I got this idea when I learned about selective mutism, a rare disorder found in some young children. And uhm I hope this isn't too bad lol.

Your clothes are too formal for this. You take off your shirt, throw it on the bed and rummage through your closet again. You need something more casual, yes. It’s not such a special occasion after all. You’re going to meet him after almost five years. How quickly have these five years passed since that conversation.

"So she's pregnant?"

"Yes. It's a girl," Brad replied as if you cared. Shyly, he took your hand into his. Sometimes things he couldn't -or didn't want to- say Brad would rather show with body language. Pity this time you needed to hear a few right words.

You remember your frustration, your anger, the pretentious calm posture.

“I can't divorce her... I want to but I can't because then she can claim full custody of the baby."

"Is there any chance the baby is not, you know, yours?" you asked, a sudden hint of hope dawning in your heart.

Bitter and betrayed, you decided to do what’s best for Brad and leave him with his family. Up until now that is. Changing a pair of jeans for the third time in one hour, you think it’s all Mike’s doing.

The moment he saw you in that cafe that morning, he concocted his little evil plan.

“Hey Chester, come here!” he called. And you, like an obedient and blind fool, headed towards his table only to find –too late- that he was accompanied by Brad.

Brad, whom you pushed away once you found out that he wasn’t going to divorce his wife after all. Brad, who was going to be a father and you just couldn’t be a part of his life anymore, despite his claims that he could handle both. Brad, who kept calling you and tried to find you through Mike only to meet your stubborn denial for any connection.

You didn’t want to be the person that would break a family apart. Little did it matter that you felt lonely. No matter how much it hurt you, you knew you would have at least a clean conscience.

Sitting down at their table, you felt Brad’s gaze all over you. You did your best to sound and look casual as you said, “Hi I haven’t seen you two sitting here...”

“Of course you wouldn’t. Your mind’s always somewhere off in outerspace!” Mike replied conversationally. He turned to Brad; as if you were all good friends again, “Especially now that his band is making its first album, he’s out of it.”

Which was partly true. Since Dead By Sunrise had managed to make the first deal for a studio album, you’d been busy to the point of madness. In fact, you were just taking a brief break from songwriting to grab some coffee. Seeing Brad again, however, had made you want to stay in the cramped cafe forever.

He’d changed so much, yet stayed his familiar self. There was definitely more... hair. Curls flying here and there. The smart, sophisticated clothes had replaced the frayed, baggy jeans and t-shirts. He was a complete image of a young, upcoming lawyer. Or maybe that had been four years ago. Now he most likely was a successful lawyer. A successful lawyer smiling at you at that.

“I’m glad you made it. I know you’d been trying for a long time,” he told you, hands around his cup of coffee. Three teaspoons of sugar. Brad always drank his coffee with too much sugar.

Polite words of two old acquaintances were the only thing you managed to exchange for Brad had to leave soon afterwards. “I have to pick up my girl, you know,” he told Mike and left.

“You’re going to burn a hole in his back,” Mike’s amused comment brought you out of your day-dream. All of a sudden, he took one of the cheap, almost plastic napkins and wrote a phone number on it. “That’s Brad’s number. Call him.”

You blinked at him, not really getting your friend’s intention. “Are you high? I can’t.” Yet you wanted to see Brad again so much. You hadn’t realised how much you had missed him all this time. “He has a family now,” you insisted and pushed the napkin back to him.

Mike let an exasperated sigh and shook his head. “He’s divorced. About one year ago. A great decision if you ask me, although the separation didn’t go exactly smoothly...”

“I can’t do that only a year after he’s divorced! It will look like I’m hitting on him!”

“Isn’t that the whole point?”

Your silent glare made him pull back. “Okay, maybe that’s not the whole point but it’s finally a chance to meet again! He’s missed you, you know,” Mike said and granted you with an accusing glare.

It was your guilt that made you surrender to Mike’s will and phone Brad. So far, you’ve never had to make a more horrifying call than that in your whole life. You stuttered, stumbled on your words, had to write down his address twice because you heard it wrong but finally settled on today’s evening.

“Bradford Philip Delson” reads the doorbell you nervously rang two seconds ago. In this last, panic-filled moment you think that perhaps the bottle of red wine you’ve bought is cheap and not old enough to be good. You’re going to screw it. Great. Wait, there’s nothing to screw. This is not a date. Ignore the part of you that would like it to be.

Sounds from the other side of the door alert you and you stand in your full height making sure nothing on you looks ridiculous. The voices and the shuffling of feet are closer.

Maybe nothing has changed. Could it be like your old dates? Those with the wine and your cooking and the conversations that could last for hours and the unforgetable sex?

The door opens and Brad’s charm radiates all over you. And you can’t help but smile, just like in the old times. He steps back letting you inside his new house and that’s when you realise that everything has changed. Your eyes leave Brad’s face and descend to where his hand rests.

On a small head covered with thick brown hair. Said head belongs to a petite girl trying to hide behind Brad. And you wonder how you could have forgotten the reason why everything has changed.

I could say this is going to get more interesting but I don't want to be cliche :)