One night stand with my daddy's best friend
72

Bridget - One Month Later

My six-hour drive from Berkeley, California, home to Los Angeles was nearly over. Once I was out of the North Bay Area, the road was a straight shot south with little to see or do except reflect on this moment in my life.

I graduated from college with a degree in business administration. This week, my internship in the marketing department of a Silicon Valley tech firm ended. It was official; I was a college graduate ready to start my career. In what, I didn't know.

Most of my friends already had jobs, but not me, although my father pushed me to start applying sooner. I wasn't a slacker. My hesitation was that I wasn't sure I wanted to return home. I considered staying in the North Bay. I loved my family with all my heart, and they loved me, which meant they were often in my business. While they were proud of me, they still viewed me as a child, which was so annoying.

Ultimately, I decided to return to southern California. The weather was better, and admittedly, I could use my family's support as I looked for a job and a place to live. Plus, I wanted to catch up with my siblings; technically half-siblings. Ten years ago, when my mother dropped me off with the father I never knew, and as it turned out the father that hadn't known about me, I was scared to death and angry at my mother. It was clear that my dad had no idea how to raise me, but he did something my mother was never able to do; he tried. I loved my mother, but it was always clear to me that she came first, whereas my dad put me and his wife Lizzy, and later the four more kids they had, first. I went from miserable and sullen, to happy and outgoing. My smart

mouth was always there. That was the one thing that never changed.

I pulled into the driveway of the house my dad bought when he married Lizzy. I was home. I parked, put my car in gear, and sat for a moment. It was official; one part of my life was over and the next was about to begin.

"Jet is here." Two of my sisters rushed up to the car and opened my door. "Hey you guys." I grabbed my purse and stepped out.

"We've been waiting for you," my sister Layla said. "Took you long enough." Ari smirked at me.

I smirked back. She was my kindred soul. "I'm here now."

Ari looked at my car packed to the gills with all my stuff. "You know there are moving vans, right?"

"Why would I need that when everything fits in my car? Just be careful opening a door. It might all fly out." "There she is. My college grad." My dad could be so mushy. I suppose fatherhood made him that way.

"Hi dad." I hugged him. When I first met him, I called him Troy to be rude, but he'd long since become a dad. "How was the drive?" he asked.

"Long, but since I left early, I missed the worst of the traffic up north, and it wasn't too bad here."

"Come inside. We've got lunch waiting," he said. "What about my stuff?"

"I'll get that later. Come on, Lizzy is dying to see you and so are Emma and Eli."

"I bet Eli has grown a lot since I last saw him." I followed my dad up to the house with Ari and Layla behind me.

"I've grown too," Layla said. "You sure have."

When I first left for college, I went to UCLA and lived at home. At the time, I felt like it cramped my style. I wanted independence, so I transferred up to Berkely. I loved it, but there was a short time when I felt like my dad, Lizzy, and the kids were a family without me. Since I was the odd one out by not being Lizzy's child, I worried they'd move on and forget about me. I was wrong, thankfully. Yes, a family could be stifling, but it was important to belong. My mother flitted in and out of my life depending on which husband or boyfriend she was on. She missed my graduation because she was in Paris with Philippe. I didn't know his last name. I stopped asking about her

boyfriends since she was on to the next man so quickly.

"You must be tired from the long drive," Lizzy said, giving me a hug when I entered the house.

"I'm glad to be done driving."

"Jet, Jet, Jet..." Emma ran up to me. "I'm five now." "Goodness. Another year?" I bent down and gave her a hug. Eli peered at me from behind Lizzy's legs.

"You've grown too, Eli." I smiled at him. He was the sibling I knew the least. He was born while I was in college, so I only saw him on breaks when I'd come home.

He attempted to hold out three fingers. "You're three?"

He nodded. "So big."

"Come and eat. Your dad is grilling hamburgers. Ari, can you get the potato salad?" Lizzy said.

Ari groaned. "Why do I have to do everything? Nobody else has to do so much."

