A Simple Foolproof Plan

"Daddy, please don't ever stop doing that to me, okay?" I asked in my best little-girl voice. He just breathed, "Never..."

*****

The next day, we went and saw Marin's lawyer friend, and there I signed the papers that would end my marriage. I know that it might make me sound horrible, but I felt nothing as I signed them. I might as well have been canceling a gym membership. Maybe I really didn't love him anymore. Or maybe I did, but what I had felt for him was totally eclipsed by what I now felt for my father. But to be fair, if Lucas had been honest from the start, he might have saved everyone a lot of heartache. I signed the Power of Attorney, and told him all I wanted was my freedom from this marriage. The lawyer also said he might be able to get an annulment, since Lucas lied so blatantly about fertility.

The talk with my mother was incredibly difficult. She felt betrayed and hurt. Even after admitting that she'd started seeing that guy well before the cruise was even booked, she was still deeply wounded by our betrayal. And then she seemed hurt and angry again when Dad showed no interest in begging her forgiveness, or trying to work through it.

"What, so we try to stay together," he said, "and then for the rest of our lives, I'm not allowed to see my daughter, or worse, whenever we're both not with you, you're worried that we're somewhere in bed together? Carrying that anger and suspicion will tear you up."

This was not something they could come back from, and a divorce was for the best. She insisted on the house and most of the money. Dad readily agreed, but made her swear to share what used to be his with Mack and Jax. Dad had already put all that in the divorce papers, so all she had to do was sign them and send them back.

As we drove back to the hotel, I called Luke. He promised to find me, beat me to death, throw us in jail for incest, kill Daddy, press charges for assault, and then beat my ass again when I got out of jail in 50 years. I didn't have any fight left in me. I simply said, "Okay. Goodbye, Lucas."

Part 4 -- The Aftermath

Dad brought in our four large suitcases, aided by the taxi driver. After depositing the baggage in the front room, the taxi driver waited as my dad reach into his wallet to pull out some bills for a tip.

"American money okay?" he asked the driver, holding out three $20 bills.

"Yes, sir!" replied the driver, accepting the cash gratefully. "American money is always good in the islands!"

"That's great," replied my dad. "Thanks for all the help," he added.

"My pleasure," replied the driver. He pulled out a card and handed it to my dad. "Until you get a car, you need a ride, you call Deke," he said pointing to his chest. "Deke'll take care of you! Keep my card handy, okay?"

"Thanks. You know, give me another one so I can put it on the fridge."

Deke smiled and handed him two more cards. "An extra one for your pretty wife!"

After Deke left, dad pulled me into a tight hug, and said, "We did it, sweetie! We're island dwellers now! How do you like it?"

Maybe it was the stress of the last couple of months... Maybe it was simply the hormones. I'm not sure why, but all of a sudden, I just burst into tears. Dad pushed me back to look me in the face and said, "Baby, what's wrong? This is everything we wanted. Why the tears?"

I just pulled him back tight to me, and cried into his chest. He gently pulled me over to the sofa and sat us both down, and just let me cry on him. He just stroked my back and soothed me as I sobbed, unable to speak. Finally, I was able to speak.

"Daddy, I'm so, so sorry. Because of me, and my selfishness, you've lost everything! I know you must hate me! I'm so sorry!" And the tears began again.

"What do you mean, 'I've lost everything'? I have everything I've ever wanted right here," he answered.

"Last year at this time, we lived in a giant house in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Atlanta. You had a great job, making a lot of money. My friends all teased me calling me 'poor little rich girl' and 'Princess Tiana.' Now look at us! Practically exiled from home, living in this tiny house that we RENT, not own. All we still own are our clothes. AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!" I wailed, my sobbing beginning again in earnest.

Once again, my dad just let me cry it out, holding and soothing me while I bawled like a baby.

As I wound down again, he asked me, "So are you ready to listen to reason?"

Not yet trusting my voice, I just looked up at him with big, wet eyes, and nodded.

"Well first, pumpkin, there's some truth to what you said. We did give up some things for this. But let me ask you something, and not for the first time... do you want this life? I mean, with me?"

I quickly answered, "Omigod, Daddy, yes! I want this more than anything. But it cost you everything!"

"And I want this, too, every bit as much," he responded, taking my hands in his. "But baby, as much as I do want it, I have no right to be with you like this. I'm your father... you're my daughter. We're not supposed to be together like this, but here we are, doing it anyway. People in the U. S. don't approve of this, don't like it, and do not understand it. What we're doing is totally illegal in Georgia and almost every other state. That's why we left, and that's why we came here. And I have absolutely no regrets." He got up from the sofa, taking my hand and pulling me up. He walked me to the kitchen at the rear of the small house. "And regarding our new living conditions, look out there," he said, pointing out the large window over the sink. "What do you see?"

