She leaned over and kissed her father's cheek. She straightened back up with an awkward laugh, as if she'd really wanted to kiss him on the mouth. Carl was relieved she hadn't. He wouldn't have had the will to stop it.
"Well, you know I love you, baby," he told her. "I know these are hard times and I just want you to be as happy as you can under the circumstances."
"I've got you, Dad. So I'm happy," she quipped with a bright smile.
Carl was in danger of getting hard. If his daughter had to be that hot and sexy, why did she have to be so sweet too? But the truth was that he was just as happy just having her around. He barely missed seeing his friends or coworkers.
"That's sweet, honey," he replied. "But I know you'd probably like to be able to get out and see your friends more than just
