Sydney's body involuntarily trembled lightly as it evoked so many memories and sounded so familiar. Her eyes welled up with tears.
"Didn't you tell me that yourself?" Julien asked, resting one hand on the window’s edge of his car.
Sydney blinked in confusion, "I told you that?"
"Yes."
"When?" Sydney was even more confused.
She didn’t remember she had told Julien about that name.
She had stopped using that name since her dad died six years ago.
If Julien hadn't brought up that name today, she might have forgotten about it.
"Eleven years ago." Looking out the window at the confused woman, Julien answered.
Sydney's eyes widened, "Eleven years ago?"
"Yes." Julien nodded.
Sydney swallowed, "You mean that I told you about it in my letter before?"
Eleven years ago, Sydney hadn't met Julien. There was no way she would have told him her nickname.
The only possibility was that she had told him in a letter, since they had been pen pals for a long time then.
Since Sydney figured it out, Julien admitted, "Yes, you told me in your letter. Madeline bullied you because she wasn't happy that your dad called you Leaf. She cried and told your dad to stop calling you Leaf. You felt sad. Then you told me about it in your letter, so I knew you had a nickname called Leaf. Although you only mentioned it once, I never forgot it."
"That’s it," Sydney bit her lower lip and choked, "It was many years ago. How could you still remember it? I had forgotten about it long ago."
If Julien hadn't brought it up today, Sydney would have forgotten it.
Now she remembered it.
She told Julien about it in her letter.
When she was fifteen years old, her father came back from a business trip abroad and bought her and Madeline both a present.
Sydney and Madeline were very happy, but when Madeline heard their dad call Sydney Leaf, she became angry.
Their dad always called Sydney Leaf and Madeline Maddy, but Madeline didn't like her dad calling her Maddy because it was not as special as Leaf. Madeline thought Maddy was just short for Madeline, so she didn’t like it.
However, although Madeline didn't like it, she had never made a fuss about it before. She usually sneered at Sydney's nickname. But at that time when their father brought them the gifts, Madeline cried and asked her father to stop calling Sydney 'Leaf.
Although their dad did not agree with Madeline, Sydney felt sad. Therefore, she told her pen pal, Buddy, about it in a letter. Buddy was a very gentle boy. He was always there to guide her when she was confused or sad, and Sydney trusted him a lot.
Indeed, Buddy comforted Sydney in his letter.
"I always remember everything about you." Julien said gently.
Sydney took a breath to calm down the emotions that the nickname evoked. "Why are you calling me by my nickname all of a sudden?"
Julien answered, "Since we've gotten back together, I wanted to call you by your nickname, but I didn't want to call you by the name Luke calls you. I wanted it to be special, so I thought of Leaf."
"Well," Sydney asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "Have you called Lyra
Leaf before?"
Lyra had impersonated Sydney in the past, so Julien might have called Lyra by that name.
If he had done it, Sydney would feel it was disgusting.
However, Julien shook his head, "No."
"Really?" Sydney narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe him.
As Sydney agreed, Julien beamed and immediately called out, "Leaf."
Sydney blushed. She was a little shy.
She was happy when her parents called her Leaf, but now, it was Julien, her ex-husband and current boyfriend.
Sydney needed some time to get used to it.
Sydney rubbed her cheek and murmured," yes."
Julien’s eyes immediately sparkled and he called her again, "Leaf."
Sydney glared at him, "Julien, that's enough! Stop it!"
Julien let out a low laugh.
Sydney waved her hand, "All right. You should leave. Aren't you going to the hospital to see Grandma? You should get going. Say hello to Grandma for me. I'll go to visit her in the afternoon."
"I'll pick you up then." Julien said when he glanced at his watch.
Sydney wanted to refuse him, but she realized they had gotten back together and it was okay for Julien to pick her up, so she swallowed the refusal and replied, "All right. Let me know before you come over. I need to see if I'm available then."
"OK," Julien nodded.
Sydney waved at him. Then she turned around and walked towards the Skylight office building.
Julien watched her walk away.
Zach suddenly turned to the back seat and asked, "Mr. Flint, have you and Ms. Raines gotten back together?"
Zach overheard scratches of Julien and Sydney's conversation. He heard them talking about getting back together, so he wanted to ask Julien for confirmation.
Julien withdrew his eyes and looked at Zach. He put a smug look on his face. "Yes, you are right. We're back together."
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