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Now, You’ve Got A Dad… Maybe

12/14/2025

The phone rang as the major was about to leave his office. He gave it an angry scowl as it had the temerity to ring again. “Hang on. Hang on.” He sat down. “Melrose.”

“Good evening, sir.”

He grinned and leaned into the call. “Matt? Did you get home alright?”

“Yes, sir. That was all good. We’ll be heading over for Mass in a few minutes here.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks for thinking of me.”

“Sir?”

“Matt?”

“I’d really like you to hear my confession before I go.”

“Doesn’t work like that, son.”

“I know it’s not official, but…”

“What happened?”

“That girl I thought I was imagining…”

“She’s real? You found her.”

“And my son, Teddy.”

Melrose held the phone away like a snake set to bite his ear. He gasped. He frowned. “Matt, you said a son?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you named him after me?”

Matt chuckled. “His mom named him, sir. His middle name is my dad’s name.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“How could I not be happy? He’s beautiful, sir.”

“Looks like his mom?”

“He’s like a clone of me, actually.”

Melrose grinned. “Okay, it seems like humility fell out the plane window on the way home.”

“Huh? Oh, ha ha. I guess so, but he’s…”

“Healthy?”

“Yeah.”

“Happy?”

“Seems like.”

“Yours?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Again, I ask. How do you feel about it?”

“It’s a whole buffet of feelings, sir. I’m happy. He’s an angel. I’m confused. I’m a dad. I don’t feel like a dad. I feel like his dad when I hold him, but I don’t feel like a dad, like, in general. You know?”

“Sure, that’s a lot to take on. What happens next?”

“We’re still processing. My folks are kind of freaked out.”

“Understandable.”

“Her dad is… inscrutable.”

“That’s a father-in-law thing. How about her mom? Mothers-in-law are notoriously harsh.”

“Wasn’t there.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, sir, I need to jump in the shower before church. I really needed to…”

“I understand, and I appreciate you keeping me in the loop. Sorry I can’t offer official absolution, but the mystery is solved and you can finally give it to God during the Penitential Act at Mass this morning. If you’re feeling conflicted, go to your parish priest for confession. Remind me of your dad’s name.”

“Gabe. The baby is named Theodore Gabriel Light, and he’s an absolute miracle, sir.”

“Of that, I have no doubt. Nothing that came from you, even accidentally, can be very far from miraculous. You are a man of good character and an outstanding Marine. Give it to God and see what He tells you.”

Gary stood in the side aisle beside Myron. The ciborium still felt weirdly light, but he’d promised to let Myron serve the wine through December.

“You okay?” Myron whispered.

Gary stood silently, waiting for someone to receive.

The line processed. Some to the altar rail, some to him.

“The Body of Christ.”

Abby and Teddy didn’t stop at the altar rail. She was approaching.

“The Body of Christ.”

She took it in her free hand and slipped it into her mouth as she leaned in.

Gary lowered the ciborium so he could lean in and kiss his beautiful grandson on the head and whisper a benediction. It wasn’t official, but if a grandfather can’t bless his own flesh and blood…

Matt returned to his pew. There was an actual kneeler here at Sacred Heart of Laurel Ridge. There was an actual pipe organ and a choir. It felt like a church instead of a borrowed meeting space, but Marines make do.

Harry had already flipped the kneeler down and was engaged in prayer. Matt took to his knees and closed his eyes.

Nothing came immediately to mind but confusion.

The kneeler shifted a little. He knew it was his sister, Bonnie, and her husband taking to their knees for post-Communion prayer.

That made him smile. If anybody could help him untangle this, it would be Bonnie. She was named after St. Boniface because their parents had hoped it would inspire her to become a nun. It didn’t. Based on the bump in her dress, he’d be an uncle before long.

‘But I’m already a dad. How the heck did that happen?’

He peeked to his right.

‘Well, kid, you’ve already got a cousin.’

