A/N: sorry for the late update. Spring Semester has been in full swing and I jsu finished midterms so that was a long time coming.

Chapter 3

"This is a nice house that you have for yourself. Did you finally get a good part?" Jamie asked, getting out of his car.

"No, I'm actually a theatre professor at NYU." I replied, as I opened the door and ushered James inside.

"That's great." Jamie said, as he followed me inside.

"Elise, we're home and Jamie is here too." I stated, heading toward the kitchen.

"Mommy, do you want me to go wash up before dinner?" James asked.

"Yes, please do that, honey." I replied.

"Dinner is all ready." Elise stated, walking out of the kitchen and toward us.

"Good, I'm sure it will be wonderful." I stated, as I smiled at Elise.

"Elise, you're...are you...are you pregnant?" Jamie asked, fumbling for his words. Jamie seemed to be getting a lot of suprises.

"Yes, I am. I'll be having a brother or sister for James soon." Elise replied.

"Congratulations." Jamie stated, simply.

"Thank you. So, how have you been, Jamie?" Elise asked, as she lead him into the dining room. I followed along.

"I've been pretty good. Obviously, I've still been writing. I had been engaged, but I broke off the engagement." Jamie responded.

"Why did you break it off?" I questioned, curiousity getting the better of me.

"Well, we just weren't compatible. I thought we were, but once we moved in together I realized it just wasn't going to work. We fought too much." Jamie replied, looking at me, seeming to wonder why I cared.

"Sounds familiar." I mumbled.

"Please, don't do that Cathy. I tried with you, I really did. I wanted it to work." Jamie said, not letting me get away with what he heard.

"I'm going to go check on James and get dinner on the table." Elise stated, as she excused herself.

"You tried! No, you cheated! If you really wanted it to work, Jamie, why did you cheat?" I yelled, not really expecting an answer.

"Because it wasn't working! I was trying and it just wasn't working! You wouldn't let me help you! I'll admit it was a stupid decision, but I can't change it. I'm sorry, Cathy, that's all I can really say here." Jamie responded, yelling at first, but then speaking just above a whisper.

"Jamie, if you hadn't cheated I would have been willing to try to work through our problems." I stated.

"Cathy, please listen to me." he practically begged.

"What is it Jamie?" I asked, as I tried not to look at him. I knew I would cry if I looked at him. I wanted to think that I was angry, but the fact is I wasn't. I still cared about Jamie, and I felt bad now that I was finally hearing some of his side.

"I loved you more than anything. I wanted us to work. When all was said and done, I missed you. I even missed fighting with you! Cathy, I never stopped thinking about you, not even for a second. I wrote a book about our relationship because it helped me deal with the fact it was over. Yet, somehow I hoped we could work things out. I had this crazy dream that if we ever saw eachother again we would somehow be able to pick up right where we left off. I see we're still fighting like old times, but you have moved on. I couldn't do that. The woman that I was engaged to reminded me of you. That's the reason I was with her. That's also why I broke it off with her, I wasn't being fair to her. I was chasing ghosts with her. I still love you Cathy, but now I know that it can never be again." he told me.

I started crying. That was the only reaction I could have had. I felt completely horrible. I had moved on and started a new relationship and here Jamie was telling me that he had never gotten over me. I wasn't completely sure how I felt. Jamie was here, pouring his heart out to me. What was I supposed to do? The only logical thing to do was give him a hug and before I processed what I was doing, that's precisely what I did.

"I'm sorry Jamie, I really am. I was hurt, and I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry." I said, as I tried to slow my tears.

"Cathy, you have nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong. I cheated, what else were you supposed to do?" he responded, his voice sounded quiet and choked.

"I know, I'm just sorry that things didn't work out for us." I stated, as I looked up at him and into his deep, chocolate eyes.

"It's alright, Cathy. I just have to hope that now you'll allow me to have a part in our son's life." he said.

"Of course. I wanted you in his life from the beginning, but I couldn't get in touch with you.

"Thank you. I'm sorry if I'm intruding into your new life." Jamie said, as he pulled away from our embrace.

