How could I forget?

Parks, Picnics, and Whatnot

"Look, I'm sorry. It's like every time we meet I always go off on you. I realize that you're not the only one to blame for this. I am as well." He said after a few minutes of us eating our meals in silence.

"It's fine."

"I- I don't know what else to say. This isn't something you talk about every day and I'm just- I'm just confused."

"Okay, I get it. I understand. How I see it, you have two choices. Be responsible and own up to what you did and be apart of their lives, or don't. Just pretend they don't even exist. This is your decision and no one else can make it for you."

He nodded his head then continued to eat. Once we finished we paid for the meal and were on our way out. I was putting Danny in his car seat when he finally spoke up,

"I do."

"What?" I asked him.

"I do want to be in their lives."

"Yeah?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah." He said, returning my smile.

"That's great. I appreciate it."

"I don't know how. I've always wanted kids, but I thought I would have them later on in life. I have no idea what to do, how to start."

I glanced at the kids through the window, they were buckled up playing with their stuffed animals. I was just as lost as he was. I didn't know where to start either. Then it popped in my head.

"They like going to the park and having picnics."

"Okay, that's umm cool?" He said confused.

"That's where you start. Invite them to a picnic."

"Oh okay. Well when do you want to have one?"

"Don't ask me, Harry. Ask them. This is about you getting to know them."

He thought it was a little odd to be asking them, so he didn't. I told him I had to go. If he couldn't even ask them to hang out, how did he expect to get to know them. Right as I was about to pull out of the car park when I rolled down my window and said, "We're going to be at the park on Flower at 3:30. If you care to join us. Thanks for the uh- breakfast." Then I drove away.

***

I passed the time by taking Mia and Danny a bath and then they took a nap. It's now 3:15pm and we're about to leave for the park. I grabbed my things, the diaper bag, and a few toys and we left. Once we got there they wanted to go on the swings first. We were there for a few minutes before Harry got there.

"Hey, look who showed up."

He gave me a small smile and just stood there. I'm guessing he didn't know what to do, so I told him that my arms were tired and that he could take over for me. He nodded his head and went to push them.

"Mia, Danny, say hello."

They did, and kept asking Harry to push them some more so that they can go higher. He looked at me to confirm if it was okay. I nodded my head but said that they can only go a bit higher. After a while they wanted to get off and go play in the grass. Harry got them down and Mia wouldn't let go of his hand afterward. I laid out the blanket on the grass, put their toys on top and sat down. They both went into their own little world of make believe.