Thanks, as always, to my editor
"larryinseattle"
for his continuous work and skills.
*****
Dale stood at the counter staring at the items on display. He had no idea exactly what had brought him into this store but here he was. When he left home earlier it was to try and find a birthday present for his mom, his step-mom actually.
Natalie was only 6 years older than him. She'd been working as a model at his father's clothing company when they met. She stood 5-foot 9-inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes, and though it was considered a unique combination, it was her figure that drew the most attention. Understandably, his father had fallen head-over-heels for the beauty. The big surprise came when the two of them announced they were getting married.
His dad had been considered a 'confirmed widower' after his mother's death, choosing instead to spend all his free time with Dale until Natalie came into their lives. Not that it really mattered much afterwards. The three of them quickly bonded and Dale was overjoyed to find that she liked almost everything that he and his father did, the one exception being scuba diving.
"Why in the world do you want to go where you can't breathe just to see a bunch of stupid fish," she'd tease them continuously, "especially when some of those fish would like nothing better than eating you?"
More prophetic words couldn't have been spoken.
His father left it up to him to decide what he wanted the family to do for his 18
th
birthday. Originally, he'd suggested kayaking on their favorite stretch of river but found that the area was closed due to low water. Then he suggested a backpacking trip only to have the plans canceled at the last moment due to a wild fire in the region.
"I give up," Dale had exclaimed. "Everything I come up with falls apart. How about you decide, dad?"
"How about a day of diving? We haven't gone down to the cove in months."
"What about Natalie?"
"She can come along and get some sun. Afterwards, we can go to dinner at that little restaurant up the beach that you like."
"Sounds like a plan," both Dale and Natalie had said, simultaneously.
The day was warm and clear. Dale's father checked the weather and found that there weren't any storms in the area. What he didn't check was if there were any storms father out to sea.
The three of them drove to the beach and after checking and double-checking their dive gear, Dale and his father entered the water. At first everything had been clear and the visibility seemed endless but after an hour the visibility suddenly dropped. The water became gray and cloudy, filled with sand and kelp that was being washed in from further out. After signaling each other, they recognized the dangers and headed for the surface.
Dale surfaced first and waited for his father ... and waited ... and waited. After 5 minutes he dove back down to the bottom where he'd last seen him. All that he found was his dad's face mask laying on the bottom. He surfaced and waited again looking in every direction. It was then that he saw the dorsal fin further out to sea.
"A Tiger Shark,"
he thought to himself and he swam to shore. The moment he got there, he called Emergency Services and the local Beach Patrol. They arrived within minutes and spent the rest of the day searching for his dad. It wasn't until two days later that a fisherman found a piece of his dad's dive suit with skin still inside. The officials confirmed what they had all been thinking. The shark had gotten his dad.
One of the most important day of his life had suddenly become one of his worst. A small memorial service was held a few days later and then the squabbling and fighting about his dad's company started. Late one evening, Natalie came looking for Dale and found him in his father's study.
"Dale. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Well, as you may know, several of the investors in your dad's company want to sell it while several others want to keep it BUT only if they get to run it. The question is what do you and I want to do with it? Since we're the senior stock holders the investors can't do anything without our backing."
"What other options are there?"
"I can think of one. We keep it and," she hesitated, "I run it."
"You? I didn't know you knew that much about it."
"I was a model from the time I was 7 until I married your dad. While I was modeling, I also took some business and design classes. I'm not saying I could do it on my own but with your support and the help of the Accounting Department and Legal Department, I think I can pull it off."
For the next three years she did exactly that. The clothing company went from being just another small provider to one of the leading companies in the country specializing in woman's fine clothing and undergarments. She had surprised everyone, Dale included, when on his 21
st
birthday she announced that since Dale was now of legal age she was taking him on as a Vice President in charge of Research and Design.
Dale was overwhelmed but not unprepared. He had worked for his father every Summer since he had been old enough and knew more about the company now than anyone except Natalie.
So, their partnership had started but he soon saw small, subtle changes in her. Nothing that anyone else might notice, just small things, like the faraway look she got whenever his father's name was mentioned, or when special holidays came about, or even when they were driving and she'd see a sunset or landscape that was especially beautiful. He could tell she was thinking about his dad.
The most startling thing took place just a few weeks before. He'd come home early after a meeting with a prospective designer had been canceled to find the house dark and quiet. Thinking that maybe she hadn't been feeling well, he quietly slipped to her door and opened it. What he saw was a scene that even now easily came to mind.
She'd been stretched out across her bed without a single piece of clothing. Her hair encircled her head on the pillow, almost like a halo. And what an 'angel' she'd been. He'd heard her soft moans as she pinched and pulled on her nipples while she was sliding two fingers in and out of the junction between her legs. He'd been transfixed and stood there, watching, until with one final shudder, she arched her back and then settled back onto her bed.
That night, for the first time, he dreamed about her, not as his step-mother but as a woman with needs; physical, sexual needs. He couldn't get the vision out of his head. Maybe that's why he now found himself standing at the counter of the most talked about sex shop in town. The motto of the shop, and he was surprised to find that a shop of this kind had a motto, was 'Discretion above all else'.
Embarrassed by the display of vibrators, dildos, and nipple-clips before him, he turned to leave only to be stopped by the sultry sound of a woman's voice. A voice that somehow seemed to trigger memories from his distant past.
"May I help you," the voice asked, once again.
