Missing Pieces

All characters engaged in sex acts are eighteen or older. The dog DOESN'T DIE.

"What I need is a woman's eye. You saw that shirt I wore when I came over for dinner. Well, that was one of my nice shirts. It's an eyesore. I just need some feminine intuition today." My call had woken Beth up and she was a little cranky.

"But it's so early, Daddy. You don't need me to go with you to buy clothes. I don't wanna go." Her voice was bratty, which I believed was completely affected.

"You don't want to join your Daddy going out today, huh? What if we stop for pizza on the way back?" Was it usually this hard to get kids to do stuff? I guess that wasn't fair to her. She was a grown woman, though she didn't act it.

"Uh-uh." She grunted.

"Please, Baby Girl. I miss you."

"No, Daddy. You can come by later. I want to go back to sleep."

I thought for a moment. "If you go with me you can buy some clothes."

"Got plenty of clothes," she whined.

"Yes, but if you come with me you can get anything you want. You don't need Mom's approval. Imagine what you could get."

There was a pause on her end, and I knew I had got her. "Ok Daddy. Can you give me like thirty minutes?"

When I got there she was hugging Cody goodbye and coming out to the car. She was wearing a simple, button-up blue and white striped dress. As modest as it was, she looked beautiful in it and sure enough I started getting hard as soon as I saw her. Her braided hair was tied with a blue ribbon. She got in and sat next to me, kissing my cheek. "So I can get anything I want?"

"That's the first thing you have to say? What happened to 'Hey, Daddy! It's so good to see you today'?" I said

"It

is

nice to see you, Daddy. Sorry." She rubbed up and down my arm. "But...?"

"Yeah, you can get whatever you want. You trying to make me regret bringing you?" I put the car in gear.

"You just said I could. I know you're the kind of Daddy who will keep his word. Aren't you?"

I sighed, "I think you're gonna send me to an early grave. What did you have in mind?"

She looked out the window at the passing cars. "I don't know. I need to see what there is first. I had lots of fun the other night, Daddy. Thanks for having me over." She gave me a crooked toothed grin.

We headed into the city and soon we made it to the massive, low brick building of the mall. It wasn't too crowded on a weekday morning like this. We found a spot close to the entrance and got out. "You look nice," I told her.

"Thanks Daddy," she beamed. Before I could say anything she took my hand in hers. I loved how soft and delicate her hand felt. I didn't even notice she had broken my rule and called me Daddy outside of the house.

We walked hand in hand into the department store and I made it to the menswear section. We got a couple of stares. When I was younger and hanging out with my friends anywhere crowded we would always play a game when we saw a couple like me and Beth. Each of us would speculate on whether she was the guy's daughter or girlfriend. Sometimes we would even follow them for a while hoping to catch an inappropriate kiss or grope. More than a few people looked our way this time. It's every guy's dream to be spotted in public with a beautiful woman, right? Especially one half his age.

Beth helped me pick out a few pairs of pants and some shirts. One of them was a white button up shirt with a hideous pattern of black lines and fluorescent colored shapes. Was this what kids wore now? She

loved

it though. I was going to tell her I didn't like it, but when I saw the look on her face... "You'll look so handsome in it, Daddy. And cool." She left me no choice.

I got in the dressing room and started to change. Once I got to the third pair of pants, there was a knock on the door. "I'm in here."

"I know Daddy. Can I come in?" Beth didn't wait for an answer, and opened the door. I only had my underwear on and turned completely away from her. My hardon made an obvious tent in my boxers, and Beth just showing up here didn't help it at all. No matter what way I turned, you could see it in the damned mirror. Beth blushed and covered her smile. "How do the shirts look?" She asked.

"Beth, Jesus! I didn't say you could come in." I was turning red myself.

"I just wanted to see how the clothes looked on you, maybe help you straighten them out and get them on right. It's just me, Daddy. There's no reason to be embarrassed." She did a poor job of hiding the fact that she was looking at my cock. "I'll go if you want me to."

Damn it. "No, Baby Girl. You can stay here. I was just about to try on this last pair of pants."

