Almost Perfect (November 1985)

With some help from Lauren, Isabella was able to get Frank a new identity. His new name was Frank Romano. He had been given a new Social Security number, a new birth date, and the names of new parents and siblings. With his new identity Frank was able to get a job working in construction. He had officially given up his life as "The Punisher" and had moved in with Isabella. Both Lauren and Isabella were promoted and things at the office were finally settling down after everything that had happened.

Frank and Isabella were quite happy in their new lives together. They were able to go out to dinner and to the movies without fear. If Isabella was home on time they would cook together, but on the nights when she was running late Frank would cook for her. That was something Isabella appreciated more than she could ever express. While they didn't make love every night, most of their nights were filled with fire and passion, followed by tenderness and intimacy. Isabella was happy...very happy...but there was still something she knew she wanted...a baby. She and Frank weren't married and there had been no talk of it. She didn't want to push him into getting married, although she knew her parents wanted that. She didn't need a baby right at that moment...but she wanted to at least know that it was something Frank wanted as well.

It was Saturday night and she and Frank were cooking together. Tonight, it was Chicken Cacciatore. She had been out earlier that day with a friend of hers. "So, Alice had some exciting news to share today. She's pregnant."

Isabella’s promotion brought on the added responsibility. No woman had ever been promoted so young and with so few years in service as Isabella had. She continued to make Frank proud with how she handled herself in that regard. And for the most part, the New York offices had been cleansed of the corruption that had once infested it. There were still others in DC that ‘tried’ to use their influence to get Lauren to conduct more of these ‘black bag’ operations but when they tried she brought it to the Director’s attention and so those kinds of happens dwindled to almost nothing over time.

Over the past years Frank had enjoyed his life with Isabella. They were a couple in ever sense of the word and he enjoyed working with his hands in construction. They went on date nights, trips, and cooked together when they were able to. They shopped and cleaned and did the normal everyday things that were apart of life but they did it together. Their love life was quite active as well. Hot, steamy nights of pleasuring one another and more than once Isabella called him to come home for lunch but there was no ‘lunch’ going on at all. It was a good life, a happy life and Frank couldn’t get enough of Isabella.

Chicken Cacciatore was another one of his Nonna’s recipes. He had made it several times before for Isabella but tonight he was teaching her the recipe. As she stirred the thickening sauce he bumped his body up against her backside and looked over her shoulder. He smiled when she rolled her hips against him and it was all he could do to keep his hands on the counter on either side of the stove though he wanted to put them onto her breasts. He really liked Isabella’s nice, firm breasts. And she liked that he liked them it appeared. Saturday nights were often date nights for them but Frank had to work a few hours that morning and Isabella had gone out with her friend Alice shopping.

“Pregnant already? Didn’t she just marry uhh...Bob? No waiting? Or was it planned at all?” he asked as he blew his warm breath on the back of her neck. That usually tickled the crap out of her when he did that and he was very lucky she didn’t jerk the spoon out of the pot and coat them both accidentally with sauce. He saw her skin prickle though and she tilted her head back so he couldn’t do it again. He chuckled, he loved bothering her and knew full well that sometimes it actually annoyed her when she was trying to be serious. Frank was obviously not in a serious mood right then.

The sauce smelled delicious and Isabella found she was quite hungry. She hadn’t eaten much at lunch because she was too busy talking to Alice excitedly about her pregnancy. It had really gotten her thinking about having a baby with Frank but she found now that they were about to delve into that situation that she was rather nervous about it.

She knew she should have expected him to blow on the back of her neck like he did, but tonight she hadn’t and she jerked slightly in surprise, but much to her relive didn’t throw sauce everywhere. She laughed and glanced at him over her shoulder.

“They got married over 6 months ago. It wasn’t planned but Alice says that Bob is thrilled.”

She put some sauce on a spoon and turned around to let him taste it. She waited until he swallowed before going on.

“It actually got me to thinking though,” she began as she turned back around to face the stove, “that I...would like to...have a baby.”

Of all the things Frank thought he’d hear Isbellea say, ‘I want a baby,’ was not among them. Isabella with her confident stride and her confident way of handling herself in any room filled with men. Isabella, who had fought long and hard for her career ‘wanted a baby?’ He supposed he should feel complimented but he felt suddenly warm. They hadn’t even talked about marriage yet! Frank didn’t even know if he wanted to be married again. But this ‘was’ Isabella. An Italian beauty that could shoot a fly off of a horse’s ass at 300 yards. He scratched the back of his neck.

