“And you, Dad,” I added quietly. “She dropped it on both of us.”
He didn’t look at me, but I saw his grip tighten on the spoon.
A pot of lamb stew on a stove | Source: Midjourney
A pot of lamb stew on a stove | Source: Midjourney
“It doesn’t change anything,” I said, washing my hands. “You’re still my dad. Blood or not.”
“Yeah,” he said, sighing deeply. The word sounded fragile.
I crossed the kitchen and leaned on the counter beside him.
“Dad, I mean it,” I said. “Blood doesn’t change who held me at three in the morning, who taught me to ride a bike… and who sat in the ER when I cracked my chin open on the sidewalk.”
He stirred the stew again, eyes misting.
An upset man standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
An upset man standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“It just feels like losing something, son,” he said. “Even though I know I’m not. But… Dyl, if you want to get to know her… I won’t stop you.”
“I couldn’t care less about that woman,” I said, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t lose anything. If anything… I just realized how much more you gave me.”
“We’re okay? Dyl, really?” he blinked hard, then nodded.
A young man standing in a kitchen wearing a navy sweatshirt | Source: Midjourney
A young man standing in a kitchen wearing a navy sweatshirt | Source: Midjourney
“We’ve always been okay,” I smiled. “We’re iron-tight, Dad. It’s always going to be you and me.”
We sat together at the kitchen table, eating in silence.
It turned out that Jessica wasn’t done.
The next day, she showed up at my office with a lawyer. They didn’t even make an appointment; they just walked right through reception like they owned the place. My team texted me from the front desk before I even looked up from my laptop.
A determined woman standing in an office reception | Source: Midjourney
A determined woman standing in an office reception | Source: Midjourney
“A woman named Jessica and some guy in a suit are here to see you. It’s urgent, apparently.”
I stood, took a breath, and buttoned my jacket. I wasn’t nervous, not anymore. I was tired. And I was done letting her try to rewrite my narrative.
When I entered the conference room, Jessica turned, smiling like she was about to pitch me something.
“I want to speak to Dylan alone,” she said to my assistant.
A lawyer wearing a navy suit | Source: Midjourney
A lawyer wearing a navy suit | Source: Midjourney
I glanced at her lawyer, a man in his fifties with perfect teeth, an expensive navy suit, and the expression of someone who bills $800 an hour to pretend he’s above it all.
“If you get a lawyer, then I get mine,” I said simply, signaling to Maya to come in.
I sat down across from them. Maya took the seat to my left. She didn’t need to say anything. Her presence alone made a statement.
“I’m your mother,” Jessica said, opening her arms like we were about to embrace. “That has to count for something, Dylan.”
A young man standing with folded arms | Source: Midjourney
A young man standing with folded arms | Source: Midjourney
“It doesn’t,” I said. “I’ve been curious about you my entire life, Jessica. I’ve had a thousand questions. I’ve had so many daydreams about you showing up at our front door, eager to meet me. But in one visit, you showed me how nasty you are. You were ready to pull me away from the only parent I know. And for what? To get a claim in my company?”
“Dylan…” she said, looking me in the eye.
I pulled a single sheet of paper from my folder and slid it across the table.
Leave a Comment