I have been a single parent for four years due to the untimely death of the love of my life in a car accident. Our daughter was 12 at the time of the accident. We both took it pretty hard, but we had each other and a good therapist. At least money was not a concern as the trucking company paid a large sum for the negligence of their driver who was uninjured and under the influence of OTC energizers. A Peterbilt truck versus a Prius was no match.
Roger Compton is my name and my daughter is Pamela, not Pam. She did not want to be identified with a spray for greasing pans. I admit with my knowledge of my daughter's suffering at the loss of her mother, I was reluctant to exercise 'tough love' tactics to counter Pamela's teenage histrionics. She was prone to use the 'my mother was killed' excuse for making bad decisions. Mostly, though, she was a typical teenager. That's plenty to provide a drama on a daily basis.
Speaking of drama, I loved the theater. I was not a good actor, so I supported the actors by becoming a makeup artist. I got a good reputation and soon was in demand for prom and wedding makeovers as well as local theater productions. I got to be with some very pretty girls and women often with revealing clothing on. Of course, I got teased by other guys about being gay, but it was worth it. Besides ogling scantily clad girls, I met my future wife by getting her ready for her senior prom.
Angela and I did not date until college. I was a mechanical engineering major and she was in architecture school. The buildings where engineering and architecture held most of their classes were next to each other. We saw each other frequently and began sharing lunch M-W-F. Then we dated. We got jobs within a few months of each other. Soon after, we got married.
Angela and I decided to have kids after three years of marriage. Pamela was a difficult birth and we agreed to stop at one. Several years later Angela had uterine problems and had to have a complete hysterectomy. Angela said she was glad she didn't have to take the pill anymore. Her figure improved after rehabilitation and being off the pill. I thought she was prettier than ever. We had a happy life for many years. Not enough years but many.
Then the day came. I got a phone call at work asking if I was the husband of Angela Compton. The feeling of dread was immediate. "Accident" and "dead" were the only words I heard before breaking down crying. My secretary screamed for help as I fell down in a fetal position. Once it was figured out what happened, my secretary took me to the hospital. One or more of my co-workers stayed with me. Twelve-year-old Pamela was brought to the hospital by her soccer coach whose husband was the Emergency Room doctor.
Everyone was sorry. Many offered condolences. Brandon was my former roommate from college and was now my lawyer. He went after the trucking company with a vengeance. He refused to take any money for his trouble. Pamela and I went for counseling, both privately and together. It took six months before we had a day without one of us crying.
We did pretty well until the first anniversary of the accident. In the midst of our grieving, we decided we couldn't, shouldn't do that again year after year. We decided to 'celebrate' Angela's life each year instead. It turned out to be a good idea.
When Pamela turned 16 and began going on dates with boys, she started on me. "Why don't you date, Dad? Surely there is some woman who agrees with you on how to torture teenagers." She ignored my expressed lack of interest and used both subtle and unsubtle measures to hook me up. She usually chose women older than me. Sometimes I wondered if she were looking more for a mother for her than a wife for me.
On the other hand, Pamela provided me with an abundance of young women to stimulate my lust gland. I was a big attraction for a lot of her friends for several reasons. I was a fit man and not too bad looking. I was the man to go to for cosmetic makeovers. I was the Dad who was willing to host parties for teenagers. I was the parent with a swimming pool with a tall privacy fence. I had the money to buy the latest, bestest goodies to snack on. As a result, I got to know a lot of young girls and see a lot of young girls' bodies. I never knew when they would decide to work on a full body tan. I learned to look away. Well, maybe not as quickly as I should have.
One girl in particular got my attention early on. Cindy was the daughter of a neighbor five houses down from ours. The wife of the family and my wife were great friends. After Angela's death, Pamela went to Nancy for a lot of the advice only a mother-figure can give. Pamela and Cindy were close friends until high school.
After noticing Cindy was not among the girls Pamela tended to invite over, I asked her why. "Cindy is such a geek. She's always studying. When we talk about boys, she just blushes or says, 'I could never do that.' No one likes her. If you look at how she dresses and doesn't use makeup, I don't think she likes herself either. At that moment I told Pamela she could not have another party at our house without inviting Cindy. She pouted but did as I asked.
Cindy came to the next pool party and immediately sought a spot to settle in that was away from most of the action. She was the only one not in a bathing suit. I went over to see her. "Hey, Cindy. Glad you could make it."
"My mother made me. I'm not very social."
"That's a shame. Did you bring a suit?"
"I don't have one."
"You mean you didn't bring one?"
"No, I don't own one. I don't know how to swim. Besides, it's never interested me to get into a 'let's see who can show off the most body parts' contest."
I began to realize inviting a girl who doesn't swim and was insecure about her looks to a swimming party was not a very good idea. Time to punt. "Cindy, how come you've never asked me to do a makeover for you? I'm world famous, you know." I chuckled.
"You have to have a decent canvas to paint something pretty."
Ouch. Talk about a lack of self-confidence. "Don't worry. I have been known to work miracles. Come on to my studio."
Cindy shuffled along behind me. "Won't the kids miss you?"
"Only if they run out of food."
We got to my studio and I told her to go to the bathroom and wash off her makeup. She said she didn't have any on. I recommended she wash her face anyway to get her natural skin oil off. I handed her a smock so I wouldn't get any makeup on her clothes. She came out and sat down. As I figured, she kept on all her clothes whereas many girls took off their blouse rather than wear one under the smock.
I looked at her face. It was symmetrical which was good. What was lacking was a striking feature - a part of her face that could be emphasized as the attention grabber when someone first looked at her. I decided on her eyes. I chose a blue-gray, almost teal color but subtler, for the basic background. Different shades of blue and gray finished the scene. I stepped back and looked. I was pleased. Next, I did the lipstick and blush. Nothing ostentatious. I let her look. She cried.
"I'm sorry. Is it that bad?"
"No, it's . . . it's wonderful. How did you know what to do?"
"Practice, plus you were wrong. You have the perfect canvas."
Cindy grabbed me and kissed me. She jumped back in shock. "I've never kissed any man except my father before. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." She started to cry.