Vincent lay in bed finally slipping between the sheets in just his boxer briefs after a day that felt busy enough to be two days wrapped into one. He had two hours of paperwork to complete after sending Mandy off to bed. It was finally complete, and Vincent had one more thing to take care of before sleep.

He pulled up the photo gallery on his cell phone and found a snapshot he surreptitiously took of Andrew. At least he thought Andrew hadn’t noticed. He took it while they were eating lunch at a cafe. Andrew had a fork in hand and was gesturing with it across the table. He had a warm smile on his face that always melted Vincent’s heart.

Vincent stared at the collar of Andrew’s shirt. One button was open, and Vincent thought about continuing to work his fingers through the rest of the buttons. He imagined leaning forward to kiss the warm skin of Andrew’s chest.

That was all it took for Vincent to be hard lying in bed. He reached his hand under the waistband of his boxer briefs and began to slowly stroke. It felt so good finally touching himself. Every day now he seemed to have one erection after another all day long thinking about Andrew. He was worried on occasion that someone at one of the stores might notice. It was like being a teenager again. Vincent laughed at his antics deliberately trying to stand behind a stack of cantaloupes while talking to his store manager.

Andrew’s card from the bunch of two dozen roses was lying on the nightstand. Vincent picked it up and looked at the big, looping “A” that began Andrew’s signature. It made Vincent think of Andrew’s hands. It made Vincent think of his body under the long thin fingers and slightly rough skin of Andrew’s fingertips.

Then there were the kisses. Vincent knew that he could happily kiss Andrew for hours. He gripped his own cock tight inside the boxer briefs and then tugged off the briefs dropping them to the floor. Vincent glanced at the door to his bedroom and remembered that he thought ahead in closing it tight and locking it.

Pulling the sheets back, Vincent stared at his thick, hard cock. It was pulsing on its own, and the veins stood out in sharp relief. Vincent closed his eyes, and let out a soft moan. He made no more sound than the low moaning tone as he jerked the cock faster with his right hand.

Vincent muttered, “Fuck, Andrew, wish you were here…” He stared at the photo of Andrew and focused on the soft lips just as his arousal climbed to the edge.

In his head, Vincent heard Andrews’s voice, “Cum for me, Vincent. Oh, fuck, cum with me!”

Vincent clenched his teeth to keep from screaming out loud while his cock erupted shooting white ropes of cum over his chest. He stroked it slowly and firmly as the last drops oozed down and over his fingers. “Damn…” whispered Vincent.

It was like being a teenager again. He jacked off every day that he didn’t have sex with Andrew. Sometimes it was twice a day when waking up in the morning and before going to sleep at night.

The rush of hormones sent him off to sleep at night like a warm blanket settling over his entire body and mind. Vincent reached for wipes on the nightstand to quickly clean up before settling back beneath the sheets and drifting off into a deep sleep.

---

Vincent woke up with a start. He heard a scream echo through the house. His first reaction was to think it was in a dream. He pushed himself upright and then gripped the bed with his right hand waiting to see if he heard the sound again. Then he heard, “Dad!” It was Mandy yelling from her room.

Throwing his legs off the side of the bed and pushing himself to an upright position, Vincent ignored any stiffness in his knees and propelled himself forward to the door of his bedroom. He tugged a thick cotton bathrobe off the hook on the rear of the door, wrapped it around his body, and then struggled with the lock on the door.

He yelled, “I’m coming, Mandy!”

The door opened, and Vincent jogged down the short hallway. His feet landed heavily on the hardwood floor. As he threw open Mandy’s door, he heard loud sobs. She was sitting upright in her bed with the sheets pulled up to her neck. His stomach clenched when he saw tears rolling down the sides of her face.

Vincent sat on the edge of the bed and reached his arms out to wrap Mandy up tight. She sobbed against his shoulder, and he said, “It’s all okay. I’m here. I’ve got you. Was it a nightmare.”

“It was Mom,” said Mandy. “I saw Mom. She wasn’t happy. She was mad. She was upset with me, Dad.” Mandy choked on the sobs while Vincent rocked her in his arms.

“Oh, Mandy, it was just a dream. It was just a dream.“

“She reached out for me, and she looked mad. That’s when I woke up and screamed!”

Vincent stroked the hair on the back of her head. He knew that it was impossible to know for sure what any dream meant, and sometimes indigestion could inspire a horrific nightmare, but it was months since Mandy had a nightmare about Dana. They were common in the first three months after Dana’s death, but they largely disappeared in the last six months. “I’ve got you,” said Vincent. “You can have a weird dream for so many different reasons. Your Mom loves you, Mandy. There’s no doubt about that.”

Mandy continued to sob, and through the tears, she repeated, “She was mad. She was mad about something, and she grabbed for me.”

Vincent continued to rock her against his body. “It’s okay, Mandy. We all have bad dreams. They aren’t real. They’re just dreams.”

Mandy’s hands gripped his robe tight. She snuffled and said, “I know.”

