Chapter 4: Without a Doubt

When Manny and Chris finally got the kids home, Manny made her way to the kitchen to make snacks for them. "You can make yourself at home in the living room or help make snacks if you want," she told Chris.

"I think I'll stay in here and help if that's okay with you," he replied. They made celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins (they were supposed to be ants on a log) for the boys, and Manny heated up some banana baby food for Quinn. When all the kids were done eating, the boys ran upstairs to their playroom and Manny put the baby in the playpen in the living room. Within minutes, Quinn fell asleep. Manny grabbed two baby monitors (one was for the living room and the other one went to the playroom) and attached them to her belt.

"Do you want a tour of the house or something?" she asked Chris.

"Sure," he responded. Manny led him upstairs and showed him the playroom and bedrooms. Jayden and Caleb shared a bedroom, while Anthony's room and Quinn's nursery were separated by wooden sliding doors. Jason and Heather's bedroom was upstairs too, as well as two bathrooms (one for them and one for the kids), and the laundry room. Downstairs, she showed Chris the living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom that was basically hers. "Where's your room?" he asked.

"It's down there," she replied while pointing to the basement door.

"In the basement?" he asked. "That's gotta suck."

"Actually, it's really nice," she told him. "Come on, I'll show you." She opened the door with one hand while she grabbed his hand with her other one, and led him down the stairs. Manny had a queen-sized bed on the wall across from the stairs. Near her bed was her stereo, CDs, and bookshelves. On the adjoining wall was her computer on her desk. In another corner stood her TV, with more shelves that held DVDs. There was a big couch in front of the TV. Her closet was on the opposite wall from her bed, and there were built-in drawers for more clothes. Chris noticed another door over near Manny's bed.

"What is that room?" he asked, pointing to the door.

"Oh, that's just a room for storage. And the door to go outside is in there too," she explained.

"Well I have to say this is a nice room, especially since it's in the basement. I mean, our basement isn't finished off. It just has wooden walls and a concrete floor."

"Yep, this is my wonderful bedroom. It's actually much bigger and nicer than my old room." She sat down on her bed and had a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked her as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Oh, I was just thinking about my parents. It's too bad that we didn't get along. I love living here, it's just weird when I think about it sometimes. I do miss them occasionally. It's just more peaceful here. I feel like I'm loved more."

"Manny, you're parents love you. I fight with my parents all the time too. Every teenager does. I don't see why anyone wouldn't love you, you're beautiful."

"Do you really mean that Chris?" she asked. Instead of answering, Chris leaned towards Manny and kissed her on the lips.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling. This time Manny leaned in to kiss Chris. Right in the middle of their kiss, they heard crying through the baby monitor. "I better go check on Quinn," Manny said, pulling away. She smiled at Chris one more time before getting up. He followed her upstairs and into the living room. Manny picked the baby up and comforted her. "It's okay honey. Don't cry. Mommy will be home soon," she said. Quinn stopped crying.

"You're really good with kids huh?" Chris asked her.

"Yeah, I've always been. But I gotta go change her diaper. You can come help, but trust me, you'd probably rather stay down here."

"I think I'll just sit in the living room or something," he replied.

"Good choice," Manny said while grinning. "I'll be right back." Chris watched her walk up the stairs until she disappeared from sight. She really is beautiful, he thought. But how can I be falling for someone so quickly? He wondered. In a few minutes, Manny re-emerged from upstairs. She sat down on the couch next to Chris. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked.

"Um, sure, I guess so. I've never held a baby before," he said.

"Well, she's old enough that you don't have to hold her head or anything," Manny explained and handed Quinn over to him. "Boys!" she yelled up to the kids. "Why don't you come downstairs and watch TV with us. Mommy and Daddy will be home in a little bit!" she yelled. Jayden, Caleb, and Anthony came running down the stairs. "Slow down guys, don't hurt yourselves." She turned back to Chris. "You're doing good with her," she told him. "She likes you. And trust me, she doesn't like very many people," she added. Then she turned the TV on and changed the channel to Nickelodeon for the kids. About ten minutes later, Heather got home.

"Hey guys," she said to everyone. Chris immediately stood up and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Chris," he said. "Thanks for letting me come over."

"Nice to meet you Chris," Heather said, shaking his hand. "You can stay for dinner if you like."

