Lizzy sat in the ice cream parlor booth next to her son. Her hand idly stirred the already melted hot fudge sundae she had half-heartedly ordered. Her mind was preoccupied with more pressing and urgent matters. Like how was she going to tell her son that the man sitting on the other side of the booth was his father? Or how was she going to explain to Will why she'd kept his son a secret for five years? Her mind was full and her heart was worried.
"What's your name again?" her son Jake asked Will.
"Will. Will Darcy," his father replied.
Jake smacked his lips as he reached for the uneaten cherry in his mom's bowl. "Are you and my mama friends?" he asked.
Will looked unsure of how to respond. So Lizzy stepped in and answered the question herself. "Will and I met a long time ago before you were born. His friend was friends with your Auntie Jane."
"Oh," Jake replied and refocused his attention on his ice cream.
Lizzy noted the slightly tortured look in Will's eyes. The man looked desperate to make some sort of connection with the little boy he had just discovered was his son. Feeling pity for him, she said, "Jake, why don't you tell Will about your favorite animal?"
Her son's eyes lit up with joy. "Guess what? You know what my favorite animal is?"
An amused smile spread across Will's face. "What?" he asked.
"Horses! I love horses! Mama says she's gonna let me taking riding lessons as soon as I'm in first grade. Do you like horses?"
Will cast a grateful look in her direction as he answered his son. "Yes, I do. I have many at my home. When you come visit, I will show them to you."
Jake clapped his chubby hands together. "Can we go now? Mama, Will says he has horses at his house. I wanna go see them."
Will chuckled. "I'm afraid we can't see them now. They are at my house in New York, but one day very soon I will take you there. In fact, I think we will start spending a lot of time together."
Worry rose within Lizzy's breast. Will was taking things too fast, way too fast. Jake was only five. He was too young to be far from her. Truth be told, he'd never spent the night away from her, never spent the night at a friend's house. Too late Lizzy realized that having Will in Jake's life would mean that her son would be spending a significant amount of time away from her.
"Saturday! I don't have school on Saturday. I could see you and the horses then."
"That sounds like a plan," Will agreed.
Lizzy shook her head. No. She needed time to process all of this. "This weekend's no good. Kitty's birthday is this Saturday. Maybe a couple of weeks from now we won't be quite so busy."
Will's eyes blazed in her direction. "I won't be kept from my s..." His voice trailed off. Even he knew that claiming his paternity in the middle of a Dairy Queen was a bad idea.
Jake oblivious to the tension between his parents turned and asked his mom, "Can I go play on the playground?"
"Of course, sweetie."
Will and Lizzy watched as their son ran to the jungle gym, kicked off his shoes, and began to climb the ladder to the slide. Turning her gaze back to Will, Lizzy said, "You're rushing things. He needs time. I...I need time."
"You've had more than enough time Lizzy. You've had over 5 years with him. I've only had 45 minutes. Why the hell didn't you tell me about him? Did you hate me that much?"
It was like Will had shot her through the heart. Her? Hate him? She wished she could. Even after all he'd done, she'd never been able to hate him. Be mad at him? Be disappointed? Yes, but never hate. "I tried to tell you about him," she confessed. "But someone never returned any of my calls."
Startled, Will looked taken aback. "I never got any calls."
Lizzy laughed hollowly. "Whatever you want to believe. I called your phone twice a week for a month. I even sent you a letter. Never once heard anything back. It was very clear that you were avoiding me, but it doesn't matter. Jake and I did just fine without you."
Will winced at her last remark, but admitted, "I can see that. He's a great kid."
Tears welled in Lizzy's eyes as she replied, "He is. He's so smart, so kind, so funny. I'm so proud to be his mom. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful little boy."
"We need to figure out a way that I can fit into his life. I want to see him. And often."
"How...how often?" Lizzy gulped.
"For at least a couple days every week."
"That's a lot especially for a little kid learning a new routine and getting used to a new person in his life. I have some time tomorrow night. Why don't we discuss this then? We could come up with a schedule," Lizzy suggested, getting up and motioning for her son to come to her.
"That's fine, Lizzy. But I want you to know I intend to make up the time I lost with my son whether it fits into your schedule or not." Grinning at his son, he lifted his hand for a high five from Jake. "I gotta go buddy, but I'll be seeing you soon."
"Bye Will!" Jake said as he waved at his father as he made his way out. Turning to his mother, he smiled, "Mama, I like him. He's nice. And I can't wait to meet his horses."