"From This Day Forward (Part 3 to One Night Stand)"

"The Explanation"

Antonio: Gabby, will you excuse us for a moment?
Gabby: Take all the time you need. I'll just be over there.

Gabby walked away. Antonio gently picked up Serena's hand to hold while he spoke to her. She swiftly shook his hand off of hers. He was taken aback, but remained sweet to her as he talked.

Antonio: I owe you an explanation.
Serena: Like hell you do...
Antonio: Serena, please.
Serena: I just want to know why you lied to me about Manny's mother. When clearly... she's still here. You said she was deemed unfit & that you had sole custody of him.
Antonio: Ok, ok. Can we sit down please?

Serena had her arms crossed & her brows furrowed in frustration. After Antonio begged her another time to join him in sitting down, she gave in.

Antonio had much explaining to do about Gabby & his relationship. He told Serena that they were high school sweethearts & that although they were close, they weren't good for each other. They got into a lot of trouble & almost didn't get the chance to graduate high school. The night of their graduation, they had stayed out all night with the wrong crowd. It was a crazy night where they lived it up doing all sorts of illegal things. This was also the night Manny was conceived. They had unprotected sex & soon found out they would be expecting a baby 9 months from then. Gabby became sober & got her life straightened out. She stopped seeing Antonio & she stopped hanging around the wrong crowd. Her family let her keep the baby, but told her to give it up as soon as she delivered it. This is why she hasn't been in the picture. During Gabby's pregnancy, Antonio worked like crazy at every opportunity he got. This is why college was put on the back burner. He didn't have time to socialize let alone think about schooling. He helped his Grandma & Grandpa by working at their personal businesses, but still didn't make as much as he expected. He soon became desperate & started making deals with old friends & became a lookout for drug deals. Everything was going smoothly for the first month. He was earning a lot of money & was proud of it. One day, a deal went south. There was an undercover cop involved in the deal & Antonio was arrested. His grandma & grandpa fought for him & had a good lawyer to help out. Antonio was only in jail for a few months, but had to serve hundreds of community service projects. This was why he was volunteering at soup kitchens & shelters. As soon as he got out, he continued working hard & earning money in a safe & honest way. He also started working on personal growth & made time to do things he enjoyed like music. He was a completely different person today than he was this time last year. This was also the first time he's seen Gabby since then.

Antonio & Gabby had never sorted their relationship out. Gabby still loved Antonio, but he had clearly moved on. Serena was awkwardly in the middle of it. She appreciated Antonio's honesty now, but wished he would've said something about it sooner. She glanced over at Gabby who was talking to a few of the homeless folks waiting in line for a hot meal.

Antonio: Serena, I'm gonna need some time to sort things out with Gabby.
Serena: What does that mean for us? Is there even an "us" anymore.
Antonio: Of course. I wanna be with you, Serena. I do. And I hope you know how much you mean to me & to my son. I'm not gonna lie, this is really complicated.
Serena: What do you need from me?
Antonio: Just your understanding & patience. And maybe it'd be best if you took my car to pick up Miranda at my grandparent's. I'm sorry for... all of this. I'm not sure how long this'll take.
Serena: Keep your car.
Antonio: Are you sure? It's fine. I can just get a ride.
Serena: No, it's ok. I can call a few people. So I guess I'll talk to you later?
Antonio: Yeah, I'll call you.

Antonio hugged Serena & planted a kiss on her head. She remained on the bench while Antonio walked over to Gabby. They hugged & held each other for a while. She looked away to give them privacy. Serena knew she had to leave to let them talk it out. As much as she told Antonio that she had a few people to call, she wasn't sure who to call. She started with Grandma & Jack & when they didn't answer, she called Tom. No one answered. Brian's name crosses her mind & although she didn't want to call him, she couldn't think of anyone else to help her.

She had no other choice, but to call him. She dialed his number & he answered. She knew that it'd be a hard call to make since they hadn't spoken to each other in ages. The phone rang a few times & then he picked up.

Brian: Hello, Serena?