My 5-Year-Old Wants to Invite ‘Her Real Dad’ to Our Father’s Day Dinner

So, last week, I picked Lily up from preschool. She climbed into the back seat, smelling like finger paint and raisins and said something that made me surprised.

“Daddy, can we invite my real dad to Father’s Day dinner?”

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My foot slipped on the brake! We jolted to a stop.

“Your… real dad?” I asked.

She shook, her curls bouncing.

“Yeah! He comes when you’re at work,” she said.

Struggling to process what she was saying and also suffering from denial, I turned back to look at her and replied, “Maybe you blended something up, sweetie.”

“Uh uh,” she said.

“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.”

So I created 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.”

“A game?”

“Yep. But it has to be a secret, no telling Mommy, okay?” I reminded her.

“Okay! I love games!”

I smiled and leaned in to kiss her head, but inside, I was collapsing.

I got to work while she prepared her equipment that morning. Pancakes for breakfast. A trip to the park. Lily got to pick the centerpiece for dinner at the grocery store, a lopsided sunflower bouquet. By the time we got back home, Jess was gone.

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