A/N: This is a companion Father's Day piece to the first story in this series. It's set a few years after the first story. I wrote it in honor of Father's Day on Sunday. It's one of the reasons why my other longer story The Courtship of Mike and Connie is slightly behind schedule this week. Seems only right that if Connie got a Mother's Day story on Mother's Day that Mike got one for Father's Day. :) Thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, for her invaluable advice.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.
Happily Ever After - One Fine Father's Day
Home of Michael Cutter and Consuela Rubirosa, 5267 Sandpiper Cove, Sunday, June 16
It's 7:30 and Connie can hear Megan getting out of her new toddler bed. Since switching her daughter out of her crib the previous week, they have spent more time bringing her back to the bed than they ever imagined possible. However, there will soon be a need for Megan's crib and Connie had heard from friends with more than one child that it was best not to link the arrival of the baby with the removal of the crib. They had moved out into the suburbs last year, when Connie had been expecting again. Two weeks after the move, she suffered a miscarriage. The loss as a whole had been extremely difficult on both Connie and Mike.
Reluctantly, Connie gets up to intercept the toddler before she can make a beeline to her daddy. It's Father's Day after all and Mike has been doing a lot of overtime recently with a new case, so he deserves a little sleep. Extreme fatigue has been the outstanding characteristic of this pregnancy only about eight weeks in, much more so than when she had been pregnant with Megan. Maybe it has to do with having to run around with a toddler after working all day. Connie had gone to bed right after Megan was asleep last night and she still felt like she could sleep the whole day.
Connie walks out of the master bedroom just as Megan opens her bedroom door from across the hall. "Mommy!" squeals Megan who is looking more and more like a little girl every day with Connie's features and Mike's coloring. She runs as fast as she can to Connie, so happy to see one of her parents.
"Shhhh," says Connie with a finger at her mouth. "Daddy's still asleep and we don't want to wake him. Let's use the bathroom and brush our teeth before we go downstairs for breakfast."
Megan nods eagerly. Connie picks her up and puts her on her hip to avoid her own belly area before taking Megan to the bathroom. Since finding out a month ago, Connie's belly has been extremely sensitive to pressure of any kind and a thirty-pound toddler provides a lot of pressure. After closing the bathroom door, Connie puts Megan on the toilet after finding a dry pull-up.
When Megan is done, Connie wipes and helps her with her clothing. "Good girl for staying dry."
"Candy?" asks Megan, knowing that her reward for a dry overnight is a lollipop.
"After breakfast," says Connie as she directs Megan to the stool in front of the sink. "Now wash your hands."
Megan climbs up on the stool while Connie turns on the tap. Megan reaches for the soap dispenser and Connie squirts a dot of soap onto Megan's hands.
"More soap?" asks Megan looking at her mother.
"That's enough, sweetie. Let's brush our teeth." Connie hopes that the distraction of teeth brushing is enough.
"Teethpaste!" squeals Megan as she reaches for her toothbrush and kiddie toothpaste.
"Megan, let Mommy help, please," says Connie in a tone that brooks no argument.
Megan reluctantly hands the toothpaste to Connie who squeezes a dollop on Megan's toothbrush. Not wanting to go into the ensuite bath to get her own toothbrush to avoid waking Mike, Connie opens one of the new toothbrushes that are available for guests and brushes her teeth with Megan's toothpaste. Connie figures the bubblegum flavor, which is somewhat gag worthy, won't kill her just this once.
Once they are done, Connie takes Megan downstairs and puts her into her high chair. This is yet another thing that they will have to transition Megan out of in the next year. Connie settles Megan with some cheese string while she goes about making a couple of toaster waffles for Megan. The kitchen is disproportionately large for a house this size, but Mike had fallen in love with the granite counter tops, the island, the numerous cupboards and drawers upon drawers which include two made just for spices. Since he was the better cook in the family, Connie hadn't objected too strenuously, but it makes toast making in the mornings with a toddler that much more of an exercise.
While Megan is enjoying her waffles to some preschool program in Spanish, Connie takes the opportunity to call her father to wish him a Happy Father's Day. Since Megan was born, Connie made a pact with her parents. Connie would bring at least Megan to see her parents in Brooklyn on the Saturday and then she, Mike and Megan would be free to spend Father's Day as a family. Mike had been delighted when she made the arrangement for his first Father's Day and it has been upheld ever since. Connie had thought it was equitably fair for Mike to have his holiday this way since he spent every other holiday with her family.
