Her Teddy Bear

"I told your mother that I didn't want to go there because I thought it wasn't a safe place to go at night. Of course, she disagreed. The discussion was a little heated after a while, but I finally relented, like I usually do. It was a great restaurant. I enjoyed it, but do you remember what happened on our way back to the car?"

Eva answered, "Those two guys, a tall one and a short one, came up behind us and yelled at us to stop. You gave mom the car keys and told her to take us to the car, start it and begin honking once we were inside."

"That's right. While the three of you got away, I was planning to stop them or slow them down. If I wasn't there right away, I knew she would call the police, though I wondered how long it would have taken for them to show up in that part of town.

"After you guys left. The tall one pulled out a knife and said, 'money.' I doubt he spoke much English besides that. I held my hands up like I didn't want any trouble, but eventually he got close enough that I had to take him on. I kept him between me and the short guy. Pretty quickly, I took his knife from him and put it into the side of his knee. I'm surprised you guys didn't hear the scream he let out.

"When the short guy pulled his own knife, I hit him, and his knife fell away from us. Well, the tall guy screaming aroused the curiosity of several of their friends, who started running towards us. At this point I started running towards the car hoping you guys were in it. I felt in control with the first two guys, but with six or seven more coming my way, I thought discretion was the better part of valor. So, it was time for me to leave. I sprinted towards the car, and when I heard the horn, I made a beeline for it.

"Your mother had pulled onto the street and was ready to go. I hopped into the front seat and told her to punch it. Since she and I have been married, that is the only other time I faced anything like that before today."

That was a little fib. What he didn't tell them was that one time after Donnie and Eva were born, just before they moved to Nashville, he and Joan were out dancing one night when they still lived in Atlanta and one of her former boyfriends from college, Bobby Taylor, then an Atlanta Falcons football player, approached them. Joan didn't think anything about it, but when he asked Joan to dance and she accepted, Pete was fuming. They only danced a few minutes, but later when Pete saw him go into the restroom, he followed.

In the restroom, the jock, a wide receiver who was about the same height as Ricky, smirked at Pete and started making some comments about how he missed Joan and maybe they would dance a little more that evening. Pete wasn't in the mood. As the old flame was about to try and push Pete out of the way to leave the restroom, Pete put him on the floor, hard. The big guy fell at an odd angle, landed on his arm and broke his ulna bone at the elbow, which ended his playing time for that season. The Falcon's brought in a replacement, who did so well that Bobby was later traded to another team.

No charges were filed.

Pete continued with Eva's friends, "So please everyone, don't send that video to anyone. By the end of today there should be exactly thirteen copies, including me, and never more than that."

They all promised Pete they wouldn't send it to anyone. He hoped they meant it.

"I know this kind of dampens the mood, but you shouldn't let it. He's an ass. Forget him."

Lily said, "you mean he's a dickhead."

Pete smiled and some of the girls laughed.

He stood and returned inside to call the police.

______________

When the officer arrived, he was rewarded with all those lovely ladies in their swimsuits. They quickly covered up, and he asked them to explain what happened. He examined Carrie's wrist seeing it was still red, but no more injured than that. Pete's nose had stopped bleeding, and he had changed. Carrie's mom had come over because her dad wasn't back yet from a trip. The entire discussion only took thirty to forty minutes.

Once the police car pulled away, the party resumed. Carrie hugged her mom and watched her drive away also.

Eva came up to Pete and asked, "Dad, would you mind if we stayed here until we go to Carrie's? We'd planned on going out dancing after dinner, but after this afternoon, we'd prefer to dance here, tonight."

"It's your house Eva. You know I don't mind. I love having you here."

She hugged her father and returned to her friends. Pete caught the last inning of the Braves game. They were losing, of course. While watching, he received a text from Joan, "Plane was delayed. Will be home late." He sighed. That little seed of doubt was starting to bother him, and he hated that. Some of Ricky's words were too close to home. He needed his wife to get home so they could talk.

