Father’s Day was supposed to be about celebrating me. Instead, it broke me. While driving my 5-year-old daughter, Lily, home from preschool, she asked, “Daddy, can we invite my real dad to dinner?” I nearly drove off the road.
She went on—he visits when I’m at work, brings her chocolates, plays tea party, and Mommy cooks for him. I was shattered, but I didn’t react. I told her to invite him—secretly—as part of a “game.” Then I made a plan.
That Sunday, I cooked dinner, poured wine, and waited. At 6:07 p.m., there was a knock. It was Adam—my best friend. My best man. Lily’s “Uncle.” Behind him? My wife, Jessica.Lily, beaming, said, “I told you! He’s my real daddy.” Silence. Then confessions.
They’d planned to tell me “eventually.” I told them to get out—ten minutes. The next day, I filed for divorce.It hurt. But Lily is still mine. Biologically or not, I’m her dad. I always will be. Last night, she whispered, “Are you still my real daddy?” I held her tight and said, “I always have been.”