Magician's Assistant - Friends & Lovers Part 10

Though he endeavored to hide the fact, Nicole's father, thinking that he had lost his favorite fishing buddy, wasn't anywhere near as enthusiastic about the bizarre turn of events as was his wife.

Later that afternoon, when the opportunity presented itself for Nikki to confront her Dad out in the garage alone, she pointedly demanded, "Okay, Dad. You've done your duty. You've placated Mom, and you've tried to placate me. But, I know you better than you know yourself, and I know there's something that's bugging you about all of this, and I'd like to know exactly what it is. So, come on, Dad. Instead of bottling everything up inside of you like you usually do, what say we get whatever it is that's bothering you out in the open. That way, we can hash it all out and get past whatever it is that's bugging you."

He just stared at her, unwavering.

"Look, Dad! For the sake of everybody involved, especially Mom, we need to deal with this, and we need to deal with this now!"

Though it took a good deal of coaxing, plus a few rather pointed threats on Nicole's behave, she eventually managed to cajole her father's misgivings out of him. Though there were a whole bunch of side issues thrown into the mix, basically, what it all boiled down to was that her Dad wasn't all that happy about having to find himself another fishing buddy.

"Look, dad, if that's what you're worried about, don't let it bother you."

"You mean to tell me that even though you're a girl now, you still want to go fishing with me?" An ominous feeling of doubt still lingered in the subjective nooks and crannies of her father's tone of voice.

"Yes, Dad! That's exactly what I'm telling you! Look, I may be your daughter now, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to still go fishing with you!"

"Aw. you're just saying that to make me feel better about all of this."

"No, Dad, I'm not! I honestly still want to go fishing with you! You've got to understand something here, Dad. While I might look like a girl, and act like a girl, and even talk like a girl, I'm nowhere near as much of a girl as I appear to be. In other words, Dad, up here in this old noggin of mine, there's a hell a lot more of the old male me, than the new female me!"