Chapter 2

A little while later he fired up the grill, while wearing his "I like big buns & I cannot lie" apron, playing on the Sir Mix-a-Lot song, that Eva, Lily & Carrie bought him for Father's Day a few years back. The three young ladies helped take the mostly Mexican food out; it was those three that planned the dinner. Eva had asked Pete to grill out for them, and he was happy to do it. They started with the expected chips, salsa, guacamole and a tasty chili con queso. That was followed by a huge avocado and tomato salad with lots of greens followed by Mexican street corn served removed from the cob, of course. Pete served up their choice of grilled petite filets, shrimp, marinated chicken or small tuna steaks.

While grilling, Pete was preparing and pouring non-alcoholic drinks for the girls including some Sangria he had prepared the night before, made from a great non-alcoholic Cabernet wine. They also had non-alcoholic margaritas, pink-champagne, non-alcoholic beer, lots of sparkling water and other drinks appropriate for their age. He expected that many of them drank at college, but he wasn't going to host a party where his underage charges got drunk.

Once the grilling was done, the three sisters overrode his protests to leave and led him to the table to eat with them and their friends. After what happened earlier, it didn't seem right for him to do all this work and then eat inside, alone. He enjoyed sharing the meal with them.

After dinner, he cooked some churros, served with melted chocolate, for dipping, as dessert. He offered and many accepted pina coladas served in real pineapples that had been cut in half and cored.

While he and the three girls were cleaning up, Lily synced her phone to the pavilion's Bluetooth speakers and started the dance music. Pete thought it was cute, and at times slightly erotic, to watch all of those lovelies dancing with each other. To be that young again was a pleasant dream.

When the food was put away, he prepared to hop back into his chair in the family room, but Lily wouldn't let him. "Come on, Dad. There are twelve young ladies just waiting to dance with you, but I get you first."

Once outside by the pool and dancing together, Pete said, "It's funny. Beat up one asshole, and now I have twelve attractive women asking me to dance. Who knew? I should have done that years ago."

"That's not true. Even outside of getting rid of the dickhead, which was great, I'd have asked you to come out here. I know exactly one man that would do what you did to help his daughter with her party the way you did. As much as I like Carrie's dad, he would have just hired someone or a team of someones. If I ever have a backyard party, I'm hiring you to cater."

"Thanks. It wasn't just for Eva. It was for my other daughters, you and Carrie, also. Besides, it wasn't much."

"Ha. Let's see - a man that takes care of his daughter and her friends, preps the pool, the yard, the food; acts as our photographer; is the bartender and protector, and isn't a half-bad dancer for a white guy." They both laughed at that.

Pete said, "Says my girl who was moving more like a newborn giraffe this afternoon. How nice of my nose to break your fall."

She guffawed at his comment. "Giraffe? Well, had you been a little taller I would have hit your chest, not your face."

Pete smiled at the banter. "Giraffe," he said.

She smiled at him, "Yoda."

"Yoda?"

She quipped, "Small but deadly."

It was his turn to smile at this young lady that he truly loved as if she were his. "I love you, Lily."

She couldn't have glowed any more after hearing that from him.

Lightening the conversation, he said, "You know, I've never heard any of these songs before."

She told him, "That's expected, but I've got one coming up for you soon. I have to be careful about what I play. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself dancing." Her smile had always melted his heart.

Soon, the song she had selected for him played. It was Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey I Love You.

I say hey, I'll be gone today

But I'll be back all around the way

It seems like everywhere I go

The more I see, the less I know

I say hey, I'll be gone today

But I'll be back all around the way

It seems like everywhere I go

The more I see, the less I know

But I know one thing

That I love you (baby girl)

I love you, I love you, I love you

I love you, I love you, I love you

She told him, "I love you, Dad."

He hugged his girl. "I love you, too."

"I love dancing with you, too. Do you know why?

He answered, "No idea. I'm sure Eva's mortified."

"Nah. We both know that you just don't care what other people think. That's what makes it so much fun."

"That comes with getting old."

"Well, for an 'old man' you did a good job of protecting your girls."