I looked out at the gorgeous view, and answered, "Umm, water?"

"Well, yes, Sierra. But what water?" he pressed.

"Oh, umm, the Caribbean?" I answered stupidly.

"Right, that's the Caribbean Sea. And what are those things off in the distance?" he continued.

I answered, "Well I can't read exactly which ones they are, but they're cruise ships."

"That's right, honey. We can look right out our back window at the Caribbean, and cruise ships full of thousands of people, all who paid thousands of dollars for just a glimpse of what we get to live every day. Plus, here, we can live openly what we are... Father and daughter, husband and wife, parents to our kid, without fear." He pulled me in close and cuddled into him, his shirt still wet from my tears. "I think we're gonna be okay," he said, and he kissed me so sweetly, like only a father can. The kiss gathered steam...

*****

Three years later

"Man!" raved Mack as he gazed out our back window, looking at the cruise ships in the distance. "You guys really do live in heaven! This is your view every day?"

"It's pretty nice," I agreed. "It never gets cold, and the sea breezes keep it from getting too hot."

"Just last week, our plane had to wait to take off because it started sleeting," added Jax. "It's still cold as hell back home!" He looked out the window with his brother and said, "Hey, there's our ship! Are the ships there every day? "

"Not every day. They're only here three or four days a week."

"So that means you only work three or four days a week?" Mack asked, enviously. From what he'd told me when we talk over ZOOM, his dream job of three years was beginning to burn him out with its oftentimes six-day workweek. He and Denise had recently married, and this cruise was their honeymoon. Since the ship happened to visit Saint Maarten, they invited Jax along to make it a family reunion with me and Dad. Plus, they would meet their new niece, Jordan. Jax and Marcus had broken up a year ago, and his new boyfriend, Stephan, was had joined him on this trip. At only 23, Jax seemed to be having too much fun to get really serious with anyone.

"Pretty much," said dad. He'd been standing back watching the scene, enjoying the fact that all his children were together again for the first time in years, all while holding his two-year-old granddaughter, who happened to also be his daughter. "Last year, we got added to the cruise lines' websites so we get pre-booked. I know how many people are going out ahead of time. I usually have a good-sized group every cruise day." We'd lived on the island for about a year when Dad bought a boat and started giving snorkeling and beach tours for the cruise passengers. He'd partnered up with his friend Marin to include lunch and drinks in the cost of the tour, and just working a few days a week, he was making enough for us to live on. Plus, I was planning to go back to teaching soon.

Denise added, "And then you're home every night? That sounds so nice." She looked at her new husband wistfully.

Dad shrugged and smiled, saying, "Nobody's getting rich, but life is really good." He squeezed Jordan, our baby and reached for my hand.

I took his hand and stepped into his embrace as I told my brothers, "We're having one more," as a I patted my barely rounded tummy, "and then we're done."

"Again?!" exclaimed Jax. "Congrats, Sie!"

"Aren't y'all taking a risk?" asked Denise. "I just mean..." she vaguely gestured toward me and Dad standing together.

"Pregnancy always carries risk, Denise. Even yours will," Dad answered. "But we're both healthy, so we feel the risk is low. Jordan is perfect, and so far, there's no issues with this one either. But you're right. We're not gonna tempt fate a third time." He held up his hand and snapped his index and middle fingers together like a pair of scissors.

Dad had blocked off tours for today, so we had the boat to ourselves. Marin, Cassidy and their kids joined us, bringing lunch from his diner. We went out and ate lunch and enjoyed snorkeling and splashing. It was truly one of the best days of my life. It was such a perfectly wonderful day that I was afraid something awful was about to happen... but it never did.

We played and ate and splashed in the turquoise waters. We found out that our mother had decided that one husband was enough, and she was going have her fun while she still looked good. Lucas sold the house and disappeared.

As the day wore on, Jax, Stephan, Mack, and Denise got so drunk and giggly that Dad had to deliver them all the way to the gangway. We all hugged tightly, and swore not to let too much time pass before we did this again.

That night in bed, I thought about our life. Our love is still going strong. It's every bit as hot, sexy, and amazing, as it was during that first week on the cruise. Daddy still fucks me better than anyone ever possibly could, and as far as I'm concerned, the sun rises and sets on his broad, manly shoulders. We still feel guilty about the pain we caused to my husband and my mother. We never meant to hurt them and wish it could have been any other way. But as I lay in bed spooned against my father, with his arms around me protectively, and one beautiful daughter asleep in the next room, and the other growing in my womb, my guilt is dwarfed by how much I love him, and how much I know he loves me, and I know without question, that I would absolutely do it all again.

The end