An Unexpected Crash

"Ma'am? Are you okay? Can you hear me? What happened?"

What happened?

It was a good question, and the only thought running through Nora's head as she shakily undid her seat belt. Then her mind focused in on the man tapping on her window, his face completely pale. Nora frowned, staring at the man. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he was Joseph Blanchard, her high school sweetheart. She closed her eyes again and shook her head, feeling the air sting at a cut on her forehead. Then she opened them again.

"Nora? Nora Allison?" The tenor of his voice was eerily familiar.

Nora's fingers fumbled over the car lock. She heard it click, and then Joseph pulled the door open and helped her out.

"Oh my God, Nora. Nora, what are you doing here?" Joseph still looked the same - wavy dark hair, deep green eyes and a muscles that were to die-for. His good looks were both a blessing and a curse. He was too used to having women throw themselves at him. It made him cocky.

Nora shook herself mentally and yanked her arm away from his grasp. "A better question is, why did you crash into my car?"

Joseph paled again. "Look, I don't know what happened. I just lost control for a few moments and then - "

Nora wasn't paying attention. She surveyed her car, taking in the damage. The front bumper was smashed in. The engine still smoked, but the car wasn't totaled. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing out in California? I thought you went on to college at Ohio State," Joseph rambled.

"Can I please have your insurance card and other contact information?" Nora asked, still not making eye contact with him.

Joseph made an impatient noise in his throat. "Nora, will you please look at me? I know that we didn't leave at the best of terms but Jesus Christ, I crashed into your car a thousand miles away from the place we last saw each other. We haven't talked in five years. Don't you think that maybe it's a little - "

"Your contact information, Sir," Nora said, a burning anger in her throat. How could this have happened?

"Nora, would you please stop and just talk -"

"Call the damn police, Joseph!" Nora screamed.

"Ah... yeah. Yeah," Joseph muttered, pulling a cellphone out of his pocket.

Nora walked away from her ex-boyfriend, a turmoil of feelings churning within her. What were the chances? She ran a hand through her strawberry blonde hair and willed herself not to cry. Joseph had said they hadn't left "at the best of terms". It was a giant understatement. The night before she left for Ohio State had been their last time together as lovers. Two weeks later, she learned the secret that nearly ruined her life.

"They're on their way, Nora."

Nora turned toward her wrecked car, opening the car door and reaching in for her purse.

"Were you on your way to anywhere important? Do you want me to call a taxi?"

"I can do that myself, thank you," Nora said icily. Her fingers fumbled over her phone as she dialed the Day Care number. "Hello? Yes. This is Ms. Allison...yes. Yes. I've just been involved in a minor accident... Yes, I understand that there is an extra charge for every five minutes I'm late... Please just keep Joelle for now. I will be around in half an hour."

"You have a kid, Nora? Since when?"

"Joseph, can you please stop the relentless tirade of questions? I didn't want to talk to you five years ago and I don't want to talk to you now."

His expression softened. "Look, Nora. I was so stupid then. I never meant to hurt you, you know that, right? It just seemed - it just seemed that there was no way it would work out. I mean, you were going to college and I was working for my dad's construction company. You had a bright future ahead of you and I - "

"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Joseph," Nora said, glaring at him. "I've moved on."

"But I haven't," Joseph replied softly, coming so close that Nora could smell his cologne. "I've never stopped thinking about you. Not even after all these years. Not even after the family company boomed with the housing rage. I'm out here in California talking to some contractors. They want to buy our company for a number in the tens of millions."

"I'm not impressed, Joseph," Nora spat. Still, it shook her how unfair life was. So Joseph, the chronic cheater and heart-breaker, got it all, didn't he? And she was out in California working two shifts a day just to make a living.

"Listen to me, Nora. What I'm trying to say - I'm trying to say I still love you." His green eyes burned, and for a moment the tenderness in his voice convinced Nora he was telling the truth. Then reality sunk in.

"Yeah, right, Joseph." She laughed bitterly. "Then how come you haven't tried to find me? Huh? Love? You don't even know the meaning of the word!"

He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I tried everything, Nora. I talked to everyone at Ohio State. All I knew is that you disappeared under mysterious circumstances. You broke off contact with your dad. You didn't talk to any of your friends. I had no clue where to go because you simply vanished."

"That's how I wanted it, Joseph." Now the floodgates were coming. "You don't understand. When I realized I was pregnant, there was nothing more I wanted to do than return to you. But I knew you wouldn't be a good father to our child. Not with the way you treated me. I couldn't stay in college and still support a baby. I knew my father wouldn't be any help." She let out a derisive laugh. "He wouldn't care. My only option was to run away with my child."

Joseph was even paler than he had been right after the accident. "I have a child?" he croaked.

Nora nodded, turning away from him. "And she's waiting for me in Day Care right now." From over Joseph's shoulder, Nora could see the police car zooming toward them.

"Nora, if I had any idea..."

"Let's just get this straightened out, first," Nora said as the policeman got out of his car. "Then I need to go pick up my - our - daughter."

Joseph nodded, weak resolution crossing his face. He reached out and took Nora's hand. She flinched, but let him hold it. "We'll go together."