All characters are above the age of 18 unless otherwise specified.
This story was originally written as part of a different story already published before I cut it and reworked it as a standalone; you can still think of it as a spiritual prequel if you desire.
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"What should we watch?" Ashlie asked, plopping herself down on the other side of the couch from me.
I took a brief glance at my watch; 8:32.
"Nothing too long, it's already kinda late."
"Are you kidding me?" she asked, stretching her long legs out and giving me a gentle shove on the thigh with her foot. "The night's just beginning."
I chuckled. "Maybe when you're 19. Come back when you're 47 and try telling me that."
Ashlie curled herself back up on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. She had the TV remote in-hand and was flipping through Netflix or HBO Max or something.
"So no Endgame then?"
"How long is it?"
Ashlie sighed. "Three hours. But you still haven't seen it! It's been years. You haaave to watch it," she pleaded.
"Uh-uh," I replied. "Put on a TV show. Or a movie's fine if it's like an hour and a half. I'm gonna be tired soon."
"Ugggh," Ashlie groaned. "You're fucking boring!" She feebly tossed one of the throw pillows at me, sailing it two feet over my head. Another reminder why she did cheer and gymnastics, and not softball.
"Hey you need to respect your elders. Besides, I'm not even a quintagenarian, you're gonna be in my seat sooner than you realize."
"I don't even know what the fuck that word means," she replied.
I pushed myself up from the couch and let out an exaggerated sigh. "You need to read more books," I said as I made my way to the kitchen from our living room. "Find something to watch, I'm grabbing a glass of wine."
"Wine, dad, really?" Ashlie asked. I looked back and saw her head peeking over the back of the couch, a very judgmental look adorning her face.
"It's good for your heart," I reasoned.
"Well can you get me a glass too?" she called back, a hint of both desire and insecurity in her voice, unsure if I would oblige her request. We hadn't raised our daughter to be a prude or anything; we certainly didn't encourage a party lifestyle but we also wanted to make sure she wasn't coddled and was prepared for the inevitable time when parties would happen and guys would be flinging themselves at her. Ahh, the struggles of having an attractive, popular daughter.
Still, this was the first time our baby girl had ever actually asked to drink, at least at home. And now I had a big decision to make. Of course it was just me at home, I couldn't defer to my wife.
"Uhh, sure," I answered, forcing myself to go with my gut reaction. I did always try to be the cool parent after all. "Red okay?"
"Yeah, whatever you're having," she responded.
"Sounds good," I yelled back from the kitchen as I poured two glasses of Cabernet. I added a little bit of water into Ashlie's glass, just to make the taste a little more palatable; it's the way her mother took her wine (except with sparkling water).
"Any reason for the sudden change?" I asked as I made my way back from the kitchen.
"What do you mean?" Ashlie responded, taking her glass.
"You've never asked for a drink before."
"Well I'm leaving for college soon. You guys already know I'm not gonna be a big drinker or anything, but I want to have at least a little experience. Just so I know my limits better."
That sounded like reasonable enough justification for me. I was far more of an alcoholic at her age, so I wouldn't complain about just a baby step.
Ashlie took a sip of her wine. Her face twisted up initially and she forced herself to swallow it. I smiled, remembering the days before I acquired the taste for wine.
"Did you find us something to watch?" I broached, changing the subject.
"Yes!" she said enthusiastically. "It's a rom-com, and you're going to hate it!"
"Ahh fuck," I grumbled. "Seriously?"
Ashlie giggled, taking joy in my displeasure. "It's only an hour and twenty minutes, and that's all you said!"
"Fine!" I begrudgingly relented. I took a long sip of my wine. I was a little surprised, it actually tasted a little sharper than usual. I typically preferred my wine smoother and less acidic.
Ashlie pressed play on the movie, and the production logos started to play. I stood up, drawing her attention to me.
"What're you doing? I just started it."
"I need something a little different," I answered.
"Well can you leave your glass here then? I'll finish it."
"Uhh, sure," I said, seeing no harm in it. That would actually be a good transition from her anyway, going from the watered-down version to the standard Cab.
I returned to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of Bulleit, the one type of liquor my wife never liked to share, making it my own special treat. I poured two fingers; it had been a long week.
"Not beer?" Ashlie inquired when I came back. The opening credits had just started to play.
"Nope. One of my favorite life lessons: beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, in the clear."
"So bourbon now lets you maybe transition to beer later but not the other way?"
"Exactly."
"Good to know," she said and took another sip of her wine. I noticed that one of the glasses was already empty, back on the coffee table in front of the touch. I raised my eyebrow a little, knowing she was on her second glass.
The movie had started. It was some paint-by-numbers thing from the 2000's with terrible acting that I vaguely remembered having seen on a plane a long time ago. Another one of those "unreasonably attractive people doing scandalous things to each other repeatedly" stories.
"I've definitely seen this before," I said a little bit in, once parts of the plot I remembered re-assured me.
"Really? When? Not the type of movie I'd have pegged you for watching."
"Uhh it was on a flight a long time ago. I want to say you were 5 or 6 and I was going out to visit Uncle Steve in Delaware."
"Wait Steve used to live in Delaware?" Ashlie asked.