So yesterday, because Mike had to work overtime, Connie had taken Megan to see her beloved abeulo for the day. They had gone to the zoo for the afternoon and Connie had taken her parents out to dinner to celebrate. Megan had fallen asleep on the way home and Connie was barely able to transfer her to her bed before collapsing in her own bed from exhaustion. She had been so tired that she ended up texting Mike even though he was just in his home office downstairs. "Home now. Megan asleep. Very tired. Good night." Mike office is in the back of the house so he didn't hear them come in.
Soon there after, Mike had come up to check on them and she and Mike had chatted briefly before she had fallen asleep in his arms. He must have gone back to his work after since when she got up to use the bathroom two hours later, he was gone. She isn't sure when he got to bed but it was sometime after 1:00 as she had woken up and saw 1:06 on the alarm clock and his side of the bed was still empty.
After a couple of rings, her mother picks up and they have a chat for a few minutes in Spanish about Megan and her current pregnancy while she puts her own toast in the toaster, then Connie asks for her father. She wishes him a Happy Father's Day and tells him that Megan wants to talk to him. Connie brings the phone to Megan and turns it to speakerphone.
"Megan, Abeulo wants to talk to you," Connie says.
"'Beulo, 'Beulo. Zoo, again?" asks Megan remembering her adventures with her grandfather from the previous day.
"I had a wonderful time at the zoo yesterday with you, Meganita," says Enrique Rubirosa in accented English.
"Say Happy Father's Day to Abeulo, Megan," Connie urges.
"Happy Day, 'Beulo!" says Megan obediently.
"Thank you, Meganita."
"Say bye, bye to Abeulo," says Connie.
"Bye, bye, 'Beulo." Megan waves at the handset.
Connie turns off the speakerphone and speaks with her father in Spanish for a bit more before hanging up. Connie then pours herself a coffee and butters her toast before bringing it to the couch to eat beside Megan in the family room.
After a few bites of her toast and a couple of sips of decaf, Connie has to run to the powder room as the bubblegum-flavored toothpaste has thoroughly turned her stomach. After a few dry heaves, Connie manages to calm her stomach enough to flush, rinse and exit the bathroom. Note to self: Do not use Megan's toothpaste again. What was I thinking?
When she gets back to the couch, she rests awhile before putting water to boil in the kettle for tea. Fortunately, Megan is happily occupied by her TV programming and Connie can focus on herself for a little bit. Sipping some mint tea in the kitchen helped her soothe her stomach. Connie had experienced a few bouts of severe nausea while pregnant with Megan and there had been a few bouts of nausea this past week, but she really didn't expect the toothpaste to cause her to throw up.
Just as the tea is calming her stomach, Megan wants out of her high chair. So Connie let her out so she could play in the family room where Megan's toys were kept in ever increasing bins. June Cutter may have been a neglectful mother to Mike, but she seems to want to make up for it with her granddaughter by buying her toys and clothes. Right after they had moved out to the house, every week or two some package would arrive for Margaret Anne Cutter. Mike had to call his mother after Christmas to stop the constant flow as Christmas seemed no different than any other week except with more stuff. Now things arrived about once a month with the latest package arriving just a week ago. They hadn't told June about the new baby yet partially in fear that packages would begin arriving again on a weekly basis.
Connie is sitting on the couch utterly exhausted. After Megan was in the high chair for breakfast, Connie doesn't want to put her straight in the baby corral, so Connie needs to be there so that she could be within arms reach of Megan. Connie puts Megan the corral after about fifteen minutes of freedom so that she can go and get another cup of decaf, if she has any hopes of giving Mike a decent Father's Day. Since Megan can still see the television, she doesn't make much of a fuss.
After Connie finishes her coffee at the breakfast bar and start to feel semi-human again, she starts to gather the ingredients to make Mike's favorite breakfast of sunny side up eggs, toast, bacon and sausage, and copious amounts of coffee. Connie finds it odd for a man who can cook at least ten different cuisines well that his favorite breakfast is essentially greasy spoon fare.
While the toast is being made, Connie lets Megan out of the corral and she beelines to the kitchen. Connie then goes to the refrigerator to take out the butter for the toast and a plate for the food. Once the eggs are done, Connie transfers them onto the plate before cracking an egg for herself into the pan. Despite the upset stomach earlier, Connie knows that she needs to eat as the nausea will return if she doesn't. It's then that the toast pops and Connie takes these and puts them on a separate side plate before putting more bread in the toaster for herself.
