Beth's father just stared out the windshield. His hands tightened on the steering wheel but other than that there was no sign of his emotions. He said nothing for a few minutes. The only sound was the heater fan and the quiet hum of the engine. Beth just looked between her dad and the floor of the truck as she sat in her seat, hands in her lap. The truck drove along silently with neither of them saying anything for what seemed like hours to Beth.

"Daddy. Please. I have to know."

Beth's father was silent for a minute before he let out a breath he was holding. She stared intently at her father as they drove along. The tale he told her of a boy that was always cheerful as he grew up didn't quite shock her as she thought it would. Eric became more of a real person to her as she listened.

Eric has grown up always interested in anything he could get his little hands on. From a young age when the young boy had dismantled the bottom of the refrigerator in the kitchen to the small heater near the entrance that he got working for his father when he threw a hammer at it. The picture of a little yellow plastic hammer sailing over her fathers should hitting the infernal thing and it nosily whirring to life was pictured in her mind causing her to giggle.

Eric had continued through childhood always trying to help his father fix things. Some of the parts were hilarious and Beth found herself trying to desperately not pee her panties. Such as the time he fixed the Christmas tree lights and setting the tree on a very quick flash fire. Her father's description of the boy looking shocked with the cord in his hand and no eyebrows sent her into a giggle fit.

He described a boy who was fit but not all that big in size or shape to her. He always tried out for whatever sport turned his fancy at the time. It seemed he always tried and was never quite good enough to make the teams in school. The boy just loved to play sports, and according to her father, would have been good if he could just be patient at some of them.

As Eric moved through childhood and into teenaged years he continued with trying to fix things. Apparently at the back of the yard once stood a nice tree where Eric had proudly built a treehouse. Her father said that the nails into the tree had somehow managed to kill the tree and it fell over after 2 years. The two of them, with assistance from her grandfather, had removed the tree and tried to build a small shed for Eric to play on his stuff.

Eric burnt down the shed in 4 months when he found out about gasoline. Her father said it was perhaps the only reason they had a new push mower for the yard. Beth had no memory of a tree or shed in the yard but then she didn't really spend that much time looking at trees when she was a little girl so she probably wouldn't have noticed it that much. The new lawn mower she did remember. However to her memory her father had gotten tired of it and traded the old one in for a new one at the shop he got it fixed at. She did not mention this to her father however.

He told her how when in junior high her grandfather had passed away. It was Eric who had found the old car buried under newspapers and a very thick coating of dirt. The car would not move or even turn over her father said though the two of them had tried for the better part of a day. They had eventually rented a u haul car trailer and brought the car to their house. Eric had pleaded for her father to let him work on the car. Amazingly the car had escaped having mice in it. However it was looking to be in sad shape.

Eric spent every weekend he could on the car. He first washed the car with soap and water which did nothing to remove the grime. Her father had been surprised when the boy had washed the car with gasoline. He told her that Eric had explained how his teacher in mechanics shop had told him how washing it would remove the grime without harming the paint. And it really did. After that the boy washed it down with some soap and used some turtle wax and a hand polisher to buff up the original paint to looking like new.

Weekend after weekend the car started to look less like a wreck and more like a new car. The boy had cleaned inside and out. The wiring on the car was pulled and checked over in his shop class. There was a few small changes made along with a different aircleaner but otherwise it remained original.

Her father told her of how he came out of the house to find the hood of the car open one weekend and the boy had his wrench on a socket deep under the hood with a very long bar on it. Together they got the engine to move a bit at first. They poured diesel fuel into the engine via the carb. Beth didn't ask what a carb was as it would interrupt him.

The engine had sat with a gallon of diesel fuel in it for a week before they had tried the next weekend. The engine at first didn't want to move at all. Eric removed the spark plugs and tried again the engine turned over by hand without too much trouble and the boy had spent the remained of the day turning the engine by hand. It was oiled again before night and the two tried the next day to start the engine. It would not start.

Her father told her how the boy would not give up and removed the old carburetor to take to school with him. Apparently Eric, with the help of his teacher and her father located a better but older style of carburetor at a salvage yard. The three of them spent a night, with her father admitting to having more than a few beers with the teacher, and rebuilt the carb with a kit of some sort.

