Freshman Flirt Pt. 04: Romancing

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" I asked, quite worried.

Mandy shook her head slowly, her breathing shallow. "Barry, I talked to her before we left home. Birds, bees, boys, and such...you know, a refresher course, and she seemed fine with everything. Seeing what I just saw, with those guys, those looks, and that skirt, I'm convinced that either my DNA has caught up with me or else the fickle finger of fate has fingered me."

Adrian paused his video game and asked, slowly, "What's a 'fickle finger of fate?" He was obviously trying to get the words right.

"Here, Adrian, hop in the car and put your seatbelt on, buddy," I said. "Let's see, fickle finger of fate? That's when...uhm, something odd happens that you didn't expect, particularly if it's related to something else that may have happened before."

"Oh," he said, restarting his video game to continue battling the Alien Baezzaroid Invaders. I closed the door so Mandy and I could speak as I walked her around to her side.

"Also known as poetic justice?" whispered Mandy, now blushing as she looked at me.

Probably not realizing it, she looped her arm around mine similar to the way Ceilly had been holding Chase's and then leaned her head against my shoulder just like Ceilly had done to him.

"Barry, Lord help me but my daughter, our sweet little girl, has grown up and turned into a freshman flirt just like me!"

The End

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Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading! Your feedback in the form of votes, favorites, comments, and follows is greatly appreciated.

Following are a few brief notes for the story as a whole for any who might be interested.

"Bewitched" starring the beautiful Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, a witch, and two Dicks (York and Sargent, both very nice guys) as Darrin, her mortal husband, was a TV show that ran from 1964 to 1972. Samantha had an interesting family with a variety of quaint and unusual names. That was referenced in Part 1.

Yes, though it wasn't intentional, it's another story with a James Garner reference! He played Jim Rockford, a private detective, on TV for six seasons from 1974 to 1980. As noted, he charged so much per day, but rarely collected it. This reference was in Part 2.

"Highway 20 Ride" was written by Wyatt Durrette and Zac Brown, and was released as a single by the Zac Brown Band in November 2009. It's about a dad (Durrette) making trips from Atlanta to the South Carolina state line to see his son after a divorce and about the love he has for the boy.

Finally, yes, for those with very sharp eyes and long memories, there are two "Laugh-In" references in the story, though that, too, was unplanned. The show ran from 1968 to 1973 and included Goldie Hawn in the cast. While the term "fickle finger of fate" had been around for a number of years before the show, it featured a recurring sketch called "The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award" given to government officials and others that the show's producers felt were 'deserving' of such a dubious recognition.