Chapter 34: Last Minute Plans

To say that Greg was confused by his daughter would be an understatement. It seemed that every time he saw Cathy, she was giving him a hug or asking if he needed something. When she had run into the house, he turned to his wife and asked, “What’s up with Cathy?”

“What do you mean?” Sharon asked.

“Every time I see her, she gives me a hug,” Greg answered.

“You might not remember, but you said some very nice things to her the night you came home drunk,” Sharon answered.

“That evening is a little fuzzy,” Greg admitted wondering what he could have said that had such a profound effect on his daughter.

“You told her that you love her,” Sharon said.

“Oh. She should know that,” Greg said recalling the words of Jack that women needed to hear the words. He sighed and said, “I guess I should tell her that more often.”

“She needs to hear that from you. This is a very tough time in a girl’s life. She’s on the threshold of being an adult. The body is still developing, the emotions swing from one extreme to another, and her life is transitioning from childhood to adulthood,” Sharon said.

Greg looked down at his drink and nodded his head while thinking about it. Cathy came out of the house with the tray of snacks. Before she was too close, he leaned over to Sharon and asked, “Do you think it would be a good idea if I took her out for dessert tonight?”

Smiling, Sharon said, “I think that would be a perfect idea.”

Cathy bounced over and said, “Here are some snacks for you, Daddy.”

“Thanks, Cathy,” Greg said with a nod of his head and a smile. He accepted the plate filled with cheese squares and sliced apples. He took one of the cheese squares and popped it into his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he swallowed. Looking over at Cathy, he said, “How about you and I going out for dessert tonight? We can call it a father-daughter night.”

“Really?” Cathy asked surprised at the invitation. She couldn’t remember ever doing anything like that since the father-daughter nights when she was a Brownie.

“Yes,” Greg answered. He wondered where they could go for dessert, but decided that he’d have a chance to ask Sharon before they actually left.

“I’d love to do that,” Cathy said jumping up and giving her father another hug.

Looking at her husband and daughter, Sharon couldn’t have been happier. Things had changed so much since the night she had gone over to the Green’s for dinner. She had regained a loving relationship with her husband. They had established a relationship with the kids. It almost seemed too good to be true. Pleased, she said, “Let me go in the house and prepare dinner.”

“Okay,” Greg said knowing that the next night it was his turn to cook something on the grill.

“Do you need some help?” Cathy asked brightly.

“I can always use a little help,” Sharon said rising from her chair. Cathy followed her into the house leaving Greg seated by the pool with a small plate and a glass of wine.

Watching the women enter the house, Greg thought about the changes in Cathy. He didn’t ever remember her being that expressive of her feelings. There had been a time when she was a happy little girl playing with her Barbie Dolls. Then one day, she had turned thirteen and turned from a happy little girl to a sullen and withdrawn teenager.

He smiled and took a sip of his glass of wine. For four years his marriage had been spiraling into the dumpster. In fewer than four months it had bounced back with a vengeance. In some ways it was a lot better than it ever had been. His sex life hadn’t ever been better. Maybe it was his age, but he was fully satisfied with his sex life. Sharon was getting more experimental in her approach to sex.

For one of the first times in his life, he was pulling ahead of his debts. It hadn’t even impacted their lifestyle. It was more from saying no to new expenditures than cutting back on existing expenses. There were times when he was tempted to keep up with the neighbors, but they were becoming few and far between. His priorities had changed, and his family had reacted to that.

He looked at the plate of treats and grabbed a slice of apple. As he ate it, he compared it to the stale popcorn that had been his typical late afternoon fare. It was a much healthier choice. The recent months had been filled with so many changes and all of them for the positive.

Harry came out and sat down in the chair next to him. With a grin, he said, “Ted has a date tomorrow night.”

“Ted has a date? Who is she?”

“A girl we met last night at the Karate Center,” Harry answered.

Wondering why Harry was bringing it up, he said, “That’s nice. I hope he has a good time.”

“Lisa and I are going with them to the bowling alley,” Harry said.

