I walked into the kitchen with the groceries, wondering if I would have enough time to get everything done...the holidays were always so rushed and I could never seem to get everything done. I was also worried - the conversations I'd overheard had mentioned storms moving in and I wanted to check the weather. After I finished putting up the groceries, I went into the living room to turn on the TV - and my phone rang. Cursing modern technology - after all, I had a million things to do; what if it was my mother wanting to talk? - I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the screen.
When I saw the number on my phone, though, I stiffened in shock. It was my dad - I almost never heard from him after he and Mom divorced, and I was totally surprised. I was even more surprised when he said, in an urgent tone of voice, "Sweetie, I need your help - I want to have a party for you and your sister and brother tomorrow night. I just lost track of time and neither your brother nor your sister are answering their phones. Can you please help me?"
I sighed. I knew that my father had always been like this - spontaneous, unorganized - and I also knew that as the oldest, I would of course bail him out. I did feel a bit troubled, though - my father and I had always had an uneasy relationship, and during my teen years it had become worse. I shivered as I recalled many fights we had that had always led to physical contact - me slapping him and then him grabbing me, pulling me up to him...we always ended up with him and I being pulled apart from each other and me feeling odd and - something I hated to admit, even in my deepest thoughts - aroused. I never remembered my siblings getting into those fights - my sister never did anything my mother didn't tell her to do, and my brother was Daddy's boy. I often wondered what it was that drove my father and I to fight like that.
All of this flashed through my mind as I said, with only a trace of irritation in my voice, "Sure, Dad - it'll take me a while, but I'll be there." I could hear the relief in his voice as he responded, "Oh great! I'll be waiting." I hung up, grabbed my purse and hurried out to the car - forgetting to look at the weather report.
Dad lived about an hour out of town, in a wooded secluded area. It was not easy to find, but after only one false trail and a bit of backtracking, I finally found the drive and pulled in. Dad came to the door and waved to me, "Come on in!" I walked up to the house as a few lazy flakes started to fall and cursed myself for not looking at the TV before I came over. What if the people in the store were right? I'd be snowed in out here with my dad...the man I still had difficulty dealing with. But I knew I was already here and had to deal with things, so I took a deep breath and walked into the house.
I could smell a wood fire and hear the jazz my father always favored -- but this jazz was slower tempo, softer...more like the type of music you dance to, not get work done to. Dad could already procrastinate like no one's business, and I worried that the tempo would cause him to slow down. But when I saw the list on the kitchen island and noticed that Dad had actually come up with a game plan, I relaxed. Maybe he was improving!
Dad suggested we eat lunch first and then tackle decoration and prep-ahead items. I was pleasantly surprised at how industrious my dad was, and I agreed lunch sounded wonderful. We made a delicious salad and grilled fish -- I also noticed Dad's cooking skills had improved -- and as we ate, I kept looking over at him. As I said before, I'd always had a latent attraction for my father -- all my friends used to tell me how lucky I was to have such a hunk for a dad -- and I noticed that he was looking even better: more fit, more relaxed. I felt an odd stirring in between my legs and had to fight the urge to keep crossing and un-crossing my legs. I didn't want to give my dad the wrong idea, and my skirt was already hiking up my legs far too much for my comfort zone. I noticed then that my dad was looking at my skirt -- and my legs -- and that he seemed a bit uncomfortable as well.
He suggested we have some wine with the meal, and I agreed quickly. Maybe I could forget all this if I could just get relaxed! The problem was, though, that I kept downing my wine glass, and Daddy kept filling it up. I don't even know when I crossed over to calling him and thinking about him as Daddy. Probably about my fifth glass...about the time I noticed I was getting a bit flirty and touchy-feely, putting my hand on Daddy's leg as I laughed at one of his jokes, leaning over and probably showing a bit of cleavage -- ok, more like a lot of cleavage! I had forgotten I had put on a stretchy top that normally had a tank top under it, but that I hadn't worn because I hadn't planned on going out after grocery shopping...and a coat covers a multitude of sins. My bra straps kept showing, and I noticed my daddy looking a lot at my nearly-bare shoulders...and further down as well. My skirt kept creeping up, no matter how much I tugged on it, and I was wiggling around like the poor fish we just ate had probably done when it got caught.
I frowned. That thought bothered me for some reason, but I couldn't figure out why. I felt fuzzy-headed and told my Daddy so. He just smiled and said, "Why don't we go in the living room and just relax a bit? We should give that lunch a chance to settle as well, and I for one would love to have an opportunity to talk to my favorite child."
Favorite? Not my brother, whom he had clearly adored? I gave him a skeptical look, but just at that moment I tried to stand and practically fell into my Daddy's lap. Daddy grabbed my arms, standing up and pulling me next to him. "Whoa, sweetie -- let's get you in the living room and get you sitting down."
Oh...I was being held so close to him...to Daddy...I could feel his body next to me and the arousal he was feeling...My head swam and I began to feel extremely light-headed. I could vaguely hear my daddy's rueful apologies for giving me too much to drink, and then he pulled me up against him, his arm around my waist -- was that his hand on my butt? -- and carried me into the living room. I felt him lay me down on the couch...and then I passed out.