As the first part of this story took place over the last three or four years and spanned two continents, in order to make it easier to read, I have written it from the point of view of an observer.

David was a mild mannered, even tempered sort of guy in his mid forties, who lived somewhere on the Pacific Coast, just far enough away from the San Andreas fault for it not to worry him. His marriage had broken down, as many do, due to an inability to be able to live in the same house as his wife without constant bickering and shouting. They had divorced when their only daughter Catherine, or Cat as she was called, was six years old. Now they lived a couple of blocks apart, which was close enough for Cat, who was now eleven, to be able to visit often, generally on her way home from school. David worked from home, in a workshop out back, and it was in here that many of his daily encounters with Cat took place. She was a cute dark haired girl, with a disarming smile, and just the very beginnings of little buds on her chest. Not that David ever really noticed as, after all, she was his little girl, and daddies don't look at their own girls like that, do they? One day she bounded into the workshop as usual, in her cute school uniform, and hiked herself up onto the bench next to where David was working.

"Hi Kitten," he said, causing Cat to giggle as she usually did when he called her that.

"I'm, NOT a kitten," she would always say, "I am a CAT", and would then pretend to purr like a cat. This happened every time they met, and had become a sort of ritual between them. Once that was done, they usually then discussed how school had been that day. This day was no different, except that after a while Cat pushed her face right up close to David.

"Daddy," she began, "How come you never go out with girls, since you left mommy?"

"How do you know that I don't?" replied David, adding "Anyway you shouldn't be asking about such things." Cat's eyes started to fill with tears.

"There, There," said David, putting his arm round her to comfort her, "There's no need to get upset."

"It's...just...that...the...girls at school," she sniffled, "say that guys who don't go out with girls are home sexuals. I don't want you to be a home sexual." David had to smile.

"It's NOT a home sexual," he said, hugging her close," It's home-O-sexual, and I am NOT a homosexual. I still like girls VERY much." Cat seemed to brighten up at that.

"So have you got a girlfriend then?" she asked.

"Sadly, not at the moment," replied David, shaking his head.

"Why not?" she asked, adding, "They said at school that men NEED to have a girlfriend to help them out." David ignored the obvious question, although he wondered if Cat really understood what 'helping out' might mean.

"A man needs to find a really special person to go out with," he responded, "and, since your mom and I split up, I haven't found any one who I like enough, or is special enough." That seemed to satisfy Cat, as she then changed the subject, and started discussing her Math work at school.

A few days later when she arrived, she had a thoughtful look on her face. After their greeting ritual she looked at David, a very serious look on her face.

"Do you like me, daddy?" she asked, her face screwed up in concentration. ......(cont)