Lizzy arched a brow. I knew that look as I'd been on the receiving end of it many times. "Nobody else gets to stay up as late as you either. Would you rather be like them and go to bed early? Not go to sleepovers-" Ari made a face and whirled around toward the kitchen. "That's your fault," my dad said to me.

"Me?"

"She idolizes you. She emulates you."

I grinned. "Then she's brilliant and confident."

He laughed. "It's good to have you home, baby girl." I made the same sound Ari did. "I'm not a baby, dad."

"You'll always be my baby." He looked at me with pride, but I saw remnants of the sorrow and maybe guilt at all the years he lost with me since he hadn't known I'd existed until I was eleven.

I hugged him to let him know I didn't blame him for that. "Let's go out back. Troy, here's the meat."

He took the plate Lizzy handed him in one hand and put his free arm around Lizzy. "Our family is all together again."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "It is. Now you can stop talking about having another."

I gaped. "Another?"

Troy shrugged. "I love you guys."

"So sappy." I turned and herded my sisters outside. I looked over my shoulder. "Come on, Eli."

He hesitated, but then came with me outside.

When Dad had all the burgers grilled, we sat at the table to feast. "Want to go swimming later?" Ari asked me. "Absolutely."

"So, what are your plans?" My dad asked, scooping potato salad on Emma's plate.

Lizzy gave him a look that said "give her time to settle in." But my dad didn't like the unknown.

"I'm going to eat lunch, take a nap, and then swim with my siblings." I popped a grape from the bowl of fruit into my mouth.

"That sounds like a good plan." Lizzy cut Eli's burger.

"You know, I could use someone that knows marketing." My dad said it like it was usual conversation, but I knew better. He was casually trying to make decisions for me. "Maybe I could teach you the ropes and you can take over someday."

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"I appreciate that dad, but I'm not interested in being the boss' daughter. I need to get a job on my own merit."

"I believe in you, Jet." He looked at me intently as if I offended him by suggesting he was giving me a handout.

"I know you do, but others might not.” He nodded. "How about Ryker? I bet-"

"I don't need your help to get a job, Dad. Really. I've got a couple of leads and I'm networking."

"I'm part of your network."

"Troy." Lizzy put her hand on his. I really admired Lizzy for her ability to intervene between me and Dad in a way that was gentle for both of us.

"I'm just saying." He shook ketchup on his burger.

"If I'm not able to get a job, then I'll come to you." It wouldn't happen. Sure, I was nervous about what job I'd be able to get or how long it might take, but I felt certain I'd get a job at some point.

"Fair enough. I'm proud of you, Jet. Really." He smiled at me.

"Thank you, Dad."

After lunch, everyone helped me unpack my car. Much of it went into storage in the garage, but some of it landed in my room. Next, I needed a nap so I ushered everyone out so I could rest.

I lay on my pink bed that had a canopy until I was fourteen and decided I was too old for it. A blush shade of pink paint and fairy lights decorated the walls, along with a few posters and pictures of rock stars I'd crushed on in high school. The room felt so juvenile and at the same time, it felt like home.

If I ended up staying here for too long, I'd probably want to change things up. Plus, if dad was serious about having another kid, they'd need the room.

I laughed at the thought of my dad. When I first saw him, I was surprised at how handsome he was. And strong. He was in construction, which was a far cry from all the fancy schmancy men my mom normally gravitated to. But I learned my mom and dad were high school sweethearts, but she left him when she realized he didn't have big aspirations to become rich. All he wanted to do was build.

The joke was on her though, as my father started his own business and now was very well off. In fact, not long after my mom dumped me with my father, she tried to win him back, but it was too late. Lizzy was the one for him. I remember how he and I agreed that we both needed her in our lives. And now, ten years later, he was still as happy as the day he won Lizzy's heart.

I loved and admired them both and I wanted to make them proud. I wanted them to believe all the effort they put into setting me right and get me on a positive path was worth it. I'd do that by getting a job on my own, not because of my father. And maybe someday, I'd meet a great guy like my dad and have a brood of kids of my own.

I fell asleep feeling excited about all my future held.