My mom's ex-boyfriend and I are still in touch after 30 years. He paid off my student debt, we travel together, and I call him my 'second dad.'

"Charles says he instantly felt a bond when I demanded to sit on his lap as a toddler. All I know is that he has been the only man my mother has brought home (besides my father) that I've liked and accepted. While there was no initial plan to stay in my life, life (as we know all too well) had other plans."

"Charles dated my mom 30 years ago. Though their relationship didn't work out, he stayed in my life. When we travel together, people often ask if he's my dad or my stepdad. I call him my "second dad," and he's expanded my definition of family. On our trips together, strangers often assume he is my dad because our relationship has all the trappings of a traditional father-daughter relationship - except it's not. It's moments like these that remind me how unusual our bond is."

Charles dated the narrator's mother thirty years ago but remained present after their romantic relationship ended. He frequently travels with the narrator and strangers often assume he is her father or stepfather. The narrator calls him her 'second dad' because he provides unconditional support, guidance, and love without a biological tie. Charles remembers an instant bond when the narrator demanded to sit on his lap as a toddler. Their relationship developed organically without a plan, and it taught the narrator that family can consist of people who willingly choose and stay with you, redefining the concept of family.

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