“Dad, can we invite my real dad to Father’s Day dinner?”
My foot slipped on the brake! We stopped dead in our tracks.
“Your… real dad?” I asked.
She was shaking and her curls were bouncing.
“Yes! He comes when you’re at work,” she said.
Struggling to process what she was saying and also suffering from the denial, I turned to look at her and replied, “Maybe you’ve done something, darling.”
« Uh uh », disse.
“He always comes and brings me good things like chocolate, and we play tea. Sometimes Mom makes him dinner, and you know him. He told me he’s my real dad.”
So I created a plan.
“Wow,” I said, thinking quickly.
“It’s… a nice surprise. Hey, honey, want to play a game? Invite him to dinner on Sunday. But don’t tell Mom. And don’t tell him I’ll be home. It’ll be fun, and our little secret.”
“A game?”
“Yes. But it has to be a secret. Don’t tell Mom, okay?” I reminded her.
“Okay! I love games!”
I smiled and leaned down to kiss her head, but inside I was breaking down.
That morning, I got to work while she packed up the equipment. Pancakes for breakfast. A trip to the park. Lily picked out the centerpiece for dinner at the supermarket, a slightly crooked bouquet of sunflowers. When we got home, Jess was gone.
I told my wife that Lily and I would be out all day, to do something fun on a special day. However, I revealed that I would call the babysitter and leave Lily with her while I went out to visit my parents.
He knew he couldn’t predict me until much later.
