Rugged Daddy

“Andrew—can I call you Andrew?”

“Mr. Thompson’s fine,” I said.

“But ‘Andrew’ suits you so well. A strong name,” Mrs. Holmberg said with a smile.

I bit down onto the inside of my cheek, keeping my eyes hooked on my daughter. I didn’t want to give this woman anymore of my time if I didn’t need to. I’d already made the decision that my daughter was coming with me once this asinine, pointless meeting was finished. I didn’t need to waste anymore of my time allowing this woman to embarrass herself trying to flirt with me. She needed to take a hint.

“Look, if you don’t put her in a social atmosphere, you’ll never know if her introversion is her choice or forced on her by you.”

“Excuse me?” I asked.

I turned my gaze toward the woman, and she shrugged. It took all I could not to give her a piece of my fucking mind, but I knew I couldn’t. If I started in on the story, I’d never be able to stop. And if I didn’t stop, it would blow our identities. It would put us in more danger, and that wasn’t happening because some woman was trying to piss me off and simultaneously get me to ask her out.

“Someone has to say it, Mr. Thompson. The teachers here are worried about your daughter,” she said. “There are days where she shows great promise, and then she has days like this, usually after the long weekend at home. It’s like she’s wanting to blossom, and then she goes home and closes back up again.”

Well, we don’t have much fucking choice.

“I’m not trying to upset you, but I am trying to provide for you a different point of view on this. She very well could be introverted like you, or she could be stifled by the life you live. One is completely fine, but the other is incredibly detrimental to her health and development.”

“I’ll take it into consideration,” I said through my teeth. “Rebecca, come here princess!”

My daughter whipped her head up and smiled when she saw me. She dropped her stick and came running for me, her arms out and her wisps of hair blowing behind her. I smiled and took her into my arms, gazing into the deep blue-colored eyes she’d gotten from me.

I was lucky she didn’t look much like her mother. That was a time in her life she didn’t remember, and the less she looked like her, the fewer questions I hoped she would ask as she got older.

Her mother left when she was little more than a baby and had never looked back. All Audrey knew was me, and if I had my way, it was all she would ever know. Her mother wasn’t worth the effort it took to come up with a lie to tell my daughter.

“Ready to go?”

“I missed you, Daddy.” She wrapped her arms around my neck.

I glared at the principal as she shook her head.

I held my daughter in my arms and walked her out to my car, but I could feel her mood immediately changing. That happy little smile that warmed my heart faded into a frown as she burrowed deeper into my neck. I wasn’t sure what had happened or what caused the change, but I knew what would cheer her up.

“Want to go out for an early dinner?” I asked.

She nodded but still didn’t smile.

I buckled her into her car seat and climbed behind the wheel.

“How was school?” I asked.

“Okay,” Audrey said.

“Did you do anything fun?”

“I found a caterpillar.”

“Did you play with it?”

“Yeah.”

“Did it do anything funny?”

“No. Just cu

rled up.”