Bobbie Spencer cursed as she felt the vibration of the wheel's rim against the road's surface. Of all the times to get a flat tire, right now had to be one of the worst. It was pitch black, and the rain was coming down in sheets. Not to mention she had forgotten to renew both her AAA membership and her cell phone minutes. If only she hadn't had to run those errands after work, she would have been warm and dry in her own house by now.

Bobbie sighed, pulled the car over to the side of the road, put on her hazard lights, and retrieved her equipment from the trunk. She felt the rain pelting her back and dearly wished that she had her raincoat with her as she placed the jack underneath the car's body and began to turn it.

She was struggling to remove the lug nuts from the wheel when she became aware of the presence of another person behind her. Her heart pounding with fear, she turned to see a man in a raincoat walking toward her. She couldn't make out his face in the dark, but she could tell that he was Caucasian and middle-aged.

"Here, let me help you with that." His voice sounded very concerned as he reached for the wrench. "My God, you're soaking wet! Why don't you sit in my car, and I'll put the heater on for you."

Bobbie knew how dangerous that proposition could be, but what choice did she have? She was having absolutely no luck with removing the lug nuts herself. She rose and walked with the man back to his car, which was parked right behind her own. He retrieved a blanket from the back seat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Do you always travel this well prepared?" Bobbie asked him through chattering teeth.

"Only when I'm out to rescue damsels in distress," he said with a grin. Now that she could see him better, she noticed that he had dark brown hair flecked with gray and dark brown eyes. Something about him seemed so very familiar, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

Bobbie waited as the man quickly changed her tire and then returned to his car.

"Thank you so much for helping me, Mr. - "

"Sorry." The man chuckled. "It's Meyer. Jake Meyer."

Bobbie gasped with surprise, and the man looked puzzled.

"That's my ex-husband's name," she explained.

The man stared at her in shock. "Bobbie? Bobbie Spencer? Is it really you?"

Bobbie felt a wave of utter disbelief wash over her as she realized that she had just encountered a man whom she had once loved but hadn't seen in twenty-four years.

"It's me, Jake," she said softly, standing so that he could embrace her. It felt so nice to have his arms around her once again, although of course she could never tell him that.

"I can't believe it! It's been how many years?"

"Twenty-four."

"That's right. Nineteen eighty-seven." She heard the astonishment in his voice. "But we're both getting soaking wet just standing here talking. Let me follow you home just to make sure you get there all right."

Bobbie's mind was spinning as she drove home. Jake Meyer was a chapter of her life that was closed forever. At one time she had seen him as her hero, the man who had rescued her from being convicted of a murder she hadn't committed. His indiscretion with that tramp Lucy Coe had cut like a knife, but they had managed to overcome even that. But then, at another crisis point in her life, he had simply disappeared without even saying good-bye. Then when she had seen the photo of him with another woman, she had assumed that he had moved on with his life and forgotten about her.

Then suddenly, here he was back in Port Charles again. Whatever had made him come back after all this time?

Soon she was pulling into her driveway and getting out of her car. He stopped right behind her but didn't get out. Should she invite him in? It would only be the polite thing to do, wouldn't it? Besides, she was burning up with curiosity about him.

She waved to him, and he parked his car beside hers and got out.

"I know it's late, but would you like to come in for a few minutes? I could make us some coffee," she offered.

"I'd be happy to," he replied.

Once inside, she quickly changed into dry clothes and put the coffee on. When she returned, he was sitting on the sofa glancing around the living room.

"You have a beautiful home, Bobbie."

"Thank you."

She poured their coffee and they sat across from each other at her table holding the steaming mugs.

"So, what brought you back here to Port Charles after all this time?" she asked.

"My responsibilities in Uruguay finally ended, and I wanted a change of scenery. I was hoping to renew old ties, touch base with some people I hadn't seen in a long time."

Including me? she wanted to ask, but didn't dare.

"So you were in Uruguay working with disadvantaged children all this time?"

"Yes, but that's not the whole story." Jake took his wallet out and showed Bobbie a photo of a handsome young man of about eighteen. He had dark brown hair and eyes and an olive skin tone.

"My, isn't he good-looking! Who is he?"

"This is my son, Diego. He's eighteen now, attending university in Mexico City."

So you're married again?" Why did she feel such a keen sense of disappointment? After all, her own marriage to Jake had ended a long, long time ago.