"Ooh, let me help you." It was a pair of jeans, tighter than I was used to, but Beth said they were in style. She pulled them up and squatted in front of me. When she looked up at me, my heart pounded in my chest. Seeing her eyes and her lips at that level and feeling her hands on my hips was more suggestive than she realized. It took her too long to pull the pants up, but when she did, she backed up and looked me up and down. "Aww, you look so handsome, Daddy! None of the boys my age look this good." Mother of God.

I paid for the clothes and browsed dresses with Beth. She took her time, holding each dress in front of her and asking what I thought. If the dress was going on her, how could I choose? She looked hot as hell in anything. Truth be told, I liked the dresses that showed more skin. In particular there was a blue frilly sundress that I wanted to see her in. "Is it ok if I get two, Daddy?" She liked the sundress too, and held it up with a black dress with pink puffy sleeves, which I didn't really care for.

She walked back to the dressing room, pulling me by the hand. "Beth, do you really want me in there when you change?"

"Don't be silly, Daddy. I'm going to need you to make sure I can get these on right. And I want to look pretty for you anyway. You want your Baby Girl to be pretty, don't you?" Did I ever.

Once we were inside she hung the dresses up and took the pink and black one. "Help me unbutton, Daddy." I obeyed and undid the buttons down her back. It happened in a flash. As soon as I got low enough to see that she wasn't wearing a bra, she dropped the front of her dress and her tits were completely bare and visible in the mirror in front of me. I froze. They were small and gently curved. Her slender body made them look bigger, though. In the middle her areolas were pink and larger than I expected.

As soon as I realized Beth could see me looking I immediately looked away. Was it a smile I saw on her face before I turned away? "Sorry," I cleared my throat. "I didn't know you weren't wearing a bra."

"I don't wear bras, Daddy. My boobies are too small and I don't need one. I wish they were bigger." She let that hang, and I realized what she wanted.

Again, I didn't really have a choice, did I? "They look very nice, Sweetpea. They're perfect."

"Aww, Daddy. You're so sweet." She leaned back into me. My hands spread over her flat, naked belly. It took every ounce of will I had not to move up and grope her tits.

"Ok, Baby Girl. That's enough of that. Let's see how this dress looks on you." I helped her get it on. My relief was palpable when she finally covered her tits up. The black dress clung to her body a bit more than most of what she wore and there was a V-neck.

She turned this way and that, looking at her reflection. "How does it look?"

"You look beautiful in it. Not sure about the sleeves, though."

"I like them. I think the whole thing looks cool."

"Suit yourself," I said.

"You said you needed me to come to show you what was in style. It's not the seventies anymore, you can't wear stuff like that shirt you wore to dinner."

"You watch your mouth, young lady."

"Am I in trouble Daddy? You gonna warm my buns up, spank me and teach me to be a good girl?" She grinned.

"Alright, alright. That's enough. You're not here to make Daddy feel uncomfortable." Though obviously she was. "Try on the other one."

I helped her unzip and then turned away when she pulled the blue sleeveless dress over her head, though the image of her small, freckled tits was burned into my mind. I heard the shuffle of her picking up the new dress and the sound of it unzipping. "For crying out loud! There's nothing to see now, could you help me?"

When I looked back at her, she was covered up, though I had never seen her wear something that showed so much skin. The dress wouldn't look scandalous on anyone else, but it was a shock to see her freckle-spotted shoulders and bare arms. It was tight around her hips and chest, leaving less to the imagination. I had wondered how much this ingenue thing was an act and how much was real. At this point I was sure she affected some of it.

She looked in the mirror, and the foolish grin on my face left no doubt how much I liked it. "Hmm, you like it don't you?"

"Yeah," was all I could muster.

"What do you like about it?"

For God's sake. "It's a good color for you. Umm... it's good on your figure."

She shook her head. "Dirty Daddy. You just like that you can see skin in this one."

"Who's the one breaking into dressing rooms where she's not allowed? I'd call that pretty dirty."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I want to wear this one out."

"I hate to be a wet blanket, but are you sure your mom will be ok with that one?"

"What difference does that make?" She rolled her eyes. "I like this one. And you said-"

"I know, but listen. Is it worth it having a fight with your mom over this? How about we keep it at my place? You can put it on whenever you come over or when we go out together."

She looked like she was going to argue, but then nodded her head. "Ok, that sounds like a good idea. Smart Daddy."

