Matt stood on the front porch staring at the door, he didn't know if he should knock or just walk in. It was still his house, he still lived here, but he had been gone for two months. He decided to knock and heard a small voice yell "hold on" and the lock being undone, the door opened and there stood his daughter but not really, he knew there was a very good possibility that he would no longer be able to see her if him and Sylvie divorced. "Dad!" she exclaimed and wrapped herself around him for a hug, he squeezed her tight, "Hey baby, where's your mom?"
"She's in the kitchen." Abbie grabbed his hand and led him through the house. "Mom, Dad's here." She announced his arrival and climbed onto a barstool. "Hey." He greeted Sylvie as he stood in the doorway and watched her move about the kitchen as she made dinner. She looked up and smiled, "Hey." She repeated back to him. "I was hoping we could talk face to face tonight." He said as he stepped closer and climbed onto the barstool next to Abbie.
"We do need to talk but I don't want little ears listening, so how about you stay for dinner and we'll talk after?" she offered, he smiled at her, "Yeah, I'd like that."
Matt came down the stairs and plopped on the couch next to Sylvie, "Five books but he's asleep." He yawned, "He about wore me out." Sylvie laughed, "I think he misses you, we don't entertain him all the time like you do."
Matt's expression turned somber and he looked at Sylvie, "I miss you guys." He sighed. Sylvie silently watched him a moment thinking about his words. "We miss you too." She wasn't lying, he was her husband and she loved him no matter how things were going, he was a good man, he had his faults but no more than anyone else.
Matt took the opportunity and leaned in and kissed her, he lingered and when she didn't pull away he gently pushed her against the couch deepening the kiss, she pushed him back and held him at arms length. "I'm sorry, we can't do this." Matt sat back frustrated. "Why not?" He asked.
"You left, you wanted out, I've accepted that." Sylvie stated calmly watching him, she could tell he was struggling with his decision. "What if I made a mistake?" he peeked up at her. "Maybe you did and maybe didn't but it's done and we need to find a way to move on from here."
Matt exhaled and rubbed his face, "I'm scared I'm going to lose you guys." He admitted. Sylvie grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it, "Me and the kids are still here and we're still your family and as long as we don't do anything stupid to complicate this, everything will be fine." She watched him as chewed on this bottom lip thinking about what she said. "Except one of those kids isn't mine and I don't want to lose her." Sylvie could hear the worry and sadness in his voice.
"What makes you think you would lose her?" She was confused why he would think he would lose Abbie. "Do you seriously think that if we get divorced Antonio won't take the opportunity to finally stick it to me and take the one thing he knows would hurt?" Sylvie looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"He has never made any indication that he's jealous or wanted to keep her from you. He knows that would hurt her and he would never do that and you know that." She was agitated with him, Antonio had never gotten upset over anything that happened in their household and never questioned Abbie calling Matt 'dad' he just accepted it because it was what made his daughter happy.
"So what are we going to do about everything else?" he asked trying to change the subject. Sylvie sighed and relaxed a little, "Honestly, at this point I don't really know." She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll keep paying half the house and Jacks school until we work out something more permanent." He offered.
Sylvie nodded, "I want us to have the same arrangement for Jackson that Tonio and I have for Abbie. This is already hard enough on him without having to worry about a custody agreement." Sylvie and Antonio had worked out an open visitation agreement when Abbie was about two where if either parent wanted her they could have her and she could move between parents as she wished, it had worked well for them over the past years and prevented fighting over who's weekend it was to have her.
"I'd like that." He agreed. "And I'll talk to Antonio about Abbie, see what we can work out, okay?" Sylvie reached over to squeeze his shoulder to reassure him. "Thanks but I'm not going to hold my breath on it." He muttered and laid back against the couch grabbing the remote.
Matt heard knocking and opened his eyes, it was daylight, he must have fallen asleep watching TV he thought to himself. His eye caught blonde hair on the other part of the sectional and he assumed Sylvie had fallen asleep also. The knocking was persisting so he pushed himself up and headed for the door. He pulled the door open to find Antonio on the other side.
"Hey man." Matt greeted him as he stepped aside and let him in. "Umm, Sylvie's asleep on the couch and I'm pretty sure Abbie is still asleep." Antonio nodded his head slowly and peeked over the couch at Sylvie who was stirring. Matt felt uncomfortable, "Anyway, I gotta get going, will you let her know I left? Thanks." Matt stuttered as he made a quick exit.
Antonio smirked satisfied with knowing that Matt was uncomfortable that he had caught him there in the morning. "Hey sunshine, Matt just left." He said as he plucked the corner of the blanket up to reveal her face. "It's not what you're thinking." She said groggily as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"You have no idea what I'm thinking." He chuckled and she threw a pillow at him. "Whatever!" she laughed. "I'm going up to get Abbie, we have to be at my mom's at ten." He winked and headed up the stairs.
Antonio knew exactly what he was doing, he was flirting but he knew he wouldn't make a move on her, at least not until he was sure her and Matt were over for good and their divorce was finalized. His heart had dropped when he pulled up to the house and had found Matt's truck but as soon as he was inside and realized they had fallen asleep on the couch he felt better. And if he was being honest, it amused him that Matt was so uncomfortable.
