“I really can't believe her.” Aaron spoke about Jacqui next to Jeanna on the couch.

After some coaxing, he had managed to get Risa out from under the bed and watched The Little Mermaid with her. Once she had fallen asleep, Aaron had carried her back to his room and tucked her into bed, coming back to join Jeanna in the living room afterward.

“Did you really know nothing about the pregnancy?” Her voice was small, and she kept her eyes focused on the coffee mug tucked between her knees.

Aaron placed his finger under her chin to bring her eyes up to his. He didn't know how to convey his sincerity in a way that Jeanna would understand. It was obvious from the moment they met again that she didn't trust him anymore. “I swear,” was the best he could come up with. “If I had known that you were pregnant, I would have stepped up and done my share. We could have made ourselves work; get married and be a family–”

Jeanna interrupted him. “I wouldn't want to marry you.” The sting registered on his face and she continued, “I walked in on you sucking another girl's face off, Aaron. Would you really expect me to stay with you?”

He removed his hands from her and sat back against the arm of the couch. “I guess you're right.”

There was awkward silence as Aaron sat trying to think of something else to say and Jeanna “watched” a re-run of How I Met Your Mother. She kept telling herself over and over that Aaron didn't matter to her anymore, but she couldn't ignore how he made her heart feel. Being with Aaron felt natural to her. Hell, they even had a kid together. But the past kept making Jeanna withdraw. Besides, she was with Cristian now. She had someone who loved her and kept her and Risa's best interests in mind.

Speak of the Devil, and he shall be seen, Jeanna thought as her iPhone buzzed in her pocket and saw Cristian's cheesy face cross the screen.

“Hey,” she said, smiling. Maybe a call from a level-headed person would help straighten her feelings out.

“Hey, Baby. Where are you? I thought you wanted to go for coffee tonight?”

Shit. Jeanna had forgotten all about their coffee date plans. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at the clock on the screen. It was almost ten o'clock, and she had a huge day at work the next day. “Oh, God. Cris, I'm so sorry! I forgot! I had dinner with Risa and she insisted I watch a movie with her before her bedtime. Can I take a rain-check?”

He sounded disappointed, and it was apparent in his voice. “Yeah, okay. Sure. What about tomorrow night? Maybe Aaron wouldn't mind keeping Risa until then?”

“Yeah, that sounds perfect! I'll talk to you tomorrow?”

“Okay. Goodnight, Babe. I love you.”

There were those three words. It wasn't the first time that Cristian had said them... and it didn't feel right to Jeanna. Instead she awkwardly replied. “Thanks, goodnight, Cris.” She waited to hear the click on his side of the line before locking her cell phone and shoving it back into her pocket.

“Hey, Aaron?” She turned her attention to him, finally meeting his eyes on her own for the first time since the Jacqui incident earlier. “Would you mind keeping Risa a little later tomorrow?”

“Sure. Why?”

“I forgot about my date with Cristian.”

Jeanna saw Aaron's face fall at her words and felt like she had just punched him in the gut. He nodded and busied himself surfing the television guide for something new to watch.

“Do you love him?” The question caught her off-guard.

“Excuse me?” she asked, getting up from the couch and sliding her grey ballet flats back on her feet.

“Would you ever give me another chance?”

Jeanna was flabbergasted and taken aback. Was he really going to start this now? When she didn't respond, Aaron seemed to get his answer. He broke eye contact with her and scratched the back of his neck.

“I should go,” Jeanna spoke. “I'll call when I'm on my way tomorrow. Goodnight, Aaron.”

~*~

“Are you Jeanna Martin?” Jeanna jumped at the sudden voice behind her and stopped editing her article criticizing young teen fashion at mall outlets.

“Yes,” she said quizzically.

“These are for you, then.” She turned around from her computer screen and faced a man wearing a red flannel shirt holding a vase of purple dahlias and white hydrangeas.

“What? Thank you! Who are they from?” she asked, happily taking the gorgeous arrangement from him and looking around for a white card.

Finally, she found it: To Jeanna, my pelirroja. Just because I love you. –Cristian

Jeanna giggled like a school girl. She had never gotten “just because” flowers before, and she had just discovered how much she liked them. Putting her article on hold, she dug her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Cristian's number.

“I love the flowers!” she squealed as soon as he picked up.

Cristian chuckled. “I thought you would. I remembered how much you like dahlias.”

“They're beautiful,” she replied smiling. “Are we still on for coffee tonight?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the p. “I'm getting off a little later tonight because some bozo saved our project on a floppy-disc and we can't find a computer to read it.”

“Are you serious? A floppy-disc? I didn't even know they still made those.”

“Me neither. But I'll be over as soon as I get off... it'll probably be around six-thirty?”

“Jeanna, do you have that article ready for me?” Jeanna paled at the sound of Cruella de Ville.

