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Heather has been bad, very bad. Can she turn over a new leaf?

This story was written as an entry for the Summer Lovin' Contest.

All characters in the story are at least 18 years old.

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"I just can't stand him!"

"Now Heather, he IS your father. Have a little respect. Things are hard for him right now; just try to keep the peace," her mother replied from 1100 miles away.

"When are you coming home?" Heather whined.

"Not until the end of the month. It's a great job and we need the money right now. And to be brutally honest, young lady, I don't need the added stress."

"He won't let me do ANYTHING!" Heather continued.

"Then stop screwing up and get in his good graces. I don't have time for this right now honey. Just obey your father, and try to be good for a while..."

Heather hung up on her mother, and screamed in frustration as she ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. If she expected that to somehow make things better, she was sorely mistaken.

Ever since her mother had gotten the contracting job in Manhattan for the entire month of July, life had been miserable.

Under the best of circumstances, Heather and her father barely communicated. Her mother was the glue that held the family together, such as it was.

Now that her father had been laid off after 22 years at the same job, he was even harder to put up with.

Summer was usually a great time. With the parents gone each day she got to sleep in, lie around the pool, hit the mall, gab on the phone, and just do whatever she wanted.

Not this year. Within the first week of summer vacation, she'd lost her cell phone privileges when her grades showed up in the mail. It wasn't her fault the science and history teachers didn't like her. And she had managed to pass both courses. By the skin of her teeth.

The whole party incident the next week could hardly be blamed on her. She had intended to leave before midnight, as she'd promised, but Derek and Rob had taken her car keys and wouldn't give them back until she joined them in a round of shots. Ok, a few rounds. Fine. And a few games it was probably best her parents never found out about. Figure in another 10 minutes just to find her bra. What? Was she supposed to just leave behind a $40 bra? And it was ridiculous that cops could park outside of a party and try to trap drivers when you're only driving like 4 blocks away! When her father finally picked her up at the police station, that was the end of car privileges for the summer.

Of course, if her stupid friends hadn't pushed the patio table into the pool, she wouldn't be stuck at home alone all day, with no visitors allowed. Alright, maybe she shouldn't have dared them, but who would have guessed they would be such idiots to really do it. Or that it would be so damned hard to get the stuff out the next day. Or that they would leave rust stains on the bottom of the pool

Damn! This was supposed to be the best summer of her life. She was finally 18, and would be going off to college in September. If she could finally get one to let her in, that is. She'd just die if she had to go to DCCC. Community college was for losers.

Heather looked at her svelte form in the mirror. She was 5'4" tall, and weighed exactly 108 lbs that very morning. She had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a body most women would kill for. Jaw dropping 34D breasts, a 22 inch waist, and 32 inch hips turned heads wherever she went. Which was nowhere for the moment. Damn her luck. What a waste.

* * *

Harold Payne was pacing his office, oblivious to his daughter's tantrum. He had bigger things on his mind.

Getting laid off after 21 years wasn't that bad. He had a good pension, and he'd worked a lot of overtime in the previous two years, upping his final wages. He'd gotten a decent severance package on top of that, 2 weeks pay per year of service, and had immediately applied for unemployment.

For once in his life, he had the time and the means to do what he wanted to do. He didn't need to look for a new job yet; he could wait until the end of the summer.

He'd always wanted to get involved in local politics, and with things the way they were, it was more important to do that now than ever before. He'd been active in the union, and people had always told him he was a convincing speaker.

He stopped and admired his physique in the mirror. At 42 years old, he could easily pass for 30. Barely a hint of gray hair, hardly a wrinkle on his face. At 5'6" he was average in height, but his running and yoga kept him lean, and his vegetarian diet kept him healthy. Harold smiled at his reflection. His wife, Janice, had nothing to complain about.

No need to rush things, however. He'd worked hard for over 20 years. He deserved a little break. And his new computer was opening all kinds of new vistas to him. A couple of weeks of R