Jack came home from the office around 6 p.m., and he went straight to the nursery. Eric was awake. Marry was holding him when Jack entered the room, and the joy painted the baby's face as soon as he saw his father. He smiled with his characteristic toothless smile and started to giggle and to move his little legs like he was trying to go to Jack.Jack's heart melted, and he immediately went to Marry and took the baby in his embrace. His one night stand with Jennifer was a mistake, the one he will forever be careful not to repeat. But Eric? Eric was a gift, and he was worth it. If Jennifer were alive, he would do anything to make it work with her for Eric's sake. Now? He will have to figure out things on his own..."Is she awake?" he asked Marry."No," she answered, not taking her eyes from the baby, "I checked on her maybe a half an hour ago, but she was still asleep, so I let her be."After Jack had dinner, he played with his son for a while, bathed him and fed him, and

The next morning, Maggie woke up to the sound of buzzing. It took her a minute to fully come to her senses and figure out where she was and what was that sound that she was hearing. She sat in the bed and reached for the phone that was vibrating on the nightstand."Hello," she spoke in a deep and raspy voice. There was nothing but silence coming from the other side. Maggie repeated "Hellooo," but there was no answer, so she hanged up.With every night she spent in this bed, she loved it more and more, because she was waking up rested and relaxed. She skipped dinner last night, and the loud growling in her stomach was reminding her that she was due to put some food in it.After did her morning routine, Maggie took her phone and headed downstairs to the kitchen. The sight that she found there pleasantly surprised her. She was greeted by the heavenly sight of a table filled with homemade pancakes, waffles, full plates with bacon and eggs, and all kinds of fruits. T

 It was early Saturday afternoon when Maggie started getting ready for the charity event she was supposed to go to with Jack. After the bath she took, she styled her hair with a cream she found in the bathroom cabinet; it made her hair shiny. Her natural, soft locks were on a good way to recover from the years of neglect. They looked decent now, so she decided to leave her hair free down her back. She removed a few strands from her face with some pins and added a little bit of mascara and eyeliner on her eyes that made her deep blue eyes stand out even more. A blood-red lipstick added to the look, and upon checking herself in the vanity mirror, she was satisfied with what she saw. Maggie never wore too much makeup. She hated the feeling of having a mask on her face, but she did like to accentuate her features a bit, so she found the middle ground.One thing she had to admit… there was a good side to this arrangement she made with Jack. She finally had time for her

“I used to come here with my friends from school so often that late papa Joey threatened to throw us out forever,” Jack chuckled at the memory, “but he never did. I continued coming here with my friends from college too. When you see the joint from the outside, you would never guess that they make the best pizza in the city.”Maggie was sitting across from him, and she was looking around, careful not to miss a word he said. The restaurant was indeed small and had only a couple of tables all covered with plaid tablecloths, but the atmosphere was perfect, homey and cozy, and the smells coming from the back… they were probably the most delicious and inviting smells she has encountered.They were both dressed casually, and this was the first time for Maggie to see him not wearing his usual white dress-shirt, but dark jeans and simple tee-shirt. She was in a cute, fluttery summer dress that reached just above her knees and strappy sandals.The waiter came a few minutes

Jack was about to leave his office when the phone on his desk rang."Hello, son. It's your father speaking. Your mother is very disappointed with you. Did we have to hear from someone else that you got married?" 'And here it goes…'  Jack thought."Well, hello to you too, father. What you heard is right…" he was cut off by his father's strict voice."I am disappointed too, boy. Is this how we taught you?" 'It's exactly what you taught me,' Jack thought but said nothing, "We expect you for lunch this Sunday. Bring that girl so we can meet her." he never waited for Jack's reply, he cut the call when he said what he had to say.Jack sighed. The good mood that held him since early morning was now gone. His father, like always, managed to make him feel like a failure with just a couple of words. It was always like that, ever since he was a kid. Nothing he ever did was good enough in his father's eyes.  When he was a child playing around the house, when he was a strai