodnight to her," Emily said in now almost a whining tone.
"Sharon, it's fine," Andy chuckled and waved. She shook her head at him and turned her attention back to Ricky. Emily took Andy by the hand and pulled him a few steps toward the couch where she'd wrapped up her doll in blankets and had her head resting on a pillow. Betsy was just one of Emily's many dolls, and this was a regular routine, saying goodnight to the dolls.
"Night, Betsy. Hope you stayed out of trouble today with the police. I wouldn't want to arrest you," he told the doll.
Emily burst out laughing at Andy, "Andy!" Emily exclaimed as she continued to laugh, "Betsy isn't a bad guy. She's not going to jail."
"Good," Andy nodded as he looked down at Emily. "I wouldn't want you hanging around criminals, you know, bad guys or bad girls." Emily continued to laugh; Andy patted the doll and walked toward the kitchen where he put his keys on the counter. "Hey," he said again to Sharon. She was now at the sink with a wiggly Ricky.
"Hi," Sharon flashed a smile as she looked at him quickly and turned her attention back to Ricky.
"Andeeeeeeeee," Ricky squealed with delight. He was covered in what looked like applesauce and sweet potatoes. Those were some of his favorites; Andy knew that. The toddler loved macaroni and fries too, but Andy knew that Sharon would often bake several sweet potatoes on the weekend for the kids to eat throughout the week. Tonight, Ricky looked like he was wearing more than he had eaten.
"Hey there, Sweet Potato," Andy said to the toddler. The little boy flashed a grin at Andy, showing off his teeth. He was looking more and more like a little boy. Sharon finished wiping his hands, and before she put him down on the floor, Andy gestured to her, with his hands, asking to take Ricky.
Sharon raised an eyebrow to him, "He's covered in potato," she said, shaking her head.
Andy shrugged, "I don't care. I arrested a guy for running over and killing a kid today while he was drunk. Sweet potatoes are the least of my worries; I could use a little pick-me-up," he explained.
"Sure," Sharon said, offering him a sympathetic smile. She handed Ricky toward him, and Ricky grinned and smacked at Andy's face.
"Andeeee," Ricky said, not drawing out his name as much as he had before. Andy grinned at him.
"Ricky, what's going on, man? Did you play with your trucks today?" Andy asked.
"Trucks!" Ricky exclaimed. Andy felt Emily tugging at him again.
"Andy, Betsy is trying to sleep, and Ricky is loud," she pouted.
"Emily!" Sharon said, now clearly irritated. Andy had to look away to not laugh. He turned with Ricky, who was now wanting down. Andy gave him a quick hug and put him on the floor. "Emily, Ricky, it's time for your baths. Let's go."
Andy turned back to Emily who was still there, and he winked at her, "It should be really quite now for Betsy to sleep. Night, kiddo."
Andy turned when Sharon patted his arm as she walked by him, "Sorry for that. She's been so demanding and bossy lately." Andy watched as she turned off the television and collected the kids' things.
Andy chuckled quietly and started then toward the kitchen, calling over to her, "That's okay. I've been saying she's just like her mom." Andy turned slightly, knowing that would earn a glare from Sharon. He started to laugh when his eyes met hers, and she was ready to throw a stuffed animal his way. He laughed again, and she rolled her eyes.
"Enjoy your dinner," Sharon said to him as she ushered the kids down the hall.
"Hey, I'm going to heat up this vegetable lasagna I made Sunday and had with my kids. Did you eat already? I'm willing to share," he told her. She stopped and turned back toward him.
"Oh, ahh, don't worry about me. I'm going to put the kids to bed," she explained.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "So? Did you eat?"
"Ahh, no," she said quickly, looking down at the kids there at her feet.
"I'll wait," he told her. "I'm going to grab a shower myself. Wanted to talk to you about a few things, so if it's okay, we can just talk and eat."
"Sure," Sharon said, her eyes darting, trying to figure out what he wanted to discuss. He must have sensed her uneasiness.
"Meet you back in the kitchen later. I'll heat up dinner," he nodded to her. She was pulled by Emily toward the back of the house and turned to go with her.
It was over an hour later when Sharon finally emerged from the back of the house, brushing her hair out of her face as she let out a long, tired sigh.
"Ahh, it's finally quiet in the house. Sorry," she waved, "long day, but it doesn't sound like my day was that bad compared to yours."
Andy was at the sink, and he just nodded, "Yeah, always hard to find a dead kid. Thanks for letting me spend a few minutes with yours."
"Anytime," Sharon said, walking to the table where she sat. Andy had put the food out and was just getting them both a glass of water. He returned to the table with them as Sharon looked around at the spread. "This looks wonderful, Andy. Thank you for dinner."
"Just leftovers," he shrugged as he sat across from her. "Three-day old leftovers to be exact. It's not exactly something spectacular."
Sharon eyed him, "Better than sweet potatoes and pasta noodles, some of which I scraped off the floor."
"True," Andy chuckled lightly and sat there, his elbows resting on the table as he crossed his fingers. "So, I'm glad we had a chance to sit down this evening. I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh," Sharon looked up at him with slightly raised eyebrows. She took her bite and sat back, waiting for him to continue.
"Yeah, ahh, so," he started to wildly gesture with his hands, "ahh, well."
"Andy?" Sharon shook her head slightly and looked at him.
"Okay, so, I got that apartment," he admitted and met her gaze.
"That's just great, Andy," Sharon said with a single nod as she looked back at him. "You were stumbling over your words for that?" Sharon chuckled as she asked him that. He made a face at her, and she shook her head again.
"I can take the apartment March 1st, you know, in just a couple weeks. It's the best, right? Don't worry, though, I have a little cash saved to not leave you high and dry. I mean, you made my rent cheaper than most car payments, but I still want to keep up my end of the bargain."
"Oh," Sharon paused, trying to assess the situation. "No," she waved and continued, "that's great, really. I'm happy for you. I do hope you know you are welcome here as long as you need."
"Are you sure it's okay I go?" Andy asked, sitting forward. "Look, I don't want you to think I'm not grateful. You really gave me a chance when no one else wanted to do that, just you and Provenza," he said with a small smile. "I'm so appreciative of that and our friendship. You've become a great friend, Sharon, and while I won't be living here, I hope you know that I want to still be friends. You've helped greatly, and yeah, I know that the kids' visits require you there, but even that is going before the judge again next week. I'm really back on my feet and just cannot thank you enough."
"It's good news, Andy," Sharon said with a soft smile. "You should be very proud of yourself. You have been a good friend to me too. I'll miss our talks and this lasagna," she grinned as she said that and looked to her plate.
"To friendship," Andy said raising his glass of water.
"Friends," Sharon nodded to him. "It won't be the same around here."