It was just past midnight when Blake was shuffling around in the dark, on his way to his downstairs office. He was navigating mostly by memory, and the closer he got to his front door the easier it was. The illumination from the porch light was visible through the vertical slit window next to the door. This allowed him to move around without stumbling into anything.
Still, the living room was bathed in many shadows. The man paused when he saw an odd shape on one of the couches. He peered closer at it.
"Mindy, is that you?"
"Yes, dad. It's me."
He squinted his eyes, yet he could barely see her in the dark. "What are you doing down here?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I came down here."
"Well, I can understand that. I couldn't sleep myself, not after the argument I had with your mother."
"You ended up in the guest room. I thought mom said she didn't want anybody in there."
Blake sighed. "What can I say? You know your mother. She's... She's been getting really touchy lately, about everything."
"You're just now noticing this? Anyway, why did you come down here, to watch porn on your computer?"
"I... I came to look up my emails, to see if any of my clients have new contracts for me, you know, to get a head start on tomorrow." He caught himself, and let out a long breath. "Okay, that's all bullshit. I did come down here to look up porn. The truth is that your mother and I haven't been getting along for months now. If I could go out and have a fling with another woman, I would do it. Seriously, I'm tired of how your mother's been treating me, and like you just said, I'm only now noticing that she's been treating you the same way."
"I can hook you up with somebody." Mindy revealed.
Blake didn't answer right away. When he did, he simply said, "Really?"
"Sure. I know people and they know people, and they know even more people. It's a network I created. Some people don't have enough, and some people have too much. My friends and I figure out how to distribute from one side to the other while making a profit. Sometimes, people end up owing us favors or services."
"That's really interesting." Blake said. "I had no idea you were that complex."
"That's because you don't pay attention to me, dad. So, what kind of girl do you want? Somebody like Bethany? I could ask her, you know. I know Shelly thinks you're cute. I could ask her, too."
"Really? Shelly thinks I'm cute?"
"Really, dad. Why don't you come over here and sit by me. Talk to me. You can look up porn later."
Blake came over, causing the couch cushions to groan when he settled his weight on them. "So, I can wish for any woman I want and you're the magic genie that can make it happen? I have to admit that Bethany is a very beautiful girl..."
"I love her, dad."
This caused Blake to reflect on his daughter for a moment. "I think I saw that in your eyes, when you were looking at her and laughing with her. I haven't had that same kind of spark with your mother in years."
"So leave her. Mom is a bitch. Let her drag herself into her little pit of despair, if that's what she wants to do. But don't let her drag the two of us along with her."
"I've been with her for a long time."
"So what? Unless you enjoy suffering thanks to her, you can always get up and walk. If you don't feel good about where you're at, you move on. It's that simple. But anyway, getting back to your dream woman, you think you might like a fling with Bethany?"
"I wasn't going to say that. I started to say that Bethany is a beautiful girl, and any man would be crazy not to want a piece of her, but that's only a temporary fix. What I want is to take a woman out to dinner, and to laugh with her and flirt with her like I was doing with you and Bethany earlier. I want to hold her hand and hug her, and look into her eyes, and know that she likes me for who I am. I want to see that spark in her eyes."
"So you're tired of a carton of veggie Chinese every other night?"
She could just imagine Blake shaking his head in the dark.
"I can't believe Marge keeps doing that. Yes, I am sick and tired of the same Chinese food over and over. But even more than that, I'm tired of sleeping in the same bed with a woman that won't let me touch her anymore."
"So, you want to go on a fun date with somebody that might be close to your age, and who might want to go a little further with you than just having dinner. Describe this woman."
"You mean in detail?"
"In detail." Mindy confirmed.
"Okay. She'd have to be blonde, maybe a couple of inches shorter than me. I want her to be in shape, with a nice waist, toned legs and a tight butt. I don't want her breasts to be too small or too big, but just big enough to fit in my hands."