Okay, I'm giving you guys two chapters today because I tormented you by breaking up Mal and Stryk. Plus, this chapter is a little shorter than the others. Enjoy!

SEPTEMBER 12

"How are you doing, Stryker? With the break up?" Jon asked, as we closed the shop for our lunch break. We made our way up the stairs to his apartment.

I shrugged. "All right. I still miss Mal, but not as much. I'm starting to get over her. I don't know that I'll stop loving her, but I'm moving on." I looked around the living room, surprised not to see anybody. "Where's Charlie and Roman?" I asked.

"Having a playdate with your mom and Kensley, if you can believe it." Jon shook his head, grinning slightly.

"Really? Aren't the babies a little young for that? I mean, Roman's a few days shy of being three months old, and Kensley's only two months old. Neither of them can crawl yet."

"I think it's just an excuse for the women to get together and gossip, probably about me. But I'm glad that they're getting along."

"You don't think it's weird that your fiancée and your ex are becoming good friends?" If I'd been in his shoes, I probably would have found it really weird and kind of annoying.

He shrugged, opening the fridge. "Not really. They're pretty similar in some ways, so it really isn't all that surprising. Want some pepperoni pizza? There's almost a whole one left over from last night."

"Sure."

"Cold or warmed up?"

"I'll take it cold."

He got down two plates and dished up the pizza. He handed me one of the plates. "Have there been any other girls to catch your eye?" he wanted to know.

I shrugged. "Not really. But I really haven't been out much this summer. School does start up again in a few days, though. Maybe I'll meet someone new I'll like."

"Always a possibility."

"Can I ask you something? About your parents?"

Jonathan, holding a slice of pizza halfway to his mouth, froze. He slowly put the slice back down. "My parents?"

"Yeah."

"I guess." He didn't seem exactly thrilled to be talking about them. I wondered why that was.

"Well, I've just never really heard anything about them. Mom talked about you sometimes, but she never mentioned your mom or dad. I never really thought to ask her before, either. But now I'm kind of curious about them. Are they still around? And if they are, do they…do they know about me?"

Jon sighed, scratching his chin. "My parents…Yes, they're still around. Alive, if that's what you mean. And yes, they know about you. But they didn't for a really long time. I didn't tell them until you were probably about eight."

I frowned. "Eight? How did they not know sooner than that? I mean, they lived here in Camelot, didn't they? I'm assuming they did, since that's where you and Mom were both living when you were dating. I'm pretty sure news of Mom being pregnant would have gotten around extremely fast. Stuff like that always does."

"The thing about my parents is that they are incredibly self-absorbed. And they were busy. Mac and I dated for about a year and a half, and my parents only met her twice in all that time. They worked nine to five jobs, but they worked overtime a lot. And they took a lot of vacations. They were hardly ever home. When Mac and I broke up, I didn't tell them the reason. They hardly even noticed, anyway."

"And they never saw Mom around town or anything? They had to have noticed that she was pregnant."

Jon shook his head. "They didn't. Like I said, they were incredibly self-absorbed. They didn't mingle in town a lot. And then they moved to Hawaii the September after I graduated. Before you were even a year old. I finally said something to them about it the year you turned eight."

"Did they care at all?" I asked. "Did they want to meet me?"

"At that point, I asked them not to contact you or Mac. It had been eight years. I'd signed away my rights to you. I thought – and I was probably wrong, I don't know – that bringing them into your life then would do more harm than good. They did ask to meet you, but I didn't let it happen."

I nodded, but I didn't say anything. I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Maybe it was better that they hadn't been in my life. I wasn't sure.

"Stryker? Do you want to meet them?"

I looked at him in surprise. "I thought they moved to Hawaii."

"They did. That's where they live now. But they're visiting next month. You can meet them if you want. It's up to you."

"I'll have to think about it."

"I understand. They'll be here sometime on the nineteenth. They're...interesting people."

I chuckled, frowning at him slightly. "Um, okay. I'm not really sure what that's supposed to mean."

"If you choose to meet them, you'll find out. Trust me."