Peter didn't know what to think of Megan's news. Shock would describe his initial reaction. She must be freaking out. He remembered when they discovered she was pregnant before. They were not prepared, and it was not part of their plan. They had a great long-range plan to the perfect life, which included their first baby between twenty-eight and thirty, then another two years later. He had said that he wanted more than two, so they agreed to reassess after the second.

Their perfect plan came crashing down when they found out they were having twins about five years earlier than they wanted - so much for the second baby two years later. Obviously. their plan was in the trash heap with the remnants of their marriage. Ironically Megan would have the third child that he wanted. Life was damn unfair.

It had better not be twins again. That would be too much for her to handle on her own. He wondered if she could handle the extra expense. He always paid the child care, now she would have her own bill and infant care was pricey. It wasn't his place to offer help, and she was too proud to take it. He gladly shouldered more than his share for the twins and in exchange he saw them every weekend and also on an as needed basis during the week to help her or for soccer practice and other activities. He probably saw his kids almost as much as his workaholic friend, Dan saw his and he lived with them.

He wondered how the birth control messed up this time, unless in the heat of - no, he didn't want to think about that. Megan was too smart to make that mistake again. With the twins it was food poisoning. They had taken a drive down the coast and stopped at a roadside seafood hut. Megan ate the coleslaw, and he didn't. She was so sick, at first he thought he might have to take her to the hospital. She couldn't hold anything down for two days and so she never took the pill or threw it up. When she felt better, and they went on with their perfect little life not thinking twice about the missed pills until it was too late.

Peter wished it hadn't ruined his marriage, but he couldn't imagine his life without Nick and Sophie. He hoped Megan would someday feel that way about her new baby.

He looked around his apartment. It differed from the one he grew up in but was equally depressing. He lived on the second floor of an old home. It had two bedrooms with one fixed up for the twins. They had three bedrooms between his place, home, and Marie and Ed's house.

He would never have made it through the early days without Marie and Ed. They helped him see the twins in the beginning, when they thought it would be temporary, and he'd go back home after things calmed down. Six years had crawled by.

His apartment also had a yard. It was nice to allow the twins space to run around. Although it was on a busy street, the yard was safe. In the good weather he would grill with his neighbor John and other friends. At the moment, he felt content, but looking back there was always something missing.

The best thing was his large flat screen television that kept the loneliness at bay. The rest was just necessities he accumulated. He often thought he should buy a house, but it would be too permanent - as if divorce wasn't. He also enjoyed having John and his daughter downstairs. John was a good friend to him. His wife had taken off, and he had to raise his teenage daughter on his own.

He thought about knocking on the door so he could talk about it, but realized it wasn't his problem to share. This was Megan's private business. To explain how it was his problem would be to admit to another person he wanted Megan back.

He wanted to hold her, but her anger gave him a clear message. Maybe he should just give up and try to find someone new to fall in love with. People did. Widowers did. He could too. There were plenty of women who showed an interest in him. Divorce mothers at the kids' activities, women at work, friends of friends, but none were his Meg.

He turned on the baseball game. The season was winding down, and it looked like there would be some October baseball. That was something to look forward to.

John texted: You watching the game

He replied: Come on up

John had to share his television with his daughter. When she wasn't watching, she was studying, so he liked to watch sports upstairs. That suited Peter fine. He liked the company and if he grew tired, John could show himself out.

John slumped on Peter's oversized sofa. The twins often thought it was a ship and would play on it without putting their feet on the floor for hours.

"You watch from the beginning?" Peter asked.

"Nah. I was at the high school, you know," John replied.

"Oh right. Open house. I was with the twins." His voice trailed off, as he thought again about Megan.

"Problem with the ex?"

"I have a way of upsetting her." Peter thought of how she had insisted he leave.

"I saw her."

"Who?"

"Your ex at the high school tonight. She's..."

"What?" Peter snapped a little too quickly.

John said carefully, "She's a very nice looking woman. I see where Sophie got her cutes."

"A spitting imagine."

"I was talking with some other parents. They all like Ms. Brenner. She's well-liked by her students."

Peter nodded and yelled at the TV, "Swing will you!" The conversation was over, and they went back to watching the game.

He knew she was a good teacher. She was good at everything. A long time ago, he had said she was crazy to teach as a career, but it suited her. She probably would be happier if she made more money, but as he knew money didn't mean happiness. They both did a good job at screwing up their personal lives, but somehow they met their career goals.

He had texted her after he left to make sure she was alright. She replied: Fine.

Emotionally exhausted, he went to bed. In the morning, he would go to the job he loved. As a teenager, his goal was to not be poor. He definitely achieved that. He worked long hours, but he loved the lab and his lifesaving work which paid very well. Work and weekends with his children kept him going.