When I showed her the camera footage, the color drained from her face.
“You followed Rachel,” I said.
Sabrina stepped backward.
“Lola, you do not understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Her eyes hardened.
“Your father was supposed to love your mother forever.”
“He did.”
“No. He replaced her.”
“He spent 12 years alone.”
“And that made dating acceptable?”
Her voice rose.
“Your mother gave him everything. Then he smiled at strangers as if she had never existed.”Track Pregnancy
I felt anger burn through my grief.
“You threatened six
women.”Support Causes
“I warned them.”
“You terrified them.”
“I protected your mother’s place in his life.”
“You protected nothing.”
Sabrina began to cry.
She admitted finding the women through his dating profile.
She researched them online, followed them after their dates, and sent messages using temporary numbers.
Most of the women became frightened and blocked my father.
Rachel had been different because Sabrina knew her.
“Why did you involve Graham?” I asked.
“She would not have listened otherwise.”
I stared at the woman who had held me at my mother’s funeral.
“You did not honor Mom. You used her.”
Sabrina covered her face.
I left without comforting her.
Rachel reported the threats.
My father gave the police the camera footage.Get Parenting Tips
Sabrina later accepted responsibility and entered counseling as part of the legal process.
My father blamed himself at first.
“I should never have started dating,” he said.
I sat beside him
at the kitchen table.
“No. You should have started living sooner.”
Months passed before he tried again.
This time, he told his date the truth about Mom.
He also told her he was afraid of losing another chance at happiness.