Looking at Megan who is on a stool she dragged from the broom closet, Connie says, "Remember Megan, when we go upstairs and see Daddy, we have to say, 'Happy Father's Day!' Just like you said to El Abeulo, OK?"
"Happy Day, Daddy?" asks Megan.
"Happy Father's Day," reiterates Connie.
As she's buttering the popped toast with Megan's help, Mike comes into the kitchen in his t-shirt and boxers, eyes still half closed and hair askew. Connie looks up and says, "Good morning. Did we wake you?"
"Good morning. No, it wasn't you," says Mike as he runs his hands through his hair to smooth it down slightly, " I needed to use the bathroom and then I heard you down here, so I came down."
"Daddy!" screams Megan extremely excited that her father is now available.
Mike comes over and picks her up before she decides to launch herself from the stool. "Good morning, sweet pea," says Mike before he gives her a kiss on the cheek which causes all sorts of giggles to burst forth from Megan as Mike still has stubble that tickles.
"If you want to bring Megan's high chair over and sit at the bar, breakfast will be ready in another five minutes. I was going to bring this up to you in bed, but now that you're down here, we can eat together," says Connie.
Mike leans over to give Connie a quick kiss and assesses her before asking in a concerned, hushed voice, "Did you sleep OK? You look tired."
"I'll be fine," says Connie as she puts the buttered toast together. "You know I could sleep all day if given the chance at this stage."
"Then why don't you?" asks Mike. "I could look after Megan since you took her out yesterday so I could get a bunch of work done."
"It's Father's Day, Mike. I can't let you do that. Besides, there's somewhere we have to be at 1:00."
Mike's forehead furrows. "There is? Where are we going?"
"Yes, there is and you'll find out soon enough. Go sit down," says Connie while she stirs her egg to scramble it. She then makes Mike's coffee before putting it in front of him.
"Thanks," says Mike as he takes Megan's cooking apron off and buckles her into her high chair. Mike sits down on the bar stool but before he takes a sip of his coffee, he makes a crazy face at Megan which sends her into another fit of giggles.
Connie puts a place mat in front of Mike before she hands him his plate and utensils. "Megan's already had a good breakfast so don't let her mooch all your food from you."
"Sure," says Mike absentmindedly as he hands Megan a strip of bacon.
Connie rolls her eyes when she sees this and says, "I'll give her a slice of my toast, when I'm done buttering it."
"It's OK," says Mike somewhat distracted as he's tickling Megan. "She can have one of mine. You're eating for two."
"No, she can have mine. The last round didn't go down too well and ended coming back up. I'm not likely to eat all of it anyway."
Mike looks up at Connie concerned at this new revelation. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm fine now," says Connie as she puts a place mat down at the bar before putting her own plate down. "I didn't want to wake you when Megan got up so I brushed my teeth with Megan's toothpaste this morning and the bubblegum flavor didn't agree with the baby at all."
Connie gets a glass of milk for herself and Megan. Connie then goes into the cupboard above the desk in the kitchen to get a card and gift each from her and Megan for Mike before sitting down. "Here you go. Megan's gift is the one with the silver wrapping paper and mine is the one in the envelope." Turning to Megan, Connie says, "What do you say to Daddy?"
In between chews, Megan pipes up, "Happy Day, Daddy!"
"Thank you, sweet pea," says Mike.
Mike moves his plate forward a little so that he has room to open the presents and the cards. He opens Megan's card first. When he sees her scribbles and her handprint signature, he smiles and says, "Thank you, Megan." Mike leans over to give Megan a kiss on the cheek. He then stands the card on the breakfast bar. When Mike rips the wrapping off her gift, it's a collage of pictures of Megan in a summer dress in different and very cute poses. They are obviously recent and they are adorable.
"I love these. When did you have time to get them done?" asks Mike.
"Three weeks ago when I worked from home and took the afternoon off," says Connie. "I took Megan out of day care early and we made an afternoon of it. I just picked them up Friday."
Megan sees the pictures of herself in the frame, reaches for it and says rather loudly, "Megan! I 'see, Daddy."
Mike shows her the collage and she proceeds to get her greasy fingers all over the new glass before he can take it out of her reach. "No, Megan. Fingers greasy."
