Chapter 1: The Friday Ritual
My old classmate took my widowed dad to the movies every Friday — when I finally asked her why, her answer took my breath away.
After my mother passed away two years ago, my dad, Jett, seemed to lose interest in almost everything he once enjoyed.
They had spent nearly thirty years together, so the silence she left behind was hard on him.
He still went through the motions of everyday life, but I could tell how lonely he was.
I lived in the next town over, so I visited whenever I could, usually twice a week.
Sometimes I brought groceries, sometimes I helped around the house, and sometimes I simply sat with him because I knew he needed the company.
Then, one Friday evening, I stopped by just minutes after my old classmate Ava had dropped him off.
He was in an unusually good mood.
"Ava took me to the theater," Dad said.
"We saw a movie together."
At first, I found it a little strange.
Ava and I had gone to school together years ago, and although she still lived nearby and knew my family, she and Dad had never been especially close.
But then I saw the smile on his face.
It had been so long since I'd seen him genuinely happy that I decided not to question it.
The following Friday, Ava took him out again.
Then again the week after that.
Soon, Friday nights became something Dad actually looked forward to, and I was grateful for every bit of joy they brought back into his life.
Still, one thing began to bother me.
Whenever I asked what movie they'd seen, Dad would give me a vague answer and quickly change the subject.
At first, I tried not to think much of it, but after a while, it started to feel like he was deliberately avoiding my questions.
So, one Friday, after Ava brought him home, I walked her to her car and finally asked,
"Why do you keep taking my dad to the movies every week?"
Ava paused with her hand on the car door before finally telling me the real reason.
As she spoke, I felt the air leave my lungs.
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What did Ava say that left her speechless?
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