Cael sat outside the Dramatic Arts building for two mornings and two afternoons but did not see Regina. He waited in his truck for a while, then in the coffee shop. Finally, he just went inside, avoiding the receptionist he had talked to before, instead staring at the floor directory, seeing Restoration Studies was on the third floor. Climbing the stairs, he walked out into the hall, seeing various people standing around talking and others going in and out of doors.

He stopped, uncertain what to do next. A woman with short, dark hair and almond eyes walked up to him with a smile on her face. “You’ve got to be new around here. Hell, I would have noticed you before!”

Her smile was infectious and he grinned in return. “I’m actually looking for someone. Regina? She works in film restoration, I think.”

“Um…” she scrunched her nose as she thought.

“She had really long, reddish-golden hair—”

Her eyes brightened and she gushed, “Yes, of course. But, you’ve missed her, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, is she gone for the day?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, she doesn’t come here anymore. I think someone said she works somewhere else…or maybe at home. Anyway, you won’t find her here.” Grinning up at him, she said, “Are you sure I can’t help?”

“Thanks, but she’s the one I need.”

“Darn, just my luck,” she said, laughing. “Hope you find her.”

Thanking her, he admitted, “Yeah, me too.”

Walking back out of the building, he sighed, wondering what his next step should be. As he sat in his truck, he sighed again. There was one person who would know where she lived—the man she was involved with. Banging his head against the headrest, he grimaced. Fine…I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Clearing his mind, he started the truck and headed to work.

Sitting in his truck the next day, just down the street from the house he followed the man to a few days ago, Cael was thankful that he and Terrance had finalized their legal paperwork and turned in their notice to the construction company they had been working for. They had another week before they began taking over for his uncle so he had free time.

His eyes caught movement and he watched as the man came out of his house and kissed his wife on the front stoop while patting her stomach. Grimacing, he pulled out onto the road, following him. For a second, he wondered what he was really doing. Following some guy like I’m in a fuckin’ movie.

Then, he focused on Cindy and her excitement over her new hair every day when he saw her. She smiled more. Laughed more. She integrated with the other children on the unit more. It was like she gained part of herself back that the cancer had taken. With that thought in mind, he no longer cared that he was following the man Regina was involved with. As long as he gives me what I need, I can make amends for being a jackass.

He stayed behind him all the way into the city, managing to keep him in his sights in spite of the early morning traffic. The man parked on a side street and Cael slid into an open space nearby. Climbing out of his truck, he sucked in a deep breath as he watched the man walk into a storefront office. Stopping on the outside, Cael observed the sign on the door.

Robert Nunzel, CPA, Accounting Firm

Throwing open the door, he saw the man standing at the receptionist’s desk, chatting with a silver haired woman sitting at the desk.

She turned to him, a smile on her face and asked, “May I help you?”

His gaze shot between the two of them before he replied, “I need to speak to Robert.”

Robert turned toward him and cocked his head to the side. “I’m Robert. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to talk to you about Regina.” He watched as Robert blinked slowly, his brow lowering in confusion. “Privately, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Robert agreed, glancing at his receptionist. “Ms. Jones, please hold my calls.”

“Of course, sir,” she responded, efficient but with her gaze pinned on Cael.

Robert turned and moved down a hall, stepping inside a large office and moving behind his desk. Sitting down in a leather chair, he motioned for Cael to sit as well. He opened his mouth, then closed it quickly, appearing to wait for him to speak first.

“I’ll make this quick,” Cael said. “I need to see her and need to know where she lives.”

Jerking, Robert said, “What makes you think I would tell you where she lives? I don’t know you at all.”

“I’m…well, I was a friend of hers.”

“Was?”

Inhaling sharply, he nodded. “We became friends, but I’m afraid I left things…not good. I’d like to apologize, but don’t know how to reach her.”

Robert sat quietly, staring for what seemed like forever. Neither of them spoke. Just as Cael thought he was not going to say anything, Robert narrowed his eyes, saying, “You. You’re the one who broke her heart.”

