Competition for 'The Top'

"Um, that's as old as you are, Dad," Sarah informed him.

Sierra laughed again and told them, "I'm so glad both of you were able to join me for lunch. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much."

Their meals came and they made small talk for the rest of their time together. When they were finished, Josh and Sierra exchanged phone numbers and agreed to touch base at least twice a week until December then 'as needed' after that.

Seeing her opportunity, Sarah said, "Why don't you invite Ms. Olsen to our house for your next meeting, Dad?"

He went to give his daughter the eye as Sierra said, "I'd like that very much."

Just then she saw the look he gave her and quickly added, "If that's okay."

"No, it's more than okay," Josh said.

He looked back over at his daughter then said, "I know it doesn't apply to you and me, but this one is always trying to set me up."

"Dad!" she said again only this time with a kind of smirk.

"Oh, I see," Sierra said. "I just assumed your father would be seeing someone. It's more than a little surprising that someone so good looking wouldn't be."

"I know, right?" Sarah told her as she smiled at her dad. "He's way hot and yet he never goes out."

"Well, I'm afraid I'm more than a little too old for your father, Sarah, but it was very nice of you to think I might not be."

"You're not old, Ms. Olsen. You look amazing."

Sierra sighed then smiled and said, "You just made my day a second time!"

"Not that I'm flirting," Josh said as he glanced at the enormous 'rock' on her left hand, "but you really are a very beautiful woman, Sierra."

"Well, thank you, too, Josh. My husband used to tell me that all the time," she said.

Her comment caused more than a little confusion for both Josh and Sarah who were wondering what they were missing. Why would any man no longer tell a woman that attractive she was beautiful? Both of them wondered but neither of them asked.

After lunch, Josh walked Sierra to her car and told her how nice it was to have met her and that he looked forward to seeing her again.

"Yes. Same here," she replied with a smile. "And that goes for you, too, Sarah."

"Bye, Ms. Olsen," she said cheerfully as Josh opened her door for her.

As they drove home, Sarah said, "Dad? Don't get mad, but why did Ms. Olsen say she's too old for you? She doesn't look old."

"No, she doesn't, does she? But she did say she had a daughter who's older than you. But as I said, it's a moot point. She also has a husband and that's that."

"I know. I was just wondering."

Sarah waited for a moment then asked, "You and Mom were 18, right?"

"Yes. Both of us," he told her. "But don't you go getting any ideas, okay?"

Sarah laughed and said, "I want to go to college, so don't worry. I'm not really even interested in boys yet."

"Good," her father said in that way that all fathers do.

"So anyway, what difference would it make if she was older than you?" Sarah asked pressing on.

"I'm not sure. Up to point, maybe. But what's far more important is having things in common so you get along and enjoy being with one another. But it doesn't matter, remember?"

"I know. I'm just wondering. I mean, you and Mom got married at 18, and that's kind of unusual, so would it be unusual to date someone who's older than you?"

"Wait a second. Are you interested in some boy who's older than you?" he asked now not totally kidding.

"No! I promise," she told him.

"I thought you also promised to give it a rest," Josh said.

"I did. It rested until just now," she told him. Sarah tried not to laugh but when he looked over and stared at her she lost it.

"Okay. I'm sorry!" she told him. "Excuse me if I want my dad to be happy. Sheesh!"

He started to tell her he was happy when she went, "Uh! Shhh. Don't even say it!"

Pretending to be deeply hurt, Josh said, "Okay. Fine. I won't. I won't say...anything to you ever again!"

Sarah flipped her head up and said, "Promises, promises!" before both of them laughed loudly.

When it got quiet again, Josh got serious and said, "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Yeah, I do," she told him with a sweet smile. "As much as I love you, right?"

"Yeah. That much. Maybe even more," he told her as they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Home. They had a decent place in a reasonably nice neighborhood, but Josh still didn't like leaving his daughter there alone. But she was 14 now and had insisted she didn't need a nanny.

He'd reluctantly agreed then invested in a state-of the-art security system for their house, and like most Marines, he had a legally-registered weapon in it. Unlike most parents, he'd taught Sarah how to shoot several years ago, and just as importantly, how not to shoot unless it was a matter of life and death or someone with...ill designs on her person. Every six months or so they went to an indoor range to refresh her skills, and that was about the most fun they had together outside their home. In fact, they had plans to do just that on Saturday afternoon.

