The next morning, Yvette woke up at 6:30 am to prepare herself to go to work. She went straight to the bathroom, washed her teeth and took a shower. When she looked at the clock again, she gasped. It was 7:30 and she had to be at the office at 8:00.
"Damn" she cursed under her breath, knowing that she had to wake Andrea up and wondering if Nick remembered that he had to pick her up.
"Sweetheart" she whispered, moving Andrea in an attempt of waking her up. She stirred a little and went back to sleep.
"Honey, wake up"
"Momma!" she whined with her eyes still closed.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. Mommy has to work today and daddy's supposed to pick you up anytime now"
At the mention of Daddy, Andrea's eyes shot open and she grinned widely. All Yvette could do was smile.
"Is Daddy here?"
"No, he's not here yet"
"Ay mama! ¿Por qué?" (Oh mommy, why?)
"Por que viene de camino" (Because he's on his way) Yvette explained.
"Yo quiero ver a papá" (I want to see daddy)
"Yo lo se, mi amor… I know" (I know, sweetheart)
Yvette was very conscious of the fact that she wanted Andrea to know both, English and Spanish. In Puerto Rico, kids could be taught in either language and she wanted her daughter to succeed in both languages. She did just as she told Nick, when they got married and she planned to continue to teach her that way.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Yvette started walking towards the door, when she noticed Andrea scrambling around the bed to get up and when she did, she ran to the door and opened it in a whim. Seeing that it was Nick, she hopped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Papá!" (Daddy!)
"Hey, honey!" he answered with a grin, kissing her forehead lightly.
"Nos vamos ahora?" Andrea inquired sticking up his hair and then combing it back down with her hands.
Nick looked at her unknowingly.
"She asked if you're going now" Yvette answered Nick's question coming out of one of the rooms.
"Well, good morning to you too" Nick answered, smirking.
"Morning" she smiled, gathering her purse and her briefcase.
"I'll have to take some Spanish classes now"
She laughed, walking to the kitchen and serving herself a glass of water.
"Told ya I would teach her both languages"
"Yeah, well, now I'm the one screwed up. You never taught me" he smirked again.
Yvette rolled her eyes. "That was because you never wanted to know"
"I know" he smiled, looking deep into her eyes. "But I want to know now"
She looked down to the floor and turned into a crimson red, not saying a word.
"Ready to go sweetheart?" Nick asked, changing the theme and directing the question to Andrea.
"Yeah!" she screeched with a grin.
"I gotta go to work now" Yvette said, glancing at her watch. "I'm already late"
"Don't worry about her, okay? She'll be fine" Nick answered, replying to Yvette's untold question. He still knew her like the palm of his hand.
"Okay, you just seem to know me so well" she smiled softly, locking the door behind her, since Nick and Andrea were already outside. "I'll see you guys later" she said, giving a kiss to Andrea and a kiss on the cheek to Nick.
"Bye, Momma! I love you!"
"I love you too" Yvette grinned, slowly directing her eyes towards Nick.
He didn't say a word. He felt that she said it all.
"Bye, guys" she whispered as she walked to her car.
Nick turned to Andrea, who was busy playing with his hair.
"What do you want to do now?" he asked, tickling her as she shrieked.
"Can we go to the park?!?"
"Sure!" he said, getting her inside the car and driving to the park.
Once they were there, they had a blast; going in the swings together, throwing themselves from the slide, eating ice cream and spending quality time with each other. That was the only thing that Nick wanted at the moment. He felt that he lost a lot of things but he also thought that he could truly make up for all the time that he wasn't there.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Where's Mommy?"
"Mommy's working"
"Can we visit her?"
"No, not right now"
"But, I go visit her when I am with Auntie Val"
"Sweetie, the thing is that they don't allow kids there. Do you want to call her?"
"Yeah!" she said, as he handled her his phone with the number already dialed.
While she was talking to Yvette, he went to sit down on a log nearby to sink in everything that had changed his life for the better. He felt complete in a certain sense. He loved being a father, although he only found out a day ago. He wanted to be there and he truly didn't want to miss more about his daughter's life. The only thing that was missing in his life was Yvette. He had to find a way to win her over. But how? He was definitely thankful that he didn't make the mistake of signing those divorce papers. At least they were married. He thought a bit more and a smile crept across his face. He knew exactly what to do.
