My 5-year-old wants to invite “her real dad” to Father’s Day dinner.

At 6:07 PM, someone knocked.

I took a deep breath, opened the door, and nearly dropped the serving tray!

Adamo.

He’d been my best friend since college. He was my best man, my fishing buddy, and my daughter’s “Uncle Adam.”

“Hey… bro. Wow, I didn’t know you were coming back. What a… what a surprise!”

“Danny?!” she said. “What are you…?”

I pushed open the door with a smile.

“Come in, buddy! My best friend! We were about to eat.”

He had an exhausted expression. Jess looked like she was about to collapse. I stepped aside, pointing at the table like a game show host.

“Dinner’s hot. I don’t want it to get cold.”

They followed me inside.

“I told him it would be fun!” she muttered, scooping the potatoes onto her plate like it was Christmas.

Adam sat stiffly, visibly sweating. Jess avoided my gaze as he sat down.

“So,” I began, sitting down across from him. “It’s been a while. Have you been busy?”

“Yes,” he said. “The work was crazy.”

“Sure. It’s not too crowded to come visit us, huh?”

“What does that mean?” Adam asked.

“Oh, nothing. I just heard you were out and about. You brought some chocolates. You had dinner together. You made some friends.”

Jess dove in too quickly.

“He’s only been here once or twice. Lily loves having visitors. You know how she is.”

“Just once or twice?” I asked.

“Maybe… three times,” he shouted. “It wasn’t much.”

“Right, right. Nothing special. Just a guy stopping by to visit his daughter.”

The air stiffened. Jess’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. Adam put down the wine with a shaking hand.

“W-what are you talking about?” Jess muttered.

I turned to Lily.

“Hey, honey, who’s Adam?”

He said.