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It had been a super long and exhausting week. Sonny and Amanda both having to commute into Manhattan from Staten Island was less than ideal, but the water in their building was going to be shut off for the next 6 or 7 days. The only place big enough for the family of 4 to stay was his parent's house.
“I’m sorry about mom, I know she can be a lot sometimes” Sonny apologized to Amanda after a very awkward dinner conversation about her desire for more grandchildren. A topic that the couple hasn’t discussed at length quite yet.
“Don’t worry about it. This is way better than staying with my parents. Your mom is so kind and good with the girls. Plus it’s only a few more days, right?”
Sonny hoped that was the case. He had been constantly checking his email to see if the building maintenance has sent them something saying that the water problem was resolved.
The next day was super hectic for both of them. They each were working on cases that were very emotionally draining. Amanda was at least able to leave a little early so she could pick the girls up from school and take them back to Staten Island.
“Mommy you came to pick me up today!” Jesse said as she ran towards Amanda to hug her.
Amanda leaned down to kiss the top of her daughter's head “yeah, I was able to get out early so I wanted to surprise you. Now we have to go get your sister.”
The two of them walked over to the preschool which was located just a few blocks from Jesse’s elementary school. Billie was equally excited that mommy was the one picking her up. This didn’t happen very often and Amanda felt a little guilty about that. After taking them over to a playground to get some of their energy out, she decided it was time to go back to the Carisi house.
When they arrived the girls ran toward the kitchen excited to see their grandmother. Serafina loved the girls so much. Amanda always felt a little bit bad that she probably wouldn’t be having another baby. She figured Mr. and Mrs. Carisi would be the type to want a biological grandchild, especially from their only son.
She watched as the girls excitedly told grandma Carisi about their days at school. Serafina listened closely and smiled at their stories. She was baking cookies for dessert and simultaneously putting together a baked ziti for dinner.
As Amanda stood in the kitchen asking if she could help, her phone buzzed and it was a text from Sonny.
“Sorry I’ll probably be home pretty late. I have to get all my paperwork done for this case by tomorrow morning.”
“No worries, we’ll see you when you get home.”
She then snapped a quick picture of the girls talking and cooking with his mom. She figured it would make him smile while he was stuck at work.
“We’re pretty much ready,” said Serafina. “Go wash your hand girls.”
“Sonny just texted me. He’s gonna be super late so we can start without him.” Serafina nodded at Amanda and the two of them carried the food into the dining room so they could all sit down to eat.
Dinner was great. Mrs. Carisi was an amazing cook and Mr. Carisi was so good with the girls. He loved telling them funny stories and jokes to get them all riled up.
“Ok girls, it’s almost bedtime. You can have a cookie but then you have to meet me upstairs so we can do baths and bedtime stories.” Jesse and Billie both nodded as Amanda got up and cleared the dinner table before heading upstairs to get the girl's pajamas out.
After bath time, Amanda had also changed into some more comfortable clothes. Jesse and Billie each picked out a story and Amanda decided they could all lay in her and Sonny’s bed to read. All three of them were so tired from their busy days. After the first book, Amanda noticed that Billie was asleep and Jesse wasn’t far behind. She started the second book but by the third page, she too had drifted off.
Sonny got home around 10 pm and greeted his parents who were sitting in their living room watching a baseball game.
“Hey ma, sorry I missed dinner. Amanda sent me a picture of it and said it was really good.”
“That’s ok honey, I saved you a plate. I can go heat it if you’d like.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Is Amanda upstairs?”
“I think she is,” said Serafina “she’s been up there a while putting the girls to bed, maybe she decided to go to sleep as well.”
Sonny smiled to himself. “ I’ll go check on them.”
As he headed upstairs he noticed it was super quiet. He made sure to carefully open the door to his sister’s old room where the girls had been sleeping. When he looked inside he saw an empty bed. He then walked down the hall to his childhood bedroom that his parents had converted into a guest room some time ago. The scene he saw when peering through the door put a huge smile on his face and almost brought tears to his eyes.
Amanda was laying in the Queen sized bed with the girls on either side of her. Jesse was snuggled into her mother’s side holding the small stuffed dog that she had gotten as a baby. She slept with it every night. Billie was laying down on her side with her head resting on her mom's chest while Amanda had her arm protectively wrapped around her. As he was standing in the doorway he heard footsteps behind him. It was his mother. “Your dinners heating up.” She said as she looked at Sonny who was looking into the bedroom so lovingly. Serafina took a quick peek as well. “I guess they were all pretty tired. They had a long fun day, they told us about it at dinner.”
“I wish I could have joined you guys tonight,” Sonny said as he turned his attention to his mom.
“Don’t worry about it. And Sonny, don’t worry about giving us any more grandchildren. You’ve already given us the best ones we could ask for.” Sonny looked at his mom as tears began to fill in his eyes.
Serafina pointed to the bed where Amanda and the girls were sleeping. “You better cherish them. Those girls are your whole world now.”
Sonny just smiled and nodded. He began reflecting on his life over the last year. He was so happy that he and Amanda finally admitted their feelings for each other and decided to give this relationship a real chance. It was the best decision he ever made, and the girls were the best daughters he could have asked for.