He let it go. “Traci told me that she was afraid to tell me the truth. Afraid. We cannot put her in a position where she feels compelled to lie to us. That’s when bad things happen to kids. That’s when kids dig themselves into holes that are too deep to get out of. That’s when parents lose their kids.”

Jacqui was silent for a very long time. Finally, she said, “She disobeyed us. Both of us.”

“I know. And we know our kid, Jacqui. She’s a good one. But this is that important to her. That she was willing to lie to both of us.”

Jacqui sighed. “I remember being seventeen and being absolutely in love with my boyfriend. It fizzled out after senior year but...yeah... I get that this could be important.”

“I’ve arranged for them to come to my apartment at 2:30. I’d like to be able to tell them that the secrecy ends. That they need to bring this relationship into the light of day. If John is going to be a part of Traci’s life, even if it’s not forever, I want us to get to know him better. Maybe we could all go out to dinner sometime.”

“Just the four of us?”

“Absolutely.” No way would he subject Tess to that.

“I guess it could be worse. You could be calling to tell me that she came to you because she was pregnant.”

“That would be worse. Which brings up the issue. You want to talk to her about that or do you want me to?”

“She’s going on birth control tomorrow,” Jacqui said. “I’ll handle it.”

“They may not be—”

“Don’t be a fool, A.L. She’s your little girl but she’s not really a little girl.”

Jacqui wasn’t saying anything that Rena hadn’t already said. “Okay, then. After I get done talking to them, I’m sending both of them in your direction.”

“Fine. I’m...” She stopped.

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you called. Really. The one thing I’ve never doubted is how much you love Traci.”

It was a bit of a backhanded compliment but he was okay with that. “We both love her. We need to tell her that. But we also need her to know that the lies stop now.”

It was 2:28 when he heard the knock on his apartment door. A.L. stood, took a deep breath and answered it.

Traci was still wearing her Pancake Magic uniform of dark pants and a white shirt. John had changed from his shorts and T-shirt that he’d been wearing that morning into dress pants and a button-down shirt.

A.L. couldn’t help but appreciate the effort.

“Let’s sit,” he said, motioning to his small living room.