She stepped into him and stopped the club dancing and started slow dancing with him while the other girls continued their gyrations. She continued, "Seriously, we all know how good a father you are. I especially know how good a father you are and have been to me for so long. We've all admired you for years. After what happened this afternoon, if you weren't married, there would be a 1000% certainty of you get laid at least once tonight, though more likely two or three times by some sexy nineteen or twenty-year-olds. You could probably have a threesome if you wanted it, and I say that knowing that the chance of anyone other than your wife scoring with you tonight is zero."

"Damn, you sure are good for my ego. I tend to think my own daughter is rather pretty, but coming from the prettiest young lady here tonight, that was quite the ego stroke. Thank you."

"I guess I'm just a little envious. Most guys my age are still so juvenile. They are like twelve-year-olds in grown-up bodies with way too much testosterone. A refined man sounds really good right now. I mean, in our group of friends there are several good fathers and providers, but I don't know any other man that actually enjoys taking his wife to the symphony or opera like you."

He replied, "It isn't so much that I think the music or performances or so fantastic, though some are. What I like is the entire theater that surrounds that night. I enjoy planning it. I enjoy looking forward to it. Maybe I'll buy a special evening gown or dress or lingerie for Joan to help us remember the night. I enjoy spending that time with Joan; the little smiles and touches she gives me. I love how she is either on my arm or holding my hand the whole night. It wouldn't make sense to do all that just to go to a restaurant or a bar. I use those events as props to make an entire night special. Does that make sense?"

"My mom would kill for a night like that. So, would most of the girls here. It just tells me how rare you are."

"Well, some days Joan tells me I'm rather thick and well done."

She just looked at him for a second.

"Rare? Thick? Well Done? Like a steak? Sorry. Old man humor."

She laughed at the 'old man' bit. She asked, "Any chance Donnie is going to be like you? Maybe I should look him up."

"I think he'd be pretty lucky if you did look him up, and yes. He's going to be better than me in every way. He's still maturing, but you could probably help him with that. You'd be good for him."

"Damn."

"Yep. Damn," he said back smiling.

She asked, "Do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely," he replied.

"Eva's been holding back on me."

"I suspect she finds it disgusting to think about her older brother's love life."

"I may just have to change her opinion on that."

"I hope you do."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for today. I love how good you've always been towards us; like another dad to me and Carrie."

"It's my pleasure, Lily. Honestly, I wish both of you were mine, too. But since you are not, I'm really glad Eva has both of you in her life. The two of you are her sisters."

They were so engrossed in their conversation that when Eva walked up, she surprised both of them.

"Hey you two. If he didn't love you like a daughter, I'd be worried, seeing the way you guys look at each other."

Lily snapped, "Oh, shut up. You're just jealous that I could take him into that pool house and screw his brains out without committing incest."

"Eeeeew. You shut up. He may be the most handsome man here, but he's still my dad."

Lily replied, "He's my dad, too."

Pete said, "I'm the only, man here, handsome or not."

They both told him, "Shut up." Then they smiled at him.

Eva asked, "Lily, mind if I dance a few minutes with my dad."

"Sure." Then she leaned in and whispered to Pete, "I love you, Dad." She then hugged Eva and walked over to dance with the other girls.

Eva asked, "Dad, do you think any of what Ricky said about mom might be true?"

He couldn't tell her what he was really thinking, which was that the stupid kid knew way too much. The only way he could have said some of those things was if his dad knew something and shared it. He was quite concerned but didn't want Eva to worry about the virtue of her mother.

"No, baby. I don't. He probably picked up on some bits and pieces of conversation and when he was embarrassed tried to save face by talking smack. If it were just me and him in a dark alley, I would have beaten him senseless for saying those things, but I couldn't do that here without getting thrown in jail."

Eva seemed to be mulling that over and accepting that explanation, she asked, "So, are you enjoying dancing with a bunch of sexy college girls? Maybe getting yourself worked up for when mom gets home?"

He didn't think there was much chance of that, but replied, "Trust me, when you've been married as long as we have, I don't allow myself to get too worked up until I know that your mother is, also."

"Well, hopefully she will be. I'm glad you are the faithful type. Some of the comments I've heard this afternoon and tonight tell me that if they thought they could convince you, being married wouldn't stop them from trying to drag you into that pool house to try on a real man tonight, instead of some of the jerks that seem to orbit around us."

