Though she already knew the answer to the question, she said "What type of problem, dad?"
He put a goofy smile on his face and let his hand go limp, pushing imaginary strands of long hair with his other, free hand.
"Well Seth's definitely not that!"
The next day Linda stood before her dresser mirror, trying on various combinations of clothes. A tank top or spaghetti strap top was out, since it showed too much skin and she didn't want to give Seth ideas. At least not yet. A tee shirt made her look too plain, she thought, and her ruffled, dress blouses seemed too formal and starchy for a summer afternoon get together. Just about the time she was ready to give up, she found her cream and fuchsia striped light sweater with short sleeves. Cute and casual, with a scoop neckline that was just barely low enough to show a tiny smidge of cleavage. Blue jeans and cute sandals completed the look.
Downstairs she found her mother slicing chicken leftovers and celery, with a jar of mayonnaise and a loaf of bread on the counter. She looked up at her and her eyes widened. "You're not wearing that, are you?"
"I am. Why?"
"It's too revealing. It'll give him ideas."
Linda wondered what her mother would have done if she wore one of her tank top or strappy blouses. She adjusted the hem and neckline so that the little sliver of cleavage disappeared. "What about now?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not showing any cleavage now."
Her mother smiled wryly. "That wasn't what I was talking about. The sweater is too clingy. You might as well be wearing a leotard."
"It'll be fine," Linda said. "I can take care of my self."
"When is Seth getting here, anyway?"
"Sometime today."
"Sometime today? Couldn't he have nailed it down a little bit more?"
"He said he still had a couple of things to check on at the shop. And one of his friends is riding down from Dayton, and he doesn't know when he'll meet up with him. It could be anytime."
Her mother frowned in disapproval. "Linda! Don't let a man play you like that. It's still early. Why don't you call him and get him to give you a better idea of when he's coming?"
"I can't do that."
"Of course you can. You have his number, don't you?"
"Yes, but…"