As an added safety precaution, they also texted one another every few hours, and that, coupled with Sarah's age and maturity level, let him get through each day without too much concern. Also, she was out of the house from 7am until nearly 6pm with cross country five days a week, making the hours she was there by herself few and far between. Even so, he couldn't help but worry.

That evening, Josh knocked on Sarah's bedroom door and asked if he could come in.

"Sure," she told him.

"I was thinking about talking to your principal about Toys for Tots tomorrow. There are a bunch of very well-off people who send their kids to the academy, and they could do a lot to make Christmas special for a whole bunch of kids who are less fortunate."

Sarah smiled happily and said, "And that is just one more reason why I love you so much!"

"So you won't mind me going inside with you in the morning?"

"I'd say stay at least ten feet away at all times, but if you're going in uniform, you can walk with me. Maybe that way a cute guy will gravitate my way out of idle curiosity," she teased.

"Unless he's 18 and ready to enlist... No, wait. I better not see any boys hanging around you!" he teased back.

"I am going to start dating one day, you know," she told him.

"Yes, I know, but let's not rush it, okay?"

"Okay, but at the rate you're going, I'll be dating before you!" she said with another playful flip of her head.

"You could be right, honey," he told her before saying goodnight and closing her door.

As much as he hated to admit it, his 14-year old daughter was right. He was lonely, and maybe it was time to do something about it.

The next morning Josh did walk into school with Sarah, and as always, heads turned constantly as students and teachers pointed and whispered as he walked down the hall.

"Teacher alert!" Sarah said just as he, too, noticed Ms. Quinn walking toward them.

"Mr. Haverty! Hello, again! What a pleasant surprise. What may I ask brings you our way?"

"Hello, Ms. Quinn. I was hoping to talk with the principal for a few minutes."

"If it's about Sarah, I'd be more than happy to discuss whatever concerns you have," she said with a very big smile as she stopped, turned around, and began walking their way.

"No. It's about a charity program the Marine Corps Reserve sponsors every year for Christmas. We active-duty folks help, too, and I'm hoping to get her to sign up on behalf of the school."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'd be very happy to lend my support if she okays it."

"Great. If she does I'll be touching base," he told her.

She leaned over and quietly said, "You could touch my base anytime!"

"Um...good to know," Josh said as pleasantly as he could just as they arrived at the principal's office.

"You still have my number, right?" Ms. Quinn asked as he and Sarah stopped walking.

"I sure do," he told her.

"Okay. Just checking!" she said as she began walking back in the direction she'd been heading. "Call me—anytime!"

Josh waved politely as the secretary asked how she could help. Josh explained what he was trying to do and she said, "That sounds wonderful! Let me let her know you're here."

Just as she was buzzing the principal, Josh heard another woman calling his name.

"Mr. Haverty?"

"Yes?" he said as he turned around.

"I don't know if you remember me. I'm Ms. Tomlin."

She smiled then said, "Debbie Tomlin."

"Of course. You're one of the guidance counselors, right?"

"That's me," she said almost bashfully. "You look very handsome, by the way, and thank you for your service."

"Thank you, and it's my pleasure," he told her.

Like Ms. Quinn, she asked what he was doing there, and after explaining it again, she, too, said she'd love to help out.

"Perfect. Between you and Ms. Quinn we should be able to really get things rolling."

The look on her face went blank when he mentioned Ms. Quinn.

"She's working with you?" Ms. Tomlin asked.

"I haven't gotten the principal's approval yet, but she said she'd love to help out. Is that a problem?" he asked not knowing the history between them.

"Oh, no. Just curious," she replied, her smile back again.

The truth was she and Molly Quinn did not get along—at all. Once upon a time, they'd been best friends, but after both of them accusing the other of sabotaging a potential relationship with a man they were both interested in, the friendship came to a screeching halt. Now, the two women tolerated one another for professional reasons, but otherwise avoided each other like the plague. And when Debbie realized she was interested in Josh, it was all she could do to stay calm.

"Sir? Mrs. Winters will you see you now," the secretary said.

"You want to come in with me, honey?" he asked Sarah who'd been watching silently.

"Um, no, that's okay. I think I'll go down to the cafeteria until the bell rings."

"Okay. Have a good day," he told her.

"You too, Dad," she said before pecking him on the cheek.

As she walked away, a girl Josh didn't know, joined Sarah and said, "Is that your dad? He is so hot!"