Jake shook his head. "I met Marta at a cantino one night, after I'd been working in Uraguay for several years. She was beautiful and intelligent, and she had an infectious laugh. She swept me off my feet. I fell head over heels in love with her, or at least I thought that I had."

"When she told me she was pregnant, I was on top of the world. I asked her to marry me, and she said that I would have to convert to Catholicism first. I told her that I would do anything else in the world for her, but that I wouldn't do that."

Bobbie knew how important Jake's Jewish heritage was to him.

"After that, things started to go downhill pretty fast. There were a lot of disagreements and arguments, and before long I was wondering what I had seen in her."

"I begged for her to allow me to be in the delivery room when Diego was born. Although things had cooled to the point that our relationship was basically over by then, she at least agreed to that."

"I'm so glad that she did. Watching the birth of my son was the most profound thing I've ever experienced. There's nothing to compare with seeing a new life come into the world and knowing that it's actually a part of you, that you helped to create this tiny, helpless, perfect little individual who's totally dependent upon you."

Bobbie felt a longing stir inside her, one she had long suppressed but which now returned with a vengeance.

"I was always as much a part of Diego's life as Marta would allow me to be. I babysat him frequently, sometimes for days at a time. I bought food and clothing for him, and school supplies later on, when he was old enough for school. I took care of him when he got sick, took him to ball games, fishing, camping, and many other places. He was my whole life."

"When Diego was six years old, Marta married Felipe, who was also Catholic. She and Felipe soon had two children of their own. After that, Marta didn't seem to want much to do with Diego, so I was basically the one who raised him."

"Diego finished school and went away to college just this past year. I thought that now was an opportune time to return to Port Charles and see how much it had changed since I saw it last."

"I always knew that you would be a wonderful father, Jake," Bobbie said quietly.

Jake smiled. "What about yourself? Are you married now?"

Bobbie shook her head. "I was married twice after you, but neither time worked out."

Jake covered her hand with his own. "Oh, Bobbie, I'm so sorry."

"Just wasn't meant to be, I guess," Bobbie mumbled. She felt so awkward.

"So, are you seeing anyone special?" Jake asked softly.

"Oh no, no." She smiled weakly. "You?"

"No. For the past eighteen years, Diego's welfare has been my top priority."

"As it should be. I really admire you, Jake."

"Thanks." He smiled and blushed slightly. "But of course Diego's all grown up now."

"What do you mean?"

Jake sighed and looked at the top of the table. "I don't really know how to say this, Bobbie. I'll probably end up making a total mess of things, but I have to tell you anyway. I never stopped loving you, Bobbie. For the past twenty-four years, you've never been far from my mind. I've always wondered how you were doing and whether or not you were happy. I couldn't tell you before, but you're the real reason I came back to Prince Charles. It seemed like too much to ask for, but deep inside I hoped that I would find you still here. I wanted to see you again so very much, if only to find out if things were going all right for you and to see if there was anything I could do to help if they weren't."

Bobbie felt hot tears forming behind her eyelashes, and, determined not to let him see them, looked away. Not trusting her voice to speak without breaking, she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep the sobs in her throat from escaping.

Jake put a gentle hand on her arm. "I hope I haven't upset you, Bobbie. If I have, I'm so sorry."

Bobbie shook her head and turned away from him. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and her resistance completely melted. A moment later she was sobbing into his shoulder as he held her and patted her back and murmured soothing words.

After she had cried until all her tears were gone, he held her silently and stroked her hair.

"Look, now I've got your shirt all wet," she finally said.

He laughed. "You're much more important to me than any old shirt."

She stepped back and looked into his eyes. "Jake, we can't just pick back up again right where we left off and pretend that nothing happened. Too much time has passed for that. I've changed, you've changed, the world has changed. Everything's different now."

"I know," he said.

"I do appreciate your helping me with my car. But I've had a long day, and I'm tired and I need to get some rest now."

"Oh, of course." He lifted her chin and gently ran a finger down her cheek. "Look, Bobbie, would it be all right if I called you sometime? I'd really like to see you again, preferably under better circumstances next time." He chuckled.

She was silent for a moment, considering. "I think I'd really like that, Jake," she finally said.

"Good. Then it's settled." He picked up his raincoat and headed out the door, turning to blow her a kiss before getting into his car. She hesitated and then blew a kiss back to him, which he laughingly reached up to catch.