Father Figuratively

"Daddy, d'you want any more coffee?" Mary tip-toed around in the kitchen, the tiles on the floor felt cold against her bare feet.

"No, come here." He was always so short with her, Mary honestly wasn't sure if she had ever heard him say more than a sentence to her at once. Quickly she made her way over to the dining room, where her stepfather Bruno was sitting, reading the newspaper. From the doorway she looked him up and down, letting her eyes trail along every part of his body. She noticed his strong forearms and his large hands, both muscled from long days of working as a carpenter. Her eyes fell on his neck and moved up to his chiseled jaw and bristly hair he hadn't bothered to shave this morning. God he's handsome, she thought, fixing her long dark hair before stepping out in front of him.

"What do you need, Daddy?" Still gripping the newspaper in his hands, Bruno barely looked up. He scoffed when he heard her call him Daddy again, even though he had made it abundantly clear he had no intentions of being a father to an eighteen year old girl. As a matter of fact, last week he had openly pondered on when Mary would finally leave for college and let him and her mother have the house to themselves.

"Sit." Bruno said, continuing to read the paper. Mary pulled out a chair and scooted it as close to his as she dared, sitting down on it and gracefully crossing her long legs. "Your aunt is sick." He eventually spoke, having let a heavy silence hang in the air.

Mary wasn't sure what to say, she knew her aunt was sick, she had been sick for a while. Still, it did not seem as if her stepfather was in any mood to elaborate. "That is a real shame Daddy, I hope she gets better soon."

After another short silence, where Mary played with her hair absentmindedly and let her eyes fall on Bruno once more, he finally folded up and threw down the newspaper. "I doubt she will." He said first, betraying very little emotions on his suntanned face. "But your mother is determined to help, so she's going to stay with her for a while." Bruno checked his watch and scratched the stubble on his chin. With a sigh he stood up from his seat and turned to leave the room.

Mary quickly spoke up; "for how long?" Bruno turned around and probably caught Mary staring at his butt, which she thought looked very good in the pants he wore.

Bruno shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his car keys from the windowsill. "I'll be home around six, make some dinner and get your stuff together. Tomorrow you're joining me at work." Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing, It this meant what she thought it did, pretty soon she'd be getting to spend a lot more time with her stepfather. Before she could question him further however, Bruno walked briskly out of the door.