Chapter 8 - THE LITTLE GIRL WHO ASKED THE HARDEST QUESTION
Olivia asked me the question during our fourth visit.
We were sitting in a park.
Ethan and the younger girls were playing nearby.
Claire had stepped away to take a phone call.
Olivia looked at me.
"Can I ask something?"
"Anything."
She stared at her shoes.
"Why didn't you find me?"
My chest tightened.
I took a breath.
"Because I didn't know you existed."
She looked up.
"Mom said that."
"It's true."
She studied me.
"Would you have wanted me?"
I felt tears burn my eyes.
"More than anything."
She looked away.
"Daniel wanted me."
I nodded.
"I know."
"He taught me to ride a bike."
I smiled sadly.
"I'm glad."
"He came to all my school plays."
"That's wonderful."
She looked at me.
"Are you mad at him?"
The question surprised me.
"No."
She frowned.
"Really?"
I shook my head.
"Olivia, he loved you when I couldn't be there. I'm grateful to him."
Her eyes filled.
"Sometimes I still call him Daddy."
I swallowed.
"You always can."
She stared.
"Even if you're my real dad?"
I leaned closer.
"Daniel was your real dad too. He raised you. He loved you. That matters."
Olivia began crying.
I opened my arms.
She hesitated.
Then climbed into them.
I held her carefully.
For the first time in ten years, my daughter rested her head against my chest.
And I understood something.
May you like
Fatherhood wasn't about replacing the man who'd been there.
It was about earning the chance to be there now.
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