Noah

Clearing his throat, Noah's mind raced to backpedal when he saw Roni's excited smile wane. He'd spent most his day chiding himself for snapping at her that morning, and here he'd been ready to do it again. "I mean you said they hadn't been able to get you in any sooner than almost a month away."

Try as he might, Noah hadn't been able to get that last part out as nonchalantly as he'd hoped. He blamed Hector's stupid remark now when he'd told him about how far out Jack's first appointment had been. Seriously? So, whose dick to you have to suck to get in sooner? Clearly, it was the last thing Noah was thinking when he heard her announcement. But he had to wonder now if there was any other motivation for the sudden special treatment. This doctor being on high demand and nearly impossible to even book with, was something she'd gone on about months ago when she finally got the first appointment.

"They had a cancellation." Roni's demeanor had taken an obvious dive, and Noah could kick himself now, damn it. "I told you I'd practically begged the receptionist to call me if there were any."

"Yeah, you did." He pecked her as soon as he reached her then remembered and rushed back to his car. "I got you something."

Glad he remembered because he sure as fuck nearly blew it again, he reached into the backseat for the box of Almond Roca candies she loved so much. "But you'll have to hide them from Jack, or he'll be bouncing off the walls." He kissed her again when he reached her and handed her the bag, murmuring against her lips. "And I want him in bed early again tonight."

She smiled again, taking the candy and thanking him. Just like that, she was back to her excitable self. "I'm just so glad this might be over sooner than later." They walked back into the kitchen together. "Ever since I stopped googling for symptoms and whatnot, I've calmed a lot. Truth be told I was doing it too much and it was driving me crazy. The doctor sounded confident enough that Jack is fine. If he's not worried, why should I be, right?"

Noah kept to himself that, since day one when she first brought it up, he hadn't been worried either and he'd told her so. But he wouldn't be petty. The guy was a doctor after all. He was just glad she'd referred to him as the doctor and not Mateo. For whatever reason, that had grated him to no end when he first heard her call him that. Just like when he'd first heard the guy refer to her as Roni. He was also glad this would be over sooner than later, and this might be the last Noah would have to hear of him.

"But you do remember I won't be here Thursday, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile when he pecked her again. "I asked, but the receptionist said you didn't need to be there."

Deciding to get off the subject, Noah told her about his day as he helped her put dinner together. It was the second week in a row they were trying the dinner delivery service. The kind that came in a box with everything you needed to make a healthy dinner for two. In their case two-and-a-half. He'd promised when she'd first decided to try the service that they'd put the meals together as a team. It was a reminder of their very first Thanksgiving way back when he realized just how bad he had it for her. So, there was no shortage of groping, kissing, and giggling as they worked together.

As promised after dinner, he wrestled with Jack for a good amount of time to make sure he tired him out early. By the time they were done, and he was in and out of the tub, Jack's weary little eyes were already giving in. The moment Noah saw Jack was down for good, he headed back to his bedroom to start with some more delicious groveling.

~*~

Roni

With Noah gone for the week, Roni took advantage of the toddler gym at 5th Street to get some work done. Jack loved going, and even Bianca, who was in charge of the toddler gym, had assured Roni more than once that, as far as she could observe, Jack was fine. Bianca worked with special needs kids, some of whom were autistic. So, it was added relief, now that Roni was almost certain she had been overreacting to Jack still being as non-verbal as he was. She hated to admit it, but Mateo had been right about one thing. In hindsight, her real worry started when she began comparing him to Reina, Abel and Nellie's little girl. Roni had started researching, and of course every symptom she read about she was suddenly looking for in Jack.

Roni was only glad that after tomorrow's appointment this would likely be over, and she vowed to stop obsessing about it. Since she'd planned on working out after finishing getting the gym's quarterly statements ready to send off to accounting, she'd dressed down today. Nellie was originally going to work from home today. But Roni talked her into coming in, to workout with her.

"We can go grab something to eat after," Roni had contended. "It's not like either one of us have anyone to rush home to this week."

Done with her work, Roni was on the treadmill where Nellie would be joining her shortly. She was just warming up when she saw her friend coming toward her with a big smile.

"Every time I see your natural curls, I can't imagine not liking them."

Roni smiled, glancing down at her tight ringlets. "I never said I don't like them. They're just hard to deal with. Noah prefers my curls to my straightened hair."

They chatted about hairstyles, color, and lighter subjects until Nellie brought up her birth control woes. They'd switched her birth control and she'd begun to gain weight.

"Don't get me started," Roni huffed. "They've switched mine twice now. The migraines went away after the first switch, but then the second set of pills had me crying at the drop of a pin. I start the new ones as soon as I get my period this month."

Roni was just beginning to feel the burn when she had to do a double take and nearly lost her footing.

"Careful," Nellie said as Roni got herself together.

