October 31, 2005

Todd and Téa finally end their very long embrace. Having lost track of time, Téa now regains her composure and pulls away from Todd, stepping back and taking a good, long look at him.

"You look great, Todd," she says, smiling warmly.

"Yeah? So do you," he says, grinning shyly.

"What brings you to Manhattan?"

"You."

Her expression loses a little of its warmth. "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see you, that's why. Look, Starr told me she saw you the other night, and I...I dunno, I just got the urge to see you, okay?"

"You just suddenly got an urge to see me? After 5 years?"

"Well, I've had the urge tons of times over the past 5 years, but this is the first time I actually did anything about it."

"I see."

There is an awkward silence for a while, and since he doesn't appear to be leaving, she decides to be polite. "Would you like to have a seat? Can I get you anything?"

"No, no thanks, I'd rather stand. This is a nice place you got here, Delga...Téa," he says, as he looks around her home.

"Thanks. We like it."

"We? Oh, yeah, right...the kid. You and the kid."

"And José."

"Your brother lives here, too?"

"Yes. And, Abuelita lives here, during the summer months. She spends the winter in Puerto Rico."

"Wow, you've got a houseful."

"Yes, I like it that way. And, it's wonderful for Annie to have her Uncle José living here. They're best buddies. They go everywhere together. He's great with her, and she's great for him. She brings out a softer side to my brother. They adore each other. Del and Enrique live nearby, too."

"One big, happy Delgado family, huh?"

"Yes. We're lucky to have each other and to be close, after all these years."

"Yeah, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you. I'm happy for you, too."

"Me?"

"Yes, you and Blair."

"Me and Blair?"

"Starr must be thrilled."

"Téa, there is no me and Blair. Starr told me about what you thought you saw, after you left me, but what you thought you saw wasn't how it really was. Blair is with Max, and I'm with nobody. That's the truth."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I misinterpreted things."

"Yeah, you did. So, tell me about Annie's father."

Téa becomes uncomfortable with the situation. She thought Todd was in a relationship, and she doesn't like the way her heart just jumped at the news that he isn't and hasn't been in all this time. Obviously, Starr told him about Annie, but she doesn't know what Todd knows about Annie's father, and she doesn't feel like talking about her ex. Her other ex. "He's really none of your business, Todd."

Todd does a take and raises an eyebrow. "I just asked a question, Delgado. I didn't mean any harm."

"You never do."

"Whoa. Sorry. You must still have it bad for the guy, if just mentioning him pisses you off this much," he comments, angry that he feels so jealous and that it's showing.

"It doesn't. I'm just, uh, less than thrilled with him right now, and I'd really prefer to not discuss him, okay?"

"What's her name?"

"What?"

"What's her name?"

"Who's name?"

"The name of his new girlfriend, Téa."

She stares at him, utterly amazed that he figured it out so easily.

"Oh, come on, Delgado. I can read you like a book. Always could, so don't even try to hide it. He has found someone new, and you don't like that fact very much, am I right?"

She walks over to a window and gazes out at the world below, hugging her arms around her body. "Her name is Lisa, and she'll turn eighteen next month."

Todd's eyes open wide. "How old is he?"

"Forty-two."

"Yuck!"

"Look, I don't care that he has someone new or that she can't even vote yet, I just don't like her, and I don't want her around my child. She's an irresponsible airhead. As soon as she becomes a legal adult, they're getting married, so she automatically becomes Annie's step-mother. That's what upsets me. I was just at their house this weekend, and each time I see her, I'm convinced that she keeps losing brain cells or something."

"Maybe she's a long-lost Cramer?"

Téa turns and looks at him, with confusion on her face, until the name sinks in, and she gets the joke. She smiles. "Maybe," she says, quietly.

After a long silence, Todd asks, "So, are you seeing anybody? Anybody who can vote?"

"That was subtle. No, Todd, I'm not seeing anybody. I don't date."

"You don't?"

"No. I don't want to do that to Annie. It's bad enough that her father exposes her to an endless parade of women. I'm not going to do the same thing to her. I want her to have a more stable life than that. Besides, I have accepted the fact that I suck at relationships, and I don't waste my time on things at which I suck. Not anymore."

As they look at each other, they hear the door opening. José and Annie walk into the room, laughing and smiling. They notice Todd, and José says hello. He recognizes Todd and informs Téa that Todd had come to visit earlier, but he had forgotten to tell her.

"So, the two of you have already met?," Téa asks.

"Yeah, we have, but Annie and I haven't," says Todd.

"How do you know my name,?" asks Annie.

Todd walks over to Annie and squats down to make them more equal in height. "I have a daughter named Starr, and she told me all about you. You two met the other night at a party in Llanview. My name is Todd, and I'm, uh, an old friend of your mom's."

Annie extends her hand to Todd. "My name is Annie."

Todd laughs and shakes her hand. "Yes, I know." He lets go of her hand and stands up.

