Memory Loss

Downstairs, Katie was already up and was reading something on a small portable screen, something she called a tablet. She looked like she'd been working out, based on her outfit - a sports bra and tight shorts - and the glisten on her exposed skin. She hadn't eaten yet, so she was glad to hear about our breakfast plans.

Kennedi was nowhere in sight, and when I asked, Katie said she was usually a late riser. "That's okay," I said, "I know what would wake me..." and threw some bacon into a pan. The smell of bacon would probably bring me back from the afterlife to come get a taste.

Breakfast was ready in a few minutes, and still no Kennedi. I shrugged and gestured the girls to the food. "Go ahead, I'll go check on the sleepyhead."

I marched down the hall and knocked on the door, which hadn't been closed completely shut. My knock pushed the door open slightly, and I peeked into the room... which I shouldn't have.

There stood Kennedi, my second daughter, pulling her shirt over her head, and showing her large, beautiful breasts in all their glory. As she got the shirt off, she saw me standing there, and let out a shriek of shock. "Oh my god," she said as she covered her chest with her hands, "Dad, you... oh my god."

I covered my eyes with my arm and turned away. "Sorry! Sorry, I... I just was going to say breakfast was ready."

I heard her quickly putting on clothes. "I could tell, I could smell the bacon from here."

I grinned, still looking away. "I knew that would lure you to the kitchen. No daughter of mine could ever hate bacon. See you in a minute." I walked back to the kitchen, but the image was seared into my brain. A gorgeous young blonde, large pert breasts, trim waistline, round hips, tight white panties, long slim legs.

Between last night with Kim and this morning with Kennedi, I felt like I was running on thin ice. I had entered dangerous territory here. The safest option for me would be to leave, to take a week away and reorganize my thoughts and memories, to try to remember my life before I tried to resume it. But I couldn't just take off and leave them behind. They needed me around, and they were trying to help me.

I especially couldn't leave Kimmy. Last night, she'd been terrified of me being suddenly gone. In her post-nightmare terror, she didn't run to her sisters for comfort, she had run to me. If I left now, I worried she might have a breakdown.

--

True to her word, Kennedi appeared in the kitchen to partake of the pancakes and bacon. She was dressed for the day in a skirt that went just past her knees, and a light blue button-up blouse. After we ate, she stayed to help me clear the dishes.

I felt awkward and I told her so. "I really am sorry."

She shrugged it off. "It's not a big deal. I guess I was really more shocked about you appearing there at the door suddenly." She placed some plates in the dishwasher, then turned to face me. "I guess the fact you saw my boobs was secondary. Now that I think about it, you've seen them before."

I dropped the dishtowel I was holding. "I have? You mean when you were little, right?"

"Well I guess I should tell you before now, before you find out accidentally and have a heart attack." She smiled. "We, I mean, all three of us girls, sometimes sunbathe topless by the pool."

"All three of you?"

She nodded. "It's something we used to do with Mom. No tan lines that way." She moved the shoulder of her shirt to show her skin, proving her point. "We usually told you when we were going to do it, and you usually kept your distance. But you've probably seen all three of us a couple of times."

I was blushing, I was sure I was beet red. "I... ummm... I'm glad you told me that," I managed to get out. "You know, before I stumbled onto it myself."

She took my hand in hers. "Don't worry, the fences and stuff around the house are thick. No one else can see in. And we're all pretty comfortable with our bodies. Mom taught us we shouldn't be ashamed of being girls and having boobs," she giggled with that last part.

I thought about what little I could remember about Kasidy. "No, I guess that's true." In the meeting I remembered, Kasidy was dressed to kill with a short skirt and tight shirt that showed off her chest. I glanced downward for a split second and saw Kennedi's blouse was unbuttoned a bit to show her own ample cleavage.

Kennedi hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm off to work, I'll see you later."

--

Katie, on the other hand, took the day off from work, as it was her day to spend with me. "I've got a plan for this morning," she told me with a wink, as we got in her car. Hers wasn't a Mercedez, but it was still a very nice sedan. I learned I'd bought each of the three girls a reliable car with my apparent wealth.

"So where are we going?"

"I thought it would be nice if we visited your mother." She glanced at me as she drove. "I let her know about the accident yesterday, and I told her you're having trouble with your memory. I thought maybe she could help."