“Okay, good. Cris, I gotta go before I get in trouble. See you tonight.” She quickly pulled the phone down away from her ear and turned to speak to her boss. “I've got a few more editing bits to do, and then I'll send it over to you.”

Cruella stood tall, thin, and blonde in the entrance way to Jeanna's cubicle. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I want that article before three o'clock.” She turned on her heal and left to go beat and pester someone else.

Jeanna breathed a sigh of relief, but if she was going to get this article to Cruella in an hour, she had a lot of work to do. She cracked her knuckles and began typing away at her computer.

~*~

Once she was settled into a strict business mind-set, Jeanna was able to finish her assignments and clock out at her normal time of five o'clock. She debated on taking the flowers home, finally deciding against carrying the heavy glass vase on the subway.

Jeanna felt empty as she turned in a different direction at her subway stop, remembering that Risa wasn't at daycare and was at her father's instead. It hadn't been twenty-four hours yet, but it felt like a lifetime without her baby by her side.

When she got home, she used her few moments of alone time before her and Cristian's date to straighten the apartment. As she picked up Risa's dolls and other miscellaneous toys from the living room floor, she was reminded of her dorm room in college. Aaron had always made fun of her because she was so tidy; not a speck was out of place.

“Your room doesn't hardly look lived in!” Aaron exclaimed.

Disdainfully, she retorted, “That's because I'm hardly ever here! I'm always in your room!”

“You just say that because you're in denial. Face it, Darlin', you're a neat freak.”

She laughed at the memory and made her way towards Risa's room to put away her toys. The laughter immediately faded and she let out a deep sigh as she looked upon the horrendous mess her daughter's room was in. Risa had more toys strewn about her room that Jeanna knew she even had. Her bed was unmade as it usually was and her dirty clothes hamper was over flowing. How she hadn't ran out of clothes to wear was beyond her.

Jeanna was almost through with her cleaning spree when she glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly six and she wasn't ready for her date yet. She finished what tidying needed to be done in Risa's room and took her clothes to the laundry. While the clothes were washing, Jeanna shed her work clothes and slipped in the shower.

She was finished getting ready fairly quickly, wearing a pink and white floral skirt with a flowy, pink elbow-length top. She opted to leave her hair naturally wavy and to keep the look consistent, applied more natural make up: a little brown eyeshadow and mascara. She slipped on a pair of nude colored flats as she clipped the first necklace she touched hanging on her tree styled organizer (x). A knock came from the door as she walked into the living room, and, as if on cue, the doorknob turned and Cristian walked in.

“Hey, it's me!” he called, opening the door wider and stepping in. He jumped slightly at the sight of Jeanna standing in front of him. “You scared me! I didn't expect you to be ready yet.”

Jeanna laughed at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. “I literally just finished. You, good sir, have impeccable timing!”

He ginned and pulled her in for another kiss. “Shall we go then?”

“Let me grab my purse.” Jeanna stepped away from him to grab her bag that she had thrown on the couch.

They strode hand-in-hand down the street until they came to Sweetleaf and ordered their drinks: two Ritual's Primes Espressos. Because the shop was about to close, there weren't many people inside, and the pair were able to sit at a table near the front next to the window.

“They probably hate us,” Jeanna remarked, referring to the shop's closing time and tossing her head in the direction of the workers behind the counter.

Cristian snorted and took a sip of his drink. “They've still got twenty-three-ish minutes for business!”

Jeanna rolled her eyes at him and sighed. She looked down at her cup of coffee, admiring the cream designed to look like a leaf floating on top.

“What is it?” Cristian asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Nothing,” she said, raising the cup to her lips. For a moment, her thoughts had been with Aaron. Why did being with Cristian feel so wrong all of the sudden?

“Come on, Jeanna. Something's up... I can tell.”

“I just miss Risa, that's all. I'm anxious to get her back.”

“Oh, yeah,” Cristian said, suddenly remembering Risa staying with Aaron.

The fact that he had forgotten Risa's existence for a moment kind of peeved Jeanna off, but she tried to push her annoyance to the side. She was semi-quiet for the rest of the date, only responding to Cristian's questions or speaking to keep the flow going. The surprise flowers this afternoon were a thing in the past, unable to focus now that her thoughts were on Risa.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Cristian asked as they stood next to the stairs leading up to 36th avenue subway station.

“Nah, that's okay. I'm just going to be there for a second...literally grab her and then head straight back. It's been a long day,” she said, yawning.

“Okay, if you're sure,” he said, leaning in and kissing her. He tried to deepen it by moving his tongue along her lips, but Jeanna refused, pulling back.

“Goodnight, I'll see you later.”

He looked a little hurt by her rejection, but got over it. “Goodnight. I love you.”

There those words were again. And for some unknown reason, they made her grow angry. She quickly turned, jogging up the stairs, a scowl on her face. What was with the mood change? Why did she feel so appalled by him now?

She swiped her metro card and walked through the turnstile just in time to catch the next train to Astoria.