Born To The Barrio's Best: Chris Jackson and Mandy Gonzalez/COMPLETE

One (Old...Friends)

(2008)(Mandy's POV)

Mama..." Isabella whined. "Do I have to go to your audition thing?" She asks me.

"Yes. And it's not an audition. It's a meet. We're meeting our cast mates today. Now let's go." I said, and practically dragged Isabella out of the car and into the theater.

"I don't wanna go in there!" Isa whined again.

"If you make me late to this, I will take away Mr. Stuffy for a week." I warned and she stopped acting up.

We walked inside and I was greeted by the man who wrote the musical. "Ah! Ms. Gonzalez! I'm Lin!"

"Hi Lin. And please, call me Mandy." I told him and he smiled real big.

"Who's this?" He asked, bending down to Isa's height.

"This is my daughter, Isabella. I, however, call her Isa." I said and Lin waved at my little girl.

"Well, Isa, how would you like to meet everyone else?" Lin asked. At first, Isa looked like she would say no, but she nodded eagerly.

~~~

"Well, since you're playing Nina, I'd like to introduce you to the man playing Benny." Lin said. "Yo! Where's Benny at?!"

We waited while none other than Christopher Jackson walked over. My breath caught in my throat as he halted mere feet away from me. I turned to Isa. "Honey, can you go ask Ms. Olivo to get you a snack?"

"Okay. I love you Mama." Isa whispered and I kissed her forehead.

When I stood back up, I saw that Chris had moved closer. "So, Mandy. How've you been?" He asked. His closeness made me nervous and I looked away from him.

"Oh, busy. You know." I said, hoping he'd leave me be.

"I really think we should talk." He told me.

"Really? You think we should talk?" I wanted to tell him that Isa was his daughter. That somewhere, deep down, I still loved him. But another part of me wanted to slap him. To tell him how angry and hurt I was. But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to do either as Isa walked back over, munching on goldfish crackers. I lifted her and peppered her face with kisses. "See you at my place. Seven o'clock. Sharp. I haven't moved. Don't be late." I said and left.

~~~

Isa and I ate dinner at the table. It was 5:45 and I wanted to have some good old fashioned mother-daughter time. "Mama, who was he? That guy you invited?" I sighed.

"Well, honey, I love you and as much as I'd love to tell you, it'll have to wait. Okay?"

"Okay." How did she drop that so quickly?

A knock on the door startled me. I got up and looked through the peep hole. "Hey Mom, Dad." I said when I opened the door.

"There's my sweet girl!" Mom said and hugged me tight.

"Mom...can't...breathe." I uttered and she let go.

"Sorry, love." She said. "Have I ever told you I think you're a great mother, Mandy?"

"No..." I said, slightly confused.

"Well I do. And I think that you doing this show is a great reward for you. Your father and I will take Isa whenever you need. You deserve this."

"Thank you Mom." I smiled and then turned to my daughter. "Go pick out a movie and I'll set it up in my room. I need to talk to Abuela Robin and Abuelo Paul."

I watched my daughter skip down the hallway to the movie collection. "What do you want to tell us?"

"Chris is also in the musical." I blurt out.

"What?! Isa's father?" Dad whisper shouted.

"Yeah. We kind of play love interests."

"This can't be happening." Mom said. "He broke your heart, Mandy. What are you going to do?"

"I invited him over...to talk." I said.

"If Isa finds out...what if he breaks her heart too? Or yours again?"

"I don't know...I just think he deserves to know about his daughter. And Isa needs a father."

~~~

At exactly seven pm, Chris showed up. I invited him in. He looked at Isa, then back at me. "Babysitting?" He asked. I shook my head.

"That's not why I asked you to come. I have questions for you."

"Like?" He was already giving me his undivided attention.

"Why did you cheat on me?" He sighed.

"I have no reason why I did. And if I'm being honest, I have regretted it ever since. I really did love you, Mandy." The words 'did love' wrench my stomach into a knot. "In fact, I still love you. After eight years, I couldn't get my mind off you. Not only do I love you, I'm in love with you. I know that what I did was unforgivable. But I at least want to make it up to you. How can I?"

"Be there for your daughter." The words just slipped out and Chris' eyes went wide.

"What do you mean, daughter?"

"Well, the day I caught you cheating, I found out I was pregnant. With your baby. Isabella is my daughter. Our daughter." I rushed to get the words out and Chris surprised me by taking my hand. I pulled it back, contemplating on slapping him. "You were right about one thing, Chris. What you did was unforgivable. But that will not stop me from letting you know your daughter. Just let me get one thing straight. I will be, if ever, the first one to make a move in this relationship. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. One hundred percent. Got it." Chris said, looking as if I had smacked him. I just looked away and let a tear fall. Then another. Soon I was sobbing and fell into Chris' chest. He rubbed my back, the same way he used to.

"Why are you so understanding, even now?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I guess that being with you makes everything clearer and easier to understand. Just remember, I really do love you, Mandy."