It was only a short year and a half after kicking her out and he was at it again. This time he was fighting for custody of their 4-year-old son. Peter was the most selfish man Jane has ever met. However, she had not always felt that way.
It all started back in high school. They had met while both were working at McDonalds. She worked the front line and he worked out back. There was an instant connection. They went out a few times until Jane stopped working there. Then they slowly lost touch with each other.
Jane had moved on with her life. She got married, moved out of the area, and had two children. Though her marriage wasn't one from a fairytale, it really wasn't that bad. For some reason though, she always seemed to keep Peter in the back of her mind. She wondered how he was and what he was doing now.
Two years had gone by and Jane was online chatting with some of her friends, when who should appear? It was Peter! “Wow”, she thought, “I haven't talked to him in ages!” They began to chat, realizing that the connection they had before was still alive and well. Jane and her husband had recently separated; which now gave her the hope of rekindling the flame she and Peter once had.
Jane was in the process of fixing up an old trailer that she had purchased for her and the children to live in. Peter offered a kind hand in the project. He came over a few times and they really hit it off. Jane wondered why they had ever lost touch. How could she have ever let him walk out of her life?
Jane soon discovered she was pregnant. She immediately got online to talk to Peter. (He hadn't given her a phone number because he lived with his parents who wouldn't allow him to.) She told Peter they needed to talk. He drove over to her place the next morning before work. She told him of her findings. He said, “Well, is it mine?” She told him it was either his or her ex's because she wasn't sure how far along she was, and she had been with her husband a couple weeks before they started seeing each other. Very perturbed, Peter replied, “When you figure it out, let me know.” And with that, he left.
The months went by. Jane had received a few different due dates/conception dates from her doctor. She decided to get a second opinion. This doctor was a little more concrete. Jane now knew the baby was Peters. Eager to share the news with Peter, she went to his work to inform him.
Peter didn't seem very happy when Jane revealed what the new doctor had said. He was disbelieving and, in some respect, rather rude. He cut their conversation short and insisted on not being contacted again until the baby was born. Was this the same man she had been with just a few short months ago? He certainly didn't seem like it. A little confused and downhearted, she went home; home to wait…. And wait…
Winter turned to Spring, and Spring to Summer. The baby was on its way. Jane was to have a scheduled C-section after having complications with her first two children. There were more complications with this baby as well. He was immediately placed in an incubator and put on oxygen.
Four days later, when released from the hospital, Jane set off to Peters work to introduce him to his beautiful new baby boy, Alexander. To her surprise he wasn't there. She left, a little disappointed, and headed for home.
A couple days later Jane tried again. Still no sign of Peter. She asked one of the employees behind the counter if he would be around anytime soon. Her reply was “You'll have to talk to the manager about that one.” So, off Jane went to find the manager. This time the response was “Sorry, he no longer works here.” What was she to do now?
She thought she remembered the road he and his parents lived on. She had been there once, but that was years ago. She had followed him there one evening after work to have dinner with his parents. It was getting dark, and unfortunately, she had only been watching Peters' car, not the landmarks around them.
Jane and her three children searched for an hour or so, looking for the house occupied by Peter and his parents. No luck yet. The kids were getting fussy and hungry. Janes' hopes and gas tank were now on empty. She aborted the search and headed home.
