Chapter Three: Five Months
"Jack? What are you doing here? Where's Michelle?" Tony had picked up the phone before he even sat down.
He hadn't seen Jack in almost a year. Hell, he hadn't seen anyone from his old life apart from Michelle and his lawyer since he'd been taken into custody. And if Jack was here, that must mean that Michelle couldn't or didn't want to come, and Tony was afraid to speculate as to why that might be…
Jack was smiling mysteriously. Ignoring Tony's frustration, he slowly reached into his pocket, pulled something out and held it up against the glass.
It was a polaroid photograph of Michelle, grinning, sitting up in bed... with a tiny baby in her arms.
"Zoe Rose Almeida, born yesterday, 11:17pm, eight pounds two ounces." Jack's smile widened. "Congratulations, Tony."
Tony let out a small laugh of disbelief. Speechlessly he stared at the picture, reaching out to touch the glass that separated it from him.
He had a daughter.
Seeing that Tony wasn't quite ready to speak yet, Jack continued, "They're both doing fine. Michelle says she'll send you a letter with more photographs, and I'll leave this one with the warden so you can have it right away."
"Uh-huh," said Tony, still staring intently at the image of his wife and newborn child.
Jack regarded his old co-worker in silence for a moment, leaving Tony to gaze at the photograph in awe before he shook his head and apologized to Jack for his lack of attention.
Jack shrugged it off. "I remember when Kim was born. I felt like I could just look at her for hours... I still do, sometimes."
Tony nodded and contemplated him for a moment. "Thanks, Jack."
"No problem. Listen, Tony, I gotta run... it was great seeing you."
"Yeah," said Tony, slightly disconcerted by this abrupt change of pace. "You too."
Jack paused, nodded briefly and turned to go, taking the photograph with him.
Tony thought about Michelle and their daughter and suddenly found himself trying very hard not to cry.