Connie reaches for it and says, "Let me clean off the fingerprints so that you can bring it into the office tomorrow."
Mike hands over the collage and says, "How did you know I was going to take it to the office?"
Connie walks to the sink with the collage and says, "Because every new framed picture of Megan ends up in your office the day after I show it to you." Reaching under the sink, Connie pulls out some window cleaner, cleans the smudged glass with a paper towel. "For a man who didn't have any framed photographs of his family when I first met him at work or at home, you certainly have a lot of family pictures in your office now." Connie then carefully puts the cleaned frame down on the desk in the kitchen before returning to her seat at the breakfast bar.
"That's because when you met me, I didn't have a family. Now I do." Mike leans over and kisses Megan in the forehead to emphasize his point. "Thank you for the lovely pictures, Megan."
"So which one is coming home?" asks Connie knowing full well that if Mike wants to display this new collage that something will have to give as he has run out of space.
"Not sure yet, I have to think that one over. Let me open your card and gift." Mike reaches for the card and opens it. It's a funny card about the perfect father, who goes to work early and comes home late and yet manages to look after the children and do house work. How does he do it? By giving up his addiction to sleep. Connie's inscription says, "I think you're the perfect father, even though you are still getting some sleep. With Love, Connie." Looking at Connie full of emotion, Mike says, "Thank you. I love it." before leaning over to give Connie a kiss. Having had an absentee father himself, being told that he is the perfect father just made his Father's Day. This card joins Megan's on the breakfast bar.
"Now open your present. I hope you like it. I figured it was something that we could do as a family." Connie is now almost as excited as Mike.
Mike opens the envelope to find three third baseline front row field box tickets to that afternoon's game. "Where did you get these? They must have cost a fortune."
"Actually, remember Stephanie, my girlfriend from college who came to the open house? Her brother got them for him and his buddies months ago, but they forgot that it was the same weekend for another buddy's out of town wedding and they had to find someone for a quick unload and I snapped them up."
"You are the best. Thank you," says Mike as he's looking at Connie. He leans in and gives her a good long kiss. They only break up as Megan starts to get jealous of Daddy paying attention to someone other than her and complains. Mike clears his throat before smiling somewhat bashfully and says, "I love you. If you're feeling up to it later, I'd be more than happy to give you a proper thank you." Connie just smiles at him.
Connie says, "Here you go," and gives a piece of her toast to Megan who has polished off the bacon that Mike gave her.
Looking at the tickets in his hand, Mike says as he thinks of the logistics for the day, "We will have to leave at 11:00, if we want to be in our seats by 1:00. I guess we'll park at a subway station and take the subway down. There's really no point in trying to drive down there. That gives us an hour and a half to get ready."
"We can bring the umbrella stroller with us, so that Megan doesn't have to walk," suggests Connie having no desire to carry a toddler all the way from the park and ride to Yankee Stadium.
"I can carry Megan if it's difficult for you right now," offers Mike. "I'm not sure where to keep the stroller during the game. The area under the seats can be rather dirty." Mike puts the tickets on the breakfast bar away from the food before starting to eat again.
"I'll still put it in the SUV in case we get back into it after the game to go somewhere else," says Connie. "I'd rather not have you spend your Father's Day carrying a toddler around." The umbrella stroller had been invaluable for the zoo trip yesterday.
"I don't mind," says Mike after swallowing his bite of food. "I see it as a day that we're spending together and doing what's necessary to accomplish that. Besides, as the 'perfect father', I think I should be able to carry a toddler around." Mike winks at Connie in reference to her Father's Day card.
They then quickly finish off breakfast and start a load in the dishwasher. Mike heads up to grab a shower, while Connie gives Megan a quick toddler shower. Megan is none too pleased when she didn't get a chance to play in the water, but is fine again when Connie puts her in the corral with her lollipop treat for having a dry overnight and another preschool TV program so that she could get ready for the day. Megan doesn't get to watch TV very much, so she takes advantage when the show with the little girl with the monkey comes on.
While Mike is still in the shower, Connie takes the opportunity to pack the diaper bag. With his fair complexion, Mike burns very quickly and since they are calling for a sunny day, Connie packs a new spray can of sunscreen. She also puts the umbrella stroller out in the front hall so they will remember to take it with them.
