Mister, can you pretend to be my mommy’s date the little girl asked, what the single dad did

From Pretend to Forever

On Saturday, Holly coached Grant from the backseat.

“Dad, remember, you have to hold Simone’s hand and maybe call her something cute. That’s what boyfriends do.”

“How do you know what boyfriends do? You’re in third grade.”

“Dad, I can read. Plus, I’ve seen movies. Just trust me on this.”

They picked up Simone and Kennedy. Simone wore a beautiful blue dress, and Grant had to focus hard on driving. The dinner was a full production at the in-laws’ suburban home.

“So, Grant, where do you see this relationship going? Are you thinking long-term here?” Patricia asked.

“I care about Simone a lot. We’re taking it one day at a time, but yeah, I’m in this for real.”

The lie didn’t feel like a lie anymore. The girls were incredible, backing up fake stories with terrifying enthusiasm.

After dinner, Frank pulled Grant to the porch. He spoke about his son Jason and his fear that Simone was struggling alone.

“Sir, I lost my wife three years ago. Laura died in a car accident, and I’ve been raising Holly alone. I promise I’m not the kind of person who bails.”

“You’re a widower, too? Simone didn’t mention that.”

“Yeah, it’s not something that usually comes up in casual conversation.”

The rest of the evening felt like a real family conversation. On the drive home, with the kids asleep, Simone mentioned she hadn’t known about Laura.

“It’s okay. Car accident three years ago. Drunk driver ran a red light. She died instantly.”

“That’s awful, Grant. I’m so sorry. And you’ve been doing this completely alone.”

“My mom helps when she can, but yeah. Mostly just me and Holly figuring it out as we go.”

They sat in the car at her apartment. Grant told her he wasn’t “stuck” in this mess; he was having the most fun he’d had in years.

“Grant, are we still pretending here? Because it’s starting to feel like maybe we’re not.”

They were inches apart when Kennedy mumbled in her sleep about them sitting in a tree. They jumped back, shocked.

“Grant, I… this thing we’re doing… I don’t know what it is anymore, but I’m glad it’s happening.”

“Me too. Definitely me too.”

At home, Holly confronted Grant.

“Dad, I know you like Simone for real. You look at her the way you used to look at Mom in the pictures. So why don’t you just tell her?”

“It’s complicated, honey. We started this as pretend. If I say it’s real, she might think I’m just caught up in the act.”

“Or maybe she’s waiting for you to say it first. Did you think about that?”

Meanwhile, Kennedy told Simone that she smiled a “real smile” around Grant. The girls confessed they had been planning to get them together for weeks.

“Probably around the time we started lying to everyone. They learned from the masters,” Grant texted Simone later.

Two weeks later, Simone found Grant devastated at his bookstore with an eviction notice. He had 60 days to pay a 40% rent increase or vacate.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dealing with this?”

“Because we’re not actually together, Simone. I didn’t want to burden you with my business failures.”

“Are you serious? I thought we were at least friends. I thought we were more than just two people pretending for my in-laws.”

“Grant, I need you to be completely honest. Is this still pretend for you? Because it stopped being pretend for me about three weeks ago.”

“Simone, I’ve been half in love with you since you walked into my bookstore. Every fake date and coffee has just made it more real. And yeah, I’m absolutely terrified.”

They confessed their mutual fears of losing love again. Grant pulled her into a hug.

“Do you want this to be real? Because I really, really do.”

“Yes, I want this to be real. And I want to help you save this bookstore. I want to stop pretending we’re pretending.”

The next day, Frank and Patricia confronted Simone at the library. They had discovered the timeline of their relationship didn’t add up.

“It started fake. Kennedy asked him to pretend so you wouldn’t take her away. But it’s not fake anymore! We’re actually together now, for real.”

Grant walked in with Holly to support her. He told the in-laws he was in love with Simone and praised her as an incredible mother.

“We know she’s a good mother. We just didn’t want her to be alone. Jason would want her to be happy,” Frank admitted.

They had an honest conversation. The library director, having overheard, offered a community partnership to save Morrison’s Books.

Six months later, the bookstore was surviving. Grant proposed at a book fair, using book spines to spell out his message.

“Simone, will you marry me?”

“We already planned the wedding, you just have to say yes,” the girls’ sign read.

“Yes! Absolutely yes!”

They married four months later. Frank and Patricia walked Simone down the aisle. Both Grant and Simone wore their late spouses’ rings on chains around their necks.

“See? I told everyone my plan would work! I’m basically a genius,” Kennedy announced.

“It was my plan! I’m the one who told Dad to say yes,” Holly argued.

Grant and Simone just laughed. Sometimes the craziest requests lead to the most beautiful answers.