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Yvette couldn't get Nick off her mind. She wanted to, but some unknown force inside of her told her that she couldn't.
"Damn, I gotta concentrate" she told to herself, skimming through the papers she had in front of her but not reading anything.
"I gotta do something with my damn mind" she thought, as she took her glasses off and buried her face in her hands. Just then, she decided on making a call.
"Hello?" the voice answered.
"Hey, Valerie"
"Yvette! How are you?"
"I'm great! How's your trip going?"
"I'm coming back tomorrow. It was for the weekend. Where are you?"
"At the office" Yvette answered simply, looking through her papers once again.
"What? You're at the office on a Saturday? You don't work on Saturdays"
"I know, but I had to finish preparing a case for next week, so I have to use all the time that I can get" she explained.
"Where's Andrea Marie?"
"I have to tell you so many things Val"
"What? Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"No, no, she's fine"
"Then, what happened?"
"Nick's back"
Valerie almost dropped the phone. "What?!?"
Yvette chuckled at her reaction. "He's back. He went to my office yesterday and met Andrea. She's with him today"
"But...how-"
"It's okay, Val. Andrea is going to be fine"
"And how are you?"
"I'm fine too… I mean, at first we fought and discussed some stuff but now we're okay under the circumstances"
"What are the circumstances then?"
"Well, we're not really divorced. He never signed the papers"
"Whoa whoa whoa... So, you mean that all of this time, you were still married to Nick and you had no idea?"
"Yup, that's right"
"He's smart" Valerie stated plainly. "Stupid, but smart"
"Why do you say that?"
"Cause he knows that you still love him and he still loves you too. He thought ahead and wasn't stupid enough to end something that you both didn't want"
Yvette whined softly. "Oh Val, please...don't tell me that now" She certainly didn't want to listen to that now.
"I admit that Nick was an asshole, but on the other hand, he's come back and taken his responsibility. I mean, give props to the guy for that. At least, he wants to be there and be a father"
"He's moving to Puerto Rico too and last night..."
"You're kidding right?" Valerie chuckled.
"No, I'm not"
"That's a sign right there, Yvette!"
"Valerie, are you on something?" Yvette chuckled softly.
"No, I'm not, stupid. Think about it. Nick comes back out of nowhere and takes his own responsibility. If he was another type of guy, he would've left. He comes here. Hell, he moves out here! And he moves out here for one reason"
"And that is…"
"To be with you, moron!" Valerie almost shouted.
"I don't want to be with him" Yvette whispered softly.
"Oh, don't come to me with that shit. You've been talking nonsense about him for the past four years and you don't want to be with him? Bullshit"
"I know all of this is bullshit" Yvette admitted. "But I don't want to get hurt again"
"Is that why you haven't told him anything about going back with him?"
"Basically"
"Yvette, in love, you got to take risks and you have to be daring. Those who are brave are the ones who claim the prize at the end. You've been one of the bravest people I know. You survived your mother's illness, you started to raise a child on your own, you're working again and doing a hell of a good job… I mean, you have to be brave with this too… don't go into a relationship thinking that it's going to break. Don't go to Nick thinking that he will leave you. Just think that this time, you're going to be true to the vows you professed when you got married"
"Thanks, Val" Yvette whispered.
"You go for it girl. You deserve to be happy and this is your chance. Your mom wanted the same thing for you, and maybe she's the one sending you all these signals. Maybe, she's the culprit behind everything that's been happening to you"
Yvette laughed, thinking that if her mother would be alive, she would be just like Valerie said. "I guess you're right… I gotta make a decision"
"Don't make this decision based on your mother or on your daughter. Make this decision because of YOU and YOUR happiness"
"You should see the relationship between Andrea and Nick, they look so adorable together"
"Well, can't you see that given the fact that they haven't met each other, they treat each other extremely well?"
"Valerie, they're father and daughter… Isn't there an unconditional love and relationship that has to blossom, when they see each other? Like love at first sight?"
"Maybe, but it's still strange that they are so comfortable with one another"
"Yeah, I know" was all that Yvette could say.
Valerie was completely right.
"Do you want to be with Nick?"
"Val-"
"Answer the question, Yvette. Do you want to be with Nick?"
