She put on the parking break but Nora's father was already walking down the driveway. He got in next to her, settled the big sealed salad bowl in his lap and shut the door.
"Hi hun," he said politely, buckling up.
"Hey... I thought we could hang out here a bit," she started, looked over to her father's house then back to the man. "But I guess you're all ready to go."
"Yeah let's not be late," he nodded, then he pointed down the street. "Take a left instead, they've got North Street blocked off for construction." Nora glanced at her GPS and followed her dad's direction anyway since he did generally have some very specific routes mapped in his own head. She would almost have fun comparing her GPS's instructions against her dad's, if Adrian wasn't so concertedly staring straight ahead for the entire trip. It bothered Nora that he hadn't really looked at her...
A few blocks before they would reach Barret's neighbourhood she couldn't take it any longer. They stopped at a red light.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, hands gripping the wheel. She noticed him turn his head in her periphery but Nora was suddenly wanting to focus on the road. He didn't say anything for too long.
"No," he said, then course corrected. "What do you mean?"
She thought about that night. She thought about that dinner. The actual dinner that he had cooked her. She had made him take his shirt off so she could try to sew the buttons back on (she couldn't) then he was forced to cook dinner shirtless but still wearing an apron. Nora found it so incredibly sexy she was barely able to keep her hands off of him as he chopped veggies and mixed sauces. They ate a wonderful dinner, talked and laughed. She idly stroked his cockunder the table and he fingered her to a fork biting orgasm. Then she washed the dishes, he put on his ripped shirt, kissed her on the head and they agreed she would pick him up on Saturday for the barbecue. They hadn't talk about anything else, of course. Maybe they should now.
"Nevermind," she decided, the light turning green so she moved on.
"Little Nora!"
Nora was wrapped into a tight squeeze she had to awkwardly endure, but secretly enjoy. She'd had a lot of secret enjoyment lately. Debbie Barret, or Aunt Debs as she liked Nora to call her, had always been one of her favourite family friends. The Barrets had watched her grow up essentially, but she had barely seen them since going to college.
"Good to see you Aunt Debs," she smiled, enjoying her warm little body. Debbie was a truly petite woman, a head shorter than Nora. She was busty though, and even through the older woman's dress and apron the pleasant softness of her body was a comfort. She was almost a bit jealous when Debs gave her dad a hug too, though she wasn't sure who she was jealous of.
There were just a few neighbours and work friends in the Barrets' backyard, and Nora knew none of them (or barely remembered them) but didn't much care. Everyone was pretty much a generation older than her but Debs was obviously keen to spend as much time with Nora as possible. They had a nice catch up sitting at the big wooden table on the patio by their koi pond. Work had been going well. Nora had been promoted since the last time she spoke with Debs which really only illustrated how long it had been since they'd been together. Debbie was a vet and it sounded like business was good, which was depressing in a way but she was a good vet so people's pets doing well was the important part. Adrian and Barret were nearby, idly chatting in front of the smoky grill, beers in hand. It was a nice warm evening.
"I'm so glad things are going so well," Debs told her, so genuine it had Nora welling up a little. She didn't usually get emotional like this, but there had been a stone in her stomach all morning. She watched her dad laugh at something Barret said. Debbie must have caught the frown and took Nora's hand. "Everything good with your dad?" she asked.
"What?" Nora stole her hand back then saw the surprise on the woman's face. She softened her own and smiled. "Sorry for my look. Work's just been a little crazy but I'm glad for the break. Thanks for inviting me," she said. "And Dad's good. We've been training together actually." Things had been good, at least until today. Debbie took the note at face value and nodded.
"That's wonderful," she added. "Simon always said he was the best trainer around. And you look great." The aforementioned men approached the table then, Simon holding a platter of variously grilled meats. Nora had almost forgotten Barret had a first name as the man took a seat across from his wife.
"The burnt bits were me this time," he admitted. "These ones are when Adrian took over." The tongs were gestured to the perfectly grilled chops and sausages on one side of the platter.
"A man of many talents," Debbie agreed sagely. The talented man only shrugged, humble in response. "Nora told me you two have been spending some quality father daughter time together."
Adrian stiffened, almost dropping his beer.