We pulled into the assisted living home around 11:00, and Katie led me up to my mom's apartment. It was a nice facility with lots of smiling people in the hallway. Katie knocked three times, then just opened the door. "Grandma?" she called.

"Come in!"

I stepped in behind Katie, and got a glimpse of my mom. She was so much older than I remembered, and I tried to think of how to say that without sounding rude. Her brown hair was now grey, bordering on white. She'd put on some weight too. But her green eyes and her smile were the same, as she reached to pull me into a hug.

"How are you, son?"

"Mom, I'm fine. It's just awkward. I'm missing some history, but I'm physically fine."

We sat for a while, chatting in her apartment, then went down to have a meal in the facility's dining room. The food was much better than a normal old folks' home.

"So, Mom, can you tell me about Kasidy? What was she like?" I asked as we ate.

She laughed. "Well, I can certainly remember my shock when you told me that you were dating an adult actress. I wasn't too pleased about that," she reminisced. "But then you brought her home and I changed my mind. She was so sweet and endearing, it was hard not to like her. And I saw how you looked at each other, and I knew there was no stopping it anyway. Plus," she lowered her voice, "all that stuff she did on camera was before she met you, so it doesn't really count."

"I'm glad you liked her," I said. Katie just smiled from the seat next to me.

My mom took my hand. "I loved Kasidy. She made my only son so happy. And she didn't talk to her own parents, so she loved me like I was her mom. She was part of the family."

"What was wrong with her parents?" I wondered.

"Oh, they never got over their little girl's job choice," my mom said, shrugging it off. "Their loss. It just meant I didn't have to fight with them over spoiling my three wonderful grandbabies."

I turned to smile at Katie. "Yeah, they're pretty special all right. I heard you moved in for a few years to help me. After Kasidy died."

Mom nodded. "That pandemic. Took out her parents too. The girls took it hard, especially little Kimmy. You were stuck with three emotional teenagers, and I knew I had to help."

I thought about Kimmy's crying last night, and remembered her fear that she'd lose me as well. I imagined being thirteen and losing my mom; it would break my heart, so her emotional reaction made sense to me.

Mom looked pensively at me, studying my face. "You're really out of it, aren't you? I haven't seen you look that disoriented since... well, never mind."

"What? Look like that since when?"

She hesitated, then said, "You don't like to talk about it. Or, at least, you didn't. I guess it's better to talk about it now, since you don't remember. But we'll head back to the apartment." We finished lunch, I took her arm to walk her back. Not that she needed my assistance, but it was nice being near someone I remembered.

When we sat back in her living room, she explained the story. "A long time ago, you were in a car accident. It really shook you. You didn't like talking about it because it brought back bad memories."

This was news to Katie as well. "I don't remember anything about Dad being in an accident."

Mom nodded. "Well, it happened before you were born, sweetie. Actually, if I remember, your mom was pregnant with you when it happened. It was, maybe, six months after the wedding?" She shook her head, "anyways, you didn't want to talk about it. Kasidy saw a counselor a few times, but you refused to go."

I absorbed the new information. "But we were okay? I mean, not hurt?"

"Kasidy was fine. You protected her. That's how you got that scar on your shoulder."

"I have a scar on my shoulder?" This was also news. "How did I not know that?" I went to the nearest mirror and removed my shirt, so I could see my back. Sure enough, there was a sizeable scarring on the back of my left shoulder. I hadn't seen it because I hadn't known to look for it.

My mom and Katie both came up to me, and Katie touched it apprehensively. She said, "I asked about this scar before, and you said you fell when you were a kid, that it's always been there."

Mom said, "No, your father saw the other car coming, and threw himself over your mother, protecting her, and protecting you too." She hugged me, and continued to tell Katie, "That's the kind of man your father is. The kind of man I was proud to raise. The kind that puts family above everything else."

--

Katie noticed how quiet I was on the ride home. "Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know why, but I feel weird about not wanting to mention the car accident." I shrugged. "I mean before I lost my memory."

"How so?"

"Well, car accidents happen all the time. Why would that be such a big deal? Lots of people have accidents, and for some reason, I didn't want to talk about mine."

"So you think there's a different reason you didn't want to discuss it?"

