Manfried "Manny" Andrews watched between the iPad sitting on the small table in front of him, and the front door of the small coffee shop. When the figure stepped through the door, he watched. Sure, like most men the eyes were first drawn to those lean long legs encased in nylons, or the 36D's that strained against the buttoned blouse. He tried to focus on the face, the eyes, and what had brought him here today. He shut the device off and slid it to the side when she approached the table.
"Hey" the young woman said softly.
"Hey Mel" many replied. "Have a seat". He watched as Melanie Andrews, his oldest daughter, slid into the chair opposite him.
"Coffee?" he asked her.
"Yeah, thanks dad" Melanie replied. He stood and headed for the counter as she hung her purse on the back of the chair, and slipped her light jacket off.
"Double Mocha Latte," Manny told the young girl behind the counter. He turned and watched his daughter as she waited. When she reached up and began to play with her blonde curls, he knew. She was his daughter after all, and Dad knew every nervous habit she had. Something was bothering her. Even now, at 28 and married on her own, he had always had a soft spot for his eldest. She was a lot like him; logical, driven and stubborn in her persistence when she wanted something.
Silently Manny set the coffee in front of his daughter, and then returned to his chair. He stared at her eyes for a moment as she played with the cup. Then figured he might as well get the cat out of the bag.
"So what's up baby?" he asked. "What's so big for all this?"
Melanie looked startled as she glanced at him. "What, can't a daughter have a lunch with her father?"
Manny almost laughed. "Any other daughter might yeah; you no. You can't tell me at home, you won't talk about it on the phone. We both have a schedule like a mountain long so free time like this is a premium. Just lay it out honey." He leaned back in his chair and waited.
Melanie cleared her throat. "Well" she started hesitantly. "You know Paul and I have been trying to have a baby."
Manny nodded. "Keep going, the demon is in the detail." He knew his daughter and son-in-law had been trying for a family for almost two years. The fact he wasn't a grandfather yet was evidence of how successful it had been.
Melanie straightened herself in the chair, and her father saw a look of determination cross her face. Oh boy, he thought, the lawyer brain just engaged. Here it comes now."
"We've been watching my cycles, having sex regular, done everything we should, and so far nothing. So, two weeks ago I went to the doctor and got tested."
Manny was worried now, was something wrong with her. Was she about to say she had cancer or some other disease?
"Dad" Melanie said as she saw the concern in his eyes. "Don't worry; there isn't a damn thing wrong with me. My eggs, and the rest of me, are perfectly fine."
Manny couldn't help the sigh of relief. "OK, what about Paul."
His daughter gave a wane smile. "He refused to go in, said it questioned his manhood."
"That is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard" Manny scoffed. He stared at his daughter a moment. "I take it you didn't accept that either."
"No" Melanie shook her head. "Her curls fell loose framing her face, her blue eyes blazing. "So, I took a sample in myself."
"How the hell did you do that?" Manny asked shocked.
Melanie gave an evil grin across the table. "I gave him a blowjob before work, and then when he left, spit it into a cup and took it in."
Manny lifted a hand "Whoa, TMI girl" he laughed.
Melanie finally laughed at her fathers' discomfort. "You asked dad"
"OK, you got me there" he chuckled back. "What was the result?"
"Oligospermia", Melanie replied, "otherwise known as low sperm count. Oh the fluid volume was sufficient, but the actual count was less than 15% of the norm."
"OK" her father leaned back in his chair. "Now you know that it's Paul, what are the options?"
Melanie began to tick off on her fingers. "First, he doesn't know about the sample, and if I tell him he will blow a gasket over this manhood shit. Second, I can't use artificial, that requires the partners signature and release AND cooperation. Third, I can't use donor sperm, the chances of altered appearances away from either me or Paul is too risky, he would know."
"You're running out of options honey" Manny told her.
"There is one option left" Melanie said softly.
Manny sat silent, waiting.
"A punter." Melanie said quietly. She saw the confused look on her fathers' face. "A punter dad, the special teams to do the job. Bring in a substitute."
Trying to be logical, Manny saw one drawback immediately. "Aren't you back to the original problem then?" he asked, "an altered genetic pool."
Melanie watched her father closely. Now came the toughest part of the whole deal, could she say it? Could she ask it of this man who had loved her and raised her, and cared for her with all his heart?
"Not if you draw from the same genetic pool...dad" she said softly.
At first Manny didn't understand where she was coming from, and then his eyes widened in shock as the realization slipped into his brain.
"Jesus Mel" he gasped. "Do you know what you're asking?"
"I know exactly what I am asking Mr. Andrews" she stared at him. "Let's break this down. Emotionally, I want a baby so bad it hurts Dad." Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I want the chance to be a mother, a parent like the wonderful ones who raised me."
"Physically" she waved a hand across the table. "Here is a fit, 50 year old man, with the proven track record of three kids. You are in great shape, still able to father a child, and you fit the genetic pool perfectly."
"I am also your father" Manny exclaimed.