That weekend the boy had used a Gerry can, whatever that was, and some hose along with the rebuilt carburetor and three batteries. He got the car started amid much smoke. It knocked for a few minutes at first he said until the oil got to the lifters. Again another term Beth had no idea what it meant.

The way her father described it was like the engine coming alive brought the whole car to life as well. She was impressed in spite of herself. This Eric sounded like a guy she could really like. If she had a brother she wanted him to be just like that. He sounded so handy with his hands.

After the car engine was running her father got really involved with getting the rest of the car into shape. It was their plan to have the car done for his sons big graduation. They had worked tirelessly all over the car changing fluids, brakes, other brake part items she didn't even have the smallest clue what they meant, and even the gas tank got removed and sent someplace for, what she could only assume, a proper cleaning.

Nobody was more upset that the car didn't pass than her father. It was such a stupid thing as the windshield washer fluid had leaked out of the car from a hairline crack. Even Beth agreed it was stupid. The second time it passed easily as everything else was fine just not that as they had managed to find a new one via a dealership.

By this time Beth was surprised to see that they had already pulled into the parking lot of where they were to get parts. Or as her father put it, the good parts. Beth having never even been to an auto parts store before let alone know what she was looking for followed her father into the store. The simple glass doors with the tint on them made looking in from outside difficult but as she stepped through she saw something she was not expecting.

Beth, like most, grew up watching television so her idea of a parts store was of a grimy looking rude fat man with a cigar behind a wooden counter. What she found was a store with a white clean floor with a strange double yellow and red flag on it. No doubt holding some meaning to someone. The store had chrome seats with big round black seats on them. The counter itself was a cheap marble imitation with loads of books in the center on a rack and 4 different terminals evenly spaced along the store wide counter. At one end was a flip up counter top to let people in and out.

The people behind the counter were of about her age. There was three guys and a woman all wearing a black tennis shirt with a logo over the left breast. The guy in the center to where her father was walking was about 5'10" clean shaven and he had a handsome face. Beth blushed as he looked at her. There was little doubt he was cute and he probably had a girlfriend already. He even had nice straight clean teeth as he smiled at her. Beth felt her panties get a bit warm at that smile. Actually the store itself was warm and Beth had to undo her coat.

Her father, of course, noticed nothing about this as he talked with this young man. It seems his name was Ken. Beth entertained mild thoughts of snuggling up to Ken before her father called her forward. Shaking herself with a mouthed "down girl" she approached the counter.

"This is my daughter Elizabeth. We need some 10/30 and a PH 8A filter for her Diplomat."

"Hi Elizabeth Welcome to Napa." Beth felt her panties getting moist at the sound of his sexy as hell voice.

"Call me Beth." she purred back with an eye flutter. That got her fathers attention as his head whipped around and looked at her flush face. His eyes opened wide when he saw the stupid smile on his daughters face.

"Ken get the oil and filter please." her father droned out interrupting them both.

"Oh sure. Yeah be right back Harold." And Ken walked away with the look back at Beth.

"Absolutely not E."Her father said as he looked at her with his eyes squinted.

"But.."

"I said no and that's final."

"Yes Daddy." she said looking at the floor and feeling like she was a 7 years old girl again.

Ken came back to the counter with the smile on his face still carrying a jug and a small red box. Her father looked at the jug and then at Ken who was still looking at Beth as she giggled.

"I said 10/30 not 20/50."

"What! Oh I don't.. I'll get the right one sorry about that be right back Beth." Ken said still looking at Beth.

"Don't bother."He said obviously annoyed." JAMES" He thundered out.

An older man about her fathers age came out of an office that was behind the counter took one look at Ken staring at Beth as she giggled.

"Ken go sit in a snowbank."

"But.."

"Now!" James said in a no argue tone.

James got the order fixed up for her father that also included two other filters. A set of small tiny boxes that held spark somethings, and some metal top thing which was put into a box that her father handed to her. Beth held the box containing everything but the jug as her father paid for it all. When it was all paid for she saw Ken come inside from a back door and she finger waved to him. Before her father turned her around and they then went outside to the truck.