Vincent said, “How about we go downstairs and have a little snack. I’ll make some hot chocolate, and we can talk until it’s gone away, and we can both go back to sleep.”

Mandy pulled back and wiped at one of her puffy eyes. She said, “Okay, I think that sounds good. “ As he looked at his daughter, Vincent thought about when she used to wear pajamas to bed. Now she wore a T-Shirt and gym shorts to bed. The T-Shirt advertised her junior high school’s football team.

Vincent climbed off the bed and reached for a pair of slippers sitting beside Mandy’s dresser. He said, “Here, you’ll need these.”

Mandy shook her head and said, “Aww, Dad, I don’t need slippers anymore. I’ll just go barefoot.”

He grinned and set them back down beside the dresser. Then he offered his hand and said, “At least I’ll help you up.”

She took his hand and stood. Vincent wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and together they walked to the top of the staircase. Then Vincent followed her down. She said, “Dad, thanks for being there. I really was scared.”

Vincent flipped on the kitchen light. He asked, “Does hot chocolate sound good? I think we’ve got plenty of cups for the machine.”

Mandy said, “Yeah, that’s good, and can I make a sandwich?”

“You can have whatever you want,” said Vincent. “I think I’ll just stick with the hot chocolate. I don’t need any spread down here.” Vincent rubbed his belly.

Mandy pulled open the refrigerator door and said, “Aww, Dad, you’re skinny compared to the dads of most of my friends. You keep in shape. One sandwich won’t make you fat.”

He laughed and said, “It’s not a sandwich that makes me worried. It’s that last slice of key lime pie in the fridge that’s calling my name.”

Turning around to watch Mandy, Vincent saw her quickly put together a half sandwich of ham, cheese, and mustard. She sliced the half in half so that she had two nearly perfect squares of sandwich. After making the sandwich, she quickly piled all of the ingredients back into the refrigerator. Mandy smiled at her dad when she stepped up by the sink to pull off one paper towel and slip it beneath the sandwich squares before seating herself at the kitchen table.

Vincent watched the last drips into a mug and then handed the mug to Mandy saying, “One mug of hot chocolate. Just be careful. It’s hot.”

Two minutes later, Vincent seated himself next to his daughter at the table. He asked, “How’s the sandwich?”

“It’s good,” said Mandy. “That ham is a little different. Is that something new at the stores?”

Vincent grinned and said, “You’re developing quite a palate. Yes, it is a little different. It’s from a farm down near Red Wing. They produce aged hams. When the representative gave me a bite to taste, I was impressed.”

Mandy nodded and said, “It is good, Dad. Keep that. Can I ask a question, though?”

“Of course,” said Vincent. “Is it about the cheese? It’s from Minnesota, too.”

She shook her head and said, “No, it’s not about the cheese. I was going to ask if you thought the dream was about Mr. McCall.”

“Andrew? I thought the dream was about your mom.”

“I mean, do you think she would be upset about him? I mean, yeah, I figured it out. I’ve been thinking about that card and the roses. You like him, don’t you, Dad?”

Vincent wrapped his hands around his mug and said, “Yes, I do like him.”

Mandy tilted her head to the right, “Even though he’s a guy?”

“I’m going to be completely honest,” said Vincent. “I’m just as surprised as you, too. Is that okay with you? Please be honest, Mandy. What you think is very important to me.”

Mandy was quiet. She sipped at her hot chocolate and stared down at her sandwich. Vincent started to open his mouth to talk again when Mandy said, “It’s fine with me. I just don’t know if it would be okay with mom.”

Vincent said softly, “I think she would like Andrew.”

“I think she would, too,” said Mandy, “but…”

“Have you talked to Cathy about any of this?” asked Vincent.

“Mrs. Riggs?”

“Yes.”

Mandy said, “I didn’t know anything about you and Mr. McCall when I saw her the last time.”

“Maybe it would be good for you to talk to her, and of course the next time you have an appointment with the counselor. Meanwhile, I’ll answer any questions you have about Andrew.”

“Do you really like him, Dad?” asked Mandy.

Vincent sipped at his hot chocolate. Then he said, “I like him a lot. It’s still way too early to honestly answer the question I think you are asking, but yes, I do like him a lot.”

“I’m happy for you, Dad, and I hope Mom is happy, too. That’s why I want to move. I want to make new friends that I like a lot. It’s just different with my old friends.”

Vincent stood up from the table and stepped up to Mandy leaning over her and hugging her tight. He said, “I’ll do my best to try and make sure both of our wishes come true.”

Mandy said, “You always do that, Dad. You did that for Mom, too.”

Vincent asked, “Are you finished with the sandwich? It looks like there are a couple of bites left. Do you want those?”

She stuffed the last bites in her mouth, wiped her hands and mouth, and handed the paper towel to Vincent. She said, “I’m finished now.”

“Do you want me to carry you back upstairs like I did when you were a little girl?”

Mandy said, “If your back can handle that. You’re not a really young guy anymore.”

Vincent sighed and asked, “Since when did you learn how to hurt an old guy with comments like that?”