"Your not intruding. I'm glad to have you back in my life. I really and truly mean that. Try as I might, I could never hate you or stop caring about you. I always wondered how you were and where you were." I told him.

"Well, now you'll always know. I intend to be around for my son now." Jamie said.

"Good, I know he'll like that." I stated.

"When are you going to tell him?" he asked.

"Probably after we have dinner." I replied, simply.

"Do you think he'll take it well?" Jamie asked.

"Well, I know he'll be happy, but he might get mad at me for not telling him about you sooner. He's a pretty smart kid and he's been asking a lot of questions lately." I responded.

"I bet he takes after his mother." Jamie said, as he gave me a huge grin.

"Sometimes, but he also carries many characteristics of his father." I told him.

"Oh ,he better be careful not to make the same mistakes as his father." he joked.

"That'll only get him in trouble." I stated, as I played along with Jamie's joke.

"Get who in trouble?" James asked, as he walked into the room, followed by Elise.

"You." I replied.

"Me? What did I do?" he questioned, his eyes wide with fear.

"Nothing, except of course being you." I responded.

"Why would THAT get me in trouble?" James asked, obviously confused.

"James, there's someone you need to meet." I said.

"Who?' James asked, as he looked around the room.

"Jamie." I responded.

"But Mom, I already met him after my guitar lesson." he stated.

"Yes, but James, Jamie isn't just a friend of mine for you to meet as I had said earlier." I told him.

"Well, then who is he?" he asked.

I looked at Jamie. He gave me a reassuring smile. I knew he wanted me to tell him. I also knew I had to tell him. I was simply afraid of the reaction James may have. James tended to overreact sometimes, and he was still a kid. I didn't want to upset him, but he had to know Jamie was his father. It wasn't fair to either of them if I continued the lie. I looked over at Elise standing in the doorway, and her supporting smile gave me the strength to do what I had to.

"James, Jamie is your father." I responded.

"What do you mean?" James asked, as he looked between Jamie and me.

"She means just what she said, I'm your dad." Jamie said, saving me from having to answer James frantic question.

"You can't be! I don't have a dad! I never have!" James yelled. James anger scared me. I had seen him have many emotions, but this sudden display of anger was something I had never seen. James was an emotional kid, but usually very soft spoken.

"James, please calm down. It's okay." Elise interjected.

"Why? Why didn't she tell me? I asked about my father and she never told me!" James yelled.

"James, I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't want to get your hopes up. I honestly, didn't think I'd ever see Jamie again." I said, as I knelt down in front of James to be at eye level.

"Mom, you still could have told me!" James yelled, causing me to flinch a little.

"James, don't blame your mother, it's my fault." Jamie chimed in.

"Why isn't it her fault? She never told me! She probably never even told you about me!" James responded, angrily. He was hurting me more than he could possibly know. He had been my life for the last eight years, so these comments hurt me deeply.

"James, your mother tried to get me into your life before you were even born. I ignored every message she sent me. Your mother loves you, and all she wants is for you to be happy. I think the reason she never told you about me, is because I didn't respond. She didn't think I wanted any part of you, and she didn't want you to get hurt." Jamie said.

"Did you?" James asked.

"Had I answered your mother's calls and found out about you, yes. But, I didn't know about

you. I didn't want to talk to your mother after what I did to her, that's why I didn't answer any of her calls or messages." Jamie replied.

"Don't worry about that though, it's in the past. Jamie and I are friends now. What happened back then doesn't matter now, James." I told him, patting his head.

"So are you going to be in my life now, or are you going to leave now that you met me?" James asked, staring at Jamie. For an eight year old, the venom behind his voice was shocking.

"James, that's uncalled for!" Elise scolded.

"Mama, I want to know." James said.

"Elise, he has a right to know. "I'll answer him. James I want to have a part in your life now. However, that's a decision is not only mine to make. Your mothers need to discuss it and decide if they want me in your life after all these years. You also need to decide if you want me in your life." Jamie responded.

"I'll think about it." James said, coldly, before running out of the room. I could only assume he ran up to his room.