I Don't Need a Dad

"Sweetie? Can you come down here for a minute?" "Yea Mom!" I put my notebook down and went downstairs. A dark haired, dark eyed, tan guy stood by the fireplace, on the opposite side as Mom.

"Wow....You....you look just like your Mom." He breathed with a smile. I looked at Mom. "Who is this?" "Kacey...Let's sit down." They sat on the couches, but I stayed standing behind the loveseat. "I'm good." I said, eyeballing the man. She just nodded. "Okay....Kacey, when you were 7, you asked why you didn't have a dad. I told you he wasn't a good person and he wasn't a part of our lives. Do you remember at all?" I shrugged, "Sort of." "Well....I didn't tell you the truth. You father is an amazing person. He's actually a war hero." I connected the dots pretty quick.

I whipped around and looked at the guy. "You're my father?" I said a little harshly. He stood and took a step toward me. "I am, and...I am so sorry we couldn't tell you the truth-" I pushed off of the couch. "My Grandpa's and Uncle's have been my dad's for the past 17 years. You can't come into my life and pretend that everything's going to be happy, dinky, dory." Mom stood, "Kacey-" "What did you think would happen? That I would be over joyed you lied to me and that I actually have a dad now?" I just shook my head and went to the front door. "Kacey where are you going?" Mom asked. "Nicky and I are going fishing." "Kacey!" I turned and glared at her. She just sighed, "I love you Sweet Pea." "......I know." I grabbed my truck keys and left.

******

At the lake, I let Nick do all the talking. After a couple hours though, he caught on that something was wrong. He propped his pole in some rocks and came over to me. He sat next to me. "Kace? Talk to me." "Why is it only 3 days before Christmas and we still don't have any snow, the lake isn't frozen, and the fish are still biting?" He chuckled, "I don't know, babe. Global warming?" I laughed too, but it slowly turned into a frown, then to tears.

"Hey, hey, hey." I dropped my pole and he held me in his arms. "What's going on?" "Why? Why did they lie to me?" "Who Kacey?" I sat up. "Mom...and Dad." "Dad? I thought you didn't know your dad?" "I don't! Or at least I didn't." I told him what happened.

"Did they tell you why they lied?" "No.....I didn't exactly give them the chance." He laid my head down in his lap and ran his fingers through my hair and down my face. "It sounds like you need to talk to them." I sniffled. "I know...But I don't know if I can....not right now." "I know. Whenever you're ready, I'm sure they'll understand." I looked up at him and smiled through my tears. "What would I do without you?" "Crash and burn." We chuckled and he kissed me.

******

The next day was Christmas Eve. I went downstairs to Mom cooking breakfast as usual. "Good morning sunshine." She said. "The world says 'Hello'!" I finished. I got milk and orange juice out and set the table. "So, how was fishing yesterday?" She asked as I sat on the counter next to her. I shrugged, "Okay. Only had a couple bites." "How's Nick?" "He's good. He was wondering if he could come over sometime tomorrow afternoon. Just for a little bit since I went over there last year." "Of course." We sat in silence for a moment. "Um..So your Dad and I are going to Wal-Mart today.....Would you like to go with us? We could make a day of it. You two could get to know each other."

I stared out the window, weighing my options. I really didn't want to, but I know Mom really wants me to. UGH! LIFE! "Um...Yea, sure. Why not. I need to get some new pants and a couple other things." I looked over at her. She had the biggest smile on her face. "Great." She said. She set the pan down and gave me a hug. "I know you're upset. And I understand you need to just be angry for awhile. But I hope you know how much we love you." She said. I could tell she was holding back tears. I hugged her back. "Thanks Mom. And....I'm sorry...that you had to keep something like that. And that you had to be alone for so long." She looked at me. "Oh honey, I was never alone. I had you." I smiled.

******

At Wal-Mart, I was already getting annoyed. I didn't even have a good reason. I just didn't want to be around him. I hadn't even asked what his name was yet. Part of me didn't really want to know. I split off from them and went to look at paint supplies.

I grabbed a couple canvases and some new colors, then slowly made my way back to them. I found them, but they didn't see me. I decided to watch from a distance for a moment. They actually fit really well together. Mom was so happy and comfortable around him. He would tease her, she would laugh. She would tease him, and he would wrap her in his arms and kiss her. I smiled to myself. It was nice to see Mom so happy, finally. I was about 14 when I realized there was a hole in Mom's life. I would find her crying, holding a picture. She never went on dates.

******

Later that night, Mom was in the kitchen cooking dinner, which left Ben (I finally learned his name) and I in the front room, wrapping last minute presents. "So, I noticed you bought some paint stuff. How long have you been doing that?" "A few months. I'm taking a class at school." "You know your Great Uncle on your Mom's side paints." "Yea, I know." "Oh...." "What are you into?" I asked. "Um...Oh! Hunting! Has Grandpa or any of your Uncle's taken you hunting?" "No." "Do you want to?" I shrugged, "Kinda. I don't know if I could do the skinning part though." "Well maybe this spring you and I could go." I looked up at him. "Yea...Maybe." He smiled. "Dinner's ready!" Mom called. Ben stood and held out his hand for me. I looked at it, but eventually took it. He pulled me up and tousled my hair.

I giggled and followed him into the kitchen. My phone went off. He stopped and looked at me. "I'll be in, just a sec." He nodded and went in. I answered it. "Hey Nicky." "Hey darlin', how's it goin'?" I peeked into the kitchen. Mom and....Dad...were smiling and laughing. I nodded, "Good. It's good." "Awesome. I'm glad you're getting along." "Me too...I think you'll like him." I said.