I decided my path would be in the production end of things. I took the generous inheritance I received from my grandparents, my music experience and college degree and started a production services business. I was quite successful and quickly grew from transporting a rental truck full of sound and lighting equipment from venue to venue, doing sound and lights for regional, up-and-coming acts to having a couple warehouses full of staging, sound and lighting gear, a fleet of semis for the gear and busses to transport all my technical personnel between venues for nationally and internationally known headline acts.
As my success grew, I started getting buy-out and merge offers from competitors and eventually sold the business, vehicles and equipment for a small fortune, split between cash and stock in the resulting business. I found myself ‘retired’ at the ripe old age of 38. I had enough money to live out my life comfortably or perhaps start another business if I discovered something I was passionate about.
Life (mostly the ‘road’ demands of my business) prevented me from ever finding my Miss Right, consequently, I never married or had children (or so I thought) and lived a pretty solitary life, immersed in activities, but lacking in romance and someone to grow old with. Sure, I had a couple ‘fuck-buddies’ I could count on for purely recreational, no-strings-attached sex and my share of one night stands but I longed to find my soul mate, my happily ever after romance. There were a few girls I felt might be ‘the one’ and now, I regretted not making the effort when I had the chance with them, but I made my own bed, I guess I have to lay in it. “Someday,” I thought, “someday I’ll find the girl I’m looking for.”
I bought a big, beautiful home on a river with Gulf Access in southwest Florida and enjoyed my various hobbies - music (for my own enjoyment), restoring classic sports and ‘muscle’ cars and scuba diving. It seemed no matter how many ‘toys’ I bought, my business returns and financial savvy made my fortune grow faster than I spent and I was able to live off the dividends and interest from my investments, rarely dipping into the principal, if at all.
I was enjoying my pool one afternoon when someone rang the buzzer at my gated driveway. I climbed out of the pool and pressed the intercom button saying, “Can I help you?”
The female voice came back, “Is this Dave? Dave Erickson?”
I said, “Yes, who is this?”
She said, “Do you remember a girl named Nichole Westin? I’m her daughter, Kaley.”
I replayed the name over and over in my head – Nichole, Nichole – wait, Nikki? I said, “Did she go by Nikki and have long, beautiful copper colored hair?”
She said, “Yep, that was my Mom.”
I pushed the button on the intercom panel to open the heavy wrought iron gate and said, “I haven’t heard that name in ages, I remember Nikki fondly. C’mon up to the house.”
I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked toward the front door. A slightly faded Mustang convertible pulled up and my heart stopped when I saw the girl step out of the driver’s door. “My God” I thought, “She looks exactly like Nikki!”
The memories of the times Nikki and I spent together the first couple years following college flooded my mind. I always believed she was one I let get away. Besides an incredible sex life, she was one of the girlfriends I had that shared many common interests with me and I deeply regretted that I had to be on the road so often, making a long-lasting relationship impossible to get off the ground.
I invited Kaley inside and offered her a drink so we could sit and talk. I filled two tall, ice-filled glasses with lemonade and we walked out to my pool cage to sit on lanai futon.
I said, “I can’t get over how much you look like your Mom. It’s like I stepped back in time 20 years. You’re so beautiful, just like her. How is your Mom?”
A sad look washed over her face and she said, “My Mom passed away about a month ago in a terrible car accident.”
I could see the tears coming and I offered her a compassionate hug, telling her how sorry I was, that her Mom was taken from the world way too early in life, and that I had always hoped, somehow, that we might reconnect some day.
She said, “Mom always told me the same thing.” She reached in her purse and pulled out an envelope containing an worn, often read, hand-written letter. “I found this in Mom’s safety deposit box and decided that I had to try to find you.”
She handed me the envelope and asked me to read it for myself. The only thing written on the envelope was ‘Kaley’ in Nikki’s still familiar handwriting. I pulled the single sheet of stationary out, unfolded it and a photo of Nikki and Me from when we were dating dropped into my lap. I picked the photo up and looked at it longingly then smiled and said, “God, I loved that girl.” My own tears started welling up as I read the short note included with the photo. Nikki had written, ‘Kaley, Darling. We never know the hand life will deal us. You’ve never really asked me much about your Father, content I think that you and I led a good, full life without him in our lives, believing that perhaps I wasn’t sure who he was. As it happens, there is zero doubt who your father is and the love I felt for your him was, and remains, the strongest of my life. I believe we were soul mates. You and I have talked about him many times without me ever identifying him as your father. If you’re reading this, I guess there is no one else who can ever tell you the truth, so here goes. Dave Erickson is your father. He was never aware he got me pregnant and he was so focused on getting his business off the ground, I didn’t want to interrupt a promising career, figuring we somehow would get together later when things weren’t so chaotic. We just simply lost track of each other and I guess I hoped he would find us someday. Don’t blame him for not being in your life, he was a great guy who I’m sure would have been, had he only known. He just never knew you existed. Apparently, I’m out of your life now as well, I hope you can find him. I’m sure he’d be very happy to meet you and accept you into his life. Tell him I loved him more than I’ve ever loved any other man.’ The note was signed, ‘I love you, Kaley. Mom’
With tears streaming down my cheeks, I said, “How can you ever forgive me? I had absolutely no idea I fathered a baby with your Mom. If I had, you would have had me in your life since day one – since before day one, even. I’ve typed her name into Facebook and Googled her name countless times and never found a hint of her existence. I assumed she married and changed her name. I don’t want to take a chance on not having you in my life from now on. Do you still live in Port Clinton?”
She said, “Mom was kind of a Luddite (Don’t feel bad, I ended up having to look it up, too) and for the most part rejected modern technology. There wasn’t enough insurance money for me to keep the house she had just purchased, so I decided to try to find you and planned on moving nearby so we can get to know each other… if you even want me in your life.”
