I hadn't seen Linda since she and my daughter, Shellie had graduated from high school over four years ago. They had been best friends but had gone to different colleges. They had kept track of each other through email and the phone. I kept track of Linda by accident through chance meetings with her mother. Linda's mother and I would talk and update each other as to our daughter's comings and goings over those four years. In my mind, I still pictured Linda as I last saw her at the High School graduation.
My wife passed away when Shellie was a freshman in college and having Linda's mother stop and talk about how things were going reminded me I wasn't alone. Shellie was closer to her mother than I was prior to her death, but since her mother's death Shellie and I have forged new bonds. I've taken on the role of mother in addition to father.
My daughter, Shellie and her friend Linda were attending one of their high school friend's weddings. I saw her briefly, when she came to pick Shellie up. Shellie had planned to ask Linda to be her Matron of honor in her wedding the following year.
Shellie had been dating her fiancé since her second year of college and he finally asked her to wed the summer after they graduated. The wedding was almost a year away and we had begun the planning ordeal already.
I hadn't realized how grown up and lovely the Linda had become until I saw her walking up our steps.
Linda had matured so well I was stunned when I first saw her. Not the little pudgy girl I remembered playing softball in shorts and a baggy jersey, but a mature young woman who had been taking care of herself and watching her figure.
My heart raced as I watched her slowly walk up the steps to our house. Her long bare legs were tan and toned, the long red hair was pulled back and done up fashionably on her head.
Her face wasn't of a cute young girl; the freckles had actually become very sexy on her cheeks and helped to highlight her features. She wore very little make-up and just had a bit of eyeliner to emphasize her emerald green eyes.
She was dressed so nicely, light grey skirt just above the knees, heels, which helped show off those leg muscles, and a lovely beige silk blouse, that barely hinted at a lace pushup bra underneath it.
I don't know why I stared at her for so long and I hoped she hadn't noticed me peeking through the kitchen window. She rang the doorbell and I called to Shellie that Linda was here for her. Shellie was still upstairs and I went to the door to let Linda in.
When I opened the door, I was instantly over come with her mature look. She was definitely a woman now, I'd have to stand back and look at Shellie in a different light, not as my daughter but as a woman about to be a wife.
"Hi Linda", I smiled as she stood there waiting. "Come on in, Shellie is up stairs finishing her make-up". She walked in smiling. "Hello Mr. Winters, how have you been?"
"Very good, Linda, how are you?" I opened my arms and she came over and hugged me. I felt her smooth skin against my face and her full firm breasts against my chest. I don't know if she felt the sudden rush of excitement as I did but she did hold me just a bit longer than I did her.
"So, when are you joining this married woman's group?" I teased her. She blushed and said, "Oh, not for some time I think Mr. Winters I need a boy friend first and I'm not looking that hard for one."
"Well, it's when you aren't looking that something or someone happens to show up." I advised her. "You're depriving some young man somewhere." She smiled and turned a bit red blushing with my compliment.
As we were talking Shellie walked down the stairs, her long blonde hair was pinned up and under a very stylish hat. She wore a navy blue skirt and light blue silk blouse and black sling back heels. I had to take a second look to be sure this was my baby-girl. She looked so mature dressed like that and soon she would no longer be my baby but a married woman herself.
I told the girls to have fun but don't drink and drive, naturally they gave me a "who me?" looks and promised not to. I trusted them so I didn't worry too much. Shellie has never been a wild child and I didn't see that happening at this point in her life. She had so much to look forward to with her pending wedding and new career.
During the next three months, I saw Linda and Shellie together quite a bit; she found a job close to town visited with Shellie when she had time. Linda always greeted me with a hug, prior to my wife's death it had always been a smile. Shellie had moved back home to save money and since her job was near it worked out perfectly. I really enjoyed having a female around the house again. The two of them together giggling and the sounds of their voices bring back fond memories when this house was more like a home.
