He was my best friend since college. He was my best man, my fishing buddy, and my daughter’s “Uncle Adam”.
“Hey… man. Wow, I didn’t even know you were home. What a – what a surprise!”
“Danny?!” she said. “What are you doing –?”
I opened the door wider with a smile.
“Come in, buddy! My best friend! We were just about to eat.”
His expression was exhausted. Jess looked as if she were about to collapse. I stepped aside and gestured at the table like a game show host.
“The food is warm. I don’t want it to get cold.”
They followed me inside.
“I told him it would be fun!” she murmured, spooning potatoes onto her plate as if it were Christmas.
Adam sat down stiffly, visibly drenched in sweat. Jess avoided my gaze as she took a seat.
“So,” I began, sitting down opposite him. “Long time no see. Have you been busy?”
“Yes,” he said. “Work was incredibly stressful.”
“Sure. But you’re not too busy to come by, are you?”
“What does that mean?” Adam asked.
“Oh, nothing. I just heard you were here. You brought chocolates. We went out to eat together. We spent time together.”
Jess jumped in too quickly.
“He only came by once or twice. Lily loves visitors. You know how she is.”
“Only once or twice?” I asked.
“Maybe… three times,” he exclaimed. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Sure, sure. Nothing special. Just a man visiting his daughter.”
The air was thick with tension. Jess’s fork froze halfway to her mouth. Adam set down his wine glass with a trembling hand.
“W-What are you talking about?” Jess murmured.
I turned to Lily.
“Hey, darling, who is Adam?”
She said.
“He is my real dad!”
She invited her “real dad” to Father’s Day dinner.
My foot slipped on the brake! We came to a sudden stop.
“Your…real father?” I asked.
She was trembling, her curls bouncing.
“Yes! He comes when you’re at work,” she said.
I struggled to understand what she was saying, and at the same time suffered from denial. I turned around, looked at her, and replied, “Perhaps you’ve got something mixed up, dear.”
“Uh, uh,” she said.
“He comes all the time and brings me nice things like chocolate, and we have tea parties. Mom sometimes cooks for him, and you know him. He told me that he is my real dad.”
