Sitting across from Jack and Harrison, Elizabeth picked at the French fry in her hand. "To be totally honest, I had a huge crush on you in high school."

Jack smiled. "I figured."

"You did?"

"You always seemed to be around if I was hanging out with Alex and Viola, and I know you and Viola weren't all that close back then."

"Gosh." She covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe you knew."

He chuckled, thinking back to all the times she tagged along when he was spending time with his friend, who happened to be dating the eldest Thatcher daughter. "I thought it was cute."

"Great. Just what you want to hear from your high school crush."

He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I may have had a little crush on you, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I would never admit it to anyone. You were just a freshman when I was a senior. It seemed wrong."

"It's only a three-year difference."

"I know, and that doesn't feel like anything now, but it just seemed like so much when you were fourteen and I was seventeen."

"We aren't fourteen and seventeen anymore," she said quietly.

"We aren't," he agreed, his voice trailing off when he met her gaze. Her bright blue eyes were mesmerizing, and he thought he saw a hint of hope and longing there.

"Daddy?" Harrison's little voice snapped them out of the stupor that seemed to have fallen over them.

"Yeah, bud?"

"I need more ketchup."

Jack smiled, laughing softly. "Okay. I'm on it." He reached for the bottle of ketchup on the far side of the table and squeezed some more on Harrison's plate. "Hey, Harrison. Guess what?"

"What?" he mumbled, his mouth full of French fries.

"Miss Elizabeth works at the zoo."

His eyes lit up, and he looked over at Elizabeth. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really. I even get to take care of the meerkats. Your dad told me those are your favorite."

"I love meerkats!"

"They're pretty fun, aren't they?" She chuckled. "I told your dad that I can tell you guys all about the zoo animals sometime."

"Cool. Guess what, Miss Beth. I wanna be a veterinarian when I grow up."

"That's a very impressive goal to have." She smiled at him. "Hey, I might be able to introduce you to the vet at the zoo."

His eyes widened. "Soon?"

"As soon as you and your dad come to the zoo again."

...

Jack helped Harrison out of the bathtub and wrapped him in a fluffy towel. "Harrison, I have a question for you."

"Mhmm?"

"What did you think of Miss Elizabeth?"

"She's nice. And pretty."

Jack smiled. "I agree. Now, Harrison David, I have another really super important question for you. I hope you're listening really well."

"Okay."

"Do you want to wear your dinosaur PJs tonight, or your Star Wars PJs?"

He giggled. "Um, dinosaurs!"

"Okay." Jack scooped him up, tickling his belly. "Let's go get your dinosaurs on, and you can pick a bedtime story."

A few minutes later, Harrison was dressed in his pajamas, comfortably settled in Jack's lap as he read him a bedtime story. Jack closed the book when he finished, setting it aside and tightening his arms around his little boy.

"Daddy?" Harrison said sleepily, leaning against Jack's chest.

"What is it, bud?"

"We gonna see Miss Beth again?"

"I hope so, Harrison." He kissed the top of his son's head. "After all, she did say she'd tell you all about the meerkats and introduce you to the zoo vet."

"Good."

"Okay." Jack eased the little boy off of his lap and pulled the blanket over him. "Time to go to sleep now. Good night, Harrison. I love you to the Kuiper Belt and back."

Harrison leaned up and kissed Jack on the cheek. "Love you, daddy."

With one last kiss to the little boy's forehead, Jack quietly crept out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door behind him.

He smiled as he headed into the living room. He had worked in a hospital prior to joining the pediatric practice with Luke, and he missed so many nights with Harrison. He loved that his schedule at the practice allowed him that time with his son now. He knew it was only a matter of time before Harrison was a cranky teenager insisting on his independence.

He sank down onto the sofa, reaching for the picture frame on the side table. The photo inside was from Harrison's newborn photo shoot. Jack had been opposed to the idea of spending money on a photo shoot, assuring his wife that they would get plenty of pictures on their phones.

Now, he was grateful that Olive had insisted.

Harrison was a week and a half old in the photo, curled up in Olive's arms as she looked down at him. Jack stood opposite her, their foreheads touching lightly as he also looked down at their son. It was one of the only family photos they had, a moment of pure happiness captured forever, and Jack treasured it greatly.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said quietly as he looked at the photo. "God, I miss you so much. I can't believe it's been almost four years since I last saw you. I wish you could see Harrison now. You would be so proud of him, Olive. He's gotten so big, and he's so smart. He definitely takes after you." He sighed. "He loves you so much, but he's starting to ask me to give him a mom that's here. I can't imagine loving anyone as much as I loved you—as much as I love you," he corrected. He leaned back, sinking further into the cushions. "I think I might like somebody, though. Someone I knew before I met you. Harrison likes her. I think you would like her, too, sweetheart."

He returned the frame to its spot on the side table and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. Elizabeth's face filled his mind, her smile, her bright eyes.

"We're just friends right now, but there's a part of me that wants to see what would happen if we moved past friendship." He sighed once more. "I'm just worried what would happen if things don't work out and Harrison is too attached to her. I can't break his heart." He glanced over at the picture once more. "I just wish there was some way you could give me a sign to let me know if this is right."

