Stephen.

“Is he always like this?” I ask Krys as she tucks a marvel pillow under our sons head.

“Yeah.”, she laughs. “He usually comes down like this after a full day of play.”

Krys had, once again, invited me over to her place. This time for lunch.

It was a nice day outside, so after lunch, we all spent a few hours outside playing around.

And man, can this kid play. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone exert as much physical energy as Bryan had today, and still want to keep going. Hell, I’m tired after a full day of work, and all I do is sit at a desk.

Krys and I both tired out after the first 45 minutes. We asked Bryan, which is weird since we’re the adults and he’s the child, if we could take a short break.

He outright refused.

So, we spent two hours playing tag, hide and seek, and soccer, outside.

Tina and I both sent up a thank you prayer to the Lord when Bryan finally said he was ready to go inside.

We’d just flopped down on the sectional in the living room to catch our breath, when he did IT.

He sat on the floor, in front of the television and entertainment systems, and turned on the Wii.

“Oh My God.” I heard Krystina mumble, as she brought up a hand to rub her temples.

“He’s just setting that up for himself right? He doesn’t expect us to play with him after all that, does he?” I said to her, desperately.  

She sent me a look.

“No way. We’re the parents here. We can just tell him that we’re not playing.” I said to her.

She turned to look at me again. “You’re absolutely right Steph. Why don’t you go over there and tell him that.” She said, as she leaned back into the couch, and gave me a look that I couldn’t quite interpret.

I shrugged. “Ok. I will.” I told her, getting a nod and smirk in response.

I languidly arose from the couch and made my way over to where Bryan was sat on the floor.

I slowly (because my thighs were subsequently burning after trying to keep up with this little guy all afternoon) squatted down to his level, “Hey, bud. Your mom and I are a bit tired from earlier, so were not going to be able to play with you on the Wii right now.” I told him.  

I looked back over to Krystina to gauge her reaction, expecting a thumbs up or a high five for handling my first confrontation with our son so well, only to see her shaking her head while trying to hide a smile.  

A small whimper sounded from in front of me, and I turned my head back towards a teary eyed Bryan.

"You....you don't wanna play with me, daddy?" He asked as he fixed me with the most heartbreaking-ly adorable puppy dog face the world had ever seen. He made sure to poke out his bottom lip, and clasp his hands together in front of him for extra emphasis.

At first I thought I'd be able to resist it, but when that one tear fell from the corner of his eye, I was a goner.

"Whaaaaat." I said, shaking my head in mock surprise. "Of course I wanna play with you buddy. Let me help you set up the game." I moved to grab the remotes and heard Krys' light laughter in the background.

And that's how we ended up here, with Bryan literally passed out on the floor in front of the television.

Krys and I sit in a comfortable silence with me, once again, trying to catch my breath.

We watch him sleep, studying the slow rise and fall of his chest, and the way the light from the tv highlights the light brown color of his hair.

It's in this moment that I'm reminded of just how much time I've lost with him.

Time that I'll never be able to get back, or make up.

It reminds me of the one pressing question I've yet to ask Krystina.

The one question that's been eating away at me for weeks.

"Krys?"

"Hmmm?"

"I know we've kinda subconsciously decided to move on from what happened all those years ago, but I still have a question that I can't really figure out." I tell her.

Her perplexed expression tells me to continue.

"When your mom told you I was cheating, why'd you believe her? Why didn't you call me, Krys? Why didn't you try to talk me before you up and left town?"

She sighs before meeting my gaze. "This is gonna sound really silly." She shakes her head. "Do you remember Cynthia?"

I furrows my brows in confusion. What does she have to do with this? "My ex? The one that used to work with me?"

She nods in response. "The very same."

"Uh, yeah. But Krys, I'm confused. What does she have to do with this?"

"Well," she starts, "you guys grew up together, were always so close, and it bothered me a bit. Not a first, but after my mom started saying all that stuff about you leaving me for a white woman, I became a little insecure. I mean Cynthia's family was wealthy, your dads were best friends, she was the quintessential perfect woman for a guy like you."

She lets out a self depreciating laugh.  "I was just thinking about it the other day when my mom came over. All it took was that little seed of doubt she planted, and my mind ran with it. I was so stupid." She clears her throat before continuing.

"When you told me that you had to go out of town for business, I hadn't even factored in that she might be there. It makes me wonder if your father orchestrated every little detail that led up to us me leaving." She says.

"I'm still confused." I tell her honestly, trying to make sense of what she's saying.

"Well, there were photos of you and Cynthia in London. Getting off of the plane, and having lunch together. I guess it was just an emotional overload. My moms pestering, the things your dad said to my mom, and the pictures. At the time, it just made sense. I couldn't deny what was right in front of me."

"Ughhh." I groan aloud. "That explains why you wouldn't answer my calls, and then changed your number." I rake a hand through my hair in slight frustration."

She does the same, pulling her natural curls behind her ear. "Look Stephen, I don't want us to rehash the past anymore. There's nothing we can do to change it. I really want us to be able to move on." She says, sincerity dripping from every word.

I nod my head in agreement, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Me too."

____________________________________________________________________

This update is one week late because I'm a a college student and..........midterms (which I aced!) AND because I was waiting until we got 160+ votes on the last chapter. (Yes. I am quite serious about the vote thing.)

This is a filler chapter that I've been meaning to insert for a while now.

I want to to thank you guys for all the voting and commenting that you guys do. It really means a lot to me, and I hope this story is living up to your expectations.

If not, feel free to constructively criticize.

160+ votes for the next chapter