"I have my moments, just wish there were more."

Like I had promised, we went to a pizza place in town to have lunch. "Wow, Daddy, you really do like this dress as much as you're staring."

"Oh so you wear pretty, sexy clothes to

not

be looked at?"

"Sexy? Kind of naughty calling your little girl that."

"You've been teasing me all day, I got your number," I said. "I think you like to get Daddy's attention and then you act like he's the one being provocative."

She folded her arms in front of her. "Whatever."

But her cranky attitude disappeared when the pizza got there. "I did have fun today, Daddy. Thank you for taking me out."

"I needed your help, that's all. Thanks for coming."

She reached across the table and grabbed my hand. Like when Judith said grace at dinner, her hand felt warm and dainty. "I don't know why you do it. You're so nice and good to me, why do you even want me around?"

A week before, an honest answer would have been impossible. I was horny and I liked having her around because I was a dirty old man, just like she said. But now it was different. It had been years since I felt like someone needed me. For so long no one cared about me except work, and that was just because I was a dollar sign for them. For someone to really care for me again was a shock, it's like I had forgotten what a relationship was like when it wasn't just transactional. "You need someone to take care of you. I don't know if your mom gives you everything you need and I don't think you're getting the life experiences you need. You're twenty years old and she treats you like a child."

She was caught off guard by my candor. "What do you mean?"

"I guess I just saw how happy you were being able to choose what you wanted. I saw how happy you were spending time with me and how happy you were when I found Cody. I haven't been needed in a long time," I said.

"Well, you do make me happy, Daddy. And I could tell you were lonely. Sorry if that's too personal." She looked in my eyes for a moment, as if she could find some kind of insight just by staring. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything, Sweetpea." I had some idea of what was coming.

"What happened to your wife, Abril?"

I hadn't told this story to hardly anyone. It was part of why I kept my distance. I didn't want to explain, didn't want to live it over again. Most of all I didn't want to attach to someone who I could lose like I lost her. I took a deep breath. "We were having a little trouble with money and I had the brilliant idea that I could work on an offshore rig and make enough so I wouldn't have to work the whole year. Abril was having a lot of trouble putting her degree to work. No one wanted to hire a Mexican woman with an accent for anything more than a secretary, so that's what she did.

"My first oil rig job was off the coast of Texas. I remember the last thing she said to me as she dropped me off. 'Just don't make this a permanent thing.' She didn't like how often I would be gone. I promised to call her when I got there. It was expensive as hell to call from one of the platforms, so I couldn't do it every day. She cried that first night when we talked, saying she missed me and she was scared. Can't say I was dry eyed either, and scared too. As much as I did to reassure her, she thought that it was too dangerous for me to be working on a rig and she couldn't stop thinking about it. I told her she would get used to it, and it wasn't that much more dangerous than working any other industrial job. It didn't amuse her when I told her that statistically delivering pizzas was more dangerous."

Beth had a look on her face I had never seen before. I saw dread there, and focus, and sadness. "I talked to her every few days, but we had to keep it short. Anyway, one day I was working the night shift, which meant I went to sleep around six AM. They woke me up. It wasn't that unusual. When we did an evac drill they would get everyone out of bed regardless of what shift they had. So that's what I thought it was. But the guy who woke me up wouldn't tell me what it was about. The look on his face scared the shit out of me and soon I was sprinting to the phone." I gulped, "There was a cop on the other end. She was hit by a drunk driver, just coming home from buying groceries. She was pronounced dead when they arrived at the hospital. Fuckin' shit." I used my napkin to wipe my tears. "I cried then too. Full on blubbering and snotty in front of everyone.

"They let me off early and I made it home in time for the funeral. Her mom and dad were there, and her brothers. I tried to convince myself that they didn't blame me. I had taken their baby away and they hadn't seen her in years, and now they had to come here for this. I felt selfish for what I had done. I had hurt her and her family even though I did my best, but I could see it in their eyes. I was a fuck up and had destroyed their family. So all these years I didn't want to hurt anyone else like that and I kept my distance."