"I'd love to. Can I use your phone? I left my cell phone at home," he said.

"Sure, it's in the kitchen." When he walked out of the room, Heather turned to Manny and gave her a look showing that she approved. "He's very polite," she said. "But anyway, Jason will be home in a half hour. Do you want to help me cook dinner?"

"Sure." They both walked into the kitchen and Chris was just hanging up the phone. Many placed Quinn in her highchair.

"My parents said it was okay," he told them.

"Great, we're gonna cook dinner now," Manny said.

"Well I'm not good at cooking so I'll go play with the boys." He went into the living room and turned off the TV. "Come on guys, do you wanna go play upstairs?" He went up to their playroom with them.

When Manny and Heather were finished cooking, Chris was still upstairs with the kids. Before they called him down, they set the table. Jason came home a minute later. "You're just in time for dinner, we have a guest," Heather said while greeting him by kissing his lips.

"And who might our guest be?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Manny's boyfriend," Heather taunted.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Manny complained. "Not yet anyway," she added. "Chris! Can you bring the boys down? Dinner's ready," she yelled. A few minutes later, Chris and the boys entered the kitchen.

"All their hands are washed," he told Heather. She thanked him and turned to Jason.

"Jason this is Chris; Chris, my husband, Jason." They shook hands with each other and Manny was getting a little impatient.

"Time to eat!" she announced. Everyone sat down at the dining room table. Jason and Heather each sat at one end of the table. Quinn was next to Jason so he could feed her, and Anthony was next to Heather for the same reason. Jayden and Caleb sat on one side of the table, next to Quinn, and Manny and Chris were on the other side, next to Anthony.

"This lasagna looks great," Chris commented.

"Thanks," Manny and Heather said in unison. "Dig in everyone," Heather added. After a minute or so of silence, Jason spoke up.

"So Chris, are you from Canada originally?" he asked.

"No, actually I'm from New York City," Chris replied. "We moved here because of my mom's job."

"What does she do?" Heather asked.

"She's the Vice President of a bank in New York. The bank was bought by a company here in Canada, so we moved," he explained.

"Are you glad that you moved? Or would you rather be back in New York?" Manny asked.

"Well, it's very different here. I do miss my neighborhood and friends, but I'm actually glad that we moved here. Well, I'm glad that I met you anyway," he told her. Manny blushed.

"Me too," she said.

"Ok, save the mushy stuff for later," Jason joked. "Honey, the lasagna was delicious," he told his wife.

"Hey! I helped make it too," Manny protested.

"That's a compliment to both of you then, isn't it?" Jason offered.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Daniels," Chris said.

"You can call us Jason and Heather," Jason said.

"Okay, I'll remember that. Do you need any help with the dishes or the kids?" he asked them.

"No, we're all set. Why don't you two watch a movie or something?" Heather recommended. Chris and Manny headed downstairs to find something to do.

"What do you want to do? We could watch a movie, listen to music, or play one of Jason's video games," Manny suggested.

"You can decide. I don't care what we watch, just as long as I'm with you," Chris answered.

"Aw that's so sweet," she said.

"Well, I try. I'll do whatever you want to," he told her.

"I feel like watching a movie. Have you seen Secret Window? Johnny Depp is my absolute favorite and it's a good movie," Manny explained.

"Nope, haven't seen it. Sounds good to me," he said. Manny put the DVD in and started the movie. After about ten minutes, Chris inched closer to her on the couch. A few minutes after that, he put his arm around her. Manny was so happy. She hadn't felt so good since Craig asked her out on her first date. When the movie was over, Chris yawned and looked at his watch. "Well, it's getting late. I should probably be going," he said. Only seconds after his comment, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Heather called down.

"Hey Chris I better bring you home before your parents get mad. It's almost 9," she said.

"I'm coming!" he called back. He turned towards Manny and hugged her. "I had a great time. Thanks."

"I had fun too," she said right before she kissed him. He started to walk away and turned around to face her.

"I have one more question though," he told her.

"And that would be…"

"When's our second date?" he asked. Manny just watched him walk up the stairs, speechless. When she heard the front door close, indicating that Heather had left to bring Chris home, she picked up her phone and began to dial.

"Emma! I have sooooooo much to tell you! Without a doubt, I just had the best night of my life!"