Chapter Two: Catching Up
"Anything interesting happen today?" Jimmy kissed his wife when he walked into the house. She smiled and kissed him back.
"Daddy!" all the kids yelled when they saw him. He kissed and hugged each one of them and then picked Isabella up and kissed her too. He sat down next to Manny on the couch.
"Hey guys, why don't you all go play while I talk to Daddy okay?" Manny suggested. Lily, Lucas, and Jon ran up the stairs to their playroom.
"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked when he noticed the look on Manny's face.
"Chris called today. He wants to see they kids," she said.
"And you told him no, right?" Jimmy asked. When Manny didn't say anything or look at him, he knew the answer.
"I told him that I'd talk to you first. I know he messed up, but I think he should spend some time with him. I'm not talking joint custody or anything, just visiting them once in awhile," Manny explained.
"He's not seeing Jonathan."
"I wasn't planning on letting him. Jon doesn't know him at all. I don't want him to be confused," she said.
"Tomorrow I have the day off, so I'll watch the kids and you can go talk to Chris about all of this. Just don't bring him here right away. And if he doesn't agree with any of our rules, he can't see them," Jimmy told her.
"This is why I love you," Manny kissed Jimmy on the lips, and snuck her tongue into his mouth. "You know everything that I'm thinking."
"I love you too," Jimmy said and smiled.
Manny sipped her water and waited for Chris to show up. She never liked coffee, but this was where he asked her to meet him.
"You look great for just having a baby," he said as he walked over to her.
"Thanks," she replied. Chris leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before joining her.
"So, how are my kids?" Chris asked, getting right to the point.
"They're fine," Manny said and took another sip of her water.
"When do I get to see them?"
"It's not that easy Chris…" she began to say.
"Why not? They're my children. Look, I know that I was in prison and missed them growing up. I made a huge mistake and I can't take it back, but I still love my kids. They were the only thing I had to look forward to while I sat in my cell. Well, besides you, of course."
"I told you that I couldn't wait for you," Manny whispered.
"I know, I just…I just thought that you might be willing to work things out when I got home. What have you been up to since you visited me?" he asked her.
"Well, Jimmy and I dated for three years while we were in college and then he asked me to marry him. We got engaged and I lived with him for five more years before we got married. When I finished college, I waited a year to start my careers, then three more years of working before we set a date…"
"It was the exact day that I got out," Chris interrupted.
"We didn't know that. Anyway, I found out that I was pregnant a week after we got married, and I had a baby girl."
"I love her name," Chris said.
"Do you know that Isabella was Sera's middle name?" Manny asked. "That's why we gave her that name."
"No…I didn't." Chris became quiet. A tear rolled down his cheek but he quickly wiped it away. He was hoping that Manny didn't notice. She did, but she didn't say anything. "So, what did you go to college for?" he asked.
"I had a double major in Business Management and Child Development. I've opened up my own adoption agency here in Toronto," she explained. "For now, I've turned my duties over to Emma, my best employee. I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom until Bella starts school. But when she's a little older, I'll probably just be able to bring her to work with me for a few hours each day."
"I knew you'd end up doing something with children, you love them so much," Chris said. "Who watched the kids while you were in school?"
"Spike watched them a lot, and so did Paige's mom. Heather and Jason watched them when I had night classes," she told him.
"And Jimmy? What does he do?"
"He went to Medical School," Manny said proudly. "He just finished all of his school and started his residency over at the hospital."
"Wow," Chris said. He realized that he was glad Jonathan grew up with such a wonderful family. This got him back to the kids. "So…when can I see them?" he asked.
"Jimmy and I talked it over, and we both want you to know that you won't be getting any type of custody of any of them. Not even joint custody. You can visit them at our house and play with them, but they won't be able to sleep over your house or anything like that." Chris sighed.
"I understand. But can I see them today?" he asked anxiously.
"Actually, we've got a lot of stuff to get done, so today's not a good day. Tomorrow would be much better," she said. "We have church until 11, so anytime after that."
"Is 12 okay? Maybe I can take them out to lunch," Chris suggested.
"At first, if you take them anywhere, I have to come with you. They haven't seen you in a long time, and only remember you from pictures. It will take them awhile to warm up to you," Manny said.
"Fine," Chris replied, a little coldly. He was about to leave but then remembered he needed her address. "Where do you live?" he asked. Manny wrote the address on a napkin.
"One more thing before you go. I don't' know if you've realized this or not, but you won't be able to spend any time with Jonathan," Manny blurted out.
"Why not?" Chris asked angrily. He almost yelled it but then realized where they were.
"He doesn't even know you Chris. He doesn't know you're his father and besides, you gave up your parental rights. Jimmy is his father now, and I'm his mother. I'm not going to confuse him by telling him that we're not really his parents. We've decided not to tell him until he's old enough to know."
"But he's my son," Chris said through gritted teeth.
"Biologically he is, but you are a stranger to him. You won't be seeing him," Manny said and stood up to leave. "I'll have Lily and Lucas ready and the four of us can go out to lunch tomorrow. Then maybe you can come back to our house and play with them for awhile. Bye." She walked out of the little café and got into her car. Chris was extremely angry that she wouldn't let him see his son, but he knew that if he had made a scene, she wouldn't even let him be with the twins. He had to figure out a way to be with Jonathan.
A/N: Just to let you know, Isabella's middle name (Makaia) is pronounced Muh-Kay-Uh.
