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“Honey, I told you that’s not true.”
Tears fill her eyes. “I don’t know why I don’t have a daddy … but Mommy said I’ll get another one.”
I freeze, and swear to God, tears prick at my eyes.
Jessa fucked this up before giving me a chance.
My gaze flicks upward to give Jessa a glare.
She turns away, her attention returning to Molly, as she wipes loose strands falling from her braids away from her face.
I stand.
“Honey, why don’t you finish coloring your picture, and Mommy will be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” Molly says in a soft-spoken voice.
I follow Jessa into the kitchen. I keep my voice low, but there’s no hiding the anger in it. “You’re confusing the shit out of her! A different daddy? Where’s she expecting to get one? From goddamn Santa Claus?”
She holds her hand up toward me. “Chill out. What was I supposed to do? She wouldn’t stop begging to call Pete, and he doesn’t want to talk to either of us. I needed to find a way to explain his absence. Otherwise, she thought I was keeping her away from him.”
“There were better ways.”
“You know of a better plan, Mr. Sudden Parent?”
“Don’t do that.” I scrub a hand over my face. “You’re right. I don’t know.”
“You should thank me. I made it easier for you. Now, she knows Pete isn’t her dad, and you won’t have to explain that to her.” She smiles as if her plan is gold and won’t further fuck up our daughter’s head.
“Where do we go from here then? Since you have it figured out?”
“I made dinner. Let’s eat, conversate, help her get comfortable with you, and go from there.”
* * *
Jessa madeover-boiled spaghetti and burned garlic bread.
I hardly touched my food while listening to Molly, my daughter—fuck,it’s weird saying that. Sauce is on her face as she rambles about enjoying dance and how she wants to be a cheerleader and then an astronaut when she grows up.
I nod, captivated by her every word, not wanting to miss one.
“What do you think?” Jessa asks, pouring herself another glass of wine after we clean up after dinner.
I’ve turned down a glass of wine or whiskey five times. Molly has gone back to her coloring in the living room.
“I think she’s ready,” she adds, shocking me.
“You do?”
She nods.
I trail behind Jessa into the living room. She asks Molly to sit on the couch and takes the seat next to her.
“Sweetie, do you remember when I said you have a different daddy?” I’ve never heard Jessa speak so soft.
Damn, she went straight for it.
Molly blinks at her in disbelief and rubs her eyes. “Yes …” She drops her hands and rests them in her lap. “But … I don’t know why Daddy can’t be my daddy anymore. I liked him being my daddy. I love him!” Her cheeks turn red as tears fall down them.
