Daddy's Visit

Kat was gone.She and I had rapidly put together a plan to hide the truth of her pregnancy from the world. She'd go back to G____ University, where she had deferred her admission two years prior, and resume her studies until she began to show. It wasn't a perfect plan. It would be assumed that the baby was conceived at school and would likely arrive a month early. The doctors wouldn't be fooled. They would require a different cover story.It was a tearful decision for both of us. I had to send her away.The preparations were as difficult. The University was loathing to add another student to their class so late in the summer. We had to act quickly to secure her readmission into the residency assistance program. In the end, we spent the last weeks of our summer together scrambling over packed bags, University registrations, and my wife's concern for the finances.We found very little intimate time together.If the months of preparation for Katherine's leaving were hard, her being away was even harder. The house became a cold shell, my wife its only inhabitant. I was only a ghost kaçak iddaa drifting from room to room.I could no longer track Kat's days. I no longer knew when she was in her room, when she was showering, when she was out riding. I could no longer hope to find her alone, give her a familiar kiss and go about my day. It was as though a part of me had gone missing.My wife thought she understood. Agatha called me an empty nester. She thought that, for me, the loss of my daughter to college, to growing up, was like losing the last remnant of her mother. She wasn't wrong. But she wasn't entirely right either.When Katherine called, she made excuses--to ask for money, to ask for one book or another from her shelf to be sent up to her. But we spoke for long hours on the telephone about everything. It still wasn't enough.One day, not a month into the semester, I announced that Katherine had called."She wants me to bring up her saddle," I lied to Agatha."Why don't you just ship it?" she said, idly over her newspaper."It would be expensive," I said. "And, anyway, I'd like to see her."I kaçak bahis flinched, but Agatha said nothing. It was too close to the truth, but no less than a father--an ordinary father--might say."Fine," she said. "When are you leaving?" I arrived at Katherine's dorm in the late afternoon, when I was sure she would be out of her classes. I'd brought the saddle, but left it behind in the trunk of the car. I hadn't even told her I was coming.It was a concrete building built in the seventies. Cold, like a prison. Lights dangled on strings in the windows and music thumped dully, even this early on a Friday. I felt a pang of jealousy, remembering my college years with Katherine's mother and wondering what Kat herself might be getting up to. But when I dialed her number on my phone, she answered immediately."Hey, baby," I said. "Look outside."I saw the curtain part on an upstairs window and Katherine's grinning face."Come down," I said. "I'm taking you to dinner."She came out wearing tight jeans and a sweatshirt, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She threw her arms around illegal bahis me on sight and I lifted her up, wanting so badly to kiss her. But I knew I had to resist."I'm so glad you're here," she said. And she kissed me on the cheek.I drew back and planted a quick kiss on her lips. She looked back over her shoulder."It's okay," I said, releasing her. "I missed you."When we made it to the car, I allowed myself a second kiss, longer this time. "I love you, daddy," she said.Sitting in the car next to me, she looked like a tiny angel, tucked into her manger. She rested her chin on her fist and looked at me looking at her. She touched a hand to her belly. We were smiling at one another as though in a daze. I leaned over and kissed her again.I'd made reservations at a nice place two towns over, far enough away from the college where she or I wouldn't be recognized, farther, still, from my wife.In the parking lot, I took her hand. In the lobby, she rested her arm in the crook of my elbow. I felt as though I was ten years younger. I could feel her nervousness beside me, but the hostess nodded at our names and led us to a table near the kitchen. The restaurant was busy. Ours was nearly the last vacant table. I could see Kat looking over the other patrons, scanning for familiar faces.