Once upon a time there was a woman who had a baby boy. The other half of the boy’s DNA was never in his life. Never paid a dime and never laid an eye on his creation. This was fine and even good for the woman. No need for complications or a dead-beat.
However when the boy was old enough to know what “Dad” was, he would ask from the backseat of the car, “Do I have a dad?”
In the front seat, hidden from the boy’s view, the woman would flinch. Promising always to tell the boy the truth, she’d say, “You do but we don’t know where he lives. And you know, you don’t need a dad. You have Grandma and Grandpa and a Mommy who loves you as much as two parents could love a boy. We don’t need a dad.”
The answer would always appease the boy in the same manner as if you were born without an arm. You would never know what it was like to have an arm… and therefore never miss it.
As the years went on the woman’s boyfriends came and went with no one being “Dad” material. She knew it from the rough way they would act around the boy or the fake smile they would put on for him. But mostly it was the boy himself that would tell her in his own quiet way.
Along with the years came bullies who asked the boy, “Why don’t you have a dad?” or “Where is your dad?” These questions always socked the woman in the stomach more than they bothered the boy because again… he never had an arm to begin with.
Then came that one unseasonably cool summer night where the woman met a man. A man with a genuine smile, an infectious laugh and a good soul. It wasn’t just the best first date ever, it was the beginning of something wonderful.
Despite hesitation from others, the woman introduced the boy to the man within a matter of days. She knew the boy was the best barometer of character. And instantly the woman knew this was different. They played ball. The man was patient with the overthrows and complimentary of the boys skill without being saccharine.
Time went on and the man and woman became closer. Time went on and the man and boy became closer.
After just six months the man asked the woman to marry him. He made sure to propose during a time that the boy was around. Because in truth the man was hoping that both of them would say “YES!”
Soon after the engagement, the boy said words he had never uttered in his ten years of life. The boy, of his own volition without want or coaxing from anyone said to the man, “Hi Dad.”
The man smiled his warm smile, paused and simply replied, “Hi Son.”
On this first official Father’s Day the man will watch baseball and play catch with his son. And the boy will grab on to his dad and ask him to play.
And all the while, the woman, the wife, the mother will smile a smile that is of pure light from her very happy heart.
There is no “The End” to this story. There is just “The Beginning”.
