He sounded relieved.
Then morning arrived.
No calls.
No messages.
No explanation.
By the third woman, Dad started blaming himself.
“Maybe I discuss your mother too much.”
“You barely mention her.”
“Maybe I am too old-fashioned.”
“You held the door open. That is not a crime.”
“Perhaps women think I am looking for another wife immediately.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
He looked down at his telephone.
“I just want someone to have coffee with.”
Each rejection pulled him backward.
He stopped singing again.
He checked his telephone every few minutes.
He reread messages, searching for the sentence where everything had changed.
The fourth woman disappeared after asking whether Dad would like to meet her sister.
The fifth vanished after making plans for the following weekend.
When the sixth woman stopped responding, I could no longer call it coincidence.
Six women could lose interest.
But six women would not all disappear before sunrise after promising another date.
Something was wrong.
Asking the Wrong Question
I visited Dad on Sunday evening.
He stood at the kitchen sink washing a mug that was already clean.
“Did anything unusual happen during those dates?”
He looked confused.
“No.”
“Did you argue with any of them?”
“Of course not.”
“Did you say something that might have frightened them?”
His face tightened.
“What kind of man do you think I am?”
“That is not what I meant.”
“It sounds like what you meant.”
Dad turned away and continued rinsing the mug.
I had hurt him.
“I am trying to understand.”
“So am I.”
That night, I called my best friend, Hannah Reed.
Hannah and I had known each other since college.
She possessed the rare ability to charm everyone in a room while silently noticing every inconsistency.
She worked in human resources and interviewed people for a living.
If Dad behaved strangely during dates, Hannah would recognize it.
“Go out with him once,” I said.
She laughed.
“You cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
Her laughter stopped.
“Maya, that is your father.”
“I know.”
“And he has met me.”
“Only a few times.”
“That does not improve this idea.”
I explained the six women.