It was too late to look away and pretend not to see him. Mateo's eyes had locked onto her the moment he saw her and was already headed her way.

"Oh my God," she said under her breath.

"Something wrong?" Nellie asked.

"That's him," Roni said through her smile.

"That's who?"

"Mat."

"Who—?" Nellie began to ask but seemed to catch herself as it likely hit her.

"Hey, you," he said as he reached her and stood in front of her treadmill. "I wondered if I might run into you here."

Not sure how to respond, Roni nodded. "I'm usually not working out." She laughed nervously. "I don't do this nearly enough, but I do come in and work out of the office here a lot." Taking in his workout attire before she kept rambling on, she had to ask, "Did you just join?"

"I'm trying it out." He shrugged. "Got the free-week-pass thing. I have all the equipment at home. It's why I hadn't joined a gym, but I'm thinking I might feel more motivated actually coming in to work out."

Great. And he chose this one. Noah would be thrilled.

"You look so different." He peered at her with a smirk. "Almost didn't recognize you."

"Yeah." Roni touched her hair, praying it wouldn't jog his memory. "I straighten my hair sometimes like the day of the appointment."

He glanced at her hair but continued to take her in completely. It was done casually enough, but Roni hadn't missed it. She, on the other hand, made it a point not to let him see her taking him in at all. Seeing him in his workout clothes was a lot different from seeing him in his professional shirt, tie, and white coat.

"I'd trouble you for a tour of the place, but I don't want to interrupt your workout."

Aware she'd been too quick to shake her head no, she cleared her throat. "I'm almost done, but I need to be somewhere right after. If you ask someone at the front desk, though, they can get someone to show you around."

"Will do." He smiled genuinely. "I'll let you finish up your workout. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes." Roni nodded, feeling her insides bunch up.

"Good. Look forward to seeing you and Jack again."

As soon as he was far away enough, Roni turned to Nellie, who was staring at her wide-eyed then raised a brow.

"What?" Roni asked, unease creeping in fast.

Nellie hit the slow button on her treadmill as well. "I meant to call you back the other day after we got off the phone, but I got so busy with my mom and then totally forgot about it until now. I got to thinking, okay, you ending up in this guy's office was clearly a coincidence. You sought him out, not the other way around, and you both look so different neither recognized the other."

"Yeah." Roni agreed as they both got off their treadmills.

"You didn't put his name together with his face because you only ever knew him as Mat not Mateo." Roni nodded in an agreement but didn't say anything so Nellie could go on. "Did you introduce yourself as Veronica or Roni?"

"The paperwork I filled out I used my full name..." She slowed, remembering his reaction to the next part. "But I did tell him to call me Roni."

"You said he admitted he'd been trying to place you from the moment you walked in." Roni nodded, turning to Nellie as she went on. "He probably hadn't put it together at first because of your married name, but once you said Roni, straight hair or not, he had to have put it together. How many Ronis do you think he's known in his lifetime? I know you're the only one I've ever known."

Swallowing hard, Roni stared at her friend, who was beginning to look as alarmed as this made Roni feel. "Why would he pretend not to remember?"

Nellie shrugged as if picking up on Roni's growing unease. "Maybe he was afraid of reminding you. Your boyfriend nearly kicked his ass. People change and he probably has, but even after all these years, I'm sure it's still embarrassing to be reminded that he was once such a pushy prick."

"But then he sends me that picture, knowing full well I'd remember."

"Did you tell him you remembered?"

"No."

Roni explained about her short response, saying simply that it still didn't ring any bells. How she'd been glad he'd taken the hint that she wouldn't be going back and forth with him because he stopped texting her after that.

Softening her expression, Nellie shrugged again. "Well, then let's not make more of this than it really is. Maybe the picture was just to feel you out if you did remember. You know to prepare himself so the next appointment wouldn't be so awkward."

They reached the toddler gym and walked in. Jack immediately got out of the tube he was climbing through and headed toward her.

"So, what do you feel like for lunch?" Nellie asked as she walked into the room and Roni followed.

Roni got the distinct feeling Nellie was trying to assuage the tension both had begun to feel. She knew her best friend so well because the rest of the afternoon they talked kids, work, gossiped a little, and otherwise had a pleasant lunch without any more talk of Mat.

At the very end, when they were going to part ways in the restaurant's parking lot, Nellie said, "You're telling Noah about seeing Mat, right?" Roni nodded, feeling her insides knot up again. "Good. You should. It's not a big deal, hon. Except, uh..." Roni stared at her, feeling a bit anxious again. "Up to you, but if it were me, I'd leave out any of the theories we bounced around today. If we're way off, and I think we might be, no sense in getting him all worked up."

Roni agreed, though she kept to herself she already knew he'd be worked up just hearing about Mat showing up at the gym.

Author notes: Anyone else hearing the beginning of Jaws theme song?