Yvette thought for a moment and smiled to herself.
"Yeah, but-"
"Don't look for `buts' then... be happy"
"It's not that easy, Valerie"
"I know it's not, but he deserves to know what you told me"
"I know Val, I know"
"Go for it, Yve... Be brave and be strong. You deserve to be happy and most of all, you deserve to have a family and be a family again"
"Thanks"
"Alright then… I wish I could help you more, but I gotta pack for tomorrow and Chris wants me to go with him somewhere. He was some sort of surprise for me"
Yvette smiled widely. "Hey, have fun then. We'll talk tomorrow, when you come back"
"Talk to Nick. Let me know what happened, and remember, be brave"
"I will… don't worry" she grinned. "Bye Val, and thanks so much"
"That's what friends are for" she said simply, as she hung up.
Yvette sighed, thinking about what Valerie said. It wasn't so easy to go back to Nick, but one thing she knew and that was that she wanted to have a family again.
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It was almost seven o'clock at night and Nick and Andrea were at the mall at some toy store.
"Daddy? Can I have Barbie???" Andrea asked innocently, looking up towards Nick.
"Of course, baby... let's go. Mommy has to be worried about you"
"Call her" she whined.
"Why do you want me to call her?"
"Tell her to come to the toy store!"
"Baby, she's probably at home now"
Andrea pouted as she crossed her arms. Nick being soft-hearted as he is, took out his cell phone and called Yvette.
"Is something wrong, Nick? Where are you guys?"
"Well, hello Yvette. How are you?" Nick mockingly said.
"Hey, sorry about that... Are you okay? Is something wrong?"
"Everything's perfect. Where are you?"
"I'm going out of the office now… I'm beat"
"We're at Plaza Las Américas" he said, referring to the nearby mall.
Yvette laughed at his accent.
"What?" Nick inquired.
"I love that accent" she answered flirtatiously.
"Why, thank you… We were wondering if you would like to come with us, so that we can go to dinner together"
"Sure. In what part of the mall are you?"
"At the toy store"
"OHH, wrong place to take Andrea"
"It's okay, she's behaving…"
"Okay Nick, I'll see you then in a bit. I'll call you when I get there" she said, closing her office and going downstairs to her car, not knowing that there was somebody following her.
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Fifteen minutes later, Yvette found Nick and Andrea at the toy store and they decided on going to Margarita's, a Mexican restaurant, to have dinner.
"I wanted to ask you something" Nick said, turning to Yvette.
"What is it?" Yvette answered with a smile.
"I want to take both of you to Florida, so that you can see Aaron and the family"
Yvette sighed and looked down. "Nick, I gotta work"
"I'll arrange anything" he said with pleading eyes.
"I want to show my daughter to my family, and I want you to see them too"
"Nick, I don't know… I mean, I-"
"If it's for the money, you don't have to worry… this is an invitation I'm making"
"I can't accept that… if I go, I want to pay for something"
"No, you won't… I invited both of you, so it's on me this time"
"But I met them! I have grandma Emma, and grandpa John and Auntie Stephie and Auntie Val and-"
"No, sweetie. Your other grandparents. I talked to you about them" Yvette said to Andrea, stroking her blond hair. Andrea pouted and crossed her arms.
"Did Mommy tell you about Grandma Jane, and Grandpa Bob and your aunts and uncles?"
"Yeah! Grandma Jane!"
"Now you remember" Yvette said with a smile.
That was the one thing that Nick admired about Yvette. Although they ended their relationship, she was still decent enough to talk to her daughter about all her dad's family.
"Yeah! …and Uncle Aaron and Auntie Leslie, and Auntie BJ and Auntie Angel!" Andrea shrieked.
A smile was plastered across Nick's face. "How about we visit them this weekend?"
"Yay!" she grinned. "Is Momma coming with us too?"
"She is indeed"
"Yay!" she repeated as she hugged Nick and Yvette.
"I love you sweetie" Nick gushed.
"I love you, Daddy" Andrea said kissing Nick's cheek "and I love you Momma" she continued kissing Yvette.
"We love you too, sweetheart" Yvette said.
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"Nauseating" the voice across them said. "Their seconds in paradise are going to end pretty soon… They're all going to pay everything that they have done…it's just a matter of time…"