"She's right, you know," Ms. Tomlin, who'd also heard the comment, said.

Josh had already forgotten she was still standing there and only smiled as he excused himself leaving her standing there at the front desk.

In less than two minutes, he had the principal's approval. They chatted politely for another couple of minutes before Josh thanked her and left.

She assured him she'd let the entire staff know what the program was, and that she'd set up a competition by grade level and encourage each teacher to try and bring in the most presents. The winning class in each grade would get some kind of reward, yet to be determined.

"That was easy," he said to himself as he was leaving. The bell had just rung and the halls were empty with the exception of a couple of tardy students running toward their homerooms.

Or at least they seemed empty.

"Mr. Haverty?" he heard a familiar voice call out.

He turned to see Ms. Tomlin again who was trying to catch up.

"I don't mean to bother you, but well, I...I was wondering if you might like to, you know, maybe...go out sometime."

She was either very new at asking a man out or very nervous or possibly both.

"I'm flattered, Ms. Tomlin, but..."

"Debbie. Please," she said with a smile before confirming his suspicions. "I've never asked a man out before, and I'm a little nervous, so please excuse me for that."

"No, I understand," he told her. "I was going to say I don't go out much, but the truth is I haven't gone out at all since my wife passed away."

"I really am sorry you lost your wife," she said sincerely. She already knew that which explained why he still wore a wedding ring.

"Thank you."

"But I promised myself if I ever saw you again, I'd at least ask. I mean, I know you might not say 'yes', but I finally managed to work up the nerve to ask so...I'm asking," she said with the brightest smile he'd seen in some time.

"You know what? Sarah is always on my case about never dating, so...sure. Yes, I'd like that," he told her.

"Really? That is so great!" she told him barely able to contain her enthusiasm.

He waited for a few seconds for her to let him know what she had in mind, but she just stood there smiling at him.

"What were you thinking?" he finally asked.

"I'm sorry?" she said so lost in her happiness that he'd said 'yes' she had no idea what he meant.

"Where were you thinking about us going?" he clarified.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I really am nervous. I...I was thinking maybe we could, well, I...I guess I haven't actually thought about that. I think I assumed you'd say 'no' so I hadn't given any thought to the where part."

Josh smiled but didn't laugh.

"Sarah and I have plans for Saturday. Would you maybe like to join us?" he asked thinking that would be a way to ease back into dating, something he'd never planned on doing again.

"Oh. Sure! That sounds perfect!" she told him without bothering to ask what they would be doing.

"Could we stop by and get you around 1:30 or so?"

"Yes. Definitely. I can tell you're a really great dad, Mr. Haverty," she said, still smiling happily.

"It's Josh," he told her.

"Debbie," she said again. "But then you already knew that, huh?"

"I try, but Sarah makes it easy," he admitted. "All right. I'm looking forward to this."

"Me too, Josh. I'll see you around 1:30 on Saturday then. Bye!"

As she walked away, he saw her do a kind of shaking thing he rightly assumed was a 'yes!' of some sort indicating how happy she was to have asked and gotten a positive response.

Sarah was shocked but very happy when he told her that evening they'd be having company at the shooting range.

"She's kind of pretty, huh?" Sarah said.

"Um, yeah. I guess so," her dad said.

"I mean, she's not...beautiful...like Ms. Olsen, but she is pretty."

Josh hadn't thought about Sierra all day, and the mention of her name made him realize he needed to let her know about the good news from the school.

"Speaking of Ms. Olsen," he said as he reached for his cell phone.

She answered on the third ring and Josh said, "Sierra? Hi. It's Josh. Haverty."

"Oh, yes. The dashingly handsome Marine master sergeant!"

"Well, I am a Marine," he said modestly. "Listen, I have some very good news."

He didn't mention the name of the school, and Sierra didn't ask, but she was thrilled with the news. She then told him she'd met with the sergeant major at the reserve unit headquarters who promised they would beat the recruiters.

"Well, no disrespect to the sergeant major, but...over my dead body!" Josh told her.

Sierra laughed and told him, "I think I'm really going to enjoy this!"

"Oh, me, too," Josh told her. "I'm going to enjoy rubbing it the reservists faces when we have a...boatload more toys than they do!"

Sierra laughed again then said, "Either way, the kids will be the big winners."

"Yes, indeed. I tend to be very competitive, and I think I lost sight of the actual goal here. It really is all about helping kids have a great Christmas."

