Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (books for 9th graders TXT) 📗

ten seconds—Do I tell him the truth and go down that rabbit hole with him once again, or do I let him walk away, parting civilly as two people who were mere acquaintances, sharing a mutual love in our daughter? My reply was not in words, but instead with a kiss on the cheek, hoping it would be left open for interpretation if I ever mustered the courage to tell him the truth in the future.

Chapter 29

AFTER HITTING THE snooze button on my alarm clock for the third time, I couldn’t put off starting my day any longer. I had tossed and turned all night long, waking up almost every hour on the hour with a million thoughts racing through my head. Kara helped to ease some of my apprehension when I gazed at my phone to find an early morning text that was sent from her over an hour ago.

Kara: Sorry about last night. I was just so angry. I love you…and Dad too, even though I’m still mad at him.

I smiled and typed my message.

Me: Love you too. Don’t be mad at him for too long. He just worries about you.

She replied back almost instantly.

Kara: Going out to lunch with him later. Be home in a bit to shower.

I was happy that she and Jack were patching things up or at least on their way to doing so. They were both so stubborn when it came to their viewpoints. One of them was going to have to concede on this—something told me it wouldn’t be Kara.

The way Jack and I had left things weighed heavily on my mind as well. I’d never witnessed such vulnerability on his part as I had last night. Maybe he was right. Maybe we could never be friends again. Was I delusional in thinking that was even possible? I snapped out of it, needing to get my day started. I had a classroom of twenty-two rambunctious third graders all hopped up on Christmas excitement, awaiting me in just a few hours, so I really needed to re-shift my priorities.

As I placed my phone back on my nightstand, the letter in the drawer called to me, begging to be read. With shaky hands, I took it out, examining his letters on the front of the envelope, like I had so many times before. I was fully aware that this probably wasn’t the right time, but I couldn’t control my finger from sliding across the seal. I tore it open, prepping myself for the words of a man I didn’t even know, but at the same time, knowing they would have a profound impact on me. I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply before unfolding the letter.

Dear Stephanie,

I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, but if you are, it means Frankie found you. I also hope it means you don’t hate me too much to not care about what I have to say. I wish circumstances were different and I could’ve been there for you from the beginning, like a real father should.

To say I was shocked to have learned about you—to learn you were mine—would be an understatement. I have no one to blame but myself for allowing my family to convince me to think the girl I once loved so much would ever betray me. What I think I really want you to know is, I did love Francesca with all my heart. You were not conceived through a one-night stand, you were conceived in pure love.

I like to think we could’ve withstood the war and distance between us and have been happy together once I returned, but fate had other plans for us. Frankie and I had a young love. The kind that changes over time, morphing into either a greater respect for one another or if it goes the wrong way, a total disdain. I will always have the greatest respect for her for everything she went through in her young life, and the sacrifice she made by giving up someone she loved so much.

I hope you had a happy life. I hope you got to experience the love Frankie and I shared so long ago, at least once in your life. If you lost it like I did, I hope it transformed into a mutual admiration and not a regret. There should never be regrets where love is concerned, only contentment that it once existed. It’s something that can be experienced over and over again, even when we think that love has faded and the person we held so dear is gone—whether it’s in a song, a photograph, or a place that reminds you of that special someone. Hold on to those things and don’t ever let them go. That’s what kept me going for all these years.

You will always be the greatest token of the love I had with Frankie. I know I don’t deserve the title of father, nor would I ever take it from the man who raised you. But as I write this letter, it gives me great satisfaction to know that I helped create such a beautiful, strong woman. Even if I only got to meet you from a distance and a few badly shot photographs. I will take those memories with me as well as the memories of the love I had for Frankie. For the first time in my life I feel at peace, and I have you to thank for that—a child I never met who is now a beautiful woman.

I have been in touch with my attorney, who will be contacting you regarding a trust I have set up for your daughter. That’s the least I could do for never getting the opportunity to know my only child and grandchild. I’m also hoping that you and Frankie have the relationship she yearned for all those years ago when she said goodbye to you. Maybe with your help, she’ll be able to get the justice she so deserves against my brother