It had been ages since I’d called him Dad. Well, I guess I’ve called him Dad on rare occasions, such as when I’ve been sick, hurt, or scared. However, as a rule, I didn’t use the D word.

Sadly, our conversation ended right then because Grandmother came into the room. Without saying a word to each other, John rose from the table and picked up his coffee, so that he could finish it elsewhere.

Before leaving the room he leaned down and said, “No, I wasn’t in your room, but I believe I saw Micah coming out of it around three this morning.”

With that, he reached back, pulled on my hair to get me to tilt my head back and then kissed my forehead before saying, “Have a good day at school and I’ll see you tonight.”