You Worry Too Much

Life was moving much too quickly for Tom Hartman. Brooding over a cup of coffee at the Schuyler Square Café, he thought over all the changes that were happening around him. First, he discovered that he had a daughter that he’d known nothing about and he’d spent the past year or so trying to hammer out a relationship with her. Now that daughter, his little Tiffany, was graduating from high school and then getting married to a weasel who wouldn’t know what honest work was if it jumped up and bit him in the butt. But before the wedding could take place, Tom was going to have to have a blood test along with Vlad, his ex-wife’s former lover, to find out just who really was Tiffany’s father.

Not that it really mattered to Tom. Even if it turned out that Vlad was Tiffany’s biological father, Tom knew that he was always going to feel like he was her true dad. Over the past year he’d come to love the girl and he planned on being there for her for the rest of his life. If Tiffany insisted on marrying that no-goodnick loser Rex, Tom would stand by her. He’d pay for her wedding, give her Kleenex when the marriage broke up and give her a place to stay when the inevitable divorce happened.

“Hello, Daddy.” Tiffany sashayed into coffee shop, tugging up her jeans as she moved.

“Good grief, Tiffany, what’s happened to you?” Tom stared at his daughter. His formerly pudgy little girl had turned into a string bean seemingly overnight. “I knew you were dieting but you look positively starved.”

Sitting down across from him, Tiffany laughed. “I’m hardly starving,” she assured him. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to order some lunch, if you don’t mind. I haven’t eaten for at least an hour.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Order anything you want.”

A waitress came to the table and Tiffany ordered a double cheeseburger with bacon, extra large fries and a chicken burrito. “See?” she said after ordering. “I’m not dieting.”

“Then how are you losing so much weight?”

Tiffany shrugged. “I guess my metabolism has moved into high gear. You worry too much. Don't--everything's fine. Have you talked to Vlad?”

“Yes. He’s getting his blood test today.”

“How about you? When are you getting yours?”

“I had it this morning.”

“Great! Then once we straighten out the who’s my dad question, I can marry Rex!”

“Honey, are you sure you want to go through with the wedding? I don’t see why you’re in such a hurry to marry him.”

“Well, to tell you the truth it’s really more about him being in a rush to marry me,” Tiffany confided. “I wouldn’t care if we just lived together.”

“I wish you would just live together,” Tom said frankly, “although I’d much rather that you go to college, get a degree and find a career that you like.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Tiffany asked. “I don’t want to work. Rex and I have other plans.”

“You mentioned that you’ll be coming into more money soon. What was that all about?”

Tiffany looked uncomfortable. “Nothing. We’re doing a little investing.”

“With the money your mother left you?”

“Sort of.”

“Tiffany, you aren’t doing anything illegal, are you?”

“No!” Tiffany said much too quickly. “Why do you always think the worst of me? Don’t you trust me?” She suddenly pressed her hand to her forehead. “I have a headache. See? You’re upsetting me. Stop it.”

“I care about you, baby. I’m not trying to upset you. I’m trying to help you.” The waitress set a plate of food down in front of Tiffany and Tom watched in amazement as his daughter inhaled everything on the plate. There was no way that she could be consuming so many calories and still losing weight. Something weird was going on and Tom planned on finding out just what it was. Tom knew what he had to do. He was going to have to talk to that lamebrain Rex and get him to spill the beans both over why Rex was so anxious to marry Tiffany and how the two of them were going to get rich.

As he watched Tiffany scrape her plate clean, Tom knew that he was going to have to find out what was going on as soon as possible. Whatever was happening, he was sure that he didn't like it.