(Complete) Peter isn't prepared for the reality of another man spending the night with his ex. He should be, but his heart has never let her go.
Peter, who was abandoned by his father as a young boy, will do anything for his kids. He won't stop unt...
Megan was enjoying cooking in her new kitchen. She could see the twins playing and Abbie in her Exersaucer. When her phone rang, she absentmindedly picked it up without looking. She assumed it was Peter telling her he'd be late.
"Megan." She froze at the sound of her mother's voice. "I'm calling to tell you that Drew is coming for Thanksgiving and I want the family together."
"Do you mean Peter and the twins?"
"Of course, I mean you."
"You say that like I haven't been shunned by you for the last six and a half years." Megan felt spiteful.
"Do we have to do this?"
"No, we can pretend just like you pretend that I only have two children. I can't talk now my baby is crying." She hung up and looked over at Abbie, who was bouncing and smiling.
She complained to Peter who said that he would support her and didn't care where they spent Thanksgiving as long as they were together. "And you get your pumpkin pie."
The following night her phone rang again. She answered it. "Hi Drew."
Her brother was calling to barter peace between her and their mother. Her father had refused to get involved, but Drew felt indebted to their mother for helping to heal the rift between him and their father when he was in college.
She cut him off. "Drew I know why you're calling, but I can't sit at a table with her. The only time she has spoken to me in almost seven years was to insult me. First because of the marriage, next because I'm a whore and then because I was pregnant." Peter walked over and sat down next to her giving her support.
Drew asked what Megan needed from her mother and Megan said, "She needs to apologize for all the awful things she has said to me and for deserting me when I was alone, regardless of whose fault it was. She also needs to acknowledge Abbie. She has never even looked at her."
"God Megan, I'm sorry. She's made a lot of mistakes. I really want to spend time with you. I want to meet Abbie and see you two together again."
When they hung up, Megan said, "I don't have time for this shit. I have schoolwork to do."
"Wait, a minute." He rubbed her shoulders and kissed her neck. "I love you. Go work."
Megan had decided to have their own Thanksgiving. Peter's mother was taking her first trip to Florida and Becka was going with John to his mother's house.
The Saturday before Thanksgiving, her mother appeared at their door. The twins ran to their grandmother who they hardly saw anymore. Megan was in the kitchen with the baby on her hip. Peter took Abbie and told the twins they needed to clean their rooms.
Marie watched them walk upstairs. "They did a wonderful job. There's so much room."
"Did you come for a tour?"
"No, I came to talk to you. I wanted to tell you I was wrong."
"For?"
"For not supporting you, for being judgmental and for ignoring the baby."
"Do you know you have shut me out longer than I ever did Peter? Sometimes I wonder if I would have come around and if it ever would have gone so far, had you just loved me and been a mother. You made me fight with you, as well. Maybe it still would have ended in divorce, but at least I wouldn't have felt so alone and deserted all those years."
"Is that why you turned to that man?"
"You know that Peter played around too." Megan didn't want to throw her husband under the bus, but her mother had a double standard.
He came down the stairs with Abbie. "I did." He sat down next to Megan and put Abbie on the floor and took her hand.
"You have a double standard. I never intended to get pregnant, but I can't imagine my, our life without her." Megan looked at Abbie who was sitting on the floor chewing on a toy drooling and smiling up at Peter.
Peter spoke up. "We took a strange route, but we are together stronger than ever. We've both grown up and we like to think about the now and our future, not the past."
"Are you married?"
Peter and Megan laughed, but Megan knew she would insist on an answer.
"Yes, we are legally married."
"When?"
"It doesn't matter. We made it legal as simple as possible. That's how we wanted it."
"And the baby?" She looked over at Abbie.
Peter answered, "Abbie is legally mine. I asked Megan to make her mine before she was born. In my heart, she's mine."
"Why did you desert me?" Megan asked.
"Because I was angry at you for being so stubborn. I let the anger fester. I took care of Peter and the twins and felt like my anger was justified."
"Even when we weren't angry with each other? We were talking... even friends before we finally loved each other again." Megan rubbed her temples.
"I used to beg with you and you refused. I knew I had to stop going over to visit you," Peter said.
"I was angry with you too. I kept getting reports of the two of you together and then it was clear you were living here."
"That was months ago," Megan said.
"You're right I made a lot of mistakes. I'm sorry. I've missed you. I want to meet my granddaughter."
Peter picked up Abbie and handed her to her grandmother. Megan thought of Peter accepting his father's apology and how it freed him. She knew she needed to do the same.
"What you did still hurts and I'm not condoning it, but I'll forgive you to move forward. Peter has taught me a lot about forgiveness."
"Thank you, so you'll come for Thanksgiving?" They agreed, and she asked, "Where are the twins?"
Peter said, "Upstairs watching a movie. Go take a tour."
As she walked away, Megan whispered, "Did you make the bed?"
Peter laughed. "Yes."
"Oh, good! The last thing she needs to see is our rumpled sheets."
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