Page 31 of Doctor Grump

But now I saw why he had to maintain that facade.

It wouldn’t have done any good to have both of us losing our minds. One of us had to maintain a semblance of calm, and thankfully, it had been him. But now that he had retrieved Kendy, all those emotions were threatening to break the surface.

“Why do you keep doing this to me, huh?” I heard him whisper into her hair as he pulled back slowly to stare at her face. “I know I’m not Father of the Year or anything, but is staying with me so bad?”

The girl shook her head, and her eyes filled with tears. “No. I…I do like you, Dad, but Mom…she’s all alone now, and she probably misses me a lot. And I miss her. I don’t understand why you won’t let me see her.”

The last part was said with characteristic anger that would usually have sparked a definitive, authoritative response from Ian, but this time, he didn’t do the expected. He didn’t bark out, “Because I said so.”

Instead, he turned to me, and I gave him one meaningful look before he turned back to his daughter with a sigh.

“I think it’s time I told you about your mother,” he said to my utmost shock, especially since I didn’t expect him to do it now. Then, turning to me again, he said, “Piper, could you wait here for a few minutes? I need to talk to my daughter alone.”

I immediately closed my gaping mouth and said, “Um…sure,” while looking at the pair of them as they walked away. The guard who had detained Kendy was still standing there, and I turned to find him looking at me after they left.

“Kids, huh?’ he said with a comforting smile.

“Tell me about it,” I nodded, but my mind drifted, wondering about what Ian and Kendy were talking about. Ian had told me that he couldn’t tell Kendy the truth about her mother, and I didn’t think he was going to go back on his word to the woman. Yet, he had to tell Kendy something, or she would simply keep taking off, which was even more dangerous for her. I felt for Ian. It seemed like he was stuck between a rock and an exceptionally hard decision. At this point, I didn’t know which one he would do.

It didn’t take long for them to return.

After only about five minutes, I saw them walking back toward me, both having somber expressions on their faces. Ian had his hand around his daughter’s shoulder, and she leaned into him as they walked. I could tell that her eyes were a little red from crying.

Damn, he must have broken it to her.

“Hey, sweetie,” I said as she approached. To my surprise, she left her father’s embrace and walked right up to me. I reached out and hugged her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded sadly. “I just wanna go home now.”’

I nodded and caught Ian’s eyes as we walked with Kendy to his car. I tried to telepathically ask if he had told her, but he shook his head while getting into his car. It was probably for the best. We could discuss it when we went home.

Dinner was a quiet affair. It was ironic that the first time I was able to get all three of us together for dinner was on such a melancholy occasion. After finishing her meal, Kendy went to bed, but not before coming over and giving me another hug. I held her for a few seconds, after which she walked over and hugged her father too.

“I’m not mad, Dad,” she said to him with a nod. “And I understand.”

Emotion shone in Ian’s eyes as he looked at his daughter. Then he nodded simply, as if not knowing what to say next. Kendy also nodded back awkwardly and went up to bed.

After eating and cleaning up, I expected Ian to go up to work as well, but instead, he headed into the pantry and returned with a bottle of wine.

He gestured it to me in question.

I wasn’t much of a drinker, but neither was I the kind of girl to turn down a nice bottle of wine, so I nodded.

He snagged two glasses from the kitchen counter before heading over to where I was on the couch.

“That looks good,” I commented as he poured us both a glass before leaning back in his seat, taking a sip, and closing his eyes. He released a sigh.

“Today was a day,” he said.

“It was,” I responded. Then, unable to hold back the curiosity anymore, I asked, “What exactly did you tell Kendy? Did you tell her the truth about her mom?”

He stared at his glass consideringly. “Close enough,” he said. “I told her enough for her to know that being around her mother right now would not be the best thing for either of them. I also promised to take her to go see Alanna when she was older.”

“Ah,” I said. “That was a good idea. I sure wish someone had told you to do that before.”

He gave a little snort, then turned around, snagging my gaze with that signature dark look of his. “Thank you.”

I flushed in embarrassment. “I was only joking. You don’t need to say that—”

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