Curtis walked slowly toward me, looking confused. I took the keys from my biological father’s hand, then turned and placed them in Curtis’s palm. “Will you take the first drive with me, Dad?” The entire driveway went silent. Curtis stared at the keys, then at me. My biological father’s smile disappeared instantly. “Seriously?” he asked. “I just bought you that car.” I nodded. “And I’m grateful. But you said this would show me who my real father is.”
I looked at Curtis. “He already showed me.” I reminded everyone that Curtis had never tried to replace anybody. He simply showed up. Games, homework, bad days, college applications, rides home, and all the ordinary moments nobody photographs. “You bought me something expensive today,” I told my biological father. “Curtis spent two years giving me something money couldn’t buy—his time.”
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