* * * * *
Since Shellie got engaged I'm as busy as ever, I've shopped with Shellie and Linda picking out flower, cards, and all the fun but expensive requirements for the wedding. Locating a hall and a chapel has been nerve racking. Finally, we went looking for a dress, I didn't want to go do this part but since Shellie's mom wasn't here, I put away my testosterone and drove them around.
She had thought about wearing her mother's wedding dress to honor her mother. We've had it in the hall closet for the past twenty-five years. Who could blame her, it was outdated and looking at it made her cry, wishing her mom were here with us.
We were driving to eat lunch after having been to several shops looking and comparing dresses, which I tried to be enthusiastic about. The girls had made a list and they were discussing likes and dislikes about each one when Linda asked, "What are you wearing under the dress and on your wedding night?"
I looked at Shellie and was quite embarrassed, they had forgotten that part, not that I wanted to think of what they were doing on their wedding night but I had to face reality. She needed something nice and of course, I'd be paying for it.
Linda suggested we stop at a boutique she knew of which just happened to be near where we were going for lunch. We pulled into a nice little Italian restaurant and ate, the girls ordered salads. With the wedding quickly approaching, they were all watching their figures.
I wasn't worried about fitting into a tuxedo; the rental shops have all sizes. Not that I'm heavy by any stretch of the imagination, six feet tall and one hundred eighty five pounds, I used to be thinner but I started working out to help relieve some of the stress caused by my wife's illness. It made me feel good and it was healthier so I've continued it.
After lunch we headed over to the boutique, Linda was helping Shellie pick out lingerie as I waited and just looked around. I think the girls just enjoyed thinking about how they would look in the different camisoles, teddy's and baby doll outfits they were looking at.
They were so funny holding up one and then whispering in each other's ear and giggling. I tried not to stare at all the negligees but it was difficult to do when surrounded by pretty women wearing pretty things. I know I looked very out of place and I felt it too, the sacrifices we make for our children. Finally, they had some nice things for Shellie try on and she went to the dressing area.
Shellie changed into a very lovely but a bit racy outfit by a fancy designer. My eyes couldn't believe my little girl filled out that lingerie so well. Shellie kept trying on different designers items; she would parade around and acted as if she were teasing Linda and me as she tried to make a decision.
I felt a bit uneasy as if I were in a strip club watching the show and had to keep reminding myself Shellie was my child. After about thirty minutes of modeling, Shellie goaded Linda into trying on some outfits. She was reluctant at first but with a little encouragement from the sales clerk and us, she did.
When Linda first came out of the dressing, area wearing a light green lace trim silk camisole with a low-rise silk bikini my heart began racing. It fit her body so well, showing off just enough skin to tease but not enough to look trashy. The color went perfectly with her long red hair and soft white skin.
I had to cross my legs and put my arms in my lap to hide what I was thinking. If I had drank a bit more wine at the restaurant I may have said or done something to embarrass myself. Instead, I just sat back and watched as my two Victoria's Secret models paraded around in next to nothing.
They finally decided on a pair of outfits each, which I didn't mind paying for. Linda had been such a help planning the wedding I couldn't say no, besides she looked very cute in them. As I was paying for them, I had the girls on either side of me giggling. They were plotting something I was sure of it.
We took their purchases and left the store, and headed home. I had a date that evening with a woman I had been friendly with but nothing had really happened between us. I had just started thinking about dating again when Shellie's wedding and her moving back in happened. Between that and my job, I hadn't thought about a new relationship. It had been almost four years now and Shellie was beginning to worry about me being alone in the house when she moved in with her new husband.
There was an idea that was hard to get used to, Shellie as a married woman. I liked Robert; he played baseball for their college and got a degree in finance. Robert had a good job that paid well. He was also helping coach a little league team in his spare time. He respected Shellie and loved her more than anything in the world.
It's just the thought that our little girl would be married and having children that left me feeling old. I didn't feel old at fifty; I looked forty. You could blame that on the regular trips to the gym or genetics or both but I felt like I was thirty-five. I think the touch of grey in my full head of brown hair had something to do with my feeling uneasy about letting go. I wasn't ready to be a granddad.
