No Happy Endings Here, Part I

Her name was Janet, she was thirty-two, and she hadn’t been in this town for years, she’d gone to college here, back in those days, but looking back at it now, it felt weird. She had gotten word of a reunion, and she’d decided it was a good time, to do something she’d been long putting off, something that had been consuming her mind. You see back during Janet’s senior year she’d fell pregnant by her then boyfriend, Chet, in panic she’d left after graduation, and to this day hadn’t told the man yet. Her daughter Mia was now ten years old, and was beginning to ask about this, she felt the girl deserved to know her dad, so she had decided to make this trip. She knew the she could expect some drama, what other way could a person react? But she figured that it would be worth it, and keep Mia on a happier track. She knew that Chet would be there because he had taken a job at the school recently, headed up their athletics department, word was he had it running swimmingly. The first day there, by a spread with hors d’ouerves, she spotted her Chet by the cocktail franks, Janet took a breath to steady her nerves, squeezed Mia’s hand and walked up to the man. His eyes went wide when he saw her approach, he said, “Janet, isn’t this a surprise? You dropped off the earth after graduation, I half-wondered if you were still alive!” She smiled, and allowed him to hug her, he said, “And who is this little one with you?” “Her name is Mia,”Janet said slowly, “and this sweet girl is your daughter…it’s true.” The shine instantly drained from Chet’s brown eyes, and the smile disappeared from his face, he stared, slack-jawed, at Mia where she stood, then stammered, “I-I have to go away…” Janet’s heart raced as she walked him watch out, she had no idea what she should do now, her daughter stood there with tears in her eyes, she hugged her close, and said, “He’ll come around.” That night Janet didn’t sleep all that much, tossed and turned in her bed at the hotel, she just didn’t know what to expect next, but she prayed it could somehow still end well. In truth, she regretted deep in her heart that she had left without a word to explain, since Chet had always been a good boyfriend, most men she’d dated since were a drain. Maybe, deep down, she had hoped against hope that he might want to raise Janet with her, that maybe they could start over again, and she could hear him whisper loving words... CONTINUES IN PART II.