"True, but competition is a good thing, Josh. It's very healthy."

"Good. I'm glad we agree," he told her.

"Oh, before I forget, the sergeant major told me they have a huge tractor-trailer rig we can use so if you can provide the Humvee..."

"The Humvee is a done deal, Sierra. But...I don't have to wear a Santa suit, do I?" he asked. He was wincing as he asked but knew he'd do it a heartbeat for the kids.

"No, I think the um...suit...you wore to lunch will make just as big an impression on them. Don't you agree?"

"I do indeed," he told her. "But I'd be willing to put on the red one for the kids."

Sierra laughed again, and said, "You know, I really enjoy talking with you, Josh."

"Same here," he told her as he realized that was true.

"Well, I'm so glad you called," she said sensing there was nothing more to be said.

"I'll touch base with you again in a few days, Sierra. Take care, okay?"

"I'll look forward to hearing from you! Bye, Josh."

Sierra hadn't met anyone who interested her since her husband passed away nearly three years ago, but she not only found this young Marine very attractive, he was just so easy to talk to you. And funny. And he had an amazing, wonderful daughter, and that reminded her of just how bad things had gotten with her own 'little girl' as she wondered yet again how things had gone so terribly wrong so quickly.

When Saturday rolled around, Josh left work at noon and went straight home where Sarah was ready and waiting for him. At one o'clock he asked her if she was ready to leave and off they went.

On their way to pick up Ms. Tomlin, Sarah looked over at her dad and said, "Please don't get upset, okay?"

"Uh-oh. Did some cute boy kiss you at school this week?" he teased—hoping it was just teasing.

Sarah tilted her head down and to the side while glaring at her father and ignoring his comment.

"I'm really glad you're dating again. Well, I wasn't around, of course, when you and Mom were dating, but you know what I mean."

"Honey, I'm not dating. Ms. Tomlin asked me if I'd like to do something with her sometime, so today we're doing something together. All of us. Okay?"

"Yep. This is very okay!" she said with a smile.

When they got to her apartment, Sarah got in the back when her dad went to knock on her door. She was ready and waiting, just like Sarah had been with one exception. Debbie was wearing a nice dress and heels.

"Oh, wow!" Josh said when he saw her. "You look very nice."

"Well, thank you, handsome!" she said sweetly. "Is it really okay?"

"It's very pretty, but you might be a tad overdressed."

"Oh. I wasn't sure where we were going, and I thought I'd play it safe and be overdressed rather than underdressed. Should I change?"

"You might be more comfortable in jeans," Josh told her with a smile.

Not wanting to say or do anything to blow her chance with this gorgeous man, Debbie didn't ask where they were going and only said, "Gimme a sec, okay?"

It was closer to five minutes, but when she came back, she was still wearing full makeup, but she was wearing jeans and a nice blouse instead of the dress.

"Is this better?" she asked.

"Much," Josh said. "You ready?"

"Hi, Ms. Tomlin," Sarah said when Josh helped her in.

"Hello, Sarah! How are you today?"

"I'm great. How are you?"

"I'm actually really looking forward to this!" her guidance counselor said.

"Me, too," Sarah told her as her dad got back in.

They made small talk on the way, and Debbie was feeling great until they pulled into the parking lot of an indoor shooting range.

"Um...why are we stopping here?" she asked.

"Because we're target practicing," he said with a smile.

"Can I shoot a .44 magnum today, Dad? Please?"

Debbie had a look of horror on her face as Josh said, "No, the 9 mil is more than enough, but I might let you squeeze off a round or two with my .45 if you stop bugging me about 'the canon'."

As he went to get out, Josh noticed Debbie was sitting silently staring out the window, so he stopped and asked if everything was okay.

"Oh. Sure," she said quietly.

Accepting her response, Josh went around and opened both doors and helped Debbie get out.

"Come on. This is gonna be a lot of fun," he told her.

"Do you do this a lot?" she asked.

"About what? Maybe...twice a year or so."

"Every six months," Sarah said.

"Do you like to shoot?" she asked Ms. Tomlin.

"No. Not really," she said.

The truth was she didn't like guns at all, and especially not handguns. She disliked 'assault rifles' even more, but she saw no reason for anyone to have a gun that was 'only used to kill people'.

"Have you ever fired a weapon before?" Josh asked as they reached the door.