Chapter Four: Early Passion
Manny woke up early on Monday morning and kissed Jimmy on the cheek before getting up to make breakfast. Jimmy went to work around five am so that he could be home by two, having an hour to spend with his wife before the kids got home from school. Manny always got up on Monday mornings to make breakfast for him. She was usually too tired to do it every day.
"Something smells great," Jimmy said as he walked into the kitchen, wearing black pants, a white button-down shirt, and a gray tie. His white lab coat and stethoscope were in his locker at the hospital. He stood behind Manny and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling him close to him. He kissed her on the cheek and she put the spatula down on the counter. She turned around and kissed him this time, slipping her tongue into his mouth.
"Good morning," she said, turning back to her cooking. She made pancakes, sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs: Jimmy's favorite. There was a cup of milk on the table next to his plate. Manny dumped all of the food onto two plates and sat down with her husband.
Jimmy loved to read the newspaper in the mornings, but always took it to work with him to read on his break. He never read it at the table, and Manny loved that. Instead, they talked about the kids and what they had to do each day. When they were both finished, Jimmy cleared the table off and gave Manny one more kiss before grabbing his cell phone and car keys from an end table in the living room.
"I love you," he said as he walked to the door.
"I love you too," Manny told Jimmy, closing the door behind him. She walked back to the kitchen, putting all of the food into Tupperware containers in the refrigerator. She'd just heat it up for the kids. Then she looked at the clock on the wall. She only had a half hour to take a shower before Lily, Lucas, and Jon woke up. She was surprised that Isabella hadn't woken up yet, but then again, she couldn't remember getting up in the middle of the night to feed her. Jimmy must have done it, and it must have been really late, or she would have been awake by now. Manny went upstairs to her bedroom, undressed, and jumped into the shower in her and Jimmy's bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Manny stepped out of the shower, walked into her bedroom, and put her bathrobe on. She walked through the door that joined their room with the nursery, and went over to Isabella's crib. She was wide awake, lying on her back, laughing as she entertained herself. Manny carefully lifted her out of the crib and held her close. It had been so long since she had a baby that she almost forgot what it was like. All she remembered was that it was the best feeling in the world.
As Manny walked down the hallway towards the stairs, she could smell bacon. As she passed the kids' bedrooms, she noticed that none of them were there. Oh no, she thought to herself. I hope the kids aren't trying to reheat their own food! She hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, and was so surprised that she almost dropped her daughter.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Chris. He was serving the kids their re-heated food as they all sat at the kitchen table, patiently waiting.
"I'm giving them breakfast," he answered innocently.
"I can see that. But how did you get here in the first place?"
"I came by to see the kids. They were already awake when I got here, Lily let me in," he explained.
"I told you that I'd call you and let you know when you could come over," Manny said, a little too harsh.
"If I had known it would have upset you this much, I wouldn't have come at all," Chris said, getting ready to leave.
"No, it's okay. You can stay. Help yourself." Manny walked into the living room and put Bella in her baby swing, turning it onto the lowest speed. When she went back into the kitchen, Chris was sitting at the table, shoveling food into his mouth. At first, Manny was disgusted, but then she realized that he probably didn't get much to eat at home. He had mentioned that he was saving his money for something, and he was looking a little thin. They all finished eating and Manny began to wash the dishes. She looked at the clock.
"Go get dressed and brush your teeth," she told her sons and daughter. "I left your clothes on your beds." Lily rolled her eyes, and at that moment, Chris realized how much she looked like Manny.
"Mom, we can pick out our own clothes you know," she said.
"I know, I just like to. You know what; I promise that today's the last day. At least I can pick out your sister's clothes and she won't say anything about it," Manny joked.
"Oh yeah Mom, that helps, seeing as today is our last day of school." She rolled her eyes one more time.
"Well, it's not my fault that your school decided to have the last day on a Monday!" Manny called after her as the three of them ran upstairs to get ready for school.
"She is just too funny," Chris said about Lily.
"Yeah she is," Manny said, turning back to the dishes.
"She reminds me of you a lot," he told her. "But hey, I was thinking, since you're not dressed yet, why don't I walk the kids to the bus? Jon was telling me that you walk them and then leave before the bus comes so they're not embarrassed. I think it's cute," he said.
"As long as they don't mind, it's fine with me," Manny told him. They came running down the stairs, dressed in the clothes that she had picked out for them. "Hey guys, is it okay if Chris walks you down to the bus?" she asked them as they put their backpacks on.
"Sure!" Lily and Jon yelled in unison.
"How about you Luc? You up for it?" Manny asked him. He nodded his head silently. Manny kissed them all on the cheek and watched as Chris walked out the door with her kids. He was good with them, she had to admit.
"Be right back," Chris said, interrupting her from her thoughts. Manny liked seeing him happy. She knew that being in prison was just as hard on him as it had been for her. Still, she had managed to move on and hoped he could too. Manny went over to Bella's swing, turned it off, and took her out. She sat on the couch and began to feed her, singing to her.
The door opened and Chris walked in. Manny instantly stopped singing, but Bella wasn't finished eating. Chris sat down next to her on the couch without saying a word. Once Manny finished feeding her daughter, she put her back into her swing.
"It seems like it was only yesterday that I watched you feed Lily and Lucas," Chris said quietly. "You are so great with your children."
"How was your walk?" Manny asked, changing the subject.
"It was great. I held Lily's backpack while she did cartwheels. She'll be on the Spirit Squad when she gets to DCS," he said, laughing. "Jonathan was telling me all about his teacher and how much he loves to read."
"What was Lucas like?" she asked, curious.
"He was pretty quiet, but when we got to the bus stop, he thanked me for walking with them. It was a little odd, but I welcome anything I can get out of him." Then an awkward silence filled the room. A few minutes later, Manny broke it.
"I think it's good, what you're doing with the twins. Trying to get closer to them. I know that you love them; it'll just take a little while since they haven't even seen you for a long time. They turn ten in a month. You should come to the party, it's on their birthday," Manny informed him.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Chris said. Manny flashed him one of her beautiful smiles, and he couldn't help himself. He put his hand on her leg and slid it up underneath her bathrobe. When she didn't move, he leaned in and kissed her lightly. He felt her bare thigh quiver under his hand. Manny shoved him off of her and wiped her mouth off.
"I can't believe you just did that!" she yelled at him.
"You didn't exactly stop me!" he yelled right back.
"You're right, and I shouldn't have let that happen." All she could think about was that day, so long ago, when her and Jimmy had almost had sex behind Chris' back. "I have to get her dressed, and get ready to go. I was thinking of going into the office today. You should go," Manny said. She stood, picked her daughter up, and made her way to the stairs. She could feel Chris staring at her as she walked away, and then heard him mutter a quick 'goodbye' and shut the door behind him.
She quickly dressed Bella and placed her in the middle of her bed while she got dressed. She had put wedges on either side of her to keep her from rolling over. Manny picked her up when she was finished and headed for the door. She went outside, locked the door behind her, and made her way to the truck. She was ready to put the morning's events behind her.
