Jake was a hard worker. He had his own landscaping company. Everyone in his town knew who he was and loved him. It was hard not to love him. But unfortunately, having that company, he didn’t have health insurance and in the winter it was not enough income. The company he loved and grew for years he decided to sell in order to have health insurance for himself and baby. He sold it to his best friend and started applying for full time jobs to provide for us. I was a high risk pregnancy and was on bed rest a lot, so I couldn’t work.
Throughout my pregnancy, we did not have much contact with his family. They were not supportive of the choice we made to keep the baby and raise it together as a family. We both graduated high school early with diplomas before the baby was born.
The morning of January 24, 2011, our daughter was born healthy and beautiful. His family was not at the hospital. Multiple events happened during my pregnancy which strained the relationship even more. Once our daughter was a little older, I suggested we try to meet in a mutual area. We met at a local restaurant. They seemed more interested in their son than their granddaughter. We met a few more times and again, they did not show much interest in the baby.
On June 16, 2011, Jake, our daughter and I went to the courthouse with each of our best friends, my mom and sister and got married.
March 7, 2012. Jake’s cousin moved into his house and invited us over to see it. Things with his family were still kind of rocky but we were fine with his cousin. This is where it’s gets blurry. I remember Jake telling me to drive as we were leaving their house. Jake drank a beer or two with his cousin. I got in the front and he put our baby in her seat. I have no memory of the rest of the night.