Page 7 of Falling for My Best Friend's Dad
Grief filled me for years and left no room for other women. Neither did my body respond to any female’s signals of sexual interest. But lately something is awakening in me. The hope. The curiosity. The lust. What’s happening to me?
I’ve known Kayla for years. I’ve always treated her like another daughter. These thoughts about her are inappropriate! Shit. When did they start? Since Ivy moved to the vineyard three months ago. The reason had to be loneliness. But then it wasn’t the first time my little girl left me alone. She was absent mostly in the past four years… so, why? Do I perhaps envy my old friend Gavin’s happiness and want a taste of it? That’s ridiculous. Just because Gavin’s marrying Ivy doesn’t mean I should have my way with a younger woman like him.
Besides, Kayla is unlike my infatuated daughter. The girl is ambitious. Her unfavorable family background forced her to be tough and practical. She doesn’t need protection from an older man, or any man at all. I’ve never seen her with any guy. From her banter with Ivy, I know she hasn’t had a boyfriend since high school. She knows what’s good for her, that spirited girl. Surely she wouldn’t want a forty-year-three-year-old widower to ruin her future.
I finish the last drop of wine in the glass and get ready to go home. My house is only a fifteen minutes’ drive from the restaurant. On my way home, I think about what to do about Kayla. I need to quit being a dirty old man. I need to get a life. I consider Penny’s proposal. As much as I want to keep concert-going a sacred part of my memory, it might be time to embrace new opportunities. Going out with my late wife’s acquaintance seems to be a better alternative than being obsessed with my daughter’s best friend. Besides, Penny is quite desirable a woman. Sure, she’s pushy and fastidious, but she’s also a capable woman. And we’re about the same age. Why not?
As soon as I get home, I send Penny a text.The answer is yes.
Penny’s reply is quick. “You made my day! When would you like to go? Friday evening or Saturday afternoon?”
I take a second to decide. “Weekends won’t work. What about Thursday afternoon? I need to be back before six.”
“Give me a minute.” Penny pauses as she probably checks the concert schedule. “Yes. There’s one from three to four-thirty. We’ll have time to grab a drink afterwards. I’ll pick you up at two-thirty!”
Excitement fills my heart. Well, it’s time to dig out my old suits.
As I look through my closet, I see Olivia’s dresses that I haven’t given away. A wave of nostalgia attacks me and I stand frozen as memory carries be back to the old days.
I met Olivia in my college sophomore year. I applied for a part-time job at her restaurant, named Olivia’s Bistro at the time. The job was meant for the summer only. Little did I know I would spend the next twenty-four years working there.
The moment I saw the brunette with green eyes that pierced my soul, and curves of a Goddess, I knew I was doomed. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman than her. I was nineteen, and she was thirty-four. I didn’t know how I passed the interview because I didn’t speak coherently at all. All I remember is from that moment on, she never left my mind. I was officially lovesick.
Olivia resisted me for about a year before we started seeing each other. When she found out she was pregnant she didn’t tell me right away, not until six months later, when her tummy was too obvious to be ignored. My mom didn’t accept Olivia at first and even threatened to disown me. But I didn’t give in. After Ivy was born, however, my mom doted on the child and became friends with my wife.
My world fell apart after Olivia died, I just didn’t think I would find another woman as amazing as she was. She started the restaurant with no one’s help. Olivia never went to college. She had to take care of her sick mom since she was a teen, and yet she was always cheerful. Even when she was in her final days, she never shredded a tear. Instead, she kept talking about the future. “I would like to change the name of the restaurant once I get out of the hospital,” she said about a month before she passed away.
“Why?”
“Because the restaurant isn’t just mine. It’s ours.”
“But I like the name. Olivia is my favorite name on earth.”
“Hear me out!” she chided. “Wouldn’t you also like Bay Bistro?”
I considered just humoring her. “It’s an okay name.”
She insisted on it again a few days later and I conceded. I understand now the purpose was not just a better name, but she wanted me to move on, without making the restaurant a memorial of her.
“Promise me you’ll find someone after I’m gone,” she said to me on the same day.
I didn’t speak.
She ignored my silence and continued holding my hand. “But not another cougar, okay? She has to be someone your age, or younger. It isn’t fair I don’t get to see your hair full of greys.”
I laughed despite my sorrow, but I didn’t make her the promise. However, I kept my promise about changing the business name. It doesn’t really matter what its legal name is. In my mind, it’s always Olivia’s.
Chapter 5
Kayla
I’m sitting in front of my desk at J L Electronic Supply in Hayes Valley. It’s been five months since I started my job as a level one business administrator. I’ve passed my trial period, but haven’t been assigned anything more challenging. I’m more or less the assistant of everyone in the office. I answerphone calls, make photocopies, order office supplies… nothing requires any college training at all. Not that I have any complaints.
The only thing is I find myself correcting my supervisor and Business Administrator II, Jenny’s errors most of the time. I proofread the sales reports she generates, and the meeting agendas and minutes she prepares. She drafts everything and leaves me to the grueling editing. Again, I have no complaints. I just don’t understand why she would make those spelling mistakes when they are all underlined by Word. And how could Excel make mistakes in adding? Could it be Jenny doesn’t know how to use the software? Maybe she doesn’t take the time to learn the functions. She has a college degree like me, but hers is in political science. And yet, she had my position for just a month before she was promoted. Go figure.
As I’m correcting her mistakes, Jenny’s heels click past me. I thought she was leaving, but she sways her hips into Jason’s office. She closes the door behind her as always when she meets with Jason at the end of the day. Their private meetings take about fifteen minutes. The walls are sound-proofed, so I can’t hear what they talk about. I glance at the clock on my computer. It’s around four-thirty. I need to make sure I get to Bay Bistro on time because Richard is meeting with Penny and might be late today. The fact bothers me somewhat because it is unusual they meet in the afternoons. Richard runs his business errands in the morning and seldom goes out in the afternoon or evenings.
It’s been nearly a week since our last sizzling moment. After that night, Richard keeps a distance between us, not speaking a word to me unless it’s business related, not looking at me unless it’s necessary. I’m both disappointed and relieved that things are back to normal. No more surprises. Certainly no fairytales. I haven’t given the full-time position another thought, either has he mentioned it again.
