Deana had always compared all the boys she dated to her dad, even at 18, but she figured that probably wasn't out of the ordinary for a teenage girl. She gradually drifted away from the fantasy for a real life with a husband. She was at college, and had fallen head over heels with a guy on the football team. Their brief but very hot romance ended in her getting pregnant and both of them having to drop out of college.
They had struggled from the very start. His parents wouldn't have anything to do with Deana or her new daughter. They constantly urged him to leave, and pay child support so that at least one of them could have a life. After, one fight too many, he did what his family wanted him to do. Deana's husband dumped her in the Kmart parking lot. After going through boxes of Kleenex and eventually got over the initial shock, she soon discovered that being a single mother was tough.
With every decision, you either reap the rewards or suffer the consequences. Make a wrong choice, and life can be hard, but for a single mother it can be complicated as well. It seemed many doors were closed to her and many people looked down on her and penalized her. She was a hard working individual, but try as she might, she couldn't catch a break. Daycare was outrageous.
The few times she qualified to be on unemployment and food stamps and earned any money at the same time they punished her. For every dollar she earned they would take a dollar away from unemployment and a dollar away from food stamps, so she lost a dollar for each one she earned. The support system wasn't designed for people that didn't want to stay on it. Finally fed up with bureaucratic bullshit, she said fuck you to food stamps and to the people who could care less that ran the programs. She worked multiple part time minimum wage jobs in order to make ends meet. Her ex-husband's true nature showed itself, his only contact with his daughter was a monthly check.
All of her paychecks combined didn't add up to one good paycheck. Even though she lived in a one room apartment, by the time she paid her rent and the daycare, food and things for the baby, there wasn't much left. She had tried very hard, but finally realized she couldn't do it on her own. She placed Beth in her carrier and went to a pay phone.
"Hello?"
"I have a collect call for anyone from a Deana Taylor, will you accept the charges?"
Dean responded, "Yes."
"Hi dad thanks for accepting the charges."
"That isn't a problem, why didn't you call me on your cell phone?"
"I pawned it, along with my wedding and engagement rings and everything else that I could."
Dean could hear a mix of emotions in his daughter's voice, "What's going on?"
"Dad, I know you're disappointed in me with how I turned out, but..." Deana had to stop talking, she couldn't talk and cry. She took a deep breath, "Can I come home? Please do this for your granddaughter if not for me."
"Honey, what are you talking about? I'm not disappointed in you. I take it you didn't get my letters."
"I didn't get any letters from you, Beth and I had to move around a lot."
"I wrote and told you that you could move back in with me, if you wanted to. The post office never returned the letters to me. When I didn't hear anything, I figured you didn't want to."
Deana started crying again, "I thought you were ashamed of me."
"Baby, that can't happen, I love you."
She was overwhelmed with the thought that all of her struggling could have been so much easier if she had just contacted her dad sooner. Then she beat herself up wondering how stupid she was.
"Dee, are you still there?"
She felt her heart jump in her chest as her dad called her the name he had used for her all of her life. "Yes, I'm still here."
"Would you like for me to come and get you?"
"Yes," her tears wouldn't stop.
"You quit your job; let your landlord know you are leaving. Just tell me where you are and I'll be there Friday morning to get you, and we'll go pay any bills you might have."
Friday morning came and brought with it a knock at the door. Deana opened it and standing there was the one person that would make her life better. She hugged and kissed her dad, then brought him inside. She felt tears of happiness slide down her face as grandfather and granddaughter played with one another for the first time. Sunshine filled the day and her heart. First he took her out for breakfast. After driving around paying off all of her bills, they returned to catch up her rent and get her things. For the first time in a long time Deana felt the weight of the world off of her shoulders.
As they drove away from her apartment and the town that had treated her so badly, she got choked up with emotion, "Dad I'm sorry you have to do all of this."
"Shut the hell up. --"
She froze, had her dad just cussed at her? He had never done that in his life. What was going on?
"-- You happen to be talking about the person that means more to me than anything, and you need to stop being mean to her."
Deana smiled, "Jerk."
Dean chuckled, "I love you too."
With Beth asleep in her car seat, Deana relaxed and quit picking on herself. It was a nice day, and she had worn shorts and a tee shirt. She took her shoes off, stretched languidly, propped her legs on the open car window and stuck her feet out.
"I haven't seen you do that in a long time."
She smiled, "I haven't felt this free in a long time." Glancing at her dad she noticed him staring at her legs and she felt a charge run through her. It had been a long time since a guy looked at her like that and her dad had never done it. She knew she should be embarrassed or something but it felt nice to be appreciated as a woman, so she looked out the window at the passing scenery, hoped he liked what he saw and said nothing.
The drive home was spent in pleasant conversation between father and daughter. Nothing was said about what she was going to do or any plans she should make. Her brain had been full of things to say in response to his questions about her future but instead he hadn't mentioned it. It felt almost like a drug being allowed to stop thinking about everything for awhile. They had to pull over a few times but for the most part Beth slept or played in her car seat.
Pulling up in front of the white Victorian house she had grown up in, a flood of memories took control of her emotions; the one in front of all of the others was her mom that had been dead for 10 years. Deana had basically been raised by her dad since she was 12. Her mother had insisted that their first child be named after her husband and Deana's name was just one of many things that made father and daughter close.
The three of them spent some time getting settled in and just relaxing. They had gotten take out for supper and brought it home to eat. After supper, grandfather and granddaughter played until bedtime. Deana went to her room where the crib had been set up and put Beth to bed. When she returned she was greeted by her dad sitting on the sofa holding a couple of drinks.
"Hum," she mumbled as she accepted the drink, "That's the first time you've ever offered me a drink with alcohol in it."
"You're 22 and I'm allowed. Besides, I figured you still need to relax. A lot has happened to you in the last few years." He gave her an understanding wink, "It's also why you haven't been asked what you are going to do. I figure your brain also needs to relax."
"Thanks dad." She sipped the rum and coke and felt the liquor slide down her throat. "I've made a mess of things haven't I?"
"Dee, I thought I told you to stop that."
"I'm sorry," She saw the odd look he was giving her. She had changed into the baggie shirt she slept in. Glancing down, she realized that her shirt had billowed open and he could see her breasts. She wasn't wearing a bra but knew he couldn't really see anything. To her surprise, she liked him looking at her and wasn't all that embarrassed by it. The same sensation raced through her that she had gotten when her dad had looked at her legs. Deana rotated, stretched and put her legs on her dads lap. Cuddling up next to him, she sipped her drink and watched the television. This continued every night after that; she loved it and looked forward to it all day long.
Dean had been running late getting home from work. He was still getting changed when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Before he had a chance to say anything, his daughter walked in. He was so stunned that he reacted slowly to cover himself up.