"Tom, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how painful for you this has to be." Helplessly, Veronica hugged her boyfriend Tom Hartman. She knew how surprised Tom had been to find out that he had a teenage daughter after so many years. Finding out that Tiffany wasn't his daughter after all seemed to be even more shocking.
"I can't believe it," Tom said. "I truly believed Tiffany was my daughter. This whole thing is making me crazy--I was angry for so long with Lynette for not telling me I was a dad and now I realize that she wasn't holding anything back from me--I'm not a dad."
Veronica was silent for a moment. She didn't want to say anything nasty about Tom's late ex-wife but the woman sounded like she had the morals of a yellow dog. How Lynette could cheat on someone as good as Tom was beyond the scope of Veronica's imagination in the first place. "I'm sure that Tiffany will still want to have a relationship with you," she finally said. "I don't know too much about Vlad and he seems to be an OK person but you're the one she's been identifying with for the past year. I really do think she thinks of you as her dad."
"Maybe she did until Vlad showed up at the diner," Tom said bitterly. "Tiffany will most likely shift allegiance fairly quickly."
"Tom, she loves you. She's a mixed-up teenager but I know she loves you. You've probably given her more stability and parental love than she's gotten in her entire life together."
Tom sighed. "You're right. I know she's mixed up or she wouldn't be thinking about marrying that lunatic boyfriend. That whole thing stinks--what is the rush to get married at her age? Rex is pushing her into it and I'd like to know why."
"I'd like to know how she's gotten so skinny so fast. You don't think she has an eating disorder, do you?"
"The thought crossed my mind but I can't figure out what kind of eating disorder it is. She puts away enough calories to keep an entire football team energized. Do you think she could be bulimic?"
"Have you caught her rushing to the bathroom after eating?"
"Never. She eats dinner, has a big dessert and then usually lies on the couch and watches t.v."
"It is strange," Veronica agreed.
"And there's nothing I can do about it," Tom said sadly. "She's not my daughter."
"No, but she can be your friend. Listen, Tom, why don't you throw a wedding dinner for Rex and Tiffany? Make it a family affair."
"Even though I'm not family?"
"Tiffany is always going to think of you as family. Maybe if you see Rex and Tiffany together or if you can get Rex alone you can find out what's going on between them. Find out why Rex is so determined to marry Tiffany when she isn't even eighteen-years-old. It can't hurt."
"I'll invite them over for tomorrow night," Tom said. "You're right; it can't hurt. I'll have Vlad too so I guess I'll have to invite Mavis along. And Brad and Tyler and I suppose Tyler's girlfriend."
"And me," Veronica added.
Tom met her eyes and smiled. "Of course you. I don't know how I'd get through an evening like that without you next to me."
No comments:
Post a Comment