My Daughter’s Prom Date Was the Boy Every Girl Wanted – But When He Brought Her Home, He Said, ‘You Have 5 Minutes to Tell Her the Truth, or I

“For who?” Iris asked.

I could not answer fast enough.

She nodded once, as if that silence told her everything. “Did he try to see me?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth trembled. “And you stopped him?”

“For who?”

“I made it hard for him.”

“Mom.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “Sometimes I stopped him.”

Iris pressed both hands to her chest. “Why would you do that to me?”

“Because every time he missed a visit, I was the one holding you while you cried.”

“That doesn’t answer me.”

“Sometimes I stopped him.”

“When he married Gina, I lost it,” I said. “I imagined you watching him be a family with someone else. Like… Ryan. I thought it would break you.”

Ryan stepped forward. “I didn’t take her father away. He married my mother.”

“I know.”

Iris looked at him, then back at me. “So you let me think I was unwanted.”

“No. I told you every day that you were loved.”