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“I’d love to,” she said.
“No, I’m serious, Dad,” Nina cut in. “You want to take your teenage daughter on a New Year’s Eve date? That’s just weird.”
“Yes, I’d like to take you both to the station to celebrate the new year,” I repeated.
“Fine, I’ll go, but, again, I tell you that this is just weird,” she said, shaking her head disapprovingly.
“Then invite a friend and make it not so weird,” I offered, looking at Emily for help. She avoided my eyes and focused on her breakfast.
“Forget it,” Nina sighed. “I’ll come with you, but there had better be other people I can talk to there. Otherwise, this is going to be miserable for all of us.”
“Where in the hell did all of this psychobabble about weirdness come from?” I asked in exasperation, as I studied my daughter.
“Dad, Dad, Dad,” Nina said with a sad smile. “Let it go; you’re out of your element.”
“No, you’re out of your element!” I shouted with a grin as we both yelled, “Shut the fuck up, Donny!”
“You two are very, very strange,” Emily said, looking back and forth as we began trading lines from our favorite movie.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen The Big Lebowski!” Nina shouted. “Oh my God, it’s only the most awesome cult film ever made in the history of films!”
“No, I can’t say I’ve ever seen it,” Emily said, with an amused grin. “But now that I know you two are gaga over it, I’ll check it out.”
“Dad, maybe we should stay home and screen Lebowski for Emily,” Nina said seriously. “If she doesn’t get it, you might want to rethink this whole dating thing.”
“I’m not dumping Emily because she hasn’t seen Lebowski,” I warned Nina, before turning back toward Emily with a grin. “But if she doesn’t like it, well, that’s a whole other matter.”
“You two are certifiable,” Emily laughed, as she began clearing dishes from the table. “I’ll wash up. You go do your homework, young lady.”
Nina scampered off to her room before I could say another word. I helped Emily clear the table and load the dishes into the dishwasher before I began wiping down the table.
“Is there a dress code for the festivities tonight?” she asked, as she plunged the skillet into a sink full of soapy bubbles.
“Warm,” I said, as I moved behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my chin on the top of her head. “Dress warm. Otherwise it’ll suck.”
“You’re not going to keep me warm?” she teased softly, as she leaned back against my body and made my pulse race. I wanted to slide my hands up under her shirt and caress her bare skin, but I knew better than to start what we couldn’t possibly finish.
“I’ll keep you warm enough,” I murmured, as I leaned down and kissed her neck, and heard a small moan rise up in her throat.
“More like hot,” she muttered, as she leaned forward and began scrubbing the pan in earnest. I laughed as I released her and moved a safe distance away.
We spent the afternoon curled up on the couch watching classic movies while Nina worked
on her schoolwork. It felt good to just be close to Emily, even though it took everything in me to keep things chaste. Around 7, Nina emerged from her room and asked when we were leaving for the party.
“Soon, grasshopper,” I said, earning yet another eye roll from my daughter.
“The longer I know you, the more I think it’s every parents’ job to humiliate their teenager,” Emily laughed.
“Ah yes, the years she’ll look back on and remember fondly,” I sighed. “Do you remember your father that way?”
A dark look crossed Emily’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a bright smile as she nodded, but said nothing. I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to spoil the festive mood before the party. Instead, I leaned forward and kissed her, earning another bright smile.
“You ready to go or do you need to change and get girlified?” I asked.
“Girlified?” she laughed. “That’s not even a word!”
“It is in this house,” I said solemnly. “Nina taught it to me. It’s the process of making oneself look girly. Look it up.”
