Chapter 5: The Morning After

I slept in late not rising until 11:00 a.m. Actually, I wouldn't have got up then but the telephone rang. I was dimly aware of the annoying noise and then I heard Cindy pick it up and say "hello", and then, "He's still in bed, let me see if he's awake."

I heard footsteps come up the stairs and down the hall. A small knock on the door, "Dad," Cindy said. "Are you awake?" I assured her that I was. "Rachel's on the phone."

"Okay," I said and picked up the extension phone on the stand beside the bed. "Hello."

"Good morning, sleepy head. I didn't mean to wake you," Rachel said brightly.

"Yes you did," I wasn't yet totally awake. "But it's time I got up anyway. I didn't get to bed until late last night," I said with a chuckle. "When I finally hit the bed I just sort of died. I slept good though."

"I did almost the same thing. I got started on a Danielle Steele love novel and couldn't put it down," I could hear the teasing in her voice. "Finished the whole thing before I went to sleep." I heard a cough in the background.

"Cindy! Don't you know it's not nice to listen in on others people's conversations?"

"Sorry dad," she said. "It's just that Dana and I were talking last night and we think it would be neat if you and Rachel could hook up. I just sort of to find how you were doing."

"Cindy," I said crossly. "Get off the phone." I heard click as she put down the receiver.

I returned to my conversation with Rachel, "I guess we better be careful what we say around the girls. Cindy never showed any indication of being nosy before."

"Oh that's okay. I don't where our relationship is headed but we DO like each other," and then with a question in her voice, "Don't you think?"

"I don't know about you," I said. "But I know I like you a lot. Probably more than I should since Karen's only been gone a month and the divorce won't be final until August. I guess I should be missing her more than I do but you've pretty much taken away the pain."

"Thanks, that's sweet of you to say but you've pretty much done the same for me. George has been pushing me to go with him to meet his parents in Connecticut. I was wavering but I realize now it would have been the wrong thing to do."

"What's the song say 'Looking for Love in All the Wrong places.'?" I chuckled.

"I suppose I ought to call him and let him know it's just not going to work for us."

"Maybe it's just me," I said. "But I think that's a cold way to go about it, especially if you get an answering machine. Maybe if you met him for coffee or something it would be a kinder way to go about it. That way at least he knows you aren't trying to hurt him."

"You have a point. I'll have to think about it. But hey," she said. "I actually called for a reason. I was wondering if you and the girls would like to come over for dinner on Sunday."

"That would be nice of you. But it may just Cindy and me. I have to drop Dana off at her parent's house tonight. Her parents get bent out of shape if she doesn't go to church. If you want to go along when I go to drop her off we could stop on the way and have an evening meal on the way back."