Eyes wide at his choice of words, he clamped his jaw tight.

Robert continued, his voice hard. “She told me. Told me she met someone special when I was out of town with my family.”

At the word family, he jerked, surprised the man had the audacity to speak of Regina and his family in the same breath.

Continuing, Robert said, “She said things ended badly.” Leaning forward, his words clipped, he added, “She didn’t need that…not on top of everything else.”

He wanted to roar that he would not be lectured by a man cheating on his wife, but he held his tongue. Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, he let it out slowly, his lips pinched. This is about me…my atonement, not this guy. “I was wrong for reacting the way I did. I need to tell her that.” Swallowing hard, he added, “Plus, she did something incredibly giving for my family and I need to thank her in person.”

Robert stared at him, again, for a long time. Fighting the urge to growl rudely, Cael held his stare. Finally, Robert let out a sigh and said, “I can’t give you her address…not without her permission. That wouldn’t be smart. You gotta see that. But, I can tell her that you came by and want to apologize.”

Unable to hold back a sigh of relief, he nodded. He would not have given out a woman’s information either. As he stood, his eyes landed on a framed picture on Robert’s desk. Robert, his wife, their son, and…Regina. Staring, struck dumb at the sight of the picture, his gaze shot back to Robert’s face. Having noticed the direction of his eyes, he too had looked at the photo, and was now smiling proudly at the picture.

Taking him in more fully, Cael noticed that, though Robert’s hair was light brown, he had a smattering of freckles across his nose just like Regina. In fact, they had the same nose, and their eyes were also similarly shaped. The familial resemblance hit him like a ton of bricks and his legs gave out, causing him to plop back into the chair.

“That’s a good picture,” Robert said, not noticing his bewilderment. “Regina insisted we have one taken each year and my sister’s very convincing. Plus, she loves her nephew and can’t wait until she gets a little niece in a few months.”

“Your…your sister?” he gasped, his gut clenching.

Robert’s smile left his face as he stared hard at him once again. “My sister’s had a hard time lately, and the last thing she needs…or I’ll allow, is for her to be upset.”

Nodding, he stood and offered his hand. “I promise I’m not going to make your sister’s life any harder. I just want to apologize…for so many things, it turns out, and give her my thanks.”

“She’ll have her phone off while she’s working, so I won’t be able to talk to her until tonight. Who should I tell her came by? I didn’t get your name.”

“Titan. Just tell her Titan came by.”

Cael sat in his truck for a long time, not moving, just staring at nothing as his thoughts swirled. He lifted his hand and rubbed his chest, the pain so real as he tried to massage it away. What the fuck did I do? How the hell do I make this better? How the hell do I atone for such a major fuckup? Usually a man of decision, right now, he had no idea what to do. Maybe I should leave her alone. Let her get on with her life.

The more he thought of that, the more he knew it was not what he was going to do. It might be selfish, wanting to apologize, but he knew it needed to happen. She may not want to have anything to do with me but, hopefully, she won’t hate me.

Starting his truck, he drove, with no particular destination, his mind on autopilot. Coming to an intersection, he looked over, realizing he was at the park where they had spent time. Jerking into a parking spot next to the curb, he climbed down and began to walk. Hands in his pockets, he was impervious to the chilly wind as he followed the sidewalk trail toward the lake. Sitting on a bench, he stared into the water, watching the ducks paddling along.

“Ducks look so calm on the top of the water, but underneath, their feet are paddling like crazy.”

“You know me. You might not have known my name, but you know me. And you think this of me?”

“You. You’re the one who broke her heart.”

“She told me. Told me she met someone special.”

The weight of the memories hitting him had him bending over, the heel of his palms digging into his eyes, pressing against the sting of tears. He sat for a while, even though he knew self-recrimination would get him nowhere.

Pulling out his phone, he started doing a search on Regina Nunzel. It did not take long to come up with an address. Fuck. He was both relieved and unhappy that it was so simple. Most women have no idea how easy it is for them to be found.

Standing, he walked briskly to his truck, a destination now in his sights.