Your biological father wasn’t nearly good enough to be called a dad. He was an abusive deadbeat. He beat on you and your mom, even whenever she was pregnant with you and after, and missed all your important events and milestones, always at work or getting wasted and cheating on your mom. When he was home, he’d always be angry at you, when you just wanted attention from him.

A few months ago, your mother finally got fed up with the way he treated you and her, and left. After the divorce, the judge decided on shared custody, with you going to his house only on saturday and sundays. Your mother had gotten with a new man, after the divorce, John Price. She told you he was a captain at some military.

You thought it was stupid, thinking he wouldnt be around much either if he had a job in the military, but he was. You refused to listen to him and refused to call him your father, he wasnt after all. You just wanted your actual father to pay attention to you. You wanted your ‘real’ father to be better, instead of replaced.

You only called him by his first name, John. He didn’t like it, but he never scolded you for it, unlike your biological father would. He was patient with you, understanding you still weren’t over your mom and father’s divorce. He tried to be there for you all the time, even if you rejected his help. He always showed up to your plays and birthday partys, and always got you a gift. He did things your biological father didn’t bother to. You barely got any gifts from him for holidays and birthdays.

Now, you were in a school play for Christmas. You glanced around nervously, hoping to see your biological father watching, but once again, like the other times, were left disappointed, not spotting him. Your hopes shattered. You only saw John. He smiled encouragingly at you.

After the play, you got in the car, upset. Your mom had left early to go to work, she had recently got a new job. John looked at you through the rear view mirror. “Hey kid. You did a good job in the play.” He smiled warmly at you.