Amy agreed to meet Sheldon at the coffee shop where they met after work two days later. "Hi, Sheldon. I should tell you that I don't have much time. I have to pick up Max in less than an hour."
"I can be quick. I wanted to explain what happened that I didn't know you have a son, even though it was in your dating profile. As you know, my friends set me up on that dating site. I didn't know about it until after we were matched with one another. I never saw your profile. They showed me one picture of you and it looked like your university photo. I never even saw my profile, so I don't have a clue what they said about me, except for a few things they told me. To be honest, I'm surprised they were able to keep the fact that you're a mother from me for as long as they did. They're usually horrible at keeping secrets," explained Sheldon.
Amy played with the string of the tea bag hanging out of the cup in front of her. "Thank you for explaining how you didn't know about Max. I'd like to apologize, too, for the way I reacted to you not knowing Max is my son. I should have made it clear that I was talking about my son whenever I did mention him. You're the first man I've talked to about anything other than work since before Max was born. I didn't want you to think that I'm one of those women who can't talk about anything other than her kid. I also feel that I should tell you that Max comes first for me. I will drop everything for him, and that includes friendships. I've never had a lot of friends growing up or in college and grad school, but the few friends from college I still kept in contact with said they thought it was great that I decided to have a baby on my own. Turns out they didn't think it was as great as they were saying. I haven't talked to them since Max was a few weeks old."
"I was angry with my friends for lying to me; I think you deciding to raise Max as a single mother is really brave. I would have told Penny before she joined us for dinner if I had known. I would like to continue our friendship. I meant it the other day when I said that I've found I've missed our interactions the past two weeks," Sheldon said, struggling to make eye contact with the woman across the table from him.
"I've missed our interactions, as well. Your phone call was a pleasant surprise."
"At the restaurant that night, you mentioned an agreement about dating and that you had a falling out with your mother and that night was her first time taking care of Max for you. Did your falling out have something to do with him? I know my mom would want to see her grandkid as much as possible if my sister had a baby."
"Yes. She didn't like that I decided to be a single mom. I wanted to start a family while I was still young; when I wasn't having much luck with dating, I decided to go at it alone. She didn't answer my calls or texts for nearly two years after I told her I was pregnant. On the other hand, my dad has been super supportive of me. He was there when Max was born," shared Amy. "My mom suggested that she would be willing to watch Max if I ever wanted some time to myself or to try dating again. I was hesitant, but realized she was making an effort and that I should, too. I started taking her up on her offer to get some time to myself that wasn't at work or errands, doing things like going to the library or seeing a movie. Then I started thinking that maybe seeing if I could meet someone might not be the worst thing, even if it just resulted in being friends. You were the first person I matched with after putting my profile on that website."
"I understand if you don't want to answer, but is Max's father in his life?" Sheldon asked, unsure if it was an okay thing to question.
"I don't know who Max's father is," stated Amy. Noticing the change in Sheldon's expression, she quickly continued. "It's not like that. I've never done that with anyone. I went to a sperm bank to get pregnant. I spent a long time going through donor profiles before making a decision. I have some info about the man I chose to be my donor, but nothing more than basic medical history and physical traits such as height, and hair and eye color. I only have a donor number. Max can decide if he wants to look up his donor when he gets older. He can also meet any siblings that might share a donor. He hasn't asked about his dad, yet, but he's only two. I don't think he's realized he doesn't have a dad at home like the other kids at daycare. I'll explain it to him if he ever asks."
Sheldon was quiet for a moment upon hearing about Max's parentage, so he was honest with Amy. "I don't know what to say to that. Penny said I should ask about Max, to show an interest in you and your life. You said he's two. What's he like?"
Smiling, Amy was glad she decided to meet with Sheldon. "He's really smart. He already knows the alphabet and can count higher than the other kids in his class at daycare. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine and idolizes my dad. My dad frequently takes him to the park on Saturday afternoons so I can do some errands without him. Going to the grocery store is so much easier without a toddler grabbing for everything from the cart. Ooh, I just noticed the time. I really need to get going. This was nice. Thank you, Sheldon."
'Amy, wait," he stopped her before she reached the door to the coffee shop. "If you're interested in joining my friends and me for dinner sometime, I'm sure they'd all love to meet you. We eat together most nights; I can send you our regular schedule. You can pick whatever night works best for you."
"That sounds good. I'll talk to my parents and see if they'd be willing to watch him for an evening for me to join you. I think it's best to not introduce Max to a lot of people when I'm first meeting them. I really need to go. I look forward to seeing you again." With that, Sheldon watched Amy walk down the street to her car before turning to walk in the opposite direction to the bus stop.
Author's note- Thanks again for the reviews. I hope this chapter answered some of the questions about why Amy reacted the way she did during dinner. I'm nearly finished with the story, so I should be able to continue updating every few days.