A Real Daddy

He was like no man I had ever known - a big, shy, gentle man, who adored

children. He was a U.S. Navy Electrician, with powerful hands, yet to see

him brush the dirt off a child's scraped knee left me breathless at his

tenderness. He was younger than I, that was certain, but I noticed that

his eyes had a look about them, as though he had seen much sorrow. So

had I.

I was on the run, from an abusive marriage, taken in by mutual friends. I

was devout, even prudish, but with a "wicked" sense of humor that could

crack him up and make him blush to the roots of his hair. I found that

irresistible.

I was pretty sure that I was in trouble, when my nine year old daughter,

Jenny, cornered me and asked if I would "marry again." That filled me

with panic.

"Oh my, Jenny! I'd like to not think about that for about a hundred

years!"

"O.K., Mommy." Jenny replied, giving me a level look. "...But, if you

ever do, I want you to marry someone like, Louie." I was stunned. Only

nine years old, and already planning her future.

"You know," she continued. "He'd make a great Daddy!"

I could feel myself repelling down the side of a cliff, without a safety

net, but I was charmed by her candor...and even then, I could feel God

beckoning me toward this wonderful man. Of course, Jenny gave Louie "the

speech." What she expected out of a father. What she would consider as

appropriate behavior. Suddenly, my nine year old was a therapist and

matchmaker, right in the middle of the living room. I expected that Louie

would "run for the hills!" But he stayed on.

He was from Tennessee, and very country. I found him likeable, sensitive,

and charming. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. It was not in him to

take advantage of a woman. He was my friend, with perfect courtesy, and

he was attractively awkward. Altogether lovely to a woman like me.

From a distance, we fell in love. Not even in his heart would he bridge

that gap of impropriety. I had never met anyone like him before. We

loved the same books. When it came to music, we were from different

planets. I was whimsical, creative, a dreamer. He was practical, solid,

a rock. But we both loved my children, and against all odds, we fell in

love.

Of course it would never last. How could it? He loved motorcycles! And

he owned one! I loved the ballet and opera. The closest I came to rock

and roll was the BeeGees, and the closest he came to ballet was when he

was launched from his motorcycle, making a hard right turn! We talked

away the night every chance we got. I could make him helpless with

laughter, which in turn, delighted my heart! How could it not work? But

the miracle worker and the wisest of us all, turned out to be six year

old Helen.

We were sitting in my car, right outside of Baskin Robbins. She was

licking her Bubble Gum ice-cream cone. I was inhaling my Pistachio

Almond Fudge.

"We need to have a serious talk, Momma." She said. She looked intently

at me, with her sea green eyes.

"I've been thinking. I think it's time that we get married." She pulled

herself up to her full, three-feet, six inches in height, as she searched

my face.

Helen had proposed to Louie, weeks ago. She had ushered him into her room,

sat him down on her bed, and stood in front of him. Her hand raised,

finger pointing for emphasis, she said:

"You know, Louie, I've been looking for a man like you, my whole life."

Stunned, all Louie could do was listen.

"Now, Louie," she began, "all of us girls need you, and I know that

Momma does, too! That is why I'm asking you to marry us!" Afterwards,

when Louie told me about the proposal, I thought...oh boy, this guy is

history!!

"So what did you tell her?" I asked him, not quite nonchalantly.

"I told Helen, that as soon as we decide that we want to get married, she

would be the first to know." He said, looking at me with an intense gaze.

Helen thought that Louie looked like Elvis. (I guess he did, sort of, if

you closed one eye and looked at him through the heart of a child.) She

had fallen in love with this big, gentle man...head over heels. Our

romance had blossomed surrounded by a crowd of little girls...a blonde,

a brunette, and a red-head. We had discussed marriage and there was no

doubt that he was crazy about the girls...and me.

Helen had been the most hurt, when her 'birth father' had abandoned her.

He explained to her that it was "nothing personal." Now, I wondered if

a new marriage would be the best thing for my daughters, and I knew that

Louie wondered if his great love could erase a lifetime of hurt.

Now, here I was, being lectured in a parking lot by my six year old.

"You know, Momma, you're not getting any younger" (Where did she get this

stuff?) "Louie loves us, and he WANTS us. I want him to be my Daddy! My

real Daddy!"

Words of reassurance rushed to my tongue, as Helen exclaimed. "Momma, my

birth father doesn't want me!" An exquisite pain shot through me! Of

course he does! I wanted to scream, but I could not invalidate the truth

she spoke, with a lie.

"I think it's time, we got married!" Helen said. "We've been dating long

enough!"

Finally, with tears in my eyes, I said, "Helen, I don't know what's inside

some men's hearts, but I know Louie's heart. He loves you. He loves all

of us, and if there is anyone who can be your "real" Daddy, he can. And

I'm going to tell him 'yes' for all of us!"

That night we had a celebration dinner...Louie, Helen, Jenny, Michelle

and me. With Kool-Aid glasses held high, we toasted a new future, a new

family, and a new hope: where children are always treasured, and every

Daddy is "real."

Jaye Lewis

Jaye Lewis is an award winning writer and poet, who celebrates life from

a unique perspective. Although Jaye grew up in poverty, she has been truly

blessed with an understanding that "enough is often better than a feast."

Jaye's stories celebrate the positive in life, and often, the miraculous.

Jaye says: "Louie and I were married on July 24, 1981. In January of 1983,

the adoption of Helen, Jenny, and Michelle Lewis became final. Helen's

declaration and marriage proposal to Louie, a letter from Jenny, and

Michelle's testimony are all a part of Texas court record. New birth

certificates were issued, and the 'birth father' gladly signed over his

parental rights to the real father of my children, my husband, the love

of my life." Jaye can be emailed at jlewis@smyth.net