Jayde was excited about starting a new chapter with Sonny. He had promised not to hurt her she was confident that he would keep the promise. Her son Steven had talked to him about not hurting his mother. Sonny bent down and sat in a chair so he was at his level. "Steven, I know you have been through a lot with your mom getting married and divorced, but I promise you that I love your mom so much and I will never give up on her, ok?"
Steven nodded. "You promise you won't leave?"
"I promise to you, your brother and sisters and her I will never abandon you guys". He held up his pinky. "Pinky swear".
Steven smiled and they entwined their pinkies. Sonny laughed. "Alright!"
Jayde came through the door having just got home from work. She saw her boys and she smiled at them. "What's going on?"
"Just having some guy time", Steven explained.
"Good". She set her stuff down. "Where is everyone?"
"Kiera's at her friend's, RJ is in his room and Lucia is in her room. They were fighting so Sonny had to separate them".
She nodded and Steven got up then turned around. "Oh, dad wants to know when he should come visit".
"I'll call him, thanks".
She plopped down on the couch with a glass of wine. Sonny came over and plopped down beside her. "Long day?"
"Eh, victim won't testify. She's scared about facing her rapist. I was thinking of having Rafi talk to her". She took a sip and Sonny put his arm around her shoulders.
"How old is she?"
"16 so she's right under the age of consent for New York". She shook her head. "I can't understand why people can't just see a child and know they can't consent. I learned about consent when I was 12".
Sonny laughed. "Really? Who taught you that?"
"Steven Tyler and Joe Perry". She laughed. "It was kind of awkward. They told me that it was my decision whether or not I was going to be sexually active, I had the right to say no at any time to sex and guys had to respect that. If they didn't, it was my job to leave".
He nodded as he thought about this. "I can't imagine having the talk with them. I learned about all of that in high school".
They laughed and she took a sip of wine. "Like I said, it was kind of awkward". Lucia came out of her room wearing her princess dress over her clothes. She went over to them. "Hey, princess. What's up?"
She showed her mother what she had drawn in school. "It's me, daddy, you and Sonny". Jayde smiled and Lucia sat down beside her. "Do you like it?"
"I love it! Thank you!"
Lucia gave her a hug. "You can put it in your office at your work".
"I will definitely put it in my office when I go back tomorrow". Jayde got up and put the drawing in her purse then came back over. "How's Miss Lucia?"
She looked at Sonny. "I got in a fight with RJ. He kept going in my room and I told him to stop". She crossed her arms across her chest. "He said he was looking for something".
"Did he tell you what he was looking for?"
"No!"
Jayde looked at Sonny who was laughing silently. "I'll talk to him". Lucia nodded then went back to her room.
"She's in a tough spot being the youngest", Sonny pointed out.
Jayde nodded. "She and RJ get most of my attention because the older kids are usually out. She and Kiera used to play together but now she just wants to be with her friends. They have a four year age gap and hanging out with your little sister isn't cool".
He nodded. "I know how that is".
They sat on the couch as they waited for Kiera to get home. Jayde's cellphone went off. She reached over and grabbed it. Hi mom. I'm with Jen. We're going shopping. I'll text you when we leave. – Kiera
Alright but be home before 9! You have school tomorrow. – Jayde
I know. I will. – Kiera
"Kiera's going shopping with her friend".
"On a Tuesday?"
"Kiera could go shopping no matter what day it is. She's a girly girl like her sister Lily-Rose". He laughed. "She just has to be home before 9, so we'll see what time she sneaks in".
He laughed again as Jayde took another sip of her wine. She got up. "I'm starving. Have you already eaten?"
He got up and followed her. "I had a sandwich with the kids when I got here so I'm good".
She went to the fridge to check for leftovers. There were some chicken in the back. She opened the container to see if it was still good. "Holy shit", she yelled. Sonny burst out laughing. The kids came out to see what was going on.
"I'm fine, you guys. That was just really old chicken and it smelled disgusting".
"How bad was it", Sonny asked still laughing.
"You don't want to know. It was beyond dead". She threw it away. Then started digging around again. The kids went back to their room. "You're crazy, mom", RJ told her.
