Daddy Issues

89 - How?

'Dan?' I say again, not sure if I can believe my own eyes right now. How the hell is he here? How did he find me?

It can't be true. But his hands feel pretty damn real when he grabs my arms.

'Emma,' he says urgently. 'Are you okay?'

'Pfff,' I start. Because I don't even know how to begin answering that question. I don't understand what the hell is happening. And before I can even begin to figure it out, my eyes glide past Dan to the door of the diner I just ran out of. My father rushes over to us in angry strides.

'Hey!' he calls out before he's even reached us. 'Hey, you get your hands off of my daughter!'

Dan blinks when he hears that word. Daughter. A dark glaze crosses his eyes when he realizes who's coming over to us.

'Shit,' he says to me. 'Is this him?'

At least I know how to answer that question. So I nod.

'I said get your fucking hands off her,' Dad says again. He's reached us now, and he gives Dan a shove that almost makes him lose balance.

'Stop it!' I say quickly, snapping out of my stupor. 'Dad, this is Dan. This is my boyfriend.'

'Your boyfriend?'

Now he's the one to look from Dan to me and back again. Then he scoffs and gives Dan a disdainful look.

'How old are you?'

The look that Dan gives him in return isn't much nicer.

'You want to play the protective dad now, Richard?'

'Excuse me?' Dad says, puffing up his chest a little. That can't be a good sign.

'I don't think I have to answer to you after you left her alone for the last 12 years.'

His voice sounds full of vitrol. I've never heard him like this before.

'Dan, stop it,' I plead with him. I know he's angry. He's thought my father was a jackass ever since he first heard that he walked out on us. He's right, of course, but the last thing I want right now is a big fight in the parking lot.

Fortunately, Dan softens up when he looks at me. He steps away from my father, closer to me and hovers beside me so we can face my dad together.

As Dad looks from me to Dan, there's clearly a lot of thoughts going through his mind. He's not happy about Dan's age, that's for sure. And for a moment, that makes me feel kind of ashamed. But honestly, what gives him the right to judge? Dan's right. He gave that up 12 years ago.

Fortunately, he decided to just ignore Dan and focuses on me instead.

'Emma,' he says, holding up his hand, almost like he's pleading with me. 'Just come back inside so we can talk, please. I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But I want to be there for you.'

'How?'

'How? What do you mean?' he asks, blinking at me.

'How do you want to be there for me?' I ask, my voice still raw from crying. 'Are you offering me a home?Are you going to introduce me to your new family?'

'I mean,' he says, backing up just a little. 'I want to talk to them first. But yes, of course. I'll introduce you to them.'

'You got a new family that you didn't even tell about Emma?' Dan asks, the anger in his voice flaring up again. 'What, you just pretended she didn't exist or something?'

'You back out of this,' my dad says, taking on a defensive pose when he faces Dan. 'I don't know who the fuck you are, but this is between me and my daughter.'