Chapter 13: Returning to Normal

After seeing the kids off, I returned to Rachel in the rehab center. She was all smiles, "Hi honey. I'm glad you came back because we need to talk about Cindy." She giggled, "I hear that you thought she was me."

I'm sure I got red in the face. "I hadn't any slept for two days," I protested. "I can't believe she told you about that."

She smiled, "Oh don't your shorts in and uproar. I know nothing happened once you knew what was going on. She told me she liked what happened before you realized it was her. I can just imagine the look on your face when she screwed up and called you daddy."

I'm sure my faced turned red. She laughed, "It probably looked like you look right now. But if you think about it, almost every girl things her father is "groovy" even if he is old and deep down every girl looks for a man like her father. I have some other things to tell you but this place is too public but when I get home next month we'll have to discuss it. In the meantime, you'd probably be wise to put her on the pill."

"You really think that's wise? I mean it's sort of inviting her to screw around," I responded.

"She's at the age where she's going to want to spread her wings, so to speak. I know that she already carries a condom in her purse. But in the heat of the moment it's easy to forget. Besides, we both know they don't always work."

A condom in her purse? I opened my mouth but no words came out.

She plunged on, "She's smart enough to know that her hormones might get the best of her. That's why she doesn't see Brian without Dana around. She wants Brian but she doesn't him to be her first. She has someone else in mind for that."

I didn't think I wanted to know who it was she had in mind. To change the subject I asked her about her rehabilitation. She was trying as hard as she could to get home as soon as possible because, according to her, she needed "some loving" which, also according to her, was the best possible rehabilitation she could have. I left early enough to get home before five because I wanted to be there when Cindy got back.

When I arrived around a quarter to I was shocked to find that Cindy was already there and was cooking supper. "Hi Cindy," I said. "I'm surprised that you're here already. I thought you'd be off still running around with your friends."

"I thought about it," she replied. "But I was almost out of gas so I just dropped them off and came back here and started supper."

Her comment jarred my memory. "I forgot," I mumbled. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I pulled out the debit gas card that I had got for her and handed it to her. "You are going to need this. It has a four hundred dollar limit so you're going to have to be careful how you use it but it should help in an emergency."

She held a spatula in one hand and looked at the card in the other. "This has my name on it," she said. "I thought I was too young to get a credit card."

"You are baby," I said. "It's not a credit card, it's a debit card. I opened a four hundred and fifty dollar checking account in your name. Every time you use it, whatever you spend would be deducted from what's in the account. I'll put another four hundred dollars in it once it gets down to fifty dollars or less. That assumes that you don't overspend. In that case I'll just cancel it."

"Gee, thanks dad," she laid the card on the counter and went to stirring the spaghetti sauce. "Dinner will be ready as soon as I boil the spaghetti."