Annie looks up at Todd and holds out her plastic pumpkin to him. "You want some of my candy?" At that exact moment, Todd knows he has already completely fallen in love with Téa's daughter. A broad smile crosses his face. "Yeah, kid...you got any candy corn in that bucket of yours?"

"It's not a bucket. It's a punkin'," Annie giggles, as she tilts her head down and looks up at him through her long eyelashes.

Todd laughs. "I stand corrected."

"You could sit, if you wanna. We have couches," Annie offers.

"Well..."

Annie grabs his hand and leads him to a couch. She sits down and begins digging through her candy stash. She lifts her hand up triumphantly, as she presents Todd with a packet of candy corn. "Here you go!"

Todd takes the packet from Annie and sits down beside her. He opens the packet and empties the contents into his hand. "Hey! These are the best kind. They have the brown part on the bottom. Here, have some," he says, as he holds his hand out to her.

"Okay," she says, as she accepts the candy. She pops them into her mouth, as does Todd. "Mmm, these are good," she says, her big, brown eyes opening wide to express how good the candy tastes.

Todd mimics her by opening his eyes wide, too. "Yep, they're good," he says.

Téa watches the scene before her, and she feels a crushing sensation in her chest. Annie should have been our daughter, Todd. She hates herself for thinking this, but it is a thought she has had since the day she learned she was pregnant. She knows she never got over Todd, and she also knows that her preoccupation with a man from her past played a direct role in ruining her marriage to Annie's father. What if I hadn't misinterpreted what I saw in Llanview years ago? What if I had returned to Todd? What if...

"Hey! Téa!," shouts José.

"What?," she asks, startled out of her thoughts.

"I was just offering you some candy, mami," says Annie.

"Oh, sweetie, thank you," she says, as she takes the candy she has no interest in eating.

While Todd and Annie chat about the merits of the various types of candy in her pumpkin, José walks up to Téa. He whispers in her ear, "You okay, mija?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she whispers.

"Hell of a shock, eh? Seeing this guy, again."

"Yeah."

………………………………………………………………

A few hours later, they stand in the doorway. Annie finally had fallen asleep, but only after Todd had told her several bedtime stories. José had graciously allowed Todd to take over the nightly storytelling duties that he normally handled and had excused himself, leaving for his girlfriend's house to allow Todd and Téa some time alone to talk. Having cleared the air about many things, they are now saying goodnight.

"Thanks for everything. I had great time. You've got a terrific kid, Delgado."

"Thanks. So do you."

"Speaking of her...she'd really love to see you, again. So, um, so would I," he says, as he nervously looks at the floor.

"I don't know, Todd."

"Why not?"

"I just don't know if it's such a good idea to start anything, you know? Maybe we should just leave the past in the past and not go there. It hurts too much when it all falls apart...and it always does."

He looks up at her. "Maybe it won't this time?"

"Todd..."

"Hey, I'm older and wiser...well, I'm older. And, I've been through a ton of therapy, so, I think you should give me the chance to show off how healthy I can be for small amounts of time."

She laughs.

"I...I miss you, Téa. Not a day goes by when I don't miss you or think about you or wonder how you are."

"It's the same for me, but everything is different now."

"Yeah, I know, you have a kid now. But, I swear to you, Delgado, I'll never hurt your kid."

"I know that, Todd, that's not what I meant."

"I promise you, I won't hurt your kid's mom, either."

She looks up at him and is held in his gaze. Her head is screaming at her to close the door on him and never look back, but her heart is telling her to leave the door propped open...just a little...just in case.

"What do you say, Delgado? Can I call you sometime?"

She sighs. "Yeah."

He grins. "You won't regret this." He leans in and places a soft kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, Delgado."

"Goodnight, Todd."

"I'll call you."

"Famous last words."

"Hey! I'm one of the few guys who actually means those words."

She smiles and waves, as he bounds down the stairs.

………………………………………………………………

Five minutes later, Téa is picking up candy wrappers, when the phone rings. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Todd?"

"Yeah. I told you I'd call. I keep my word these days."

"I guess you do," she laughs.

"Listen, I was wondering...wanna have dinner with me Friday night?"

"This Friday?"

"Yes, this Friday. Don't tell me you have plans already, because you told me you don't date."

"So, this wouldn't be a date?"

"No, well, yeah...yeah, it would be a date."

"Then, by definition, I couldn't go, right?," she teases.

"Téa, come on. Don't make this so hard for me, okay? I'm no good at this sort of thing. I just want to spend some time with you, and I thought we could eat at the same time. If you don't want to call it a date, then fine, it doesn't have to be a date."

"You'd come to my door to pick me up, right?"

"Yeah."

"You'd take me somewhere and buy me dinner, right?"

"Yeah."

"You'd bring me home afterwards and maybe even give me a goodnight kiss?"

"Something like that."

"That's a date, Todd."

"And, you don't date," Todd says, dejectedly.