"What?" he said, eyes flitting to Nora. The panic in his reaction even had Nora sweating in that moment.
"Your training, I think it's sweet," Debbie clarified, forking a sausage onto her plate.
"Oh yeah. Yeah," he said, relaxing. Nora was getting a lump in her throat now and didn't understand why. Obviously the Barrets, or anyone, couldn't know about what she had done with her father. Yet her logical mind couldn't reconcile with her father's reaction just now. It was so confusing, but she couldn't put all the blame on her dad. She had been just as guilty in avoiding having a proper conversation with him about the whole situation.
"Wine?" Debs asked suddenly, standing. She looked around at the faces at the table.
"I'm good," Barret said, raising his bottle of beer, prompting Adrian to do the same.
"I'm driving," Nora added.
"Well I could use a good red. Honey help me pick out a perfect bottle," she insisted, tugging her husband's arm. The stocky man was a little confused but got up anyway to help his wife.
"You don't need to eat the burnt ones," he told them apologetically as he was pulled away from the patio to leave father and daughter alone.
They ate quietly for a few minutes. The silence dragged on in the midst of the low hum of conversation of the other bodies in the backyard. Adrian was very focused on his food, never taking his eyes off the plate.
"Dad, can you pass me the potato salad?"
He threw a timid glance at Nora and pushed the bowl over before returning attention to his immensely interesting porkchop. His daughter slapped a heavy dollop of salad onto her own plate and stabbed her fork into it. Why was he not looking at her? "Ketchup please."
He handed her the bottle blindly and she snatched it from his grip. That seemed to register but the man kept focus on his plate. Nora was glaring. _Look at me! _She wanted to yell, but then the Barrets returned with a glass of red wine and a bottle of an orange soda for Nora. They wafted through the tenseness and reseated themselves.
"I remembered you used to love this," Debbie said, placing the bottle in front of her. "Or if you want something else we should have it in the fridge. Lots of flavors."
"I'll get some water," Nora said abruptly and got up. She marched away without looking back at any of them and Adrian was finally pulled from his dining deliberation. He watched his daughter all but stomping across the yard back to the house, her faded mauve sundress flowing around her knees. When she disappeared into the door he felt the hot glare from Debs and met her gaze. She motioned to the house with her head as her husband obliviously decorated his plate with too much ketchup.
Adrian's intuition to give Nora some space in that moment was overridden by Debbie's significant look so he excused himself and trudged over to the house.
Nora was surprised to see her father enter the Barrets' kitchen but crossed her arms and returned to glumly facing their open fridge. The man hovered by the counter for a bit. Feeling like she should keep up her act Nora randomly grabbed another bottle of orange soda from the shelf and shut the fridge door.
"Nora?" he said, and finally she turned to him. The man looked to be struggling with what to say until he finally asked her. "Are you okay?"
Nora frowned.
"Am I okay? I'm not the one acting weird, dad," she said, forcing calm into her voice realising how warm in the neck she felt. She was glad the house was empty with everyone else outside for the barbeque. The door to the patio also would make a distinctive click if anyone opened it.
"I haven't been acting weird have I?" he wondered, brow furrowing.
"You've barely talked to me today," she accused him defensively. "You've barely looked at me!" Adrian's eyes widened and he self-consciously looked away. Realising his mistake he looked to her again but that pained expression flickered across his features again. Nora bit her lip, voice quavering. "Dad... did I do something wrong?"
Adrian didn't realise he was clenching his fists.
"What? No of course not," he said quickly. "Nora why... Nora no," he stepped closer to her, his heart aching seeing his daughter's eyes water. "I'm sorry. I just... I think this was a bad idea."
"What?" Nora gasped.
"I mean ... it was a mistake. I shouldn't have let you come today," he went on, looking to the floor. She was squeezing the glass bottle now, horrified. A mistake? He was telling her this now? Here? Was it over then? She wanted to beg him to stop talking but couldn't find her voice. "You being here now... it's really hard." Nora wondered why she hadn't started to cry yet, then his gaze found hers again. She thought she saw hurt in his eyes and her guilt rose. How could she have done this to him? "Nora... it's just... I want you so much."
