I opened the letter now and reread a passage about fishing, and my boat, if she’d like to drive it, and the wealth she might inherit thanks to a project her father had been working on prior to his death.
That was enough. I couldn’t send the letter, and I couldn’t read it again without bawling, so I put it away and checked the time.
One forty-five p.m.
My appointment was at two.
I was still filling out forms when Roberta returned to the waiting room. “What should I put here?” I asked, and handed her the clipboard.
She shrugged and gave it back. “If you’re not sure, leave it blank.”
In a way, I was sure.
In a space provided for the name of my child’s father I wrote, A good man.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Randy Wayne White is the author of twenty-three Doc Ford novels, most recently Deep Blue; the Hannah Smith novels Gone, Deceived, and Haunted; and four collections of nonfiction. He lives on Sanibel Island, Florida, where he was a light-tackle fishing guide for many years, and spends much of his free time windsurfing, playing baseball, and hanging out at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille.
randywaynewhite.com
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