The following week was incredibly busy. Everyone had a lot of shopping to get done. Daniel and Sara had followed the "tradition" many Jewish families have of giving a gift for each of the 8 nights of Chanukah, mostly small gifts the first 7 with a significant gift the last night. All that, plus a number of gifts for Christmas morning meant a few all day shopping sprees, with Daniel going with Joyce and Sara going with Steph. One day they switched, So Daniel and Sara went together while Joyce went with Steph. Each day they all came home with their hands filled with bags. The only problem was Daniel couldn't wrap gifts to save his life. So the women had to help at various times.
Before he bought an engagement ring for Joyce, Daniel had to ask Steph how she felt about it. He already had Sara's blessing, but he wanted Steph's as well.
He caught her alone one evening. "Steph, honey, I'd like to ask you something."
"Sure sweetheart. Anything."
"I want to ask your mother to marry me. I want to know how you feel about it."
"I guess it depends. Is it going to change anything between us, or with Sara? We all have a pretty great thing going here."
"I have no plans to change anything. I love you and Sara very much, and I always will. But I want to share some part of my life with someone I can relate to on my age level. I still want us to find houses together. I want us to have fun as couples and sometimes as a group. And we won't steal your thunder. We'll get married after you and Sara, I promise."
"Then I guess I say ask her! I'm sure she'll say yes. It's a great idea. You'll be just like my daddy." She kissed him softly, but with a little lust behind it. "As long as I get my share of this lovely cock" she said, giving him a gentle squeeze on his member. "A girl has needs, after all."
"No one will be deprived. I wouldn't want to lose my time with you and Sara. What kind of daddy would I be then?" he teased the cute redhead.
"You're the best kind of daddy, love. I can't wait to marry Sara, be her wife, and have you as my real daddy" Steph said, nuzzling his chest.
"You still have a real father, honey."
"He's my father, but he's not my dad. He's made that clear the last few years. He can come to the wedding if he want's, but I'm asking mom to give me away and to dance with me. Pete isn't going to be anything more than a guest."
"Honey, don't make any rash decisions. Make sure this is what you want before you burn any bridges."
"You think I haven't thought about this, Daniel? He's barely been around the last 6 months, he abandoned mom years ago, he even refused to pay for my college. He sired me, but he's not my dad, not anymore. You are. And you're my friend and my lover." She kissed him, with love and tenderness. "I'm so lucky to be in this family."
Daniel just held her, comforting her. "Sara's going shopping with me tomorrow for a ring for your mom."
"Get her something nice. She deserves it."
"You don't have to tell me that, my love. I promise I'll be so good to her"
"And you don't have to tell me that. But it's good to hear. Mind if I join you and Sara? We can finish up most of the shopping. Maybe the three of us can have some fun afterwards."
"It's been a somewhat sex-free week, hasn't it? We've all been so busy. Sounds like a plan!"
The three went to try to finish shopping, leaving early, making an excuse to Joyce as to why she couldn't come along. Smart lady that she was, she was pretty sure why she was excluded, though she had no idea what was being sought. It was fine; she still had her own shopping to do.
After hitting a few stores, they stopped by Tiffany's, where Daniel had bought some beautiful gifts for both Sara and Steph recently. They approached the same salesman who helped him previously, Gordon. "Mr. Daniel, you should have let me know you were coming! I would have had some choices for you set aside. And look at your lovely daughters! Such a proud father you must be!"
They all chuckled. Though Sara was his daughter, she really didn't look like Daniel, and Steph looked like neither of them. But it was fun watching Gordon fuss over them, bringing coffee and tea for all three, after which Daniel told him what he was looking for: an engagement ring.
"Congratulations, Mr. Daniel! I'm so happy for you!" Yeah, I bet, thought Daniel, figuring the salesman would be counting on his patronage for many years to come.
After some discussion, Gordon brought out 8 different rings, all in the 2-4 carat range, all brilliant stones set in platinum settings. After the girls looked and gave their input, Daniel finally settled on a 3 carat princess cut stone, flawless and brilliant. Gordon said "Would you like to purchase the matching earrings for Valentines Day? Save you some time later."
Oh, he's good, the girls whispered as they giggled. "Go ahead, dad, might as well" Sara told him. "Make Gordon happy."
"Yeah Gordon's happiness is my major goal in life" he whispered to both girls out of the salesman's earshot. "Might as well, I'll need something for then anyway."
After an hour and a half, and many thousands of dollars, the three finally headed home. It was now the day before Chanukah, and all three finally were done shopping, with just some gift wrapping to do. The jewelry Daniel bought for Joyce at least was wrapped by the store.
They picked up Chinese food for dinner. Joyce wasn't expected for over an hour, so they decided to just leave the food on the counter to warm up when she came home.