The Tip Jar by Dodge & Becs (aged 56 & 25)
"Dad, can I just use your PC for 5 minutes?"
"Go for it."
I ushered her into my study and she plonked herself down at my computer. I sat on one of the comfy sofas studying my phone.
"I just need to check Google Maps, the phone display is so small. Won't be a minute," she explained moving the mouse around.
"Oh yeah? going somewhere?"
"Don't know yet, might have a week in Toulouse, anyway ssh I need to concentrate."
"Toulouse? How come?"
She ignored me and made some notes on her phone.
"Right....done."
She closed the window down, and suddenly burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She could hardly suppress her giggles as she sat beside me on the sofa.
"Yeah I know it's funny isn't it, Google Maps? Especially that bit with the street view, just hilarious. Satellite view cracks me up every time."
She turned to me and cocked an eyebrow, a sardonic smile.
I let it pass. Young people- unfathomable. Women- unfathomable. Young women? Forget it.
"So you came straight from work? Train on time?"
Our relationship had become somewhat strained since my separation from the family home, but we were getting there.
"Yes."
I nodded sagely as though weighing up her detailed response. I suppose I'm something of a rambling man, and terse conversation makes me uneasy. I found my heel tapping on the floor, nervous.
"Yes, you came straight from work? Or yes the train was - "
"What's Chaturbate?"
"What? Chatter what now?"
"Chaturbate, the site."
I made a puzzled face, somewhat exaggerated, and shook my head, shrugging.
"There's a link to it on your desktop."
"OH yeah....yeah it's an AI program, does chatting in different languages-"
"Oooh really? Show me?"
"We-ell, we should be thinking about dinner...curry."
"OK, I'll ask again. What. Is. Chaturbate?"
I knew she knew. She knew I knew she knew.
"Just...y'know, women. Women doing things on camera."
"I see."
I couldn't read her. Was she pretending to be disgusted? Was this all a little game she was playing? We had always enjoyed these battles of wits, pushing the other to admit defeat, sometimes the contests would last hours.
I decided to parry her thrust with a high status move.
"Yes that's right Rebecca, women. Delicious naked women. Sometimes touching themselves for the pleasure of their viewers who also masturbate. That's the 'Bate' part, see?"
She breathed heavily. She'd lost the upper hand. She needed me embarrassed, squirming.
"And what do they get out of it, these slag- sorry, these delicious naked women?"
"Money. Men put tokens in her tip jar. The more they tip, the more she reveals."
She sensed a winning move. Paused, waiting to strike like a cobra.
"And you, father? Do you 'put tokens in her tip jar'?" She spat out the words while doing the air quotes.
She stared directly into my eyes, serious, excited at having played the winner.
I met her gaze. Not going to lose this one. I licked my lips.
"If she's worth it."
We maintained the stare for several seconds, then I saw a smile break at the corner of her mouth. I laughed. We laughed.
Good match, quick, light.
Except.
She left the room and went to the kitchen. I heard her rummage in one of the cupboards.
When she returned she sat opposite me on the other sofa and placed an empty coffee jar on the small table between us, relaxed, leaning back, saying nothing. She tied her hair back in a pony tail with a scrunchy.
Was she annoyed? I mean, a man should be able to enjoy videos of consenting adults without -