I tried my best to smile at him, but when he put his hand on my stomach, I felt the tears building.
“Go talk to him, baby.”
I nodded and turned to see my brothers both looking at me.
“It’s okay, Tiny. He’s just probably in shock, and he was really pissed-off at you,” Dewey said with a sweet smile on his face.
I let out a small laugh and started to walk over toward my father. I stopped right behind him. I looked down at my shaking hands and closed my eyes.
“Daddy,” I said as my voice cracked.
He turned around and looked at me. He had tears in eyes, and I sucked in a breath of air.
Am I that much of a disappointment to him?
“I…I’m so sorry if I’m a disappointment to you.” I began to cry.
He looked at me with a shocked expression on his face. “What? Why would you ever think you were a disappointment to me?”
“You just seem…well, you walked away from me, and…”
He reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me to him. “Oh, baby girl, you could never be a disappointment to me. Ever. I’m really upset with you for running away like you did. You about killed me, Jessica. Don’t you ever do that to me again. You’re my girl…my baby girl.”
I slowly nodded my head. “Oh, Daddy, I promise I won’t, and if I could take it all back…”
He pulled back and smiled as he wiped away the tears from my eyes. “I’m gonna be a grandfather, huh?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“When did you find out?”
I took a deep breath as I thought back to that night. The idea of crawling onto Trey’s lap and sleeping somehow made me feel sick to my stomach. I should have been with Scott…not another man.
“Christmas Eve.”
My father looked up and over at Scott. I turned and saw him smiling at something Aaron was saying to him. When I turned back to my father, he seemed conflicted.
“Daddy, are you not happy about the baby?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m very happy. It’s just…I don’t know how to ask you this…”
I looked at him, confused. “Ask me, what?”
He quickly looked at Scott and then back at me. “Is the baby, um…is the baby Scott’s?”
I sucked in a breath of air. Oh my god. Does everyone think I was with another man?
You were with another man.
I quickly shook my head to erase the thoughts running through my head.
“Yes! Of course it is.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that your one postcard made it sound like…well, it sounded like you were with someone.”
I put my hand up to my mouth and started crying. Daddy pulled me to him and kept telling me it was okay.
“Oh god…I almost made the biggest mistake of my life, Dad. I can’t…” I started sobbing again.