Authors Note: Enjoy!
*****
"I don't want to go!" Kelly yelled through sobs.
"Well you're going anyway!" My wife Lilly yelled back.
"Arghhh!" Kelly yelled as she slammed the door.
"Maybe we should just..." I began, but the look in Lilly's eyes stopped me.
"She's going, she needs to go." Lilly said with a forced calm. "Look Jack, I'm sorry, I know we had this all planned..." Lilly added, her voice softening instantly. "Stop apologizing!" I said, a little more forcefully than I had intended.
We had planned a backcountry camping trip to Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario for the week, a sort of celebration before Kelly went off to college, and Kelly seemed to be looking forward to it. At the last minute though, Lilly had been told she was going half-way across the country to a tradeshow for work. Kelly had been devastated.
"We'll be fine." I insisted, wrapping my arms around her. Lilly leaned back against me and my hands slid down over her 34C breasts, massaging them slightly and pushing my growing erection against her ass.
"Ahem!" Kelly's fake cough brought us back to reality, but I did not immediately remove my hands.
"Can we go then?" Kelly asked, in the most un-interested voice I'd ever heard, she was making an effort to look anywhere but at us.
"Ready when you are kiddo." I replied.
*
Six hours later, I made the turn off Bell Lake Road towards the Bell Lake Access point.
Kelly had slept most of the trip, but she was jolted awake suddenly as our Jeep hit a pothole. For a moment she looked confused as to where we were, and then the scowl began to return to her face. As she slowly got her bearings, and started to look outside I could see her eyes fly open so wide it would have made a Disney princess jealous.
"Welcome to Killarney Park" I announced as we drove in past the information sign.
"Oh my god." Kelly gasped, her head flicking back and forth as she tried to take in everything at once.
"Guess you didn't believe me when I told you about this place eh?" I kidded her, a I stopped near the launch ramp.
"Hearing it is one thing, even the pictures didn't..." She breathed, lost for words. "but seeing it!" she added, stepping out of the Jeep.
"Let's get a picture at the sign!" She squealed, and she was suddenly my little girl again, half running and half dancing across the parking area to the sign. Except she obviously wasn't my little girl anymore - Kelly had developed into a beautiful young woman. At 5' 6" and maybe 120 pounds she was perhaps a bit thin. Her long dirty blonde hair flung out behind her as she went. I smiled at her, and breathed a sigh of relief knowing instantly that we would have a great week.
"Come on daddy!" She called, running back to drag me toward the sign. She hadn't called me daddy in years.
A quick half dozen selfies taken, Kelly looked suddenly confused as she stared at her phone. "There's no cell at all out here?" She asked, shocked.
"Not much." I admitted.
Kelly stared at her phone a while longer before saying "Hmpf, okay." She shrugged this news off without a second thought, which left me gaping at her. In the last five or six years I can hardly remember a minute where she didn't have her phone in her hand. She must have guessed some of my thoughts because she laughed and said "Dad, I can survive without it you know."
I sent Kelly to get our permits as I began unloading and re-organizing our gear. "It's getting hot already!" She announced and as I looked toward her to answer her sweater hit me full in the face. 'Sorry dad!" She said with a laugh. "Thanks hun." She disappeared through the light foliage along the path to the Killarney Kanoes shop/permit office.
By the time Kelly returned with the permits I had everything laid out and stowed in the canoe. I heard Kelly whistling as she waked down the path toward me, and as I turned to greet her she lunged at me and wrapped her arms around me.
"Thanks dad." She said, sighing deeply against me.