Soon he finds himself sitting in an Adirondack chair in her back yard sipping a glass of lemonade. Neither of them are as young, or naïve as they were when they first met.

"So do you want to tell me what brings you here out of nowhere?"

"I no longer belong to the Navy, and you were the first person I wanted to tell. I finished my last tour of duty, and when I got into my car all I could think about was you."

"After all this time?"

"My heart only every really felt home in one place."

Mac cocks an eyebrow, "In the cockpit of an F-14?"

"With you. I can't even fully explain what made me think that after all this time you would be waiting. You've obviously moved on with your life. Here you are with a great home, and a beautiful boy. Your life didn't stop because I was too busy with my love affair with the Navy to give our relationship the validation, attention, and care it needed. I feel like a fool."

"Did you expect to pick up where we left off?"

"Angry, and bitter? No I had hoped we could pick up somewhere else," Harm admits.

"You know a heart can only wait for someone who never comes home."

"I shouldn't waste your time. I am certain you have better things to do than listen to an old man who isn't ready to let go of his past."

"I'm glad that you stopped. It was slightly off putting to have you creeping around from the comfort of your car. I'm always happy to see you."

"It is refreshing to see you happy. Your son seems like he's a happy kid."

"That's what we strive for around here."

"Why didn't you mention him any of the times I've seen you in the past decade?"

"I've learned through a lot of pain, and heartache to keep my personal and professional lives fully separate."

"I'm no longer bound to any professional code," Harm points out.

"My life here with my son is sacred. I don't let just anyone in."

"That's fair."

"You're not just anyone though, are you?"

He shakes his head, "No."

"For a while I was not in a great place in my life. I was pouring myself into my work to make up for the lack of fulfillment in other areas of my life."

"I relate to that."

"One day after a routine check-up I got a call from my doctor. He told me that I was pregnant. I immediately hung up on him."

He smirks, "I can see you doing that."

"Of all the things I was trying to do then, trying to have a baby wasn't one of them. I had decided to slam the door closed on that part of my life. I thought it was some cruel joke."

"I see."

"So when I called the doctor back to chew him out he asked me to come in to the office. He proceeded to show me the baby on ultrasound, and I couldn't really wrap my head around the idea of suddenly being someone's mother after accepting that it wasn't in the cards for me."

"The universe rarely aligns with our plans for ourselves."

She turns her chair out of the direct sun, and in his direction.

"My pregnancy was without complication. His birth went smoothly, and I really couldn't even begin to understand why I was being offered a second chance."

"You are the most deserving person that I know," he points out.

"The truth of the matter is that I don't talk to just anyone about Ben because in the past I haven't always get the best reception. I get a lot of questions. People are incredibly judgmental, and I refuse to bring any of it home with me."

"Judgmental about what? You being a single mom?"

She shakes her head, "That is relatively socially acceptable. Especially once you're a dinosaur."

Harm furrows his brow, "I don't understand. He seems like a happy kid."

"He is the most amazing kid that I've ever met in my entire life."

"You could be biased," he postulates.

"I definitely am, but he is an awesome kid."

"So what's the hang up?"

She shrugs, "I guess the concept of eugenics is still alive and well."

"What?!" He responds utterly appalled.

"I will never forget when I returned from maternity leave showing a colleague a picture of my precious little baby, and her making a comment about him being an abomination."

"What did she mean by that exactly?"

"That she was too narrow minded to offer a joyful sentiment to a new mother based on her own baseless prejudice against a baby."

He shakes his head in disbelief, "Because the kid has an extra chromosome?"

"Yes," she rolls her eyes.

Without a word he leans in, and hugs her. "I'm so sorry."

"I am sorry it is the world my son has to live in."

"It doesn't seem to bother him."

"Why would it? He's ten years old, and he's a world renowned gamer. He is a legend among his friends, and followers."

He smiles, "You're kidding, right?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"Really?"

"I've never understood the world of gaming, but at two a kid at daycare let Ben play his handheld during free time, and it was the day he blossomed. He is a visual learner, and everything changed after that. My quiet little guy talked the entire way home that evening. He's never stopped since," she subtly shakes her head, "That is one genie I wish I could put back in the bottle some days."

"What do you mean?"

"I more know more about coding, and gaming than I ever had the desire to learn."

"There is nothing wrong with passion," he points out.

She smiles, "He takes his all the way to the bank."

"He's ten," Harm furrows his brow.

"Nowadays ten year olds can out earn their parents."

"How?"

"Endorsement deals, social media videos, software development."

"You said he's ten."

"He does online school so he can find time to fit in his other obligations."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. You should have heard that conversation. In the midst of the lockdown he flourished with online schooling. One day he told me that he didn't want to go back to school, ever. I thought that it was because he was being bullied. He told me that someone reached out to him to help develop software to enhance educational opportunities for neuro-diverse kids."