I Picked up My 5-Year-Old from Kindergarten When She Suddenly Said, ‘Daddy, Why Didn’t the New Daddy Pick Me up like He Usually Does?’

She talked the entire drive home. About her teacher, Miss Rodriguez. About the sandbox and how Tommy pushed her, but then said sorry.

Lizzy went on and on about the picture she drew of a giraffe.

I made the appropriate sounds like, “Uh-huh, wow, that’s great!”

But I didn’t hear a word. My brain was stuck on one thought, looping over and over.

Who the hell was the new daddy?

And since when did Sophia start taking Lizzy to her office? She’d never mentioned it. Not once.

When we got home, I made Lizzy dinner.

Her favorite chicken nuggets and mac-and-cheese. Then, I helped her with a puzzle while my mind raced.

That night, I lay in bed next to my wife, staring at the ceiling while she slept.

I wanted to wake her up and demand answers. But something stopped me. Maybe it was the fear of what she’d say.

Maybe it was the need to know for sure before I accused her of anything.

Either way, I didn’t sleep.

By morning, I’d made my decision. I called in sick to work. Told my boss I had a stomach bug.

Then I drove to Lizzy’s school around noon. I parked across the street where I could see the entrance, but far enough back that no one would notice me. Sophia was supposed to pick her up that afternoon at three.

But when the doors opened, and the kids started streaming out, it wasn’t Sophia who walked up to Lizzy.

My knuckles went white on the steering wheel.

“What the…?

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