“Well this was sudden, and I suppose that would mean that you’d like to be married before said baby was born?” He asked as he looked at the back of her head. ‘What was she thinking!’ He wondered not certain if any response he could give would be what she wanted to hear.

Isabella could sense Frank's hesitation and without even looking at him she could tell what his face looked like at that moment. She winced just thinking about it. She had put him on the spot and she kicked herself mentally for doing that to him. She immediately began to backtrack.

"I...I don't mean anytime soon...or necessarily at all," she said, refusing to turn around and look at him. "I guess talking with Alice this afternoon caused me to temporarily lose my sanity. I'm sorry I mentioned it. Everything's perfect the way it is."

She pulled away from him. "I should go set the table."

“Ok just whoa!” He said as he took hold of her arm and hauled her back up to him. Babe, whats going on? You know you can be honest with me. Whats going on in that pretty head of yours? Talk to me,” he said as he held her before him. He had a neutral expression on his face and also a concerned one. He didnt know where this was coming from. ‘Does she want me to disappoint her and break up with me?’ He wondered.

Isabella sighed and looked at Frank. "The truth is, is that I want marriage and children. It's something I've always known that I want. I know that it is surprising given how hard I've worked for my career, but I don't believe it would end my career. But I also love you...so much and I don't want to lose you if you don't want either of those things."

“Whoa!” He said as he looked at her. He shofted and put his hands on her shoulders. “You got alot going on Isabella. And there is a reason Lauren is single, remember? But that could just mean that she didn't find the right guy,” he said. “Im not ready for all that but I wont say that marrying you is completely off the table either. Just right now...im happy. What we have is pretty good. And when you need to work or go out of the country you just go and that makes you valuable to your career. And it is a career, not just a job,” he said.

Isabella slowly nodded. She understood and she wasn't going to argue or push him. She felt lucky just to have such a man in her life. Frank understood her and supported her in ways that Noah hadn't. She didn't want to lose Frank. She gave him a little smile.

"I'm happy too," she said as she pushed down the slight disappointment she felt.

Frank could see that this subject was important to her but he had to be honest. He wouldn’t lead her on just because he Loved her. But he knew he wasn’t ready to be a father again. He knew that much. He shifted his hands up to her face. “Look, I don’t want to lose you Isabella. I will do what you need me to do for you to get what you need out of this relationship. We have closeness, and understanding and passion. Your happiness is very important to me babe,” he said then kissed her. Gently at first and then his kisses came in a passionate flood. It was the food that distracted them. The sauce was beginning to scorch.

Isabella closed her eyes as she returned Frank’s rather passionate kisses. She started to feel things beginning to get out of control when they both suddenly smelled the sauce. She pulled back and quickly dashed into the kitchen to take it off the heat. With that taken care of, she walked back over to Frank and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him gently and looked up into his eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you either Frank and I want you to be happy. Let’s table the baby discussion for now. We can talk about it again in the future.”

Frank was actually relieved that Isabella relented and decided not to concern himself about ‘ a later discussion about a baby’. He followed Isabella and when she switched off the stove he turned her to face him and then raised her up to sit onto the counter. His hands went to her breasts almost immediately and he commenced kissing her as her hands moved to touch him as well. This wasn’t the first time they had sex in the kitchen but he wanted her right then and so he would have her right then and there.

Later that night, Frank found it impossible to sleep and he decided to get up and have a drink. He held the glass in his hand and looked out between the curtains of their doorwall toward the street below their apartment. He was completely naked, his large, well-muscled shape only a gray silhouette in the darkness of the living room. He rested one arm up against the glass, the coolness of it a contrast to the warmth of his flesh. In truth he missed his family. How could he not? There were so many good memories, the three of them together, one happy family.

Now that they were gone and those that had killed them gone, Frank felt...lost to a degree. Lost to the resignation of the mundane and of a comfortable life. Isabella was a comfort, more, a link to the parts of him that were actually a decent human being if there was ever such a thing. He loved her as much as he could love someone he supposed. A shadow of the love he felt for his family but the whole of what was left for that. In his heart he did not think it was enough for Isabella. Her bringing up wanting a baby was just a test. A test to see his enthusiasm on the subject. A test he failed miserably. In the end honesty would not win her over. She would go after what she wanted eventually and he could foresee bitter arguments that slowly forced them apart. Silent tears fell down onto his cheeks as he quietly mourned the death of the man he used to be.