staff parking spaces, stopping beside a low-slung red Mustang with a wide black stripe down the hood. The car was obviously not new, but it was in pristine condition. He unlocked and opened the door for her. As she got in, she took note of the difference between his vehicle and hers. His didn’t have rips in the fabric of the front seat. His radio had buttons, while hers didn’t even have the knobs it had come with. She was pretty sure his heater worked no matter how cold it got. Judging by this, he could afford to pay child support.
Temptation came in many forms. Only knowing that she would have to give up more than she would gain kept her from accepting his previous offer. She and her baby wouldn’t have a lavish life, but they would have enough.
“Nice wheels,” she said when he slid into the driver’s seat.
“Thanks. This is a 1973 Mustang Mach One. This puppy is my pride and joy.”
“You can afford a classic car like this on a corporal’s salary?”
He laughed. “She wasn’t much to look at when I first found her, but it still took two summers of roofing in the hot Texas sun to pay for her back when I was a teenager. Restoring her has been a kind of hobby of mine ever since. Besides, I live on base so I don’t have many expenses. This car is my one luxury. Annie, is the fact that I’m in the Army part of the reason you don’t want me involved with our baby?”
It was as good a reason as any. “To my mind, guns and babies don’t to go together.”
“There’s a lot more to the Army than guns.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but how many years have you been in?”
“Six.”
“And how many different places have you been stationed in in that time?”
“Including basic training? Four.”
“That’s not exactly a blueprint for maintaining close family ties.”
“No, but it’s not impossible if you’re willing to work at it.” She heard the resignation creeping into his voice, even if he wouldn’t admit as much.
She drove home her point. “Tell me how we could make it work. Should we ship the kid back and forth between us every six months? Aren’t you going to Germany soon?”
“We live in the same place now.”
“But not for long. I might decide I want to move. Who knows where you’ll be stationed after Germany. It’s too complicated. I need to get on with my life and you need to get on with yours. I wish now that I hadn’t told you.”
“No, don’t wish that.”
A sadness to match his settled over her. “You probably wish you had never met me,” she said softly.
He stared at his hands clasped around the top of the steering wheel for a long moment, then looked over and met her gaze. “No, I don’t.”
He started the engine and shifted into Reverse. She gave him her home address, then leaned back into the plush seat. He didn’t speak during the ride and neither did she.
When he pulled up in front of her house, he shut off the engine and turned toward her. “I can’t help thinking that one of the reasons you don’t want me around the baby is because you don’t know me well.”
“I know you well enough.”
“If you’re referring to the night we met, I’ll be the first to admit that we started off all wrong.”
“So?”
He pressed his hand to his chest, his expression earnest and intense. “I’d like to change that. I’d like to get to know you and I’d like you to get to know me. Someday the kid is going to ask about me. I’d like you to be able to tell him something about what I do and what kind of person I am.”
“What are you suggesting? That we start dating?” She didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm.
“That’s an excellent idea. What are you doing Saturday afternoon?”
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