Chapter Three: I'm Sorry

Manny's leg bounced up and down nervously as she sat on the couch with Lily on one side of her and Lucas on the other. She had already fed Isabella and put her down for a nap. Jimmy was upstairs playing video games with Jonathan. Finally, the doorbell rang but Manny stayed put. Lily jumped up and opened the door.

"Hi," she greeted him.

"Hey Lily. Hi Manny, hi Lucas," he said, waving from the doorway. He didn't move from his spot, but surveyed the living room. "You have a really nice place," he complimented her.

"Thanks," Manny said. She finally stood up when he didn't move and Lucas followed her to the door. "Ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Your car or mine?"

"We can go in mine." Chris followed Manny and the twins to her truck. She still had the same old Avalanche. Lily and Lucas climbed into the back, and Chris sat up front next to Manny. As they were pulling away, Manny looked up and saw Jimmy in the window. She waved and blew him a kiss.


"Wow, this place is still here?" Chris asked as they drove up to The Dot.

"Yeah, it's the same owner and everything. What exactly have you been doing since you got back?" Manny asked. She almost said 'got out,' but didn't want the kids to ask anything.

"Well, I got a job at the grocery store, and I've been saving up money for a bigger place, as well as something else," he explained, taking off his seat belt and getting out of the truck. He followed Manny into the restaurant, where she sat at their old table. Lucas sat down next to Manny, and Lily sat with Chris. "I'm also looking for a higher paying job."

"Do you know what you want?" Manny asked him. He nodded his head and she called a waiter over. "Joe, we'll have the usual," she said to him. Chris told him what he wanted and he left to put the order in.

"I guess the only thing that's changed is that Spinner doesn't work here anymore," he said.

"Uncle Spinner isn't here anymore," Lucas said. It was the first thing he said all day.

"Where did he go? Did he move or something?" Chris asked, a little confused.

"He went to Heaven," Lily whispered and started to cry. Looking shocked, Chris put an arm around Lily and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said, looking at Manny. She gave him a small smile and a look that said 'I'll tell you later.' Lily stopped crying and wiped her eyes off.

"So, you two," Chris said to the twins, trying to change the subject. "What grade are you in now?" he asked.

"We're in fourth grade right now. Our teacher's name is Mrs. Patrick," Lily told him.

"You're in the same class?"

"Yeah, we are," Lucas said. Chris was glad that he was finally talking now.

"Our brother is in third grade," Lily added. "He likes school better than we do."

"If you're really our dad, then why don't you know this already?" Lucas asked suddenly.

"Lucas: don't be rude!" Manny scolded him.

"It's okay, he's right. I want you two to know that I love you very much, and I always have. I've been away for a long time, and I'm so sorry that I couldn't see you. I wish that I was there while you grew up," he explained. He knew that Manny hadn't told them that he was in prison, so he wasn't going to either.

"Well, we have a dad. He's always been there, ever since we were babies. Mom always told us that you were our dad, and showed us pictures of you, but we already have a dad, and he lives with us," Lucas said.

Chris looked hurt. He was hurt, and Manny could tell. He didn't know what to say either. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"You can just call me Chris if you want. I know that Jimmy is like a father to you."

"Okay Chris," Lily said, trying it out. "Sorry that we can't call you dad."

"That's okay," Chris said and smiled.

"I want to go home now," Lucas said, crossing his arms.

"Sorry about this," Manny said to Chris.

"It's fine, really."

"Hey Joe, can we have that food to go?" Manny yelled to him. Joe nodded his head and a few minutes later, brought over a bag. Chris pulled out his wallet and paid for the food. Everyone walked back to the truck and got in silently. Manny drove back to her house and the kids got out of the car.

"Maybe we can hang out again sometime," Chris said, smiling at them. Lucas ran off into the house.

"Bye Chris!" Lily yelled before following him.

"Tell your dad that I'll be right there!" Manny yelled after her kids.

"Okay mom!" Lily yelled back, turning around to wave.

"I imagined that going differently," Chris said.

"Sorry, I just don't think Lucas is ready for any of this. He really broke down when Spinner died. They were only five," she explained.

"I just can't believe it. How did that happen?" Chris asked.

"He was working late at The Dot, and it got held up. Some idiot came in with a gun and told him to empty the register. Spinner refused, and he shot him twice in the chest. He died instantly," Manny said, tears filling her eyes. "Even though it happened four years ago, it's still hard to talk about. He loved Maia more than anything. She still doesn't really understand what happened. Paige and Jake adopted her."

"What about Hazel? Why doesn't she have her?" he asked.

"I guess you never heard. Hazel left when Maia was born. She gave up her parental rights to Spinner. No one even knows where she is. I'm not sure if she knows about Spinner."

"I'm so sorry," Chris said.

"About what?" Manny asked.

"About everything really. Everything that has happened, everything I ever put you through. I never meant to hurt anyone. Especially not you."

"I know that. I'm sorry that Lucas ruined the day that you had planned," Manny apologized.

"He didn't ruin it. It was dumb for me to think that I could just pop back into their lives. I want to try this again though. Maybe next time we should just stay at your house or something," he suggested. They finally got out of the truck and stood by Chris' car.

"I'll call you sometime this week to come up with a day. Maybe sometime after they get out of school," Manny told him. She put her arms around him and hugged him. For a split second, she missed hugging Chris and being with him. But then she realized that she wasn't sixteen anymore. She had to let him go.

When Manny hugged him, Chris ran a hand up her back. He missed being this close to her. He smelled her hair and smiled. When Manny pulled away, Chris looked into her eyes and fought the urge to kiss her. He knew he couldn't, especially since Jimmy or one of the kids could be watching.

He hesitantly let go of her and got into his car. She waved goodbye and went into the house. As Chris was pulling out of the driveway, he said, "I'm sorry that I ever let you go," and drove away.