Elizabeth carried the bucket of fish over to the enclosure. "Hey, Wally." She smiled, greeting the little otter when he ran over to her. "Are you hungry, boy?" She handed him a fish through the barrier.

She was quiet for a few moments as she fed him.

"Wally, I'm in a bit of a predicament. Do you think you can help me?" He just stared at her, waiting for another fish. "So you see, I had a crush on this guy in high school, but he's three years older than me, so it never felt like we could be anything more than friends—not to mention I think he only ever saw me as a goofy little girl. But now, I reconnected with him, and I think the crush is still there. Should I just go for it and admit I like him?"

"Are you talking to yourself again?" Clara Stanton asked as she came into the room.

"Of course not. I'm talking to Wally, obviously."

Clara chuckled. "Okay, you just keep telling yourself that." She reached across the counter for a bottle. "Do you want to feed the little one today?"

"I'm good. You go for it."

Clara made up the bottle and set it in a bowl of water to warm it. "So, what were you talking to Wally about?"

She set aside the now empty bucket and washed her hands. "Nothing."

"Come on, Elizabeth."

She groaned. "Fine. My brother-in-law invited his coworker to dinner last night, and it turns out his coworker is my high school crush."

"Ooh, is he cute?"

Her cheeks warmed as she nodded. "Very."

"Make a move, girl! We could double date!"

"I haven't seen him in over ten years, Clara. I hardly know him now."

Clara rolled her eyes. "The whole point of dating is to get to know someone better."

"I also don't need a guy."

"Don't you want to have a date for my wedding, though?"

"I can go to a wedding by myself, Clara. I've done it before."

"Well," she pulled the bottle from the water, "if I were you, I wouldn't shut myself off before I even try."

"I'll think about it. Okay?"

Clara grinned. "That's all I ask. Now, I need to go feed Ollie."

...

Jack reached for the chart for his next patient. He stopped in the hallway before he reached the exam room. "Luke."

He looked up. "Jack."

"I just wanted to thank you again for inviting me to dinner last night. It had been a while since I'd had a meal that didn't include chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese."

Luke chuckled and clapped him on the back. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Viola wants to make it a regular thing."

"I'd love that." He cleared his throat. "Would, um…would Elizabeth be there?"

"I imagine so. I'm sorry that I didn't warn you that she would be there. I didn't even realize you knew Vi and Elizabeth until after I had already invited you over."

"It's fine. It was actually really good to see her again"

Luke noticed his friend's cheeks turn pink as he spoke about Elizabeth, but didn't comment on it.

"Well, anyway," Jack nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "I should get to this next patient."

"See you later, Jack."

...

When Elizabeth pulled out her phone during her lunch break, she saw a text that Jack had sent about an hour earlier.

"What does your schedule look like this week?"

"I work eight to five every day through Thursday. I'm off Friday and Saturday."

He responded a few minutes later. "Would you mind if we have a little guest with us?"

She smiled at the thought of meeting the little boy in all of Jack's photos. "I don't mind."

"Great. How about we meet at the park around 11 on Friday?"

"I'll see you then."

She set her phone aside, a grin stuck on her face. Butterflies rose in her stomach when her phone buzzed again a few moments later, but her smile fell when she saw her sister's name pop up.

"Jules?"

"Hi, sister." Elizabeth could hear the smile in her voice. "Have you heard from Jack yet?"

"What makes you think I'm going to hear from him?"

"Vi said you two exchanged phone numbers before he left last night."

"Why are you two talking about me?" she grumbled. "I don't need you guys to get involved in my personal life."

"We just think you and Jack could be really happy together."

"That's for us to find out—just me and Jack. We don't need you interfering."

"But you are going to find out if there's something there?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I need to get back to work, Julie. Talk to you later."

...

Friday morning, Elizabeth rifled through her closet, groaning when nothing seemed right.

"Come on, Elizabeth," she said to herself. "It's not like this is a date. There's going to be a child there!"

She tried on a few different outfits before finally settling on a fitted gray T-shirt and a pair of blue striped shorts.

"Okay." She let out a breath, smoothing down the front of her outfit. "It's just a day to catch up. No expectations."

Her pep talk continued as she drove to the park. She reminded herself that they changed in the years since they had last seen each other; and besides, he gave no indication that he ever felt anything beyond friendship for her. On top of it all, he had a kid. There was obviously a complicated history there, and the dynamic would definitely be different between them.

She pulled into the parking lot and glanced around. There was no sign of Jack yet. She checked her phone, finding a text from Jack stating that he would be a couple of minutes late.

While she waited, she pulled up his Facebook again, smiling as she scrolled through his pictures.

...

"Daddy?"

Jack glanced in his rearview mirror. "Yeah, bud?"

"Are you nervous?"

He chuckled. "Why are you asking that?"

"You look nervous."

"Well, an old friend of mine is going to meet us at the park. I haven't really seen her in a very long time."

"Are you going to marry her?"

Jack coughed. "Whoa, there. We're just friends."

"Are you ever gonna marry someone?"

"I married your mommy."

The little boy huffed. "But I need a mommy that's here."

