The Convenient Wife
by Kelly

chapter 68

Sonny's dark eyes lifted questioningly to Carly.

Even across the distance, he saw the tears standing in hers, tears
she was trying so hard not to shed. But her mouth betrayed her. It
trembled. Then hardened abruptly as her gaze flicked over to Alexis.
After a tense moment, both women looked away. It was Sonny who spoke,
first having to clear the raw emotion that fisted in his throat.

"What…what is this?" he rasped hoarsely. "You brought `em to say
goodbye to me?"

Carly looked back at him, shaking her head. "No. I was…I thought they
could use a visit with you…with you and Kristina."

"And Alexis, Mommy," Michael added politely.

There was another deep and awkward silence amongst them for a
minute. "And Alexis," Carly said, but the two words were whispered
with palpable dislike.

"I…I need to go out of town myself…for a little while," the woman
explained. "And I wanted you to take care of them, Sonny. But Jason
came over and he told me that you were headed to Puerto Rico. So I
guess…"

Her voice trailed off as she realized…along with Jason and Alexis,
too…that Sonny still hadn't said a word. That he was standing there
staring, his throat working convulsively as he struggled to contain
his emotions in front of his sons. Alexis reached out with her free
hand and touched his arm. Without conscious thought he leaned into
her touch. Carly and Jason both caught the gesture. Jason smiled;
Carly closed her eyes against the truth.

After a moment, with difficulty, she continued. "I don't…I mean, I
guess you wouldn't wanna take three kids to the islands with you, so
if we can't make this work now then we can reschedule…"

"No," Alexis interjected firmly. "We can definitely make this work. A
gesture like this Carly…is very generous. We'll make this work.
However you want to do it."

The younger woman's gaze held to hers for a long pained moment, then
averted, but she nodded at what Alexis had said. Michael, no longer
able to contain himself, surged forward to embrace his father, his
little arms wrapping round Sonny's waist.

"I missed you," he murmured into the cloth of his father's suit.

"I missed you, too, man," Sonny whispered, his voice wrecked by
emotion. "More than words can say."

"So I get to go with you to Puerto Rico?" the boy chirped
excitedly. "We get to go swimming in the ocean and everything, Daddy?
Right?"

Sonny looked down at his child with something akin to worship. "We
can go wherever you want, buddy," he choked out. "Wherever you want."

Jason stepped forward, and Sonny noticed that his friend had luggage
beside him…the children's suitcases. "She's promised to make this
right," the younger man said, his voice steady like that of a
negotiator, a role he had played many times in this marriage. "Not
just for this trip, but for good. No more fighting over the boys. As
long as you guys respect her, she respects your rights as a dad."

Sonny caught his friend's gaze, gratitude shining from his
face. "Thank you, man."

Jason held up his hands. "It wasn't me. I went to the penthouse, and
Carly had already made her mind up…had already packed their bags. It
was all her decision."

His boss nodded, letting his eyes fall on the face he had once found
so bewitching, so dear. Now, he looked at her with some vestige of
the affection he'd once felt, but with such regret as well. Regret
that it had taken so many battles, so many wounds to realize that
they were poison to each other as lovers. He squared his shoulders
with a new resolve: that he would never go down that disastrous road
again. That he would never take his children down it again.

Right now, he wasn't sure they could make a smooth transition to co-
parenting, but he was grateful that today she'd made a huge step in
that direction. All he could think to say when he looked at her was
two words…two heartfelt words…that seemed to convey it all and yet
not enough at the very same time.

"Thank you," he whispered.

The tears that had been brimming in Carly's eyes finally spilled over
onto her cheeks. She swiped at them with the back of her hand and
didn't even attempt to answer Sonny.

Instead, she fell to her knees, beckoning her son to come back to
her. "So I gotta say goodbye for a little while, Mr. Man. But I'll
call you when you're on your trip and tell you where I'm traveling.
And you can call me anytime on my cell phone; Daddy knows the number.
I'll miss you, but I'll think of you having so much fun with your
father. You be good, now. You promise?"

