My mother advised me that Val had something to say to you. I was sobbing as I sat on the stairwell.

He noticed I was pregnant right away. He didn’t yell. He stayed deafeningly silent. He had only recently begun to pace.

I was his only daughter, eighteen, and I understood what he meant: he thought having a kid would wreck my life.

He eventually stopped pacing and urged me to leave or get an abortion. I realized at the time that I would be alone. I began putting money aside from each payday to buy supplies and apparel.

However, I was unsure of what I would do once the baby was delivered. I wasn’t hearing my father speak to me. No one made direct eye contact. Absolutely not. He’d never been particularly good at expressing himself. His mother had died when he was a baby.

Dad ultimately advised me to leave the house or seek an abortion after pacing for a long. At the time, I recognized I’d be on my own. I started saving money from each paycheck to buy materials and clothing.

But I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after the baby was born. I couldn’t understand what my father was saying to me. There was no direct eye contact. Not at all. He’d never been particularly good at expressing himself. When he was a baby, his mother died.

He said nothing at all. My mother merely shook her head as she observed him. But my father visited me every day while I was in the hospital for five days following the birth of my son.

He’d bring meals to us. For hours at a time, he would hold my son. A note was waiting for me on my bed when I returned home. I’ve only ever read it twice. Considering how much that makes me cry. But he expressed regret for his actions. And he assured us that everything would be

My son is now eight years old. And every time Father’s Day comes around at school, he brings home artwork for Papa. They cannot exist apart from one another. There is always music playing.

My son routinely gives him hugs, kisses, and “I love you” messages. Then Papa reacts. He seldom says it to more than one person at a time. He has no other choice except to turn to my son.

Papa is not a naturally affectionate person. But that’s the way my son is. He shares his emotions in such an open and honest manner. His Papa will be forced to accept his affection since he will freely give it.