“Oh, it’s a double date. Don’t put any pressure on the young couple by being too lovey-dovey,” Greg cautioned.

“Don’t worry about that. Ted discovered that her father is the new Chief of Police. I imagine that he’s scared to death of touching her,” Harry said with a laugh. Poor Ted had nearly been hysterical when he had discovered what her father did for a living. He had kept saying that her father would throw him in jail if he even kissed Amy.

“Ted’s a nice kid,” Greg said. Of course, he understood exactly how the girl’s father would feel if Ted did anything with the girl. He was tempted to suggest to Daryl that he take the girl’s father to a particular bar.

“So do you know how to bowl?” Harry asked.

Greg laughed and said, “I’ve never bowled in my life. I can’t help you out there.”

“Ted is not going to be happy about that,” Harry said.

“There’s a diner next to the bowling alley. Why don’t you go there and have some milkshakes?” Greg suggested.

Harry compared the planning that had gone into his first date with Lisa and this date. At the time, he had been concerned that all of the suggestions that his parents had made were a little too intrusive into his life. Now, he appreciated every suggestion they had made. He nodded his head and said, “Ted might like that.”

“Of course, that won’t be a long date. You’d need something more to do than that,” Greg said thinking about the matter. He asked, “How much is already arranged?”

“Well, her father arrived while we were discussing getting together and we hadn’t made too many plans. We were kind of stuck with bowling,” Harry answered.

“So I take it that no one really wants to go bowling, but you feel pressured into that because you told the girl’s father that is what you would be doing,” Greg said. He wondered how he would react if Cathy’s boyfriend had started changing date plans at the last minute.

“That’s right.”

“Go get the newspaper. Maybe we can find some way to salvage this date,” Greg said.

Harry ran off and returned after a few minutes with the newspaper. He handed his father the local section. Greg opened the paper and glanced over at the local events section hoping something would catch his eye. He chuckled and said, “Tomorrow afternoon there is a community meeting to introduce the Police Chief to the town.”

Harry laughed and said, “That’s a good suggestion for tomorrow’s date. I’m sure that Ted can’t wait to get to know her father better. I’ve been around Mr. McCullum for months and he still scares me to death.”

“There’s a church social,” Greg said with a grin.

“I’m sure her father will appreciate that, but I’m not too sure that Ted would be too happy,” Harry said and laughed at the idea of that being a good first date.

One item caught his eye and he read it a little closer. After humming to himself, he said, “The fire department is having a fund raiser. They’ve set up carnival rides, games, and food stands.”

“Where?” Harry asked thinking that would be a good first date.

“Behind the firehouse near the park,” Greg said. Looking over at Harry, he said, “That would be a good place to go.”

“Let me call Ted,” Harry said. He rose and went into the house without waiting for an answer from his father.

To say that Ted was nervous about this date would be an understatement. He felt like the canary who was invited to dinner with a roomful of cats. He had gone through his closet trying to pick out just the right shirt to wear with his pants. About the time when he thought he was going to lose it, his father knocked on the door. Opening it, he said, “Hi, Dad.”

Seeing his son without a shirt on, Daryl said, “Still getting dressed?”

“Yes. I don’t know what shirt to wear,” Ted answered.

Daryl went to the closet and picked out a shirt. After checking it for obvious problems, he said, “Wear this one. If she has a problem with this shirt, then you’ve done something wrong.”

“Thanks,” Ted said accepting the shirt from his father.

“So you are going bowling?”

Ted shrugged his shoulders and said, “I haven’t talked to Amy yet, but Harry suggested that we go to the fire department fund raiser. I’ll have to ask her father about that.”

“He’s the new chief of police. I imagine that he will be attending the fund raiser,” Daryl said.

“I’m not sure that is a good thing,” Ted said. He looked down at his shirt and realized that he had misaligned his shirt buttons.

Grinning at the obvious nervousness of his son, he said, “Take it easy. Just be nice and attentive to her needs. Don’t overwhelm her with too much attention, though.”