"Late August is better for me." Tulip declared from the comfort of her Bronco idling in the parking lot of a posh shopping plaza a couple of blocks away from her office. It was the best place to meet him, not close to work, and not so far she'd have to endure the noon traffic rush.

"August?" Will's harked as if by some magical way she poked him in the side with a stick. "I'm a teacher, Tutu. The break is over."

"You're a coach." She clarified as if he didn't know his job title. Sure, he taught history but coaching was the reason he procured the position. "Anyway, I'm just too busy to entertain guests."

"Entertain?" He did it again, shock and surprise lacing his voice. "We're not guests. We're family. You haven't seen Jason since he was three months. He's almost one, Tutu. You want your nephew to think of you as a stranger."

You're a stranger to your niece. The words immediately formed in her head and she covered her mouth with her fingertips preventing them from flowing out. What was supposed to be a simple, catchup conversation while she drove from her boutique to the restaurant turned into a full-on disagreement? Will wanted to see her and she didn't want him to. She wasn't ready to tell him about Sidney not right now. Not while she was about to talk to Jasper. She'd rather deal with one heavy conversation a month.

"He's just eight months." She said glancing at the time. She needed to wrap this up so she could get this meeting over with. "Will, it's been real but I have to go. Call you, later."

"Sure." He said as if he didn't believe her, which he was entitled to. They have different meanings later. To him later meant later that day and for her, it meant sometime in the next two days but never more than a week.

Honestly, the last time she told him that she forgot but she had a good excuse. He just wasn't privy to it.

As soon as they said their goodbyes, she dropped her phone in her satchel bag and killed the engine. Her hand went to her stomach as she strutted to the cafe trying to remain calm and take easy breaths. She repeated it in her mind like a mantra until she entered the busy, modern little restaurant that was busy but not crowded. A low hum of energy hovered around as the cool a/c chilled the sweat that threatened to percolate on the small of her back from the hot humidity outside.

She hesitated at the booth where a hostess would normally be but her eyes instinctively found Jasper's in the corner at a table by a window that had a great view of a manmade pond. She took in a shallow breath at the electricity that sparked in her chest locking into his gaze. For a moment she blinked and wondered how things would've been if this was the first time they were meeting. If they both swiped right on each other or a friend of a friend thought they'd hit it off. If this was their first date would they've been a great match for each other? Then reality seeped in as utensils clacked against plates and the what if faded only leaving the tragic history.

He rose from his seat as she arrived at the table. Isn't he just a gentleman. Calm down, ladies. Sure he's hot enough to melt butter but he'll sky up when you really need him. Beware of a mad dasher. She wanted to give the warning to the woman at the adjacent table that was ogling his frame.

"I'm glad you're here." Jasper declared leaning towards her as if he was going to give her a hug but immediately stopped and glued his hands to his sides. "I didn't think you were going to reply."

"No," Tulip said dryly, taking a seat. "I'm not you. I don't vanish."

His chest rose high from the deep breath he took in before sitting across from her. "I deserve that."

"I wasn't asking for permission." She nonchalantly half-shrugged then interlocked her fingers together over the menu on the marble table. "I'm here. So....speak."

"Ah..." He scratched at the stubble lining his jawline dropping his eyes down to the table. "Do you want something before—"

"I don't have an appetite." Tulip abruptly cut him off before he lifted the menu off the table. "I don't have an appetite. I lost it last night thinking about this particular moment. I just came here for two reasons; an explanation and Sidney...in that order."

He nodded sitting back in the chair with his shoulders slumped. "You want me to go first."

Tulip didn't answer him. She hoped it was rhetorical because she just told him what she wanted but then again he didn't always give her what she asked for. An awkward silence shrouded the table so she toyed with one of the two gold rings on her middle finger that highlighted her black straight-leg trousers and sleeveless crop top.

"I panicked." Jasper breathed out breaking the sound embargo. "It was a coward move but..." He stopped, shifting his gaze out to the pond as if he was reliving the past. "I went to find a nurse because you were in so much pain—"

Tulip flinched. "I remember. I was there." Her brown eyes bore into his with a fiery contempt that prompted him to take a hard swallow. "The nurses were there. The doctor was there but you weren't. Why?"

He took several breaths. "I...I couldn't see it...the baby."

"Sidney." She corrected him. "Her name's Sidney. Say it. Say her name." She leaned closer to the table. "You left us. But I didn't get to have a choice. I had to stay and push her out. Push out our baby to give her away."

"But you didn't have to."

She blinked, sitting straight up. "Come again."

"You wanted an adoption." He tossed the words at her as if they were hot pebbles. "I did what you wanted."

"We agreed on the choice." She gestured between both of them. "You were fine with the choice up until the moment so don't try to blame me for what you did. You. Left. Me." Her lip trembled as she spoke the words, remembering the emptiness that consumed her when he didn't return her phone call after giving birth.

She assumed he was going to be back when she woke up after an exhausting labor but no one was sitting on the couch when she opened her eyes at midnight. She assumed his phone died and he was tired. Maybe he went back to his apartment and crashed but when she stopped over there two days later no one answered her knocks. It hit her when the person living next door told her they saw him with luggage yesterday.

"I'm sorry." He reached for her hand and she yanked it off the table as if he touch was lava. "I thought." He dropped his head. "I couldn't help you. I couldn't do anything. The entire reason you were giving our child away was that I couldn't take care of you so I..." He lifted his head, matching misty eyes to hers. "I was ashamed."

Tulip didn't know she was crying until she felt a teardrop slatter on her collarbone. "Well, how do you feel now."

The pitiful look on his face gave her the answer. He was drowning in regret and haunted by shame.

"Disgusted." He sniffed, blinking back his own tears. "Disgusted in me. I should've." he turned to the window, no longer able to stop the tears from flowing. It was as if his admission ripped a scab off. He dabbed them away with the palm of his hand then cleared his throat before refusing on her. "I want to earn your forgiveness."

"Now." Tulip's eyebrows furrowed. "You want to earn my forgiveness now...ten years later. What changed?"

"I saw you." He soberly said. "And Sidney."

What do you think of Jasper's explanation? Is it understandable that he panicked?

Why do you think seeing her and Sidney made him want to earn her forgiveness?

Will he be able to earn her forgiveness?

Tulip had a 'what if' moment when she came into the restaurant, what do you think they would be if they were meeting for the first time?