Greg moved back home that weekend.
Biscuit lost his mind. He ran in circles around the kitchen, barking and crying and knocking over chairs, and then he jumped up on Greg so hard he almost knocked him down. Greg sat on the kitchen floor and let that dog lick his whole face for five straight minutes.
Then he stood up, walked over to the kitchen table, and moved the salt shaker to the other side.
“I never want to see it in that spot again,” he said.
But we still had one more thing to do. The hardest thing.
We drove to the university together the next Saturday. Three hours in the car. Greg held my hand the whole way, even when his fingers twitched. He didn’t try to hide them from me anymore.
Sophie met us at a little coffee shop across the street from her dorm. She walked in, saw us sitting together at the same table, holding hands, and stopped dead in the doorway.
“Oh my God,” she said. “Are you guys back together?”
“Sit down, sweetheart,” Greg said.
She heard something in his voice. Her smile faded. She sat down slowly.
He told her. All of it. I let him do the talking, because it was his to tell, but I held his hand under the table the whole time. He told her about the DNA kit she’d given him for Christmas as a joke. About the grandfather she’d never known existed. About Uncle Elliot. About the clinic.
He told her about what it meant for her.
Fifty-fifty.
Sophie didn’t say anything while he talked. She just sat there with her hands wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate, getting paler and paler.
When he was finished, she was quiet for a long time.
Then she stood up so fast her chair fell over.
“You lied to me,” she said. Her voice was shaking. “You lied to me for months. You told me you and Mom grew apart. You let me think my family was falling apart for no reason. I’ve been crying myself to sleep, Dad. I’ve been failing my statistics class because I can’t concentrate. And the whole time…”
“I know,” Greg said. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sophie.”
“And you weren’t even going to tell me? About me? About my own body?”
“I was going to tell you someday. When you were older.”
“When? When I was thirty? When I was pregnant?” She was crying now. “Dad, it’s my life. It’s my body. You don’t get to decide when I’m allowed to know about it.”
Greg looked at me. I could see him hearing it. The same thing I’d said to him on the floor of that apartment, coming out of his daughter’s mouth.
“You’re right,” he said quietly. “You’re absolutely right. I made a mistake. I made a lot of mistakes. I thought I was protecting the people I love. But I was really just protecting myself from watching you get hurt.”
Sophie stood there with her fists clenched and tears running down her face.
Then she walked around the table, climbed right into her father’s lap like she was six years old again, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m so mad at you,” she sobbed into his shoulder.
“I know, baby.”
“I’m so scared.”
“I know. So am I.”
“Don’t you ever lie to me again.”
“Never,” he said. “Never again. I promise.”
Half the coffee shop was staring at us. I didn’t care. I got up and wrapped my arms around both of them, and the three of us held on to each other in the middle of a crowded coffee shop until a nervous young barista came over and asked if we needed any napkins.
“Yes,” all three of us said at the same time.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
Sophia holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Toronto, where she developed her skills in news reporting, media ethics, and digital journalism. Her expertise lies in identifying key stories, crafting compelling narratives, and ensuring journalistic integrity in every piece she edits.
Known for her precision and dedication to the truth, Sophia thrives in the fast-paced world of news editing. At TheArchivists, she focuses on producing high-quality news content that keeps readers informed while maintaining a balanced and insightful perspective.
With a commitment to delivering impactful journalism, Sophia is passionate about bringing clarity to complex issues and amplifying voices that matter. Her work reflects her belief in the power of news to shape conversations and inspire change.