He looked up at the sculptures in their alcoves, flanking the altar like honor guards. Saints Peter and Paul stood sentry over the ceremony. A processional crucifix rose from a brass stand with stylized lion’s feet while the eponymous Sacred Heart burned on the wall behind the altar in the form of an abstract metal sculpture. It had caused quite a stir when it was installed, but Matt was too young to have experienced the controversy. This artwork was there for his entire life.

‘What am I supposed to do with these feelings, God?’

He felt Bonnie’s hand sliding up and down his sleeve, a reassuring gesture.

‘Yes, it’s going to be alright. Thank you. Family is a blessing, and Teddy is family.’

Sarah was helping a little girl onto Santa’s lap when she spotted Abby. She skipped from Santa’s throne to the stand-mounted camera. She made a funny face to get the girl to smile and snapped a handful of pictures before she could change her mind. As she skipped back to Santa’s throne, she spotted her replacement. She waved as she helped the girl down. “Let’s go take a look at how nicely you sat with Santa. Mom and Dad are going to be so proud.” She took the girl’s hand and led her to the monitor where the photos were displayed. “You guys take a look at these while we do a changing of the guard. This is a Maslov’s Department Store tradition.”

She marched to the middle of the floor to meet Janie. They took hands and spun around before performing a do-si-do. Sarah left Santa’s throne room while Janie went to complete the sale.

“Oh, my word, that is so ridiculously cute.” Abby giggled.

Sarah led her away to an aisle with ornaments. “Well?”

“It went alright. I guess.”

“You guess.”

“We went to H&H for dinner and we, um…”

“The elephant in the room. And?”

“Yeah, thank goodness his brother was there.”

“What does his brother have to do with it?”

“He was able to patch some holes in my memory.”

“Holes in your memory?” She held her freckled hands over her mouth. “Abby, how drunk were you?”

“It was a party at the gun club in Laurel Ridge. I’ve been to a few, but Matt’s shipping-out party was over the top. I had a few drinks, but the environment and his friends and the chaos…”

“So, what did his brother say?”

“He said his friends were getting carried away, so he asked me to take him aside long enough to keep them from getting him into real trouble.”

“But you got carried away?”

“You saw him.”

“Yes, it was like looking at Teddy full grown. There’s no denying Teddy is his.”

“No, that was not even on the table.”

“Well, good. This is awkward enough without him trying to duck responsibility.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem. He seems like responsibility personified, except for that party.”

“Bad, huh?”

Abby chuckled. “Poor guy was absolutely boneless. He was jabbering like a nutcase and looking at me like I was one of your spotlights.”

“If he was that far gone…” Sarah cocked an eyebrow.

“We both surrendered to the moment, I guess. I don’t regret a second of it. Teddy is proof that God can take an accident and turn it into a miracle.”

“So, what’s with the cast?”

“Did you hear about that explosion at the base in Africa?”

“No way. He was in that?”

“He and his boss were in some storage unit and when that bomb went off, it shook the building so hard that the shelves pinned his arm.”

“Is it bad?”

“Broke both the bones in his forearm, so they sent him home for the holidays.”

“And now he’s a dad.”

“That remains to be seen, I guess.”

“But if everyone recognizes that Teddy is his…”

“He’s got a sense of duty, but there’s more to being a dad than simply feeling responsible for a baby you didn’t know you had.”

“Okay, that’s true. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well, you’re Teddy’s mom and he’s Teddy’s responsible person. So…”

“The first thing he said to me is, I know you, and then he said he was thinking about me.”

“That’s kind of weird. If he didn’t remember you, how could he have been thinking about you?”

“He thought I was a figment of his imagination.”

“How flattering.” Sarah grimaced.

“No, like, I was this image stuck in his head… Like he’d seen me in a crowd or something. He didn’t remember me, but he just sort of knew me.”

Sarah made a pouty face. “That’s so sweet in a strange, drunken amnesia kind of way.”