I cleared my throat. "So now you know the whole fucked up story. One thought that stayed with me was that..." my voice cracked. "That I wasn't there to see her die, and I was glad. To be with her, not knowing if she would survive, not being able to do anything while she slipped away in agony. By the time I knew anything happened, all was said and done. I was glad I was spared from that. How fucked up is that?" I had to stop. Crying my eyes out in a pizzeria was not how I had planned to spend my day.

"Daddy..." Beth squeezed my hand and tried to sooth me.

My shoulders heaved with my sigh. "That was five years ago. The only friends I had were at work. I would see them once in a while, you'd be surprised what a small world roughnecks are. Anyway, when you said I looked lonely and I needed someone you were right. And I never connected with anyone since then. I didn't want to hurt them or hurt myself when they were inevitably gone. But," I forced a smile, "I guess you're the first to get through all that crap."

Beth got up and got behind me and rubbed my shoulders. "I'm here Daddy. You don't have to be alone anymore. I'm not going anywhere, promise." She pushed herself in front of me and awkwardly sat down in my lap. Even with my tears, my all-day hardon hadn't gone away. Her round little butt pressed right into it, there was no disguising what was there. She kissed my cheek, then my lips, running her hand through my hair and whispering "Daddy, Daddy," to me.

We didn't finish much of the pizza. When I drove her home I had to convince Beth that I was ok and she didn't have to come back with me. And I guess, in a way, I was ok. At least I was getting there.

—

No one likes a phone call waking them up in the middle of the night. And that went double for me after what I had been through. The ringing phone made me jump out of bed, my hands trembling. My mind was foggy with sleep, and I imagined all kinds of groggy, half-baked scenarios, each worse than the last.

"Hello," I slurred into the phone.

"Daddy! Oh my God! I'm so glad you picked up." Her voice was frantic.

"Baby Girl, you scared the shit out of me. It's midnight."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't." I could hear in her voice that she was near tears.

"Ok, so what's wrong?" I couldn't keep the irritation from my voice.

"I'm sorry Daddy! Honest, I didn't want to disturb you!"

"Beth, just tell me. I need to go back to sleep."

"Ok... There's someone out there, in the yard! I'm really scared, and I can't go back to sleep."

"There's nothing around here that can hurt you. And even if there was, there's no way it could get in the house. What did you hear?"

"It was a crash. I think one of the trash cans fell over. I could tell it wasn't cats."

"Alright, Beth. Well you're fine, there's so many animals around here. Raccoons, possums, and skunks, and they're all more afraid of you than you are of them. You're totally safe. Now go back to bed. You can come over tomorrow if you want to."

"Daddy, please."

My patience was really wearing thin here. If it had been anyone else I would have snarled and hung up a long time ago. "You're being ridiculous, Beth! Go back to sleep."

"Daddy, I can't!" Now she really was crying. "Please just come over, I promise I won't keep you long. I promise."

"Fuckin' shit. Fine." I grumbled and hung up.

I just put on my boxers and a t-shirt. I grabbed my extra strength flashlight and drove down to Beth's house. She was at the door when I got there and opened before I knocked. Her eyes were red with tears and she was wearing the same nightgown she had before. Cody was behind her, whining and alert. The dog being spooked probably scared her as much as anything. She pushed Cody back and crashed into me. "Oh Daddy! Thank you thank you thank you. You're so good to me Daddy! I love you." She said into my chest as she squeezed me tight. I cringed at her using that l-word.

"Ok, ok. Jesus. I'm gonna show you that there's nothing to worry about. Where did the sound come from?"

"The trash cans are around the side of the house."

"It's just going to be an animal." I grumbled.

"I'm sorry! I know you're mad."

I swung the flashlight around the front of her house. Off to the side of the garage were a couple of trash cans. If there was any animal, it would be around there. As I approached, I could see that both of the trash cans were indeed knocked over. Rounding the side, a couple of flashing eyes looked my way. The animal looked at me for just a second, then turned its ringed tail and sprinted away. Another raccoon emerged out of the refuse and dashed after it. I huffed in frustration and righted both of the trash cans.

Though I was still irritated that she had woken me up, there was part of me that was gratified "saving" her. And I was glad she didn't let Cody out. A raccoon can tear up even a big dog like him. Beth was peeking out the door as I rounded to the front of the house. "Raccoons." I told her.