I couldn’t speak when my stepdaughter asked me to a restaurant and it was time to pay the bill.
I hadn’t heard from my stepdaughter, Hyacinth, in what felt like forever, so when she invited me to dinner, I thought maybe this would be the day we made amends. But I couldn’t even begin to imagine the surprise she had in store for me at that dinner.
My name is Rufus, I am fifty years old, and I have accumulated a great deal of life experience. My life has been pretty steady, maybe too steady. I work in a quiet office, live in a modest house, and spend most of my evenings reading a book or watching the news on TV.
It’s nothing really exciting, but I’ve always been okay with it. The one thing I’ve never completely understood is the attachment I have with my stepdaughter, Hyacinth.
It had been at least a year since I last heard from her. We have never really clicked since I married her mother, Lilith, when she was still a teenager.
She always kept her distance, and I guess I eventually stopped trying to do the same. But I was surprised when she called me out of the blue and appeared oddly joyful.
“Hey, Rufus,” she said in an almost overly jovial voice, “how about we have dinner? I’d want to check out this new eatery.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to say. Hyacinth hadn’t spoken to him in a very long time. Did she make amends in this way? Are you trying to build some kind of bridge between us? If she was, I was all for it. For years, I had desired that. I wanted us to have a sense of family.
“Sure,” I replied, hoping for a fresh start. “Just let me know when and where.”
The restaurant was far more expensive than I was used to. Dim lighting, dark wood tables, and waiters in spotless white uniforms. Hyacinth was already there when I arrived, but it looked… odd. She smiled at me, but her eyes did not meet mine.
“Hey, Rufus!” “You made it!” When she greeted me, there was an odd feeling about her. It was as if she was trying too hard to look comfortable. I sat down opposite her and tried to read the room.
“How are you doing now?” I wanted to have a meaningful conversation, so I asked.
“Very good,” she muttered quickly as she perused the menu. “You? Are you having a good time? Her voice was kind yet distant.
“Same old, same old,” I replied, but she was ignoring me. Before I could ask her any more questions, she waved to the waiter.
She gave me a quick smile and said, “We’ll have the lobster.” “And perhaps the steak too.” What do you think?
I blinked, a bit surprised. I hadn’t even looked at the menu when she started placing the most costly orders. I brushed it off. “Anything you want, of course.”
But the whole situation seemed strange. She seemed uneasy, as evidenced by the way she shuffled in her chair, glanced at her phone from time to time, and gave me these little comments.
As the meal went on, I tried to steer the topic into something deeper and more important. “It has been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve missed catching up with you.
“Yeah,” she muttered, barely raising her gaze from her lobster. “You know, I’ve been busy.”
“Enough work to keep you away for a year?” I asked, half-joking, but it was harder to hide the sorrow in my voice.
She gave me a quick glance before returning her attention to her meal. “You know how things are. Work, life, etc.
The way her eyes were always shifting gave the impression that she was waiting for something or someone. She wasn’t answering my questions about her friends, job, and other topics, so I kept trying to keep the discussion going. Short answers, no eye contact.
The longer we sat there, the more I felt like I was intruding on something I shouldn’t have been.
Then came the bill. I reached for it instinctively and pulled out my card, ready to make the desired payment. But just as I was about to give it to the waiter, Hyacinth approached him and mumbled something. I couldn’t get it on camera.
Before I could ask, she smiled briefly and stood up. She said, “I’ll be right back.” “I just have to go to the bathroom.”
I watched her go, feeling ill to my stomach. Something was wrong. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the number on the bill the server gave me. It was far more ridiculous than I had thought.
I glanced toward the restroom, half expecting Hyacinth to return, but she didn’t.
The minutes went by. The waiter stayed and looked at me with a hopeful look. I gave him my card with a sigh, swallowing my displeasure. What had happened? Did she really just… bail?
As I made the payment, a knot started to grow in my chest. As I headed toward the door, I experienced a surge of frustration and hopelessness. I just wanted a chance to reconnect and have a chat we haven’t had before. I received the impression that I had just been cheated out of a free supper.
But just as I was ready to go, I heard a sound behind me as I approached the door.
I turned around slowly, not knowing what I would find. My stomach was still in knots, but when I saw Hyacinth standing there, my breath stopped in my throat.
