Love at First Lie

John was sitting across the table from his bright-eyed, fidgety, seven-year-old daughter as she was excitedly going on about her day at school. He couldn't believe how fast she was growing up. It seemed just like yesterday that he was changing her diapers or wiping away her tears from a fall. He was helping her with her first grade homework when she all of a sudden got very quiet. John looked over at her carefully as he asked, "Jenny, sweetie, is there something bothering you?" Jenny had tears filling her light-green eyes as she passed her father the paper her teacher had given her earlier that day. John picked up the paper carefully, knowing that this time of the year was hard for her. Jenny's sadness was hard to miss as her red-rimmed eyes had tears starting to flow from them now. He already knew what this paper was going to say even before he grabbed at it. Every year she has to miss this event because they wouldn't let him substitute in for her missing mother. Jenny looked up between sniffles, forming the words carefully. "Daddy, why didn't mommy want me? Why did she leave me when I was a baby?" John wished he had known that answer as his heart broke for his daughter, but even the letter her mother left behind didn't have that answer. He has been trying to decipher it for years. He pulled Jenny into a bear hug as he did every year before he answered. "Sweetie, I don't think it was you that your mom didn't want. I believe she had to go find herself first. Maybe one day we will both have the answers we want and need." John wiped her tears away from her swollen eyes as he handed her a tissue to blow her nose. She knew that she wasn't at fault, but that didn't make it any easier. She just wanted a mother that she could do mother-daughter things with like the other girls at her school. She didn't like being left out. She looked up at her dad with hope in her sorrow-filled eyes as she asked, "Daddy, do you think one day I will have a mommy to bring to a mother-daughter brunch?" John forced a smile as he turned his daughter to face him as he replied gently. "I do believe that one day you will have a mother to take to a mother-daughter brunch. Who knows it might be sooner than we think? Right now, let's finish up your homework so we can get dinner on the table. I do have to go to work tonight. I have to make sure things run smoothly at the restaurant. The new night staff have been having issues with closing, so I have to go show them how to do it. Your Uncle Shane will come watch you while I'm gone. He is bringing along your cousin Sam. She misses playing with you." Jenny brightened up at the mention of her cousin Sam. She missed her too, since she went to live with her mom in the city. Jenny finished up quickly so she could go get some toys and games set up for her and her cousin. John was sitting in his office staring at the letter that was left seven years ago, rereading it for the millionth time, looking for any clue about why Jenny's mother left. It was a simple letter of just two lines that read: John, I'm sorry, but I cannot do this anymore. It's not you, it's me. He really wished he had known what was going through her head when she wrote this. Was she depressed or alone? Did she love him still? Did she love Jenny? Was there something he could have changed? Thoughts and unanswered questions swarmed in his head even years later as he read this note. He was so entranced in his own thoughts that he didn't hear his brother Shane knock on his door, startling him and causing his heart to jump into his throat. After a few short seconds, John yelled from his chair, "Come on in, Shane. The door should be open." Shane walked into the office running his hand through his disheveled dirty-blonde hair as he averted his gaze towards the picture of their parents that hung behind him. Shane finally sat down across from John as he asked, "I heard about the mother-daughter brunch at school from Shelly at the end of the month. How is Jenny holding up?" John looked at his brother, knowing that he really did care about Jenny's feelings since he had helped put the pieces back together after her mom left. He carefully whispered just loud enough for Shane to hear, "She is hurt as she is every year. She really wants to go this year, but you and I both know they won't allow her to. At least not without a mother figure. Sometimes I wish mom was still alive. She would have stepped up." Shane knew this wasn't an easy situation, but he did have an idea that might help them. He beamed from ear to ear as he suggested, "John, I know what I'm going to say is unconventional, but this might be the answer you need. It's up to you if you want to try it though." John sat back in his chair, wondering what possible idea he would have. That might be his answer. His eyes glared into his brother, burning with curiosity, knowing he was up for anything at this point. He pondered for a few minutes, making his brother squirm before he asked, "What hair-brained idea do you have? What could possibly be my solution?' Shane's gracious smile said it all when he looked at his brother dead in the eyes as he answered. "Shelly once paid me to be a father for her son Jerry, when he was younger. Over the years, I have become a mentor for him. We have been very close since. Maybe you can find a nice woman to do just that for Jenny. She would be able to have someone to look up to. Who knows it might become exactly what you both need." John was intrigued by the idea, but he wanted to think about it. He looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, making an excuse to leave. "Let me think about it. Right now, I have a restaurant to run. I had better get going, so I have time to explain the procedure of closing the right way. I don't want to have to be there every night this week." Shane nodded as he walked his brother out to his black Chevy Malibu. John had his window rolled down as he started the car. All Shane said as he put the car in reverse was, "Just think about it. You both deserve to be happy. Especially since it's been seven years." John didn't say another word as he pulled out of the driveway, watching his brother get smaller in the distance. He knew his brother was right as he drove to the restaurant. His idea of hiring a step-in mother was intriguing, but was it really safe? John knew that Jenny and himself deserved happiness. Seven years was way too long of a time to hide from finding that happiness. Even if it was because of being abandoned by the one they loved and trusted.