It was another Thursday at the Ramirez/Depp/Barba apartment. Jayde and Anthony were sitting on the floor talking with the kids about him moving in with them. Steven shrugged. Kiera nodded. "He's not sleeping in my room", RJ said.
"No, he's going to sleep with mommy in her room", Kiera told him.
"No", Lucia said shaking her head.
"You don't even know what we're talking about, Lucy", Steven said.
"No!"
Jayde and Anthony tried to contain their laughter. "So, should he move in with us", Jayde asked. Lucia nodded. "He already lives here", RJ said.
"He can live here", Kiera told them.
"Then we'll have to be in their wedding", Steven said.
"We're already going to be in their wedding, duh", RJ told him. Jayde rested her head on Anthony's shoulder. "Welcome to our family".
He laughed.
It took 20 minutes of back-and-forth between the kids before they agreed that Anthony should move in with them. They all voted and it was unanimous. "We call him Anthony", RJ asked.
"Yeah. He's not our daddy", Kiera told her brother.
RJ crossed his arms over his chest. "My daddy is not your daddy".
"I know that. That's why your name is RJ! Rafael Junior!"
Jayde burst out laughing at the kids bickering. "My name is Kiera Depp. Your name is Rafael Barba Jr! My daddy is Johnny. Your daddy is Rafael!"
"I already knew that, Kiera!"
That evening they decided to go out for pizza. As they walked, they kept a close eye on the kids. She linked her arm with his. "I think that went well".
"That was probably the most entertaining thing I've been a part of in a long time".
"Four kids equals indecisiveness and bickering".
He laughed and Jayde reminded the kids to stay close to them. When they got to the pizza place, they were seated at a table for six. They thanked the waitress before she left.
The kids looked at the menu and both Jayde and Anthony helped them decide what they wanted. "Jayde!"
She turned her head and saw Olivia and her son Noah. "Hey Liv. Hi Noah! You've got so big!"
The kids saw her and they said hi to her. Olivia and Noah asked to join them. "Of course", Jayde told her. They got two more chairs and Olivia sat by her. "How have you been?"
"I've been good. It took about 20 minutes for the kids to decide whether or not Anthony should move in with us".
She laughed. "How did that go?"
Jayde looked at Anthony. "It was a lot of back-and-forth of the kids bickering over who their dad was", Anthony told her.
Olivia laughed. "Well I bet with four kids, it can be entertaining".
Both Jayde and Anthony agreed. "It's the most entertaining thing I've seen in a long time", he said laughing.
The waitress came over and took everyone's orders. She took their menus before leaving. "I heard you got engaged! Third times the charm?"
Jayde laughed. "Yeah. He proposed at midnight on New Years".
"Well congratulations!"
"Thanks. I'll have to visit the squad sometime soon. I still owe Amanda a play date with Jesse".
Olivia nodded and they looked at the kids to make sure they were behaving.
"Have you talked to Barba lately", Olivia asked.
"The last time I talked with him was before New Years. He asked what my plans were for the kids".
Anthony looked a little confused. "Rafael. Olivia works with him and basically the whole squad calls each other by their last name", Jayde explained. Anthony nodded. "I know, I was confused at first, too".
"You should talk to him. He could use a friend that's not a part of the squad".
"I'll text him".
Hey. I took the kids out for pizza with Anthony. We ran into Liv and Noah. She told me to text you. Is everything ok? – Jayde
She set her phone on the table just in case he texted her back. Ten minutes later he texted her back. I'm just stressed out and I need some coffee. – Rafael.
Jayde laughed at his text. I'll bring you a gallon of coffee tomorrow. How's that? – Jayde
Olivia looked at her. "Rafael needs coffee", Jayde explained.
She shook her head. "If you bring him coffee now, he won't be able to sleep then he'll just be cranky tomorrow".
"I know. I've seen the many moods of Rafael Barba". She looked at Anthony. "It's kind of an inside joke with everyone that Rafael loves coffee and he gets crabby when he can't have any".
He laughed. "I totally understand. When I was doing auditions, I survived on coffee".
Make that two gallons. – Rafael
Good lord. You should just move Starbucks into your office. – Jayde
"Now he wants two gallons of coffee. Good lord". Olivia laughed. "I would ask Carmen to do it but I don't think I should".
"You should just move Starbucks into his office", Anthony suggested.
"That's what I thought. He's probably their biggest customer. At least in the city of manhattan".
They heard the kids bickering so they looked over. "Kiera, share your crayons with your brother". Kiera frowned and Jayde gave her a look. Finally their pizzas came and the kids dug in.
I don't have that kind of money, Jayde. Maybe I could get a loan to buy the company. – Rafael
You could try but I don't know if the president would like that. Don't you have coffee in your office? - Jayde
Yes, but it's not Starbucks. – Rafael
"Now he wants to get a loan to buy the company". Olivia laughed. "The coffee in his office isn't good because it's not Starbucks".
I promise I'll be there tomorrow with your precious coffee – Jayde
Olivia looked at Anthony. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I have a brother and a sister. My older brother is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and director".
"Wow! You have a talented family!"
He nodded. "I also have a half sister. She does a lot of stuff about wine".
Olivia nodded. "That's cool. I need a glass of wine after getting home".
"Oh my god, I have a glass or two when I get home".
Anthony laughed. "Have you ever been to a winery?"
Jayde shook her head. "Not yet".
"I'll have to take you sometime".
"That would be awesome!"
This is why you're awesome, Jayde. I'll see you tomorrow. – Rafael
"I promised Rafael I'll bring him coffee tomorrow and he said 'This is why you're awesome'".
"I think it's so great that you can be friends with Johnny and Barba", Olivia told her.
"There was a lot of anger but at the end, it's like 'fuck it'. Forget regret. It's my new motto". Anthony laughed. "It's a quote from Rent".
"It's so true though. He actually gave me a necklace that has that quote on it".
"It's a song", Olivia asked.
"It's forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other path, no other way. No day but today".
"I've heard that song so many times".
"Now you're marrying a Rent head", Jayde told him.
At the end of the night, Jayde and Anthony said goodbye to Olivia and Noah. "Bye Noah. Can I get a high five?" Jayde held out her hand and Noah slapped it. "Good job!" On their way home, Anthony took her hand. She smiled at him. "That was a great night".
"Yeah sorry I didn't give you time to talk".
He laughed. "It's fine. I like to just sit back sometimes. Plus it's adorable when you get excited".
She smiled. "I realized I have three groups of friends: you, Adam, Cybele and Idina. Then I have the squad. And I have Johnny, Steven, Vincent, Anthony, Tim and Helena and none of the groups are like the other groups. Like the squad probably doesn't have anything in common with Johnny and our friends".
He thought about this. "That's true. I never would have thought of that. That's because when people meet you, you... it's kind of hard to explain but you have this thing where people want to know you. Like the first time I met you, I wanted to know more about you, if that makes sense".
"That does make sense. I just never thought of it like that".
"You're energetic and you have something that makes people want to be with you. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you".
She looked at him. "I guess I've always been like that". He kissed her head making her smile.
The next morning Jayde showed up to Rafael's office with the biggest cup of coffee that Starbucks would give her. Rafael saw it and started laughing. He shook his head. "You're the best, Jayde".
"I told them it was for the decaffeinated Assistant District Attorney of Manhattan".
He laughed again taking the coffee. Jayde left his office and he shook his head again as he watched her leave.
