Things got stranger when she whispered to the waiter and then excused herself to the bathroom. The bill came, and it was shockingly expensive. I worried she was just using me for a free meal and might leave me to pay. Just as I was thinking of leaving, she came back carrying a cake and balloons. Then she said, “You’re going to be a granddad!”

Suddenly, everything clicked the secrecy, the nervousness, the special setup. Hyacinth had planned this dinner to share life-changing news. She wanted me to be part of her life again, and now in her child’s life too. That night, the barrier between us finally came down. We weren’t just reconnecting; we were becoming family.