She was carrying this enormous cake in one hand and a bunch of balloons in the other, bobbing gently above her head, and she was grinning like a kid who had pulled the greatest practical joke. I blinked, trying to understand what was happening.
Before I could reply, she beamingly shouted, “You’re going to be a granddad…”
For a moment, I just stood there in disbelief, my mind racing to take in what she had said. “A grandfather?” I repeated because I thought I could have missed something crucial.
My voice cracked a little. It was the last thing I expected to hear, and I wasn’t sure whether I had heard her correctly.
As she smiled, her eyes gleamed with the same nervous energy she’d had at dinner. Only now has everything become evident. Indeed! “I wanted to surprise you,” she said as she moved closer and held out the cake like a trophy. A white cake with pink and blue icing had the words “Congrats, Grandpa!” printed across the top in big letters.
I blinked again, still trying to make sense of everything. “Wait, did you plan this?”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, making the balloons swing, and nodded. “I was working with the waiter the whole time! I wanted it to be different. I swear I wasn’t abandoning you, which is why I kept disappearing. Something that will last a lifetime is what I wanted to surprise you with.
It wasn’t disappointment or anger that made my chest tight. There was something else, something warm.
Looking down at the cake and Hyacinth’s face, everything started to make sense. “You took care of everything for me?” I asked in a hushed voice, still a touch dreamy.
“Of course, Rufus,” she replied, her voice growing softer. “I know we’ve had our arguments, but I still wanted you to be engaged. You’ll grow up to be a grandfather.
She paused, chewing her lip, as if unsure of my reaction. “I suppose I wanted to express my feelings to you in a way that would demonstrate my concern.”
Her comments really resonated with me. Hyacinth had never been the one to open up, but here she was, trying to bridge the gap that had long existed between us. My throat tightened as I tried to find the right words. “I—I am at a loss for words.”
As our eyes locked, she said, “You don’t have to say anything.” “I wanted to express my desire for you to be a part of our lives. My life. as well as the infant’s life.
Hyacinth gave a feeble breath, so I knew this wasn’t easy for her. “I know we’ve had a rough time, Rufus. I was a challenging kid. But I’ve grown up. I also want you to become a part of this family.
For a minute, I just stared at her, experiencing emotions I hadn’t let myself experience in years. The tension and separation between us seemed to dissolve in that moment.
I didn’t care about the uncomfortable dinner or the earlier silence. She was standing in front of me, and all that mattered to me was that she was giving me this wonderful present. “Hyacinth… I can’t think of anything to say. This was not what I expected.
“I didn’t expect to be pregnant either,” she replied, laughing. For the first time in years, it wasn’t forced. It was real. “But here we are.”
I couldn’t help myself. When something inside of me broke way, I moved forward and embraced her.
She tensed for a moment, then melted into it, probably as surprised as I was. We stood there holding hands, cake crammed between us, balloons bouncing above us, and I felt like I had my child back for the first time in a long time.
I said, “I’m so happy for you,” into her hair with a passionate tone. “This means so much to me, you have no idea.”
Her smile persisted even when she pulled back a bit and dabbed at her tears. I also think it’s quite significant. I’m sorry for being distant. I didn’t know how I was going to get back after everything. But I’m here now.
Unconfident enough to speak, I nodded. My chest felt like it was going to burst, and all I could do was squeeze her hand, hoping she understood how crucial this moment was.
She smiled as she glanced down at the cake that was between us. “I think we’d better leave before they throw us out,” she replied in a more lighthearted manner. “I think this is the most bizarre grandpa announcement they’ve ever made.”
I wiped the corners of my eyes with the back of my palm while laughing. “Probably,”
As we grabbed the cake and balloons and exited the restaurant, something inside of me changed.
The years we spent apart and the feeling that I didn’t belong in her life seemed to have disappeared. I was more than Rufus. Her child was going to be grandfathered by me.
As we stepped out into the cool night air, I looked at Hyacinth and felt lighter than I had in a long time. “When is the big day, then?” I asked, letting the excitement finally set in.
She smiled and held the balloons close to her chest. “Six months.” You’ve got plenty of time to prepare, Grandpa.
Abruptly, the wall between us collapsed. We weren’t perfect, but we were family, and that was better.
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