"Monk, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Monk said looking at his friend
Stottlemyer knew his friend well enough to know something was wrong.
"What is it?"
"I feel guilty about something I did"
"What did you do," Stottlemyer asked
Monk looked down
"You can tell me. I promise not to get mad"
"It's not like that," Monk said, "I... I said no to Trudy"
Stottlemyer raised an eyebrow
"Good for you," he said, "I didn't think you had it in you"
Monk looked up without saying anything
"How did she take it?"
"She didn't say anything about it but I could tell she was disappointed"
"Didn't do well at the challenges?"
Monk shook his head
"S-she wanted to adopt this new baby that came to the orphanage"
"Boy or girl?"
"A little girl... Hope"
"Cute name"
"I told her I didn't think it was a good idea"
"And now you think it is?"
He sighed
"I don't know"
"You have to stick to what you say Adrian," Stottlemyer said, "Once you change your no to a yes they think they can walk all over you"
Monk nodded. His resolve had become strong. He smiled.
"Thank you Leland," he said
He went about his day