"Yes, Mommy," came the earnest reply as his mother enveloped him in a
hug.

Carly stood up, leaned over to kiss Morgan's fair hair, and then
looked up at Jason. "I'll be outside," she said and turned to leave.

Sonny shook himself out of his shock and strode across to grasp her
arm. She turned to face him, eyebrows raised. In a move that
surprised them both, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her
temple. Instinctively, she clutched his shoulders, holding him to her
for a brief moment. Her breath caught audibly on a ragged sob, and
she squeezed her eyes shut. It only lasted a few seconds, but the
action had spoken volumes. It had said a firm and final sad goodbye.

She stood back from him, her eyes blurred with tears, and then turned
away to head for the door. Jason's eyes followed her out, concern
clearly etched on his face. Sonny saw him and shook his head, knowing
that the younger man would never stop caring for Carly. And deep in
his heart, though he didn't understand the feeling, Sonny was
grateful she wouldn't ever be totally alone.

Jason handed the baby to his father and shoved his hands into the
pockets of his jeans. "So what're you guys gonna do? Get tickets on a
later flight, or—"

Sonny smiled. "Stop makin' small talk, man. You know you're worried
about her. Go see if she's ok."

Jason grinned sheepishly. "That obvious, huh?"

"Yep. Just…you know…take care of her, Jason."

The other man shook his head. "I think the idea is to let her find a
way to take care of herself first."

Alexis nodded and touched his arm. "Yes, that would be wise," she
said softly. "And in the meantime, Mr. Caretaker, take some time for
Jason, would ya?"

The man smiled, and leaned over to place a brotherly kiss on her
cheek. He waved at the children and turned to leave the airport.

Sonny looked at his wife, a tide of emotion rising over his
face. "Mrs. Corinthos?"

She smirked. "That's Davis-Corinthos to you."

He laughed. "Right. Mrs. Davis-Corinthos, can you believe what just
happened here?"

She brushed an affectionate touch across Michael's red hair with a
smile. "Carly did the right thing for her children. Yeah, I can
believe it."

"That's not what I meant," he told her. "I was talkin' about YOU. I
have never met a woman like you. Someone who would swallow her anger
and her pride to be civil to someone who has never been civil to her…
just to make sure her husband has his kids. Just to make sure her
husband is happy."

"You'd do the same for me," Alexis said, trying to downplay his
words. "In fact you have. How many times did you resist the urge to
deck Jax or Ned when they told you to stay away from me?"

He pursed his lips, amusement dancing in his misty eyes. "Quite a lot…
except the last time…in court. But then Nedly had that coming to him."

"Yes, he certainly did."

"My point, Lex, is that I respect you more than any other woman for
what you've done for me. The sacrifices you've made. Making room in
your life for my children."

She kissed him tenderly. "They're part of you and Kristina; that
makes them part of me, too. That's not a sacrifice, Sonny. That's
love."

He was struck again by the difference between her and his ex-wife. He
was quite sure that Carly would not have been so magnanimous about
Kristina joining their family in the penthouse were the situation
reversed.

And looking at his wife beside him now he knew that he had finally
found real, mature, everlasting love. He wasn't even tempted to look
back at the past anymore. He would only look to the future. His
priority was to make his family happy and whole and secure. Nothing
else…no one else…mattered.

He smiled and enveloped the little group of them into a warm embrace.
Then he laughed as he imagined them all on a TV screen with the
credits rolling over their happy ending. They would be in one of
those schmaltzy romantic comedies…the kind Alexis secretly watched on
the Lifetime channel when she thought he wasn't paying attention. He
always found the movies corny and unrealistic. He'd always asked
himself, who would do all those things for another person? He'd
always doubted that anyone could really love that way…the forever
way. He had never bought into it. Not once.

Now he looked at a brown-eyed beauty with dimples that smiled at him
and warmed his heart. The woman who was his and his alone. He hadn't
had faith before, but starting today….

Starting today…

he believed.

THE END