Finding Jaime

Chapter 1

I read the letter again. For the third time. It didn't make any sense.

Dear Pete;

This isn't the way I wanted to do this, but as it stands, this is the only way I can now.

You have a son. Jaime is 15. He's a good kid, Pete. He really is. But he's lost his way. I've done my best to raise him right, and now it's your turn.

I'm dying, Pete. By the time you get this letter, I may already be gone. You'll see that I've spoken to a lawyer, and I've enclosed a copy of Jaime's birth certificate. My lawyer has all the information you need, and I've enclosed his contact information.

Please be good to him, Pete. He needs guidance, and he needs stability.

Most of all, though he might disagree, he needs his dad.

My lawyer will be in touch with you once I am gone.

My best regards,

Tanya Clarke.

Tanya. Barely a girlfriend, but certainly not a one-night stand. And now there was a kid involved.

And what did she mean by dying? What was she dying of? And how could she have had a kid, and not tell me?

I needed a break. I needed air.

"Meagan!" I called out. "I'm going out for a drive!"

"Okay, Pete!" she called back.

I got into my Tahoe and drove away from the house and down towards Santa Monica. I found a place by the pier, parked my car and got out. I walked down the pier and looked out onto the ocean.

I have a kid. His mom is dying. Or possibly dead. I don't even know. I had to talk to Meagan. I had to prepare her and the kids for the fact that we were about to have a teenager in the house. One who was going to be dealing with both the loss of his mom, the only parent he'd known, presumably, and meeting the dad he'd never known.

I was walking back toward my car when I saw a group of boys trying to steal my hubcaps.

"Hey!" I said, running towards my car. The boys started running but I managed to grab one by the back of his shirt. I pulled out my phone to call the police.

"Lemme go!" he yelled. "I didn't do nothing!"

"You tried to steal my hubcaps, or my car. I don't know what the hell you were doing. But it's my car and I don't have the patience to deal with this crap!" I said.

"Do you see me holding a hubcap? Or a tool?"

"I see you near my car, that's what I see."

"Dude, I didn't do nothing to your car!"

"Hi, Police, yes. I caught someone trying to steal my car."

"You called the cops?!" the kid complained. "Dude! I didn't do anything to your car!"

The police said they'd be there fairly quickly and I kept a hand on the kid, while he continued struggling to get away.

The police pulled up just as the kid managed to pull out of my grasp. One of the cops chased after him while the other took a statement.

"So, really, nothing happened?" the cop asked.

"I caught him and his friends trying to steal my car. Or my hubcaps. I don't know. I caught them in the act," I said.

"Well, I have all your information, and if my partner catches the kid we'll get in touch with you."

I got back in my car and drove back to the house.

"Meg?" I said, as I came in the house.

"Yep?" she asked coming into the kitchen as I opened the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"I gotta talk to you."

"Uh oh," she said.

I sat down at the kitchen table and showed her the letter. I explained about Tanya, and how I didn't even know about Jaime. That Tanya had never told me about him. And that she was long before I'd met her. She listened.

"Well, I guess we have to get a room ready for a teenager, huh?" she said. I knew there was a reason I love her. "Do you know anything about him?"

"Nothing. Just that he's about to lose his mom. And wind up living with a dad he never knew. And a family he didn't know existed. She says he's 'lost his way', and I don't know what that means."

"We'll figure it out," Meagan said.

I sighed and kissed her.

"I'm going to bed," Megan said.

I kissed her goodnight and pulled out my phone. I texted Patrick and gave him the Coles Notes version of what was going on. He texted back with surprise. Obviously.

I sat back and finished my beer, and re-read Tanya's letter.

Jaime. Jaime Clarke. Jaime Wentz? Would he want to change his name? Would he even want to come live here?