Matt was parked in the easy chair again with a blanket rolled up under his cast to keep his arm elevated. His sister and brother-in-law were sitting on the couch next to his mom.

“How come you always have to win? Why?!?” Bonnie growled.

Matt winced. “What?”

She patted her midsection. “I thought I was delivering the first grandchild while you two dopes are trying to figure your lives out.”

Ned chuckled. “That’s not nice. He didn’t even know about this baby until yesterday, so technically you have dibs on the first.”

She turned to him. The lightning in her eyes told him he’d overstepped. “Technically, I’m not due until after Valentine’s Day and Matty’s SON is sitting in a highchair eating baby snacks.”

Mom shook her head. “Can we not argue about who’s first with the grandchildren? I’m just glad everyone is healthy. Bonnie, you should have seen him. He looks exactly like Matt.”

“Yeah, well, he ought to get a cheek swab anyway. And that name? She just happened to pick Dad’s name?”

“And my boss’ name, too. There’s no way she could have known.”

“Well, she’s going to come after you for child support. Kiss your paycheck goodbye, sunshine.” Bonnie snarled.

“Is this the hormones talking or do you need a candy bar?” Matt settled back.

Bonnie stood up, ramrod straight, and howled her way into the kitchen.

“Very nice, Matt.” Ned shook his head and got up to follow her.

Mom put her book down and got up. “You should be nicer to your sister. She’s expecting. Pregnant women have very strong feelings.”

“Seems like.”

“You should think about what she said. Is this girl going to take you to court?”

“I’d rather not give her a reason to.”

Mom stopped in her tracks.

“I need to get to know her. I can’t commit to marrying her for Teddy’s sake until I know what kind of person she really is. You know? That part was supposed to happen before Teddy, but it is what it is.”

“So philosophical. So calm.” She clenched her fists and shook her head. “Okay, yes. That’s true. Gary seemed nice enough.”

“He’s a mailman. He knows how to pretend. I think he was in shock the whole time.”

“You’re not wrong.” She cast a worried look at the kitchen. “You think about what you’re going to do. I need to help calm your sister down.”

Teddy was sitting in his highchair, playing with spaghetti as if it was play clay and running his sauce-coated fingers through his hair.

“Shampooing with spaghetti sauce? Not my go-to, but you’re a free spirit. I respect that.”

Teddy slapped the table and squealed.

“Well, your mom was right.” He speared a meatball and studied it. “I let go. I let God. Now, you’ve got a dad… maybe.”

Teddy made bubbles with his mouth before stuffing it with noodles.

“He can’t deny you. That’s for sure. Your Uncle Harry is exactly right. You’re like a mini-me of him, eyes and all. A regular chip off the old block. I guess we’ll see what that winds up meaning. Huh?”

“Gla-gla-brbrbrbr”

“You can say that again. Uncle Harry? He seemed alright. Your dad seemed like he was in shock the whole time. Who could blame him? Guy got blown up, sent home and wham. You.”

Teddy chewed a piece of zwieback toast. The crumbs clung to his sauce-caked cheeks. Gary laughed and wiped the baby’s face with a damp towel.

“Is he going to give you a bath when you get all grimy like this? Will he put in the work to really be your dad? Will he change diapers?”

Teddy answered with an alarming squirt sound from his lower regions.

“Okay, in fairness, that’s going to take some getting used to for him.” Gary got up and lifted Teddy from his seat. “Let’s get you cleaned up, sport.”

The baby smiled as his grandpa took him to the changing table.

“You know what, though?” He unsnapped the bottom of Teddy’s overalls and of the onesie he was wearing. “With that broken arm of his, he’s not going to be changing anything for a while.” He tucked the clothing up under Teddy’s back to get it out of the area of effect. “He has no idea what he’s missing.” Gary pulled back the tabs to open the diaper and grimaced at the mess. “No idea at all…”