Jack smiled sadly. "I'm sorry your mommy isn't here, bud. I would love to give you another mommy, but first, I need to find someone who loves you as much as I do."

"To the Kuiper Belt and back?"

Jack chuckled. "Yep. That's how much I love you, and that's how much I want anyone that comes into our family to love you."

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

He peered out the window, watching the park come into view. "Are we going to the zoo, too?"

"Not today, bud. Your teacher said you're going on a field trip there next week, so you and I can go another time, okay?"

"Okay." He craned his neck. "Your friend here, daddy?"

Jack pulled into a parking space. "I think that's her over by that bench. Let's go say hi."

He swung his son onto his shoulders, carrying him over to the playground area. When they neared Elizabeth, he put the boy down.

"Elizabeth."

She turned and smiled. "Jack. Hi."

"Sorry we're a little late."

"That's okay. Who's this?" Elizabeth smiled at the little boy hiding behind Jack's leg.

"This is my son, Harrison." Jack ruffled his hair. "Harrison, this is my friend, Elizabeth. I met her way back when I was still in high school."

"Before you met mommy?"

Jack nodded. "Before then. Can you say hi?"

"Hi." He gave her a half-hearted wave before turning back toward Jack. "Can I go play now?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, bud. Go play. I'll be right here if you need me." He nudged him toward the playground. He watched his son for just a few moments before moving to take a seat on the bench.

Elizabeth sat beside him. "So…your son."

He nodded, glancing out at his little boy. "He'll be four next month."

"And his mom?" she asked hesitantly, unsure whether it was something he was comfortable talking about.

"I met his mom shortly after I moved away. She passed away in a car accident a few weeks after Harrison was born, just before our third anniversary."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

He shrugged and gave a sad smile. "It was tough, but we're doing okay. I moved back here when he was a few months old so my mom could help me with him, and his other grandparents help out when they can."

"He's very cute."

"He looks just like his mom." He smiled sadly again. "Those big brown eyes," he shook his head. "Sometimes, he looks up at me, and I could swear it's Olive looking at me."

"What was she like? If you don't mind talking about her, I mean," she added quickly.

"She was wonderful, and so smart. She was finishing her degree in aerospace engineering when we started dating. Her goal was to work for NASA, and she was well on her way to reaching that when she passed." He sighed. "And she was such a good mom. Seeing her with Harrison, even just the few weeks we had her, there was no doubt she was meant to be his mom. I hate that he only knows her through pictures and stories."

Elizabeth was quiet for a few moments. "I can't even imagine what it's been like for you both. To experience a loss like that," she shook her head. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"We were lucky to have her, even for a short time." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, enough about me. Tell me what you've been up to since high school."

"Oh, gosh." She laughed softly. "Well, I don't have any kids, and I've never been married; I haven't really dated, to be honest." Her cheeks darkened in embarrassment. "Um, I got my degree in zoology, and I've been working at the zoo since I graduated."

"Really? Harrison loves the zoo. I'm surprised we've never seen you there."

"I can give you guys a tour with lots of inside information if you want."

"That would be great. What animals do you work with?"

"Small mammals. So otters, foxes, meerkats, those sorts of animals."

"How perfect." He smiled. "The meerkats are Harrison's favorite."

They continued talking, catching up on things that had happened in the years since they had last seen each other. Elizabeth couldn't help but notice how easy it was to talk with him, how natural it felt to be near him. She found that she was just as drawn to him as she had been over ten years before, when they were both teenagers.

"Daddy?" Harrison wandered up and tapped Jack on the knee. "I'm hungry. Can we get ice cream now?"

"Lunch first, bud. We'll get ice cream later."

"I should get going, let you guys go eat." Elizabeth picked up her purse and started to stand.

"Or you could come to lunch with us. If you want."

Her eyes widened briefly. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"I invited you, Elizabeth. It's not an imposition." He swung Harrison onto his back. "You don't mind if Elizabeth comes to lunch with us, do you, Harrison?"

"No." He shook his head. "Can we have hamburgers?"

"What do you say, Elizabeth? Hamburgers for lunch?"

"I could go for a hamburger."

"Great. Would you like to ride with us? I can bring you back for your car later."

"Thanks, but I'll just follow you."

"But we have A Bob," Harrison excitedly told her as they all headed toward the parking lot.

"What is A Bob?"

Jack chuckled. "He means ABBA. It was Olive's favorite band, so I played them a lot when Harrison was a baby, and now they're his favorite, too. That's about all we listen to in our car."

"Oh." Elizabeth laughed. "Well, maybe I can listen to ABBA in your car another time. Okay, Harrison?"

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

"Well, let's go get some food. Do you have any favorite hamburger places?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "We can go to Harrison's favorite place."

"Smashburger!"

Jack bounced him on his shoulders. "Smashburger it is. See you there in a few." He touched Elizabeth's arm, lightly, briefly, before opening the back door of his car.

Harrison waved at Elizabeth from his carseat, and she waved back, a smile playing on her lips at the thought of spending even more time with Jack and the little boy.

It was going to be a great day.