Sylvie stood in the kitchen, just staring into space, her mind was everywhere and she couldn't pin down a solid thought. She had never imagined she would get divorced, she wanted to find that one person who she could be with forever but clearly she had chosen wrong, it had been a disaster from the beginning but she was determined to make it work. Fight after fight, therapist after therapist, Sylvie didn't want to admit that she had made a mistake and lost her best friend in the process so she held on tight for five years.
"Mommy!" Jackson yelled as he ran through the kitchen and slammed into Sylvie's legs causing her to lose balance and bringing her out of her thoughts. "Morning, big guy!" she laughed and grabbed him and sat him on the counter. Antonio and Abbie followed him into the kitchen, "We're going to hang out with my mom, Eva, and Alex today if you guys want to join, we're going to the zoo." Antonio hoped she would but knew she would probably decline.
Sylvie thought a moment, "I think that sounds fun, plus its been awhile since I've seen your mom and Eva." Jackson's face lit up, "We're going to the zoo with Sissy!" he exclaimed as he wiggled off the counter. Sylvie looked at Antonio and smiled, "Thanks."
Antonio pulled up to his mom's house and sighed, "What's wrong?" Sylvie asked. Antonio looked at her and pointed at the blue car in his mom's driveway, "Gabby's here." He said apprehensively knowing that Gabby would probably cause a scene. "It's okay we can wait in the car." Sylvie didn't want a confrontation; she had avoided any fights with Gabby for six years and she wasn't about to start now.
"No, that's not fair, come in, hopefully she'll stay in check with the kids here." Antonio didn't know if he was trying to convince her or himself. "I hope so." Sylvie said as she undid her seatbelt and climbed out to help Jacks out.
Antonio pushed the door open and headed for the family room, Sylvie and the kids following behind him. Halfway down the hall Gabby rounded the corner and they came face to face with her. "Hey Sis." Antonio greeted her, she didn't respond, her gaze moving between Sylvie and Jacks. "Hi, Gabby." Sylvie squeaked out, hoping the situation would not escalate. "What's she doing here?" Gabby hissed moving her attention to Antonio.
"She's going to the zoo with us today." Antonio explained, Gabby snorted, "God, she just can't help herself can she? What Matt leaves you and you jump on the first male you see, never mind it's Antonio and you've already broken him how many times before, what's another right?"
Sylvie was trying her best to keep her mouth shut, she knew Gabby was still hurt but deliberately being hateful in front of her kids was crossing the line. "I don't want to fight in front of my kids, can we please not do this?" Sylvie pleaded with her.
Gabby plastered on a fake smile, "Sure, we wouldn't want to cause a scene in front of Matt Casey's precious little clone now would we." she said rolling her eyes. "Gabby!" Antonio warned, "He's five, none of this is his fault and Abbie is here too, she doesn't need to hear this either." Antonio wanted her to stop; he didn't feel like being a referee. "Well, can she please tell her husband to not repeatedly show up at my firehouse trying to talk to me? It's very tacky and we wouldn't want rumors to start and get up there to headquarters where little miss perfect works now would we?" Gabby smirked; she was clearly trying to provoke Sylvie.
Sylvie kept quiet; she wasn't going to engage someone who was clearly still angry and trying to start an argument. "Okay sis, we're going to go find Mom and Eva we don't have time for this. I hope you have a better day." Antonio grabbed Sylvie's hand and pulled her past a glaring Gabby.
"I've avoided that for six years and I could have gone another lifetime without it." Sylvie whispered to Antonio as they headed toward the living room. "She's good at holding grudges, trust me, she still has some from when we were kids." Antonio chuckled.
"Sylvie!" Eva jumped up holding a one-year-old Alex and rushed toward Sylvie pulling her into a hug. "Omg! It's been forever, I heard you had a little boy." Sylvie gushed as Eva shoved the baby into her arms. Sylvie and Eva had always gotten along but after she had married Matt, Sylvie barely saw her except for the rare occasions Eva would pick Abbie up for Antonio when he was busy at work or she happened to be spending the day with them.
"Yeah, his name is Alexander, Alex for short. I'm so in love with him, it's unbelievable." Eva said excitedly. "And gosh, Jacks has gotten so big since the last time I saw him."
Sylvie turned to look at Antonio while holding Alex and smiled at him, "Hey grandpa, I think someone wants to see you." Sylvie teased, knowing how Antonio felt about being a grandfather already. He leaned in close making sure only she could hear, "I'll show you grandpa." He whispered and winked at her as he lifted Alex from Sylvie's arms.
It had been a long day, Sylvie was exhausted and the kids were sound asleep. Antonio had helped her carry them in and get them in bed. Sylvie lay on the couch with her head next to Antonio and yawned. "You need to stop." She stated and Antonio looked at her confused, "Stop what?" he asked. "The flirting, you're doing it on purpose. You're my best friend and I don't want to compromise that." She was being honest, she loved him and perhaps she was still in love with him but she didn't think of him romantically anymore.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away today, it won't happen again." He tried to sound apologetic but really his heart was breaking a little. "I'm married and even though I've decided I'm done, marriage still means something to me." She gave him a weak smile.
"I think I should go, I have to be to work early tomorrow." Antonio started to get up but Sylvie grabbed his hand and he stopped to look at her. "I'm sorry if I led you on in someway, you're the last person I ever want to hurt." She tried to apologize. Antonio shook his head, "No, it was all me, like I said, I got carried away that's all."
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead while trying to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss her on the lips. "Text me if you need something, I'll see you later." He stated and quickly headed out the door.