A Father's Influence: Vignette #4

A June day twenty-five years ago at Point Pleasant

It was just after lunch when the five-year old girl followed her father up the beach to the boardwalk. Her father had gathered his two daughters to him as they finished eating lunch saying his 'fair-skinned girls' had had enough sunshine for one day.

He asked them if they wanted to go to the movies. Of course, the little girl and her older sister started jumping up and down each clamoring for their movie pick. The older girl wanted to see 'Dirty Dancing' and the little one wanted to see 'Ghostbusters.'

The tall dark-haired man was relieved when they got close to the little movie theater just off the boardwalk and saw the long line of giggling girls in front of the kiosk for 'Dirty Dancing.' He knew he didn't want to sit in a small dark room with that many loud young girls watching a 'coming of age' film about a girl and her older lover. He dreaded the day when his princesses would begin dating.

The line for 'Ghostbusters' was short so he bought four tickets and sent his wife in to reserve seats while he and his girls loaded up on popcorn, candy and sodas. They all enjoyed the movie, but his youngest laughed the loudest and seemed mesmerized by the film.

She talked about it the rest of the day and he was amazed how much detail his five-year old remembered about the movie. He encouraged her by asking lots of questions and she blossomed under his undivided attention.

However, he blamed her fascination for all things paranormal on his mother-in-law. She was a crazy old bat who put strange ideas in his little girl's head. She dearly loved her grandmother and was on cloud nine whenever Edna and Harry visited. Luckily, his older daughter seemed to avoid the old coot and his wife found her own mother exasperating.

While his wife and older daughter were content window shopping, he and his 'Pumpkin' took turns jumping off the edge of the boardwalk into the sand below. Several times he caught her mid-jump and swung her around till she screamed in joy that she was flying. If he was having this much fun playing with his daughter, he could only imagine the magical day this must seem to her. Soon enough, she would drift away from him more interested in her friends and then…boys.

He knew his wife was ready to go straight home after the movie, but the man was having too much fun with his girls to call it a day. He suggested they grab a bite to eat and, of course, the little girls were all for it. He leaned over and nuzzled his wife's neck and after letting him get affectionate with her for a few minutes, she relented and allowed each girl to have a Nathan's hot dog as long they also ate some salad and cottage fries.

As they were standing in line for their food, they ran into a Hungarian family they knew from the Burg. The very white, blond couple, the Blotniks, attended the same church and they had a boy and girl about the same age as their two daughters. The dark-haired man invited the family to eat dinner with them, but he had an ulterior motive in mind.

Finding a table in a quiet shady corner, the father settled his three girls along one side of the table for a pleasant meal with the other family. The table was short so they were crowded in close to one another. He sat even closer to his pretty wife and moved his thigh until it rested against hers. Several times he leaned over and kissed her saying she had a speck of ketchup or mustard on her lips. Each time, his daughters giggled at his obvious attempts to kiss his wife. She finally apologized to the other couple for her husband's behavior, but she smiled and blushed after each public display of affection.

While the children dawdled over their meals, the tall dark-complected man offered to treat everyone to ice cream. He took down everyone's preferences and coaxed his wife to join him in the hunt for the frozen confection.

As they passed a quiet lane off the boardwalk, he pulled his wife down the shady path and into an alcove. There were no other people around. He took his young wife in his arms and kissed her, whispering sexy endearments between kisses. In mock shock, she demurred, "Frank, someone might see us." He answered by caressing her more passionately and slipped his hand under her skirt to fondle her ass.

"Please, Frank," she whined. "This is not the time or place for this. What would the Blotniks think?" He answered by moving his hand to her front and slipping it under her panties. He lightly stroked the cleft between her upper thighs and whispered more words of passion into her ear. Her breathing coming in gasps, the woman grabbed her husband's hand and brought it up to her lips.

"I promise tonight to make you the happiest man alive, but I can't do this here. What if the girls came looking for us? What if the Blotniks came looking for us? What if someone saw us?" She reached up and kissed him while rubbing the large bulge in his pants. "I'll even do the thing that drives you wild," she grinned coyly at him.

After one final long French kiss, he relented and they made a quick trip to the restroom. They found an ice cream stand and placed an order for eight ice cream sundaes. Both were sporting wide smiles as they carried the ice cream back to the table. After deflecting the inevitable, 'what took you so long' questions, the two families joked and laughed their way through dessert.

It was late afternoon by the time they finished eating. The two families said their goodbyes and parted ways. As the man walked his three girls toward the parking lot, they passed by a candy store selling saltwater taffy. The youngest daughter begged and pleaded for some candy to take home. Unable to resist his daughter's big blue eyes, he sidetracked his family into the candy shop and let each of his girls pick whatever they wanted. Handing paper bags of their handpicked sweets to each girl, he led the way back out to the boardwalk.

As the youngest girl was leaving the shop, a dark-haired boy bumped into her knocking the bag of candy out of her hand. He bent down to pick the bag up, but before he gave it to her he smiled a big goofy grin at her.

She smiled back at him and noticed how cute he was, his long dark hair curling over his collar and his brown eyes staring at her. He grinned again and said, "Sorry," as he stood and handed the sack to her. He let his hand linger on hers. "What's your name?" he asked.

Before she could reply, her mother reached down and took her hand. "Stephanie, it's time to go home. Stop dragging your feet and let's catch up with your father and sister. Come along now."

The curly-haired girl turned to look at the boy again and then stuck her tongue out at him. She'd finally recognized him as the boy who'd destroyed her sand fortress that morning.

The boy just grinned and watched her walk away before he joined his father at the front counter.

When she and her mother caught up with the others, her father smiled and reached down to his youngest daughter. She giggled as he lifted her up high and swung her onto his broad shoulders. From this vantage point she could see the entire boardwalk and even all the way down to the shore's edge. With her dad's strong hand holding her firmly in place, she felt mighty and invincible. Today at Point Pleasant had been the most perfect day she could ever imagine.

Before they reached the parking lot, the little girl saw a young dark-skinned boy standing at the outside edge of the boardwalk staring at her. She immediately recognized him as the boy who'd defended her from the big bully she'd just bumped into.

A big smile creased her face and she gave him a finger wave as her father strode past bouncing her on his shoulder. The boy waved back at her. She got a little sad thinking she'd never see him again. He was cute and he'd shown how brave he was by protecting her against the bigger boy. Her hand automatically went to her cheek. He'd also been her first kiss. Yes, today had been the most perfect day!