...

Days passed with little contact from Jack. When they texted, they never spoke about anything deep, only ever making small talk. Elizabeth tried not to read too much into it, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had thought he would at least pursue more of a friendship with her, confide in her about his days.

"Did I do something wrong? Should I not have told him I had a crush on him?" she asked the little mob of meerkats as she tossed a few handfuls of mealworms into the cage. She sighed. "I'll be back with the rest of your food after I clean the exhibit."

After a few minutes of cleaning, Elizabeth saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced up to see Harrison Thornton standing on the other side of the glass, waving excitedly at her.

She grinned and waved back, making her way out of the exhibit. "Hi, Harrison."

"Miss Beth! Where are the meerkats?"

"They're inside right now while I clean up a bit."

"Harrison!" A young woman about Elizabeth's age was waving him over. "We're going over here."

"Miss Rosemary! This is daddy's friend. She takes care of the meerkats."

"That's very nice, Harrison, but you need to come over with the rest of the class. Mrs. Sullivan will be looking for you."

"But the meerkats!"

"Harrison," Elizabeth crouched down in front of him, "I promise I'll show you the meerkats some other time, when you're here with your dad. Okay? You need to go join your class."

He dropped his head, dejected. "Okay. Bye, Miss Beth." He ran back over to his class, taking Rosemary's hand. "Miss Beth said she's going to show me and daddy the meerkats later."

"Oh, really?"

"Uh huh." He nodded. "She's really nice. I think daddy likes her. He smiles a lot at her."

...

"Harrison, go get your backpack, and we can head home."

"Okay, daddy." He hurried back into the house to retrieve his things.

"Thanks again for watching him, Rosie."

She put her hand on his arm. "You know he's welcome here anytime. James loves having him over."

"Someday, I need to repay the favor and let them have a playdate at my house."

"Are you sure you aren't too busy with your friend, Miss Beth?" she teased.

He looked at her, confused, until realization swept over him. "Harrison told you."

She nodded, chuckling. "Yes. Your friend was working at the zoo today. Harrison was very excited to see her. She's very pretty." She raised her eyebrow at him, a knowing smile covering her face.

"Yeah, well, we're just friends, so you can calm down."

"Harrison seems to think you like her."

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I…may have had a crush on her when we were in high school. But that was years ago."

"You went to school together?" Her face lit up. "So I can ask Lee about her! Her name is Beth?"

Jack groaned. "It's Elizabeth. But Lee probably doesn't remember her. She was a freshman when we were seniors."

Harrison ambled up, backpack slung over his shoulders. "Okay, daddy. I'm ready. I said bye to James."

"Okay, bud." He took his son's hand. "Say bye to Miss Rosemary."

"Bye, Miss Rosemary." Harrison waved at her.

"Bye, little man. I'll see you soon."

Jack loaded him into the car and backed out of the driveway. "Harrison, how was the zoo?"

"So fun! I saw Miss Beth!"

"I heard about that."

"I didn't see the meerkats."

"Oh man. That's a bummer." He glanced in the rearview mirror. "How about we go to the zoo for your birthday? We can see the meerkats then."

"Miss Beth said she'll show me."

...

After they had dinner, Jack and Harrison settled in the living room to watch Lion King. Once he was certain that Harrison was immersed in the action on the TV, Jack reached for his phone. He hadn't talked much with or seen Elizabeth in a week, since they had met at the park and had lunch together.

He had enjoyed getting to know her again, but their time together had stirred up feelings that he thought were long gone.

He had been trying to sort through his feelings for her before he saw her again, so when they had texted during the last week, he kept the conversation light. But it turned out that wasn't helping him understand his feelings. He was as confused as ever.

"I heard you saw Harrison today."

"I did," Elizabeth quickly responded. "I kind of feel bad that I had the meerkats inside when he came by, though."

"Don't worry about it. He's already so excited to go back so you can tell him all the insider information."

"He's such a fun kid."

Jack smiled. "He is. Hey, I don't know if you have a regular schedule at work or whatever, but I promised him a zoo day for his birthday. It's May 29th."

"I'll check my schedule tomorrow and see if I can get some fun stuff set up for him."

"Great." He stared at the screen for a few moments, debating whether to say what he was thinking. Finally, he bolstered up the courage. "I was also wondering if you'd like to meet up sometime, just the two of us."

"I'd like that."

"Is tomorrow too soon?"

"I work tomorrow, but I'm free in the evening."

A grin spread across his face. "I'll see if my mom can watch Harrison. Can we decide on the details tomorrow?"

"That's fine with me."

"Harrison." Jack sat up, looking down at where his son was curled up on the floor in a pile of blankets and pillows.

"What, daddy?" he said, not taking his eyes off the TV.

"Do you want to go to Nana's tomorrow?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, finally turning away from the screen. "You coming, too?"

"Nope. Just you and Nana this time."

"Can you ask her to make macaroni for dinner?"

Jack chuckled. "I'll pass along the message, bud."