Page 69 of Forever Player

“That isn’t fair. I admit I have a past. I can’t take it back. I wish I could, but I can’t. I was a bachelor with no ties and I made a lot of bad choices,” I begin.

“You know what?” She stands and this is going further south by the second. “I really don’t want to hear about it. I don’t want to be here anymore. I was trying to be your friend for Maylee’s sake, but I don’t think it’s going to work. I’m going. I’ll take Maylee with me to my meeting.”

“Willow.” I stand too. “You can leave Maylee with me,” I say, wishing I had something better. “Here, take the car.” I pass her my keys.

“You need your car. It has the car seat base,” she reminds me about the base that the car seat connects to.

“Right, okay then, let me call you an Uber for your meeting at the gym. Even though I would prefer you stay to talk about what is happening right now,” I voice, trying to stay calm, even with my heart beating fast. I don’t know anything about relationships. I’ve been trying to show Willow I am dependable and trying to be the best dad I can be to Maylee, but there is a lot I need to learn.

“If you can call me an Uber it would be great. I need to set up a new account,” she explains.

“Of course, give me a sec.” I pull out my phone and ask her the address for the gym. “The driver is three minutes out. Maybe take something to go.”

“I lost my appetite,” she states.

“Okay, yeah, sure.”

“Will you be here long? I just realized I need to breastfeed Maylee; we didn’t bring bottles.”

“Nah, I’ll ask for the food to be wrapped to go. I’ll eat at home.”

“There’s a bottle of fresh breast milk I put in the fridge this morning. It has enough to last a couple of meals.”

“Okay, no worries,” I reply, feeling defeated. Do I try to explain myself? It doesn’t feel like Willow would be willing to listen. She’s shut down and I get she is scared of being hurt but if she would listen to me, she would understand the situation.

“The car is here,” I say.

She puts on her jacket and doesn’t give me a side glance as she leaves the restaurant.

My heart sinks.

A few moments later Stacey brings our food. “Did I just see the mama leave?”

“Yeah, can I get the food to go?” I ask.

“Is she the woman you couldn’t get out of your head?” Stacey asks.

I nod but I feel myself frowning.

“Wow, you found her?” she asks with excitement.

“It’s a long story.” I nod.

“Is the baby yours?” Stacey asks.

“She sure is,” I say proudly.

“She’s adorable,” Stacey says. “But the mama isn’t sold on you yet, is she?”

Great, even a stranger can tell.

I shake my head.

“You’re a catch. She’d be lucky to have you,” Stacey observes.

“Thanks, but my past choices have come back to bite me in the ass,” I admit, unsure why I am confiding in a stranger again.

“Show her you’re a changed man and maybe tell her how you were pining for her. It was so cute how you couldn’t stop talking about her. I was annoyed you weren’t into me, but it was sweet how far gone you were on her.”

---