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"Right, sure, we're all lucky," Star said looking away. "Daddy picked me up this time, but Ariel wasn't in the car with him. She was waiting back at the apartment, supposedly preparing dinner for us. It turned out to be ordered in Chinese, which I guess was her favorite recipe.
"I could see Daddy was very nervous about my meeting Ariel. He started by trying to put the pressure on me.
"'Ariel's very nervous about meeting you,' he said. 'She knows no one can replace your mother, nor should anyone,' he added quickly. 'What I mean is you shouldn't be comparing her. They're two different people.'
" 'I'm not visiting Ariel,' I said. 'I'm visiting with you, Daddy,' I told him
"'I know. I know,' he said, 'but Ariel's sort of my companion right now and I just want everyone to get along.'
"'Companion?' I nearly laughed. 'Is that what it's called?'
"'Don't get rude, Misty,' he snapped back at me.
"Before my--parents' divorce, whenever my father used to yell at me or give me an order or sound gruff, I would never think to challenge him. When I looked at him now, dressed down, living in an apartment with a much younger woman, I had trouble thinking of him the same way. I guess I didn't respect him as much. I was certainly not afraid of him It was easy to see how hard he was trying to get me to be on his side. The one thing he dreaded was my asking him to take me home.
"'Ariel made sure to buy all new bedding for you. She's worked hard at setting up the guest room to make you comfortable. She was the one who got the television put in because she said teenagers like having their own television sets in their rooms. Then she went to the department store and bought all this stuff for your bathroom: magnifying mirrors, hair dryers, curlers, shampoos and conditioners, all sorts of woman's stuff that I would never have thought to buy.
"'She did it all on her own. I swear,' he said actually holding up his hand.
"'She's young. I'll admit, but she's
uncomplicated and she makes me feel good. I need that now, Misty. This isn't easy for me, no matter what you might think. I didn't set out expecting all this to happen.'
"Maybe he didn't, I thought, but it did happen and it wasn't easy for me either. Nevertheless, I kept my mouth shut about Ariel all the rest of the way.
"Daddy had a very nice apartment, bigger than I had anticipated and high enough up to have a great view of the west side and the ocean. There was a patio outside the living room that was big enough for two chaise lounges and a small table and chairs.
"'We're here!' he cried when we entered, and Ariel came out of the kitchen.
"My first thought was Daddy had to be kidding. She didn't look all that much older than me. I can't deny she's pretty. She has honey-blond hair almost to her shoulder blades with that soft, slightly tanned creamy complexion so perfect she always looks like she has just come from a photo shoot. I hated her smile, a smile of such disarming sweetness you'd do anything just to see that smile come out like sunshine after the rain. It made it more difficult for me to harden my heart against her.
She wore a basic black V-necked sweater with a sexy turquoise lace skirt. She was braless, but her bosom was firm and her waist was as small as mine. There were just the tiniest freckles visible on her chest, just above the start of her deep cleavage.
"'Hi,' she sang and hurried to extend her hand. 'I'm Ariel. It's so nice to finally meet you.'
"Finally? I thought. That's was when it occurred to me they had been together longer than I had imagined. Panicky butterflies were on the wing again, battering my brain with doubts, buffeting my heart with indecision. Should I smile back at her? Should I be cold and unfriendly?
"Her soft blue eyes were filled with more anxiety and fear than mine were, I thought, and it occurred to me that she might be just as much an innocent victim as I was.
"I didn't want to think that. I wanted to think of her as being a gold digger or something, exploiting Daddy at his weakest moments, taking advantage of someone else's pain and loss, whispering terrible things about my mother in his ear, seducing him with compliments. I could see from the way she looked at him and spoke to him that she had put him on some pedestal.
"'Hi,' I said without much warmth. It was neutral, as if I had lost the ability to feel one way or the other.
"'Well,' Daddy said, 'she's here. Let's show her to her room.'
"'Oh, yes,' Ariel seconded and stepped back as Daddy carried my small suitcase across the living room. There were two bedrooms, side by side. Mine was the second. The bathroom for me was in the hallway.
"I was surprised at how much trouble Ariel had gone to decorate the room as closely to my own room at home. There were similar white cotton curtains, a bedspread the exact same shade of pink, and some posters of my favorite rock bands.
"I looked at Daddy, my eyes full of questions. He laughed.
"'What I did,' he said, 'was give Ariel a picture of your room. I went over to the house and took it one afternoon while you were at school and Gloria was at her personal trainer's.'
"'Gloria?' I muttered. Daddy had trouble talking about Mommy in front of Ariel.
"'We just wanted you to feel at home,' he added. 'It was really Ariel's idea.'
"She smiled nervously. I didn't think that was true.
