For Fandango’s Story Starter, this week’s Story Starter teaser is:
It had never entered Richard’s mind that his son was not his own blood.
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It had never entered Richard’s mind that his son was not his own blood until the day they went hiking. Richard and Mike, his sixteen year old son, were hiking along a trail that ran beside a river. Mike rarely agreed to hike with Richard, so Richard wanted to make the hike interesting and challenging. They began to climb high up a ridge, where the view was stunning. At the top, panting and happy, they turned to take in the beautiful view. As Richard looked at Mike and saw his face in profile, he felt a pain in his heart. Mike looked nothing like Richard. In fact, he didn’t really look like his mother, either. Richard realized that he had known this for some time, but put the information in a box in the back of his mind, a box he would not open.
“Come, lets sit here,” Richard indicated a fallen tree and they sat, opening their water bottles and drinking with gusto. Richard looked at his muscular legs and calves, and then at Mike’s legs, which were skinny and long. Richard let out an unhappy sigh and tried to stop his mind from thinking. He is young, he hasn’t filled out yet, Richard thought.
“Dad, you okay?” Mike asked, looking at his father with a little concern. He had heard his father’s sigh, obviously not one of contentment.
“Oh yeah, just tired, I guess.” Richard replied. He looked down at his shoes, at least two sizes larger than his son’s shoes. He thought about Mike’s recent ISTEP results. The boy had scored very high in math and science, Richard’s weak areas in school. Richard was a natural salesman. He could sell kindling in hell. Richard’s success at the Mercedes dealership was almost legendary already. The few times Mike had come to hang out at his work, Mike had seemed mildly interested in the cars and completely uninterested in how impressive his father was at persuasion. Mike liked to talk to the mechanics in back about the power of the engines, specs and the new technology used in the car’s accessories.
Richard stood, and his son followed suit. “I’m ready for some dinner, now about you?” he asked. Mike nodded and they walked down the ridge, back toward their car. Richard knew that his wife would have dinner ready when they got home, something hearty to enjoy after their exercise. She was a good wife and mother, and he loved her with all his heart. Why? he wondered, Why had she cheated on him with his best friend?
Richard already knew that he would never tell Mike. If his mother wanted to tell him at some point, that was up to her. It hurt that the son he loved so much was a walking reminder that his wife had made a mistake, but was that the way to look at this? Certainly Mike is no mistake, he thought. Richard was grateful for the boy and was excited to see where life would take Mike. He was also glad his ‘best friend’ had moved halfway across the country a few years ago. Now the only contact was an annual Christmas card. That was good, he realized.
Richard clapped Mike on the shoulder and his son smiled at him, his eyes full of happiness and peace. His origin has nothing to do with this, he thought, because this kid is my son. My wonderful, much-loved son. And God help anyone that tries to come between us.
Copyright ©2026 Lisa Paul. All rights reserved.
A Little Bit of Everything, With Love 