"Yeah, well. It's genetic". Her eyes caught a glimpse of some tuna salad so she took it out and started eating it out of the container.
"That's why I'm a Barba. Not a Ramirez".
"You're half of a Ramirez, so there".
RJ rolled his eyes and walked back to his room.
They heard a knock on the door so Jayde set down the container of tuna salad and fork then went to see who it was. "Hey Rafael! How are you?"
He smiled as he walked in. "Not too bad. How about you?" They walked to the kitchen. "Hey, Carisi".
"I'm doing good. I was just arguing with your son about genetics. He told me that I was crazy and that he was a Barba and not a Ramirez. I pointed out that he was half a Ramirez".
He laughed. "How are you doing, Carisi?"
"Not too bad. Just hanging out here".
Lucia heard her father's voice and she came out of her room. "Papá!"
He gave his daughter a hug after running up to him. "Hola princesa". He then reached in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Guard this with your life".
She laughed as she opened it. "Mamá Barba's lasagna recipe! Oh my god, thank you! I promise to Lucia I will guard this forever".
As he was leaving, Jayde walked him out. "I was going to talk to you about one of my kids but we can do that tomorrow".
He thought. "Which one is this?"
"The 16 year old that was raped by her boyfriend".
"Oh yeah. If you have some time tomorrow, stop in and we can talk about then".
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow".
She shut the door behind him then went back to the kitchen. The tuna salad was gone so she put the dishes in the sink.
She then returned to the couch where she cuddled beside Sonny. Kiera came in and Jayde checked the time. "8:55. Good job!"
"You said before 9!"
"And it's before 9, so good job. What'd you get?"
Kiera came over to her with her bags and then set them down in front of Jayde and Sonny. "Some of them I can't show you because they're girl things but I got this purse and this necklace".
"Ooh, I like both of them. The necklace is very pretty".
She nodded. "I want to wear it to the wedding".
Both Jayde and Sonny realized they hadn't really talked about the wedding. "Yes, you can wear it to the wedding. We can make sure it goes with your dress". Kiera ran off excited. "Four kids and I totally forgot about the wedding, sorry".
He laughed. "I totally forgot, too. We should probably start planning it. My mom and sisters will be on us if we don't get started with it".
She laughed. "So will Kiera. Maybe we should get Amanda to plan it for us".
"With Franny and Jesse?"
"Jesse, yes. Franny, maybe. I don't need or want anything big. Just me, you, the kids, your family and the squad, maybe Johnny and our friends and Rafael".
"Like, your last two weddings?"
She laughed. "I promise I am never getting divorced again. Maybe we should just elope and just have it be us and the kids".
"I don't think my parents or my sisters would like that, doll. Plus we have my brother-in-law Tommy and my niece, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents".
She nodded. "Ok, you win. Plus if we're going to have the kids, we should invite Jesse and Noah. The kids will like having other kids to play with during the reception".
He kissed her making her laugh. "I can't wait until I get to do that whenever I want".
"You already get to do it whenever you want".
"Yeah but as your husband".
"Ok".
"How about who's giving you away?"
"Anthony also known as Joe Perry".
"I thought you were going to say –".
She laughed. "Good lord, no. That would be weird. Speaking of, we should invite him, Idina, Adam and his wife". He gave her a look. "I know you don't like Anthony, but they're my friends".
He nodded. "Ok because you agreed on having my family there. So, Amanda and Jesse, Fin, Olivia and Noah, Steven, Vincent, Anthony, Anthony, Adam, his wife, Idina, Steven, Kiera, RJ, and Lucia, Barba, my three sisters, Tommy, my niece, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. This is not going to be a small wedding, doll".
She laughed and shook her head as she took another sip. "Mrs. Jayde Lucy Furnier Perrier Tallarico Carisi Jr".
"That's really going to be your name, doll?"
She laughed. "No. I just like adding them into my name. Mrs. Jayde Lucy Carisi Jr".
He smiled and pulled her closer. After finishing her glass of wine, they went to bed satisfied that they had started planning their wedding.