Once Mike is ready, Connie goes up to get her shower. As a last minute decision, Connie takes the prescription for morning sickness with her. She doesn't want to take it yet since her obstetrician had said it could cause drowsiness and she isn't planning to use bubblegum toothpaste anytime soon, but depending on the smells of Yankee stadium on a hot summer day, she may have no choice.
When she comes downstairs, Mike has already put the stroller and diaper bag in their compact SUV and hats on himself and Megan. They are outside playing a game of chase in the front yard. Finding her sandals and hat, Connie puts them on, turns on the house alarm and heads out the door.
Not surprisingly, both Connie and Megan sleep on the drive to the park and ride by the nearest subway stop. Mike drives this route nearly every morning to get to work so he knows it like the back of his hand. It is actually a nicer drive since there is nowhere near the congestion that he sees during the weekday rush hour. Moving out to the suburbs after living in the city for most of his adult life has been a major change, but setting up a home office and working from home in the evenings and weekends have helped immensely. It means that he gets to spend a little time with Megan before she goes to bed every night and that's important to him. Also with the fact that Connie moved into a less strenuous job closer to home after the loss last year, he has time to reconnect with her nightly as well.
Mike had been a little apprehensive when they found out about a month ago that they were expecting again. It wasn't unexpected as they had been trying since the doctor gave the go ahead after the loss, but your innocence with the miracle of life is gone when having a positive test doesn't automatically mean bringing a baby home eight months later. It had been a difficult time for both of them. Connie had taken the loss personally. People who knew about the pregnancy had given as much support as they could, especially to Connie, but unless someone has gone through the same experience themselves, sometimes the most well-meant condolence causes more pain than if nothing had been said. Mike had consoled Connie each time it happened and oft times felt helpless in the process. Also, in having to console Connie, meant that Mike himself didn't get a chance to grieve the loss of his child-to-be.
What had surprised Mike the most had been how much he mourned the loss of someone he had never met and only knew in the abstract. There had been times in the months immediately afterward when he would be alone and something he was thinking about would trigger an avalanche of unexpected emotion surrounding the loss that threatened to overwhelm him. Perhaps it came from being Connie's primary source of support or from the fact that society felt fathers didn't feel the same pain because the child-to-be was never a part of them, whichever the case, the pain was real and weighted on him all the same for longer than he thought possible. In the end, what finally helped was planting a tree in remembrance in the backyard earlier this year.
Giving his sleeping family a quick glance, Mike is extremely thankful for what he has. Before Connie, family was a bunch of people he rarely saw halfway across the country. His father had been out of the picture since he was ten years old. His mother never saw him regularly again after he moved out to go to college and has only recently come back into his life after he started seeing Connie. Add the fact that he is an only child and family was a fleeting ideal that had no connection to his reality. He spent his twenties and thirties essentially on his own with the occasional girlfriend but they never lasted very long, so work became his primary purpose in life. It's quite a contrast to now. While work is still important, it is no longer his primary focus. He looks forward to the drive home and treasures the time he spends with his girls, which is why he's very happy with the gift from Connie.
At Yankee stadium, the heat is oppressive. They let Megan walk with her monkey leash from the car to the subway station and from the subway station to the stadium to tire her out. Connie doesn't like having a leash on Megan but Mike insists on it because he is worried about losing her in the crowds. The game starts on time and Megan loves the national anthem and tries to sing her own version much to the amusement of those around them.
Since Mike has patiently explained to her all the rules of the game in the years they have been together, Connie now actually enjoys a game when she goes and can even read the umpire signs. Since being with Mike, she has become a diehard Yankees fan, something her brothers, diehard Mets fans from birth, can't quite forgive, suspicious that Mike would want to lure them to the dark side as well.
A Yankees and Red Sox match up is always a highlight. Ever since the Bambino was sold to the Yanks in 1919, the Yankees think that it's their job to remind Boston of their dominance and today is no different. A no-hitter for the Yankees until the sixth inning, they led the game from the beginning and never let up. The seventh inning stretch becomes the rest of the game stretch for Connie as Megan refused to sit any longer, so to let Mike enjoy the rest of the game, Connie takes Megan and the diaper bag to the concourse at the top of their level and lets Megan run around. Fortunately, there are video monitors everywhere in the new stadium, so Connie is able to still watch the game while watching Megan. The final is 7-1 for the Yankees to most of the fans in the stadium's delight.