"Patience is required at your age. Not many men have grown up yet. Some, but not many. Also, I wouldn't be a real man if I let them pull me, a married man, into that pool house. Speaking of that...I think Lily might like for you to put her in touch with your brother. That could be an interesting pair."

She said, "It's funny. Before Donnie went off to college, I think he might have liked her a little, but she was a year younger than him and two grades behind him, so I don't think he wanted anyone tying him to here while he was in college. That would have been very hard."

"True, but if he gets that job at GM, in Spring Hill when he graduates in December, then that could be something."

"Dad? You're serious; aren't you?"

"I don't see why not. We know that either of them would be quite the catch, and they are both good people. Can you think of anyone that would be better for him than Lily? Or vice versa?"

She thought for a minute and said, "I think you are right. They would be pretty good for each other. Their being an interracial couple wouldn't bother you?"

"You already know the answer to that. She's from a good family and is a great young lady. When I look at her, I don't even see skin color; I only see my other daughter." Eva hugged him after he said that. He continued, "We know that in Tennessee not everyone, white or black, accepts interracial marriages, so I imagine that they would have their challenges. But I'm sure they would handle that with class and grace. Don't rush anything. Maybe send him the picture I took of you, Lily and Carrie in your bikinis and tell him he missed a hell of a party."

She shook her head, "Dad, I shudder to imagine what he might do with that picture if I send it to him."

Her father laughed and said, "since Lily's in the picture, that's all the more reason to send it."

"You scare me sometimes, Dad"

"Me too, baby girl. Me too."

Chapter 3

Pete danced with a few more of Eva's friends, or more accurately, they were dancing with him. They tried to teach him the electric slide, again, but he couldn't ever quite get it right, which amused everyone, including Pete. Around 10:00 pm, they needed to get to Carrie's, who's huge house had a ton of bedrooms. Pete received very nice hugs, kisses and 'thank you's from all the young ladies as they left.

Having had a little help, it didn't take much to clean up outside. As he was putting the last of the trash into the trash bins, he heard the garage door open. Joan was home.

He walked out to help her with her bag, and she gave him a big hug and quick kiss on the lips as he approached.

She said, "I missed you baby. How was the party?"

"It was interesting. I'll tell you about that in a minute. They just left to go to Carrie's for the night."

"Oh, I thought they were going out dancing."

He said, "They decided to dance here."

"I'm sure you minded that. Did you turn off the lights and watch them from inside?"

That irritated him a bit, but he replied, "No. Lily pulled me outside with her, and I danced with most of them before they left."

"Well, I'll bet you are in quite the mood. If I weren't so wiped out from the cross-country flight and the delays. I'd be happy to take care of you."

Pete wasn't really in the mood either. He said, "Let me get your bag inside, and I'll pour you a glass of wine. I have quite the story to tell you."

She was curious regarding what had happened and followed him in. Once he returned to the living room, she was sipping her wine and watched him sit across from her, rather than by her.

"Ohhh. This must be serious," she snickered.

Pete proceeded to describe what happened, including calling the police but leaving out the dialogue from Ricky. She was shocked that someone could be so brazen as to just barge into their back yard and attack sweet Carrie. Then Pete revealed the name of the assailant.

"His name is Ricky. Ricky Farmington. Andrew's Ricky."

Shock, then disbelief, crossed Joan's face. "No way. I cannot believe he would do that. There must be some mistake."

Pete said, "Clearly, Andrew forgot to teach him a few things." Then he thought to himself, "like manners, respect, how to fight, and when to keep his big trap shut."

Joan thought for a second. "Wait a minute. Ricky's huge. You mean to tell me that you took him out of the back yard... like trash?" She giggled for a moment. Then she giggled some more, and then she started laughing.

"What?"

She said, "You're making this up, right? My husband. All 165 pounds of you beat up that tank? He looks like he's almost twice your size. Okay. What's the joke?"

Pete was not as amused. She could see his disappointed expression and said, "Oh, come on Pete. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings but be realistic here."