My Only Daughter Terrified Me When She Revealed the Rare Habit Her Boyfriend Had

“Because the top is always a little crisp and the inside is soft. And when you get deeper into it, it just starts to taste weird. And the textures get all muddled.”

His explanation made absolutely no sense to me — but it made him happy.

But then, along came life. Jack went off to study abroad — he had a desire to learn. While I remained anchored in our hometown, taking care of my ailing father. I didn’t have any regrets.

Not really.

Although, I did wonder what would have happened if Jack had asked me to travel with him. Would I have gone? Would we have remained together, or would life have found a way to separate us after all?

The years that followed were a long and grueling testament to moving on — or at least, an attempt at it.

I met Phil while I was at college. I married him, brought Susan into the world, and eventually faced the heartache of divorce, realizing the love I held for my husband was but a pale shadow compared to what I had felt for Jack.

“Elizabeth! You cannot still be hung up on Jack,” my best friend, Catherine, said when I told her that my marriage just wasn’t working.

“I don’t know, Cath,” I said. “But I’ve tried to make it work with Phil. It’s ridiculously difficult trying to make a relationship work when both parties are not in it.”

“So, you think that your only chance would be to find Jack?” she asked.

“No!” I exclaimed. “I’m not looking. I’m going to focus on Susan.”

And I did. My daughter became the most important aspect of my life. Phil and I got divorced, but we continued to co-parent the best we could. And even during those years — I only looked Jack up on Facebook three times. But there were never really any updates of note.

Just mentions of places he had been to.

I continued to keep my child at the center of my world. Even now, Susan and her happiness came first.

Yet, as she had told me — unveiling her boyfriend’s name and his eccentric muffin habit, my world once again spiraled into chaos.

“What if he’s my Jack?” I said to my empty room.

Susan had mentioned that her boyfriend was older — but how much older? Jack and I were the same age. Surely my child couldn’t be dating someone old enough to be her father.

The thought was ridiculous. But still, it felt as though something had come undone inside me.

I fell asleep that evening not knowing how to navigate the situation. I could be reasonable and ask Susan about it straight out. I could ask her to show me a photo of Jack — that would immediately confirm who he was.

But then, on the other hand, if I had to see his face next to my daughter’s, I didn’t know what that would do to me.

The following morning, things went back to normal. Susan went back to her apartment and I was left to wonder about her and the mysterious Jack.

I channeled all my feelings into my garden.

“It’s the healthiest thing you can do,” I told myself as I continued to plant new seedlings.

I knew that I could have reached out to Catherine. But the thought of her snickering at me still holding some kind of torch for Jack would just be too much to deal with.

In the ensuing months, Susan would only speak about Jack when she called. He had become a beacon of light in her life, and she had fallen in love.

“It’s different, Mom,” she gushed. “It’s real and I think Jack is going to propose. I’m sorry that you haven’t had a chance to meet him yet.”