Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📕

“What’s Dad’s car doing here?” Was I being paranoid in thinking she just mentioned the word sex a few moments ago and now Jack? Had she put it all together? “Did you have another leak that needed repair?” My face heated over the drollness in her voice.

“Oh…he came to go over some things he thought were related to the case of the mystery man in the ocean. It got really late, and he was too tired to drive, so…”

“Good morning, Dad!” Kara shouted. I sheepishly turned around to find Jack planting a kiss on her head. “What has you here or shall I say…what kept you here all night?” she asked with a hint of a smirk on her face, casting her stare at me, then back to Jack.

“I was helping your mom with a surprise for you.” I vigorously shook my head as Jack tried desperately to figure out what it was he was supposed to have said. Kara quickly turned her head back in my direction, almost catching me trying to give Jack the signal. “What surprise would that be…a new brother or sister?” She whispered the last part of her question, trying desperately to stifle her laughter and failing miserably. Jack turned away to hide his own amusement over the whole situation.

“If you must know, wise guy…” I grabbed her hand and pulled her from the stool, leading her into the living room. “This was the surprise we were working on.” She didn’t need to know that we had actually worked on it a few days ago and not last night.

“Oh my God, a real tree! I love it!”

“We did the lights. The rest is up to you,” I remarked.

“Why don’t we change it up this year, maybe get some new ornaments? We can go when you get home from work. Wait a minute, why are you still in your pajamas? Shouldn’t you be dressed for work by now?”

“Umm…” I looked at Jack. “Why don’t you let me fix you a cup of coffee. I need to fill you in on some details.”

“Okay…you’re not going to tell me one of you is dying, are you?” She looked at me, then at Jack.

“No, Kara!” I shook my head. “Jack, did you want some coffee?” I was hoping he would take that as code for I needed you to stay for support. He nodded and flashed me a reassuring smile that let me know he picked up on it right away.

Kara sat in silence for a few moments after I had filled her in on all of my findings over the past week. It was a rare occasion when she was rendered speechless, and I was somewhat enjoying it. “Why didn’t Nanny and Pop tell you?” she finally spoke.

“I don’t know. I think because they were afraid of how I would take it,” I replied.

“Well, that was kind of wrong of them to lie to you your entire life. Don’t you think?” she asked. “I have friends who are adopted and their parents told them as soon as they were old enough to understand.”

“Kara, it was a different time back then. They thought they were doing what was best for your mom.” Jack intervened.

“So, this woman who you’re meeting today is your…mother?” Kara asked, seeming to be deep in thought.

“She’s the woman who gave birth to me. My mother passed away last year,” I corrected.

“Still, that’s got to be weird for you. Isn’t it?”

“A little, but I’m going to meet her and see what she has to say, and that’s it.” I shrugged.

“Did you want me to come with you?” she asked.

I smiled and reached for her hand. “Thank you so much for that offer, but I think this is something I need to do on my own.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “So, Dad, no more clues on the man in the ocean?” She shifted topics.

“None for right now. You’re going to have to put up with Ian for a little while longer.”

“Who’s Ian?” I asked.

“The guy who Kara likes to torment. Speaking of which, thank you for finally accepting this temporary arrangement and not giving him any more trouble. He said you’ve been behaving.”

Kara choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken. “Did you guys need more coffee?” She stood up abruptly.

“No, I have to get going,” Jack answered.

“I’m good too,” I said as she scurried off to the kitchen.

I walked Jack to the front door and grinned. “This morning brought back memories of when she was a little girl and would wake up and then come crawling in our bed when you were trying to get lucky.” The smile that stretched across his face brought me back to every stage in our life together. It was a mixture of that boyish smile from high school, the beaming one when our eyes finally locked as I walked down the aisle to marry him, and the proud one when he held Kara in his arms for the very first time. One small facial expression held so many memories to me. Memories that only he and I shared.

“Good luck today.” He glanced over my shoulder into the kitchen before planting a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I’ll see you later, Kara!” he shouted.

Kara bolted to the front door and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s do dinner this week…your treat!” She giggled.

“Of course.” He chuckled before heading out the door.

As I watched him walk down the driveway, I didn’t have any regrets over what had happened the night prior. We had gotten through a place in our life that we had been avoiding for far too long, and we did it together. If we…if I could’ve only figured out how to do that years ago, maybe things would’ve been a lot different now.

“Mom.” Kara startled me, causing me to jump. I closed the front door and faced her. “You know, I am twenty-one years old. I can handle hearing that you had s-e-x.”