The next morning, Peter went to visit John Jameson in the hospital. Mary Jane had said that she would meet him there. He entered the room and saw John lying down in his bed, unconscious. He was not alone, however; J. Jonah Jameson and his wife were watching their son.
"How is he?" Peter asked.
J. Jonah Jameson was silent. It was his wife, the teary-eyed Joan, who spoke.
"They say that he is in a coma. They are hoping that he will wake up. They just don't know when. They are not sure how it happened. They can't pin down a firm explanation."
At that moment, Mary Jane walked into the room. The Jamesons stared at her.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Jameson," she said.
"It's been a while," Joan said. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see if John was okay."
"We've already explained it to Peter. Why don't you two leave and he can explain it to you on your way out."
"I just want you to know," Mary Jane began, "that I am sorry about what I did. Your son just wasn't the man I wanted to marry."
"Well, you couldn't have figured that out long before the day of the wedding? Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed my son?"
Mary Jane looked like she wanted to cry. She ran out of the room. Peter watched as she left. Then he looked back at the Jamesons. His boss walked up to him.
"Peter," he began, "you're fired."
"What?"
"You heard me. You're fired."
"May I ask why?"
"Because you didn't show up to work yesterday. You're on the staff. You're supposed to show up and do your job to set an example for the other people."
"Are you sure that that is the real reason?"
"There are multiple reasons. I think you already know one from the way my wife reacted just now."
"I think I know another."
"Don't even show up to work today."
"Don't worry. I won't. I just want you to know that I really do care about your son. I wish that there was something I could do to wake him up. If I could, I would."
"But you can't. Therefore, you won't. Now get out of my sight."
Peter left the room. He found Mary Jane in the waiting room. She was crying.
"Don't beat yourself up," Peter said.
"I should have done it earlier," Mary Jane said. "You know, picked you over him. I should never have gotten engaged with him in the first place. I knew that there might have been a chance between you and me, but I still went along with the engagement."
The two of them waited for a few minutes before leaving.