My foot slipped on the brake! We jolted to a stop.
“Your… real dad?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, steady.
She nodded, her curls bouncing.
“Yeah! He comes when you’re at work,” she revealed.
Struggling to process what she was saying and also dealing with denial, I turned back to look at her and replied, “Maybe you mixed something up, sweetie.”
“Uh uh,” she said, shaking her curls side to side. “He comes all the time and brings me nice things like chocolate, and we play tea party. Mommy makes dinner for him sometimes, and you know him. He told me he’s my real daddy.”
I swallowed hard as my hands gripped the steering wheel like I was holding the world still. My breath left me in pieces. “I know him?” I thought to myself, but I didn’t want to make a scene, just in case my Lily was letting her imagination run wild.
So I came up with a plan.
“Wow,” I said, thinking quickly. “That’s… a big surprise. Hey, tell you what, sweetheart, wanna play a game? Invite him to dinner on Sunday. But don’t tell Mommy. And don’t tell him I’ll be home. It’ll be fun, and our little secret.”
My baby’s eyes absolutely lit up! Lily loves games more than anything.
“A game?”
“Yep. But it has to be a secret, no telling Mommy, okay?” I reminded her.
She beamed like I’d just promised her a pony.
“Okay! I love games!”
I smiled and leaned in to kiss her head, but inside, I was crumbling.
Sunday couldn’t have arrived faster.
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