Téa pauses for a few moments, weighing her options. She quietly says, "I do now."

Todd smiles. "Glad to hear it...as long as you only break your self-imposed rule for me. You don't need to date anyone else, okay?"

"Todd, let's just take this one step at a time. I'll see you Friday."

"Okay. I'll call you with the details."

"Great. I'll see you in a few days. Goodnight, and drive carefully."

"Yeah, goodnight, Delgado."

Todd hangs up his cell phone and starts his car. With one last look at Téa's apartment, he pulls away from the curb and heads back to Llanview. "I love Halloween!," he exclaims, as he cranks the volume on the CD player and drives home.

………………………………………………………………

December 24, 2005

Todd can't believe how happy he feels, as he and Starr drive toward Téa's apartment. Snow is softly falling down in huge, fluffy flakes, and Starr has her head out the window, as she tries to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

"Shorty, you're gonna freeze."

"No, I won't. It's not that cold outside." She continues on for a few more minutes, then she rolls up her window and turns toward her father. "You have a goofy look on your face, dad."

Todd scowls at her. "I do not."

"Do so."

"Whatever."

"It's that 'I looooooove Téa Delgado' look you get so often these days."

"Starr..."

"No, it's really cute, dad. It's nice to see you so happy. It's weird, but it's really nice."

Todd says nothing, but he can't stop a small grin from forming on his lips. The past couple months have been the best months of Todd's life, and he's finding it difficult to hide his constant good mood. Téa. He sighs. Téa...he just likes to think her name sometimes. Beautiful, smart, caring, sweet Téa. God, he loves her...and she loves him, go figure.

They pull into a parking space and gather up the presents they brought from Llanview. Starr had spent some time with Blair and Max earlier in the day, but since she spent Thanksgiving with them, she gets to spend Christmas with Todd and Téa.

José opens the door, and Starr jumps into his arms for a hug. "Feliz Navidad, mija," he says to her. "Feliz Navidad to you, too, José." He sets her down, and takes some of the gifts from Todd. They move further into the apartment, and they see Téa standing by the Christmas tree, holding Annie. Upon seeing the new arrivals, Annie squirms to get down and runs to greet Todd and Starr. Todd picks up Annie and takes his eyes off of Téa long enough to warmly greet the little girl. He puts her down and walks over to Téa, embracing her and giving her a soft, slow kiss. They stop kissing, when they hear giggles. Todd places his forehead against Téa's and whispers, "How long until we can put the munchkins to bed? I want you all to myself."

"Soon, querido, soon," she whispers, softly laughing.

………………………………………………………………

The apartment is peaceful, since the girls are asleep in Annie's room and José is at his girlfriend's house for the night. Todd and Téa are sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, enjoying the quiet in the room and the warmth from the fire.

"Let's go to bed," she says. She starts to get up, but Todd stops her.

"Not yet."

"Tomorrow is going to start early with toy assembly patrol, so we should take this opportunity to get some sleep...after we, um, you know...," she drifts off, smiling at the knowledge that they will soon be making love. Thanksgiving marked the end of their celibate relationship, and they have been making up for lost time ever since.

"Yeah, I know, but give me a minute, okay?"

"Okay."

Téa settles back down on the couch and snuggles back into Todd's arms. A moment later, Todd pulls away and gets off the couch, dropping to his knees right in front of her. They stare at each other, and they both start to smile.

"You knew this was coming, didn't you, Delgado?"

"No, actually, but as soon as you dropped to your knees, I had a clue."

He pulls a tiny velvet box from his pocket and hands it to her. She opens it and is stunned by the beauty of the ring in her hands. It's a perfect 2 carat solitaire on a thin yellow gold band.

"I can get you a bigger one, if you want, or a fancier one, but I liked this one, because it's simple, and it's not too small or too big. It's beautiful and real and flawless and rare...just like you. Marry me, Téa? Will you please marry me?"

She looks into his eyes and can't stop the tears from falling. She gently touches his face and smiles. She nods her head, "Yes, Todd. Yes, I'll marry you...one more time."

"That's all it would take, because this time, it's forever. You, me, your kid, my kid and our kids...the ones we're gonna have. We're forever."

She leans forward, and they share a soft kiss. As they pull apart, they hear giggling. They look toward the sound, and there they see Annie and Starr, standing outside Annie's bedroom, watching their parents become engaged. "You guys! You're supposed to be sleeping! Don't you want Santa to come?," asks Todd.

"I think he just did," declares Starr.

"He did?," asks Annie.

"Yeah, Annie. Your mom and my dad are going to get married...again."

"Yay!," exclaims Annie, and the two girls run toward their parents, jumping on them and hugging them.

Through their laughter, Téa asks Todd if all this togetherness and mushiness is getting to him. "Not this time, Delgado. Nope, not this time," he states, as he embraces all his girls in one big bear hug.

The End

Happy Holidays, TnTers! Thank you for reading. :)

© Copyright by Beesa 2000