Shortly after the game ends, Connie gets a text from Mike, "Where are you?" Connie rolls her eyes at this since there is no way that she could reply in text with a toddler, so she calls him.
After the third ring, Mike picks up. "Hello."
"I'm at the concourse at the top of this level. Where are you?" asks Connie as she chases Megan down who had just decided to take off.
"On my way up soon. Since our seats are in the front row, I'm waiting for the rest of the crowd to get out before I can leave. Are you okay?" asks Mike hearing Connie's exasperated tone.
Connie counts to three silently before she replies, "Megan just took off right after I called you. I've got her now. I've got to go. Look for us by the bathrooms to the left when you come out."
"Bye," says Mike as he hears Connie hanging up. Looking up the rows behind him, over half have exited, so Mike gathers their garbage and takes it with him. When he gets up to the concourse, it's filled with people lining up to use the bathroom or people waiting for someone. Mike finds Connie and Megan just where Connie said they would be. Megan is straining against her leash and Connie looks a little green around the gills.
Mike picks Megan up and puts her on his shoulders and she stops fidgeting. "Sorry I took so long. Are you all right?"
"I'll be okay once I get some fresh air," says Connie with a finger covering her nostrils. "Right now I can smell everything."
"Let's go then. Do you need me to take the diaper bag?" asks Mike.
"I can manage," replies Connie pulling the strap over her head to make it easier to carry.
They walk as quickly as they can outside and the fresher air does wonders for Connie's nausea. As they are walking to the subway, Connie asks, "Where did you want to go to dinner? We might as well take advantage of being in the city."
"I wouldn't mind going to Fellini's, if you're up for it," says Mike. "Frederico hasn't seen Megan since before Christmas." Fellini's is an Italian restaurant near Connie's old apartment. It is perhaps Connie's favorite restaurant in the city. She had spent her first paycheck as an ADA there and got to know the owner well in the five years she lived in the area. Mike got to know the owner when they used him as the caterer for their wedding and Megan's baptism. They try to visit every few months, though it has gotten difficult after Connie changed jobs. Frederico dotes on Megan every time they are there. In turn, Megan loves her Uncle Frederico.
"You know I will say yes to Fellini's even if I was on my deathbed. Are you sure that's where you want to go? It's Father's Day, not Mother's Day, right?" asks Connie.
"I actually have a hankering for the gnocchi, since we haven't had it in over six months," confesses Mike. "I don't know what he puts into it, but I've never found a better one anywhere else."
"All right, then. Let's go."
When they arrive at Fellini's around 5:00, the restaurant is already doing brisk business. Connie had called ahead and Frederico makes sure to seat them at the best table he has. Soon after they sit down, Frederico makes an appearance to chat with them. When Megan sees him, she squeals, "Uncle 'Rico!" and he just beams as he picks her up. They took pictures of her as a baby with Frederico and they are some of her favorite pictures, which is why she recognizes him. Most of his family is still in Italy so it's not often that he has someone calling him uncle.
"You have grown so much, little Megan. I would not have recognized you if you had not called out to me." Megan giggles as he kisses her. Looking at Mike, he says, "Did you see the game today? Creamed the Sox."
"We actually just came from there," Mike replies grinning from ear to ear. "Connie got us front row seats along the third baseline for Father's Day. You could see the shoelaces of the runners rounding third. Best Father's Day present a fan could get."
"You are very lucky," says Frederico. "My children think I toil away in the kitchen for nothing. They came to lunch with their mother and I and then scattered to the four winds again. I pray that little Megan, here, does not treat you like that." Frederico kisses Megan again sending her into a fit of giggles.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Frederico," says Connie. "They will appreciate you more when they become adults."
"My oldest is 25 and my youngest is 17. When exactly do they start their appreciation?"
"Well, to give you some hope, my brother didn't start his appreciation until after he got married and had a baby at 28."
"That means I have three years and at least a wedding before that happens. In any case, onto something more pleasant. What wine would you like with your dinner tonight?"
Mike and Connie exchange a look before Mike says, "Megan will have an apple juice, I'll have a half bottle of your house red and Connie will have a club soda." When Frederico looks at them oddly, Mike adds, "We're expecting again." They hadn't told too many people yet after the loss last time, but Frederico had been genuinely sorry to hear of the loss and even had sent flowers that Connie thought it fine to tell him.
Frederico's eye widen at the news. "Congratulations to both of you! That is wonderful news! When is the bambino due to arrive?" He shakes Mike's hand and pats him on the back and kisses Connie on the cheek.
