No one under the age of 18 is engaged in any sort of sexual activity at all. It is neither implied, inferred, suggested nor endorsed by this author.
Father-Daughter Love Story
Alex Thompson - me (Dad). 40 years old. 6'2", 210 lbs., dark brown hair with a little graying, and brown eyes.
Katherine "Kat" Thompson - daughter. 18 years old. 5'5", 105 lbs. light brown hair and brown eyes. 36C-22-36.
My biggest challenge bringing up my daughter, Katherine, on my own was not only to ensure I was responsible and loving, but also to make sure I wasn't overbearing as I raised her. I was thrust into the role of single parent when Kat was only eight years old. Her mom died in her sleep when two blood clots cut off the oxygen supply to her heart while I was out of town on a business trip and Kat was at school. It was absolutely devastating receiving the phone call from the local coroner telling me I needed to cut my trip short to come home and receive the details of my wife's death.
The more difficult task was breaking the news to Kat, who was my wife's pride and joy. They were so close and Kat took the news as expected. At times, she seemed inconsolable but, other times she said she had to grow up and become an adult and take care of me. After the funeral, Kat had nightmares, sometimes two or three times a week, and she would crawl into bed with me and into my arms so I could hold her as she fell asleep. The nightmares continued for a few months but, thanks to counseling we both went through, the nightmares subsided.
Even though the nightmares had gone away, Kat still wanted to sleep with me because she felt safe. She always wore her favorite pajama sets, several for the cold months and several for the warm months. The biggest constant was her teddy bear, Mr. Pickles. She named him that after her favorite snack, pickles. I thought it was cute and I wanted to make sure Mr. Pickles was always at her side as she slept.
Over the years, Kat had grown into a wonderful young lady. She spent quality time with both sets of grandparents during the summer time and she learned how to cook from both grandmothers. She had developed quite a knack for culinary skills and we often had some amazing dishes she whipped up on the weekends.
During her childhood and teen years, Kat decided she wanted to run cross country because, as she told me, it was therapeutic and helped her clear her mind of any stress she may have been feeling. I went to all of her meets, some she won, others she placed in the top three or four. I was happy to see her doing something she enjoyed so much. Often times during the off season, I would run with her around the neighborhood or we would break out our bicycles and go on lengthy rides.
During our runs and/or bike rides, Kat and I talked about a lot of things and we communicated so well with each other. It was odd because, as Kat told me, a lot of her friends could barely say 10 words to their parents without an argument breaking out. That wasn't the case with me and her because we always found interesting things to talk about. We often talked about her mom too. We both missed her but we knew that life must go on after loss.
Kat turned 18 in the month of June leading into her senior year in high school. I had some vacation time saved up and I wanted to take Kat on a trip to the North Carolina mountains so we could go hiking. We both looked forward to it because we loved the mountains and Kat said she had a special surprise for me for my 40th birthday. We got up that morning, ate breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and packed my car for the two hour drive to our Airbnb log cabin in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Along the way, Kat took pictures and videos in the car of the scenery and of us singing way off key to the songs on the radio. We didn't care how bad we sounded. We were enjoying ourselves. We got to the log cabin and went inside. It was exactly as depicted on the Airbnb website. We unpacked the car and went into town to get some groceries so we could cook meals while we were there.
After grocery shopping, we decided to make some soup and eat it on the front porch, while enjoying the mountain views as the sun set. After we finished eating, we decided to go for a walk down the road leading up to the cabin. We walked for about an hour before we decided to go back to the cabin and turn in for the night.
She showered first and changed into her pajamas and I showered next and changed into mine. We got into bed and she snuggled up to me and we fell asleep. Of course, Mr. Pickles was there next to us keeping us company.
The next morning, we got up and ate breakfast and went looking for some hiking trails. We found one not too far away between Boone and Banner Elk. It was called Profile Trail. At the one mile mark up the mountain, there was an observation point where you could sit and look out over the horizon. From your vantage point, you could see South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. The illustrative photo on the plexiglass covered map showed you which direction to look toward in order to be able to see each state. It was a breath taking view. A few feet above the marker, we found a tree to sit under so we could eat some snacks and drink our water and Gatorade and get some rest.
After we finished our snacks, I put our trash in one of the pockets of my backpack and leaned back against one of the trees. Kat decided to use me as a chair so I opened my legs and she leaned back against me and put the back of her head over my heart as I wrapped my arms around her.
"Dad, this feels so nice. Being in your arms is the best place in the world."
"I'm glad. I love having you in my arms. I love holding you."
"I wish all of my friends had Dads like you. You are amazing. And I love you so much."
"Thanks Kat. I love you too."
Other hikers arrived at the lookout point and we made small talk with some of them. One of the men offered to take pics of me and Kat still sitting under the tree so I handed him my phone and he clicked away before handing my phone back to me.
He remarked to me "You two make a very nice looking couple." And he continued up the trail.
We didn't bother to correct him as we smiled at each other while looking at the pics he took of us while I was holding Kat in my arms. We sat there for another hour before making the decision to walk back down the mountain to our car and go back to the log cabin. Kat and I fixed dinner together and ate. After dinner, she told me to not come in the bathroom because she had a surprise for me. I went outside and walked around the cabin, enjoying the nice mountain air until Kat called me inside.
I got to the living room and Kat told me to close my eyes. I did so. She led me by the hand and told me to open them a couple of minutes later. She had drawn me a bubble bath and had candles lit all over the bathroom.
"Happy Birthday Daddy. Get undressed and hop in. I will be back in a few minutes to bring you another surprise."
I got undressed and climbed into the tub. I didn't know what kind of bubble bath Kat used but the bubbles and foam didn't look like they were going anywhere for a while. I eased into the big garden tub and laid back to enjoy the hot water and the ambience of the candles. About 10 minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
"Can I come in Daddy?"
"Sure." My naked body was concealed by all of the bubbles.
"Here is a glass of wine. I packed your favorite for you."
She handed me my glass of wine. "I had a really nice day today Daddy. I hope you did too."
"Every day I spend with you, Kat, is a wonderful day."