I said, “I’ve got lots of spare room – there’s even a small ‘mother-in-laws’ apartment over the garage. Would you like to live here? I’m anxious to get to know you as well. I’ve never married and believe you’re my only child.”
She threw her arms around my neck and said, “I’d love to be this close to my Dad, are you sure? Do you have any girlfriends or a landlord you should talk to first before making that offer?”
I said, “No, I own the home and I don’t have any girlfriends at the moment. Try it for a while, if you want to move in here, it won’t cost you a penny and I’ll give you a fabulous life. I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
She said, “OK, I’ll try it for a while.”
We hugged for an extended time and it felt so much like I was with her Mom, I started having inappropriate thoughts. Kaley’s long, copper-blonde hair fell to the middle of her back like Nikki’s, she had the same face, the same bright green eyes and brilliant smile. Long slim legs rose from her petit feet up to her perfect little apple-shaped ass, topped by a slim waist, a flat belly and high-riding boobs that would have been too large if they were any bigger. Overall, she was perfect, just like Nikki.
We held hands while I gave Kaley the tour of the house and told her she could have any room she wanted. When she had checked all the first floor guest rooms out, I asked if she wanted to see the upstairs or the apartment next. We were standing next to the stairs, so she said it was the logical choice for the next stop on the tour. We walked upstairs where I showed her the master bedroom then down the hall to the other bedroom. We headed out to the lanai next so I could lead her out to the steps leading up to the private entrance of the apartment over the garage. She checked out the bedroom, kitchen and living room then said, “Do you think we’ll be sharing meals while I’m staying here?”
I said, “I sure hope so. We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”
She said, “I think I’d just as soon stay in the house then, besides, we’ll see a lot more of each other if I’m in there instead of out here.”
I said, “That would be great. I think I’d like that better, too.”
On the way back inside, she said, “I don’t suppose you’d let me have the second bedroom upstairs, would you?”
I gave her a little hug and said, “You can have anything you want, Kaley.”
We went outside, retrieved the luggage from her car, and carried everything up the wide staircase to the landing then down the hall to the second largest bedroom in the big house. We laid the luggage on the bed and she opened it to begin unpacking while I went after the last two bags. When I brought them into her room she was carefully folding her bras and panties to put in the top drawer of her dresser.
I said, “I’ll let you have your privacy while you unpack. I’ll see you a little later.”
She looked at me with sad eyes and said, “Don’t go, please?”
I said, “OK. Is there anything I can help you with?”
She said, “Well, the garment bag and the big black bag over there contain everything that needs to be hung in a closet.”
I said, “I’ll take care of that for you, then.”
We made small talk as I unzipped the garment bag first and started hanging the dresses I found in the big walk-in closet. I found myself thinking how good she must look in them, most were dresses that I felt would be somewhat revealing and quite sexy. I went back after the things in the second bag that contained tops, jeans and slacks. I noticed many of the jeans were the kind young girls liked to wear with 'strategically placed' rips or tears in the fabric. Many of the others appeared to be the low-riding, ‘hip-hugger’ style I so enjoyed seeing girls in. When I finished I noticed Kaley putting folded tops into the drawers and asked if she brought any swimwear with her, saying that I hoped she enjoyed having a pool and hot tub at her disposal.
She reached into the drawer, pulled out a handful of fabric and said, “I’ve got this one and a couple from last year, I guess I may need more. The ones from last year don’t fit so well this year, I have trouble keeping my boobs under control in them.”
I said, “Well, I’ll take you on a couple shopping sprees and make sure you’ve got all the clothes you need, I imagine you’ll need a lot of ‘ Florida clothes’ to wear now that you live down here. Our climate requires an entirely different ‘weight’ of clothing to remain comfortable.”
She continued putting clothes in the dresser and was now putting her socks and what appeared to be pajamas and lingerie into the drawers. I carried her empty bags into the closet for storage. When I came out, I closed the door and she said, “I’m done. How would you like to continue our conversation down by the pool? It looks so inviting, I’d really like to check it out.”
I said, “Sure, Kaley.”
She said, “Wait for me, I’ll only be a minute.”
She grabbed the swimsuit she showed me earlier and ran into the bathroom, only partially closing the door while we continued to talk. I caught fleeting glimpses of her as she undressed and put on the skimpy bikini. As inappropriate as it felt, my lust for her was growing.
She said, “So how is the job market down here?”
I said, “Kaley, as long as you want to live under my roof, you won’t need a job and I’ll discourage you from taking one. I’ll cover all your expenses and make sure you have plenty of spending money.”
She said, “How will I occupy my time? What if I want to buy things for myself beyond what you’re offering?”
I said, “Trust me, I’ll make sure you always have more than enough spending money. You can pursue hobbies, work on your tan, go shopping, meet new friends – whatever you like. If there are things you want that aren’t in your budget, just ask. I’ve run out of things to buy for myself and have more than enough money to provide you with the incredible lifestyle you missed out on all these years. I really miss your Mom, I wish I could have offered all this to her.”
She came out of the bathroom wearing the skimpiest bikini I could image and looked so much the way I remembered her Mom, I couldn’t stop staring at her. Kaley came up to me and said, “Does me dressing like this bother you?”
I said, “You just look so much like your Mom.”
We walked down the stairs and out to the pool cage. I showed her the storage room with pool toys, and the changing room with the stacks of clean, fresh towels. She grabbed one then went over to the pool and stuck her toes in the warm, clear water. She said, “Mmm, warm.”
She got up on the diving board and did the stereotypical ‘swan dive’ entering the water, hardly disturbing any of the surface other than the actual point of entry.