I paused. "You're whip-smart, you know that? You're onto something."

She grinned. "I got my smarts from my parents."

"Yeah?" I grinned back. "You think?"

"You were always so logical, Dad. Perfect brain for a programmer. You believe there's a reason for everything. But Mom was smart in a different way. She was clever and insightful, almost devious. I remember her catching us before we could break rules, like she already knew what we were thinking."

"She probably did." I remembered more about her. "She really was clever. She convinced that producer of hers to meet with Pete and I, but it was because she wanted to meet with us. She manipulated and out-smarted him."

I paused again to think, long enough for Katie to look at me again. I continued, "I think she was that way with me too. She constantly called me, not Pete, for updates on the website. Then she made sure to flirt with me on each call. She probably wanted me to ask her out before I realized that's what I wanted too."

Katie grabbed my knee with her right hand and shook it excitedly. "Yes! Yes. That's what she used to say. She had to give you hint after hint that she wanted you to ask her on a date, and you finally figured it out. I'm glad you're starting to remember some things."

"Yeah, but this remembering is mentally taxing. I think I'm going to take a nap when we get home."

"That's okay. Just be ready to go around 5:30, I've made dinner reservations. We're going to have some real fun tonight."

--

"So have you thought about what to name her?" asked Kasidy, as we drove home from the clinic. Kasidy had her first check-up, and heard a tiny heartbeat, confirming that she was pregnant. We'd be going back soon for an ultrasound.

"Her? What makes you think it's not a boy?" I retorted.

"Woman's intuition. I can just tell," she replied. "We'll find out in a couple weeks anyway."

"Well, boy or girl, I know I'll love our baby forever. But what do you and our baby want for lunch?"

She gave a small smile and patted her still-trim belly. "Well I don't know about this one, but I could go for a good turkey sandwich."

"Well then, let's go to - " I saw the car out of the corner of my eye, and flung myself across Kasidy's body, bracing for impact...

I woke, sitting up quick in my bed. My face clothes were damp with sweat. I had a nightmare. No, not a nightmare, a memory. That conversation happened, right before the car accident. But I woke up right before the other car hit.

I was breathing hard, and my heart beat fast, so I almost didn't hear the tiny whisper coming from the bedroom door. "Daddy?" I turned to see a part of Kim's head, peeking from behind the door.

"Hi Sweetie."

"You were moaning in your sleep."

"I was having a bad dream. I'm okay now." I forced a smile, and she returned it. "I'm going to shower now, before I go out with Katie."

"Okay. Have fun."

--

When I came down in my khakis and a nice shirt, groomed and ready to go, Kennedi and Kimmy turned from the TV to see. Kennedi gave a little whistle. "You clean up nice for an old man."

"That stings, Kenni." That was the truth. I still felt like a twenty-something, so I wasn't used to having an older body. "I think I look fine."

Kimmy agreed. "You look great, Daddy." Her eyes then refocused past me. "And so does she!"

I turned and saw Katie, dressed in a pretty red dress, showing off her legs up to her knees. Her blonde hair flowed just over her shoulders, and she was wearing a proud smile.

"You look amazing!" I gushed, and she took my arm, blushing almost the same color of her dress.

"Thank you Father. Let's go eat."

--

Over dinner at a fun sushi restaurant, Katie told me about her job. She wasn't a tech person like myself or Kennedi, but she had her mother's business smarts. She was a low-level producer for an advertisement firm, but she had aspirations for moving up.

She had gotten started in that business by getting into a one-time TV commercial when she had been 16. The part was so small and she was on screen for barely 2 seconds, but she was fascinated by everything going on behind the camera, and decided that's what she wanted to be involved with.

"That commercial was just before Mom died, but she encouraged my dream. I loved how creative she could be, and I wanted to be that way too," she told me.

"Speaking of your mom," I said, "I think I remembered more about her. About us."

This peaked her interest. "Really? Tell me."

"Well, I kind of had a nightmare. About the car accident."

"Oh." Her smile turned to worry.

"But it was like a memory resurfacing. It was terrifying, but I'm wondering if it also means progress." I looked down at my hands. "I'm going to talk to the doctor about it on Friday, at our follow-up appointment."

She nodded, "That's a good idea." She got up from the table. "Now let's go, I'm not done with you yet."

