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“Hey Liz! Wasn’t expecting you so early.” My daddy extended a hand through the open door to take Davis, in his little carrier, and help me with the rest of the load.
He set the eight-month-old bundle of energy and cooing down and wrapped his arms around my waist. Holding me close, he stooped and kissed me once on the cheek, pressed his lips to mine and stretched one of his hands just below the top of my skirt.
“I can’t believe he’s so big,” he said, “and you... you look absolutely gorgeous. I don’t know many women that look better after they have a baby. You’re a little different, though.” He kissed me again and kneaded the top of my pelvis with his fingertips before letting go.
“Well, thanks,” I said, blushing and looking away. He always knew how to make me feel just the right sort of embarrassment.
“Oh stop. You know you’re hot!” my daddy, Peter, chided. “Come on in, get settled. It’s early, but would you like a glass of wine? Anything?”
“No, no, thank you though. I just need to sit down for a little bit. Two hours in a car isn’t much, but with an overly excited baby, it gets a little long, ya know?” I said, stretching out flat on the couch. Daddy just laughed.
“Listen, sweet, we need to talk. You mom is out of town, obviously, but she’s coming back today. Her plane gets here early afternoon. She’s... uh... not real happy. With us, I mean.” He paced around, still carrying one of my bags.
“It’s okay daddy, we can work anything out. She isn’t pissed at the baby or anything is she?”
He shook his head. “No, no, it isn’t anything like that. Hell, she’s not even mad at you this time. It’s all me, I’m afraid. I honestly wouldn’t say much if she finally started to get on about you and me, but no, it’s something else entirely.”
“What is it? Is she cheating on you? Did you guys have a fight?”
“No. Well yes, but that isn’t the point. She’s been with other guys for years. I knew about it though. We never saw each other, and her being as gorgeous as she is, and as libidinous, I always assumed. I didn’t – don’t mind. I’m pretty open about sex, after all.” He paused to make an amused face. “It’s... oh Hell, Liz, its money. She got another raise and has been riding me hard about being useless. Even though I keep the house up, do my little side jobs. I think this has been coming for a while but now she’s decided that unless I move with her to New York at the beginning of the year, she’s leaving me. There, it’s all on the table.” He sat down in a huff.
That got me irritated.
Mom always played games like this. Always told Peter she’d leave him for this reason or that. She never would, and he knew that. She liked having him around, but I think, for whatever reason, my patient, too-kind-for-his-own-good daddy had enough.
“What are you going to – we – what are we going to do? You’re stuck with me, and there’s no way in Hell I’m going anywhere that it snows more than three times a year.” I asked, slipping my hand into his.
“That’s the thing,” he said back quickly, “I’m not sure. I mean, I like it here. Quiet little town, this nice house, a yard for the dogs I don’t have. I don’t want to move across the country, away from everything I care about, just so she can bring home another pile of money. We’ve got enough. I do anyway. I’ve got you.”
It was corny, but I knew he meant what he said.
“We’ll figure something out, I promise. If nothing else, you can come to town with me. I make enough to afford a two-bedroom rental. You’ve still got that cash from the pharmaceutical company lawsuit and the stuff you make and sell on the side. We’d do fine. Better than fine. I want you to do it. I’m tired of being apart.” I looked hard into his eyes and squeezed his hand again.
“I’m sick of not waking up in the same bed with the man I love and Davis is sick of not having his dad around all the time. Well as sick of it as eight-month-old can be. I want you around and he needs you.”
He nodded and seemed deep in thought. “Me too babe, me too. We’ll see what happens. Okay?”
