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110 young man that should not be a problem,” Eddie waited for a response. Nicole mulled the rule and perked up considerably.“ That seems reasonable. What else?”“ Your curfew is eleven-thirty on the weekends and nine o’ clock on school nights. The school night thing ends if your grades drop. Weekends become negotiable if your grades drop.”“ I understand,” Nicole said, her loaded fork suspended between her plate and her open mouth.
Her father was seriously going to change a rule he had carved into granite. He was not taking the weekend to figure out how to break the news that the old rule stands.“ After our initial meeting, there will be no blowing the horn in the driveway. He is to stop in and say hello to your mother or myself and inform us as to where you are going,” Eddie slid a new cell phone across the table and continued.“ This is yours. Do not lose it, or abuse it, meaning run up the phone bill. Dating ends until you pay the bill or get your phone back. You may not leave without your phone. Your mother approves dating attire,” he said, emphatically.“ That’ s all?” Nicole asked.“ I think that covers my rules, your mother may have a few,” he said, looking for Tanya’ s input.“ Not so much rules because I think you have that handled,” she said, to Eddie.“ More like useful information, but we will talk later,” she said, to Nicole.“ How many minutes do I have?” she asked, holding up the phone.“ Unlimited to any other cellular phone.”“ May I be excused?” she said. Eddie nodded. Nicole jumped up, gave her parents a hug, flew out of the room and up the stairs.“ You too,” he said to Justin who was chomping at the bit. He had wrangled a new video game out of his grandfather. Justin headed for the family room.“ You know we may never see our daughter again,” Tanya said.“ I’ ll give you her number.”“ Why didn’ t you tell me you were getting her a phone?”“ It has a tracking devise inside. You can see who she is calling and what pictures she is sending. It is linked to your laptop computer,” he said, in his defense.“ Sorry to have questioned your judgment. Can I monitor the conversations?”“ That is an expensive add on. I figured this would work for now. If I knew they had this technology when she was fourteen I may have let her date.”“ Do you think you could have trusted her?”“ I have always trusted Nicole. It’ s boys I don’ t trust. Remember, I am one,” he said. The truth in that statement, as far as Tanya was concerned, was beginning to escalate.
The discussion turned to what they should do with the children tomorrow. They agreed to let them think they were getting away with something by forgetting to tell them to go to bed. Nicole and Justin would not be up before Tanya came home. Eddie handed Tanya the phone charger for Nicole’ s phone since she was on her way up to take a bath and read her book anyway. He joined Justin in the family room for an hour and said he was going to bed and that Justin should probably not stay up past midnight. The large tub was filled with hot water and bubbles. After an hour of bathing each other they were ready to find comfort between the sheets and in each others arms.
Much slower and gentler in his love making, Tanya enjoyed the change. How could she not think of the other night, being the center of attention? They had caressed and kissed her to the point where she did not care who did what as long as it didn’ t stop. She curled against Eddie’ s chest basking in the afterglow thinking,