We went from the restaurant to a nearby dance club. Katie was so energetic, but she was surprised when I was doing a decent job of keeping up. I think it was my 23-year old brain, not letting my older body slow me down.

When we took a break to sit and get a drink, I noticed other guys looking at her, and I told her so. "It doesn't bother you, does it?"

"No, I've gotten used to it. I think it gives me power. As long as they don't touch, they can look all they want." She gave a naughty smirk.

"Do you date much?"

She looked at her drink and shrugged. "I've had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. None of them really stuck, you know?"

I nodded, remembering a few girlfriends in college. "Yeah, I think I get it." I got nervous for a second, but then I worked up the courage to ask, "Any of those guys, umm, you know?" I made a vague hand expression and she got the meaning.

"You and I don't usually talk about it, but yes, there was one. But it wasn't good, and we broke up a couple weeks later."

My turn to look down into my drink. "Sorry if that's too personal. I'm still learning what boundaries we had. Have. Whatever."

"That's okay." She smiled again. "You know, we tried to set you up on a dating website, but that didn't go well either."

"You did?"

"Yeah, like a year ago? Kennedi and I decided that Mom had been gone a while, and we all wanted to see you happy. But the website matched you up with a lady that you didn't really like, so we decided that was a failure."

I chuckled at that. "Yeah? What did I say was wrong with her?"

"Well, for one thing, you said you preferred blondes, and she was brunette. But I really just think you weren't quite ready." She stood up. "But I'm ready for more dancing. Let's go!"

The more we danced, the more I was conscious of two things. First, guys her age were staring at her, at us, trying to figure out why a hot girl like Katie was dancing with an old guy like me.

But second, and more awkward, was that the music's average tempo was slowing down. They were playing more slow songs, I guess trying to encourage couples to get romantic. And my daughter wanted to dance to those songs. But it wasn't an awkward high-school dance, standing at arms' length from each other. She was pressing her body against mine, head on my shoulder.

This felt really good, but it felt too good. I was starting to become aware that Katie's dress was a little thin, and she wasn't wearing a bra underneath. Furthermore, I was feeling the beginning tinglings of an erection in my pants. Once again, I was on the brink of a disaster. I didn't want another awkward moment with another daughter. I tried to gently break apart a bit, or turn my body, but she wasn't budging. I imagined she felt the same initial shock that Kim had felt when I got hurt, but had hidden it better; where Kim had been a sobbing mess, Katie had buried it down.

But none of that was helping my involuntary physical reaction to an attractive blonde, slow-dancing with me. Thankfully, the song was coming to an end, and I could feel her separate slightly. I took the opportunity to take her hand and give her a gentle spin, which made her giggle. As the song ended, she and I looked at each other and I felt an unspoken agreement that we were done dancing.

As we walked back to the car, I made sure to open her door for her, and she rewarded me with a small kiss on the cheek. A few guys were in the parking lot, watching us. When her door was closed, and she couldn't hear, one of them called to me, "Hey man, how'd you get a girl like that?"

I decided to have fun with them. "I'm rich," I said, shrugging, "and she's my trophy wife." Their eyes went wide with shock as I got in the car and we drove off. I told Katie what I had told those guys, and she laughed.

--

Getting home, Katie took my arm as we entered the house. I noted Kim was still up, though it was past 11PM. She appeared to be watching TV in the living room, but on second glance, she was probably asleep on the couch.

Katie and I walked past, and up to our rooms. She turned to me and giggled, "I had a wonderful time on our date."

I took the hint and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. To my surprise, she turned her head, and turned mine with a gentle hand on my face, and caught my lips with hers. She pressed her kiss to mine for only a second, but it felt longer. It was definitely more than the peck that I had intended.

Then she went into her room, leaving me in the hall. "Good night Dad," she called as she closed the door behind her.

I stood stunned for a minute, and tried to think it was still innocent. At least I hadn't seen her half-dressed like I had with her sisters.

I changed into sleeping clothes, then went back downstairs. Kim was still lying on the couch, definitely sleeping. She had changed for bed, though; her long sleep shirt ended just above her knees, again displaying her cute, smooth legs to me. I watched her peacefully sleep for a little while, wondering again how I suddenly got not one, but three, beautiful daughters.