Connie smiles shyly and says, "In the new year."
"Let us celebrate. Insalata on the house. I will send Marco to take the rest of your order while I make your insalata," says Frederico as he puts Megan back in her high chair. He kisses her and says, "Bye, bye, Megan."
"Bye, bye, Uncle 'Rico."
Marco comes by soon after with their drinks, takes their order and their bread and insalata arrives within minutes. Connie gives Megan a piece of the bread before starting on her insalata. She still hasn't discovered Frederico's secret ingredient in the salad dressing, but enjoys it all the same.
"Are you sure about telling Frederico?" asks Mike after Marco leaves. She had given him an earful when he had mentioned that he told Jack the previous week and isn't sure what criteria Connie is using to determine who should know, so he checks before telling now.
"He sent flowers after he heard about the loss the last time. I thought we'd let him know since we don't see him as often anymore and he dotes on Megan every time we're here."
Their dinner is delicious as expected and Megan gets her own special pasta that she gobbles up. When their dessert arrives, there is a little sugar plaque on Connie's tiramisu that says, "Congratulations!" causing her to tear up a little. After they pay and tip extremely well, Frederico comes out of the kitchen to say goodbye before they get out the door.
"I want to hear if it is a little sister or brother for little Megan when you find out," says Frederico extremely happy for his favorite customers. "Bye, bye little Megan." He waves at Megan who gives him an air kiss before waving her hand at him.
Mike and Connie smile and nod before heading out with Megan on Mike's shoulders. With full stomachs, Megan and Connie doze on the subway ride to their vehicle. Mike wakes Connie up the stop before they get off so that she can orient herself. The drive home is quiet as well as Connie and Megan both sleep through it. Connie had wanted to drive since Mike had a half bottle of wine, but Mike reminds her that he drank most of it at the beginning and since it has been almost two hours, he has metabolized it. Connie doesn't argue too much since she's dead on her feet and work will come sooner than she will like tomorrow. At least, she's working from home, so there isn't any commute.
Megan doesn't even wake up when they arrive and despite Connie's protests that it's Father's Day, Mike brings Megan up to her room, changes her and puts her to bed. When Mike comes down afterward, Connie has already taken the rest of the stuff out of the vehicle and is sitting in the family room with the TV on and a couple of mugs of tea on the coffee table.
Connie mutes the TV when Mike sits down beside her. "She asleep?"
"Didn't even wake up," says Mike as he naturally puts his arms around Connie's shoulders. "I guess all that walking tired her out. Aren't you tired?"
Connie leans her head on his shoulders and makes a non-committal sound and says, "Did you have a decent Father's Day?"
"I thought it was more than decent. I got to spend the entire day with my two best girls at the ballpark at field-level seats where the Yankee's beat the Red Sox and a nice dinner to end it. What more could I ask for?"
"It might have been nicer if your wife didn't sleep through half of it," says Connie somewhat sheepish.
"Look, you're growing a baby in there," says Mike as he rubs her belly affectionately. "That takes a lot of energy. I'd rather you didn't push too much than overexert yourself."
Connie lifts her head, looks at Mike and marvels at his concern and how much he loves her. Sometimes she feels that she doesn't deserve all that love. When she hesitantly started a relationship with Mike three and a half years ago, she never thought it would lead to a couple of kids, a house in the suburbs, a change of job and an intensely satisfying marriage in such short time, but she wouldn't change a thing, not even the loss. They gaze at each other intently for a few moments before the force of attraction puts their lips together for a long and satisfying kiss.
Mike has been wanting this all day and when they start to get frisky, Mike looks at her intently and asks in a husky voice, "Here or upstairs?"
Connie looks deeply into Mike's eyes and says "Let's go upstairs." The sun has set, the curtains in the family room are decorative and she wants to see Mike as they make love.
Mike absentmindedly turns off the muted TV before picking Connie up and heads upstairs with specific intentions, their tea entirely forgotten. Their lovemaking is intense and passionate and satisfying, and they make sure that no pressure is placed on Connie's belly. As they are cuddling in the afterglow, Mike kisses Connie on the cheek and says, "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," says Connie. "So a nice ending to a good Father's Day?"
Mike looks at Connie with a big smile on his face and says, "It's my best Father's Day yet!"
A/N2: I hope you enjoyed it! Would love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. :)