Once inside the old truck and belted in her father turned to face her. He tried to speak a few times but stopped himself. Beth had a pretty good idea what was bothering him so she waited as he started and stopped a few times. She had a similar experience when she was 16 and was allowed to date. It was at a restaurant where she saw a nice boy. It was a father daughter lunch thing on a Saturday. In the car afterwards he father had given her the failed birds and bees talk. Beth tried to keep herself from giggling as it was obvious that her father was trying to do the same thing again with her. Seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere fast she used her hands as she said "What?"

This got him to sit with an open mouth before muttering "Nothing." and that was the end of it. They drove around for a bit as Beth looked outside seeing some familiar places with new stores in them. She saw a nice outfit for a 50's sock hop in the window of one store as her father pulled into a parking spot on the street.

As they got out Beth was surprised there was no meters close by. In the city she had gotten used to seeing the new solar meter things everywhere. Here it was free parking which was not what she was used to. Beth stared at the outfit in the window of a store that just said Rosy's. The rest of the window display showed various items including purses that must be rock hard if they were from that age.

Beth tore her eyes from the window to follow her father into a restaurant with the meaningless name Salisbury House on it. This far from the city it would not have exactly the same items as the city. The menu would be the same but the food would be better since her father was taking her there. As they sat waiting for the waitress to take their order her father asked her about her dating life. She admitted it was not that great as she was saving herself for marriage and the guys at college wanted more than she would give them. This seemed to please her father.

Beth looked up as the waitress approached she looked familiar to Beth so she stared at her for a moment or two before it dawned on her.

"Angie is that you?" Beth asked with a small voice. This totally derailed Angela's opening line.

"Yes.. and what would you like .. uh do I know you from somewhere?" Angie was squinting at her trying to place her. Beth had not really changed that much she thought.

"It's me Ang. Its Beth. Beth Tanner from highschool." At her still blank look." We were on the cheerleading squad together, went to Mandy's sweet 16 slumber party where Tris got her bra frozen." If nothing else it should jog her memory.

"Tanner? But you say your name is Beth?"

"Yes." Beth sighed." Elizabeth Tanner." We took chemistry, english 100 and 200 together."

From the look of Angie's suddenly big eyes Beth thought she had finally gotten it and remembered her.

"Eric! Oh my god your a tran..uhm." Angie looked around hurriedly as Beth's mouth dropped open. One of her best friends in highschool didn't remember her at all. Worse she though that she was Eric. Beth was near tears.

"Excuse me Miss. But this is my daughter Elizabeth and she is most definitely not my son Eric." her father spoke up." I would prefer to place our orders however if you cannot do so without making a fool of yourself I will be happy to talk with your boss about our differences." Beth gazed lovingly at her father.

"Oh uh.. Sorry it was my mistake... Uh perhaps Er..lizabeth we could talk later and get uh well just talk. Sorry sorry sorry!" Angie was almost in tears herself. Beth guessed she really needed this job."Can I take your orders please?"

Beth and her father placed their orders. Him a Big Nip burger with poutine and her seafood salad. Her father placed his hand on hers when Angie left and comforted her. Beth was devastated on the inside but put a smile on her face for her father. She could not figure out why nobody remembered her but they remembered Eric who did not even exist. She knew of scifi fiction that had mentioned different worlds but this was not fiction.

The meal was served by another person who she did not know. She almost felt insulted by her once friend. But she knew from her own time of waiting tables that if you got a break you took it as there was never very many. The meal was good and Beth found her stomach was full long before she could finish the salad. Her father raised that one of eyebrow at her when she pushed the plate away from herself.

"What? I'm full!"

"Bev's gonna love feeding you. Whenever Eric was around we couldn't keep the pantry full long enough." Beth was unsure if that was a complement on her or not. Still the comparison hurt her.

"I'm not Eric." she said to her lap.

"Oh Beth. I'm sorry but you can't expect me to be used to having a daughter in just a day."

"I know it's just.."

"Just what?"

"I was hoping that there would be someone who remembered me. Not well this. It really hurts. I can't explain it. I'm sorry."

Beth heard more than saw her father move around to her side just as the tears started to fall. As soon as he was sitting beside her she leaned into him and his wide chest and cried. Beth was unaware of the waitresses that came by at the sight of a woman in distress but her father just waved them away before anyone got close. Beyond the sight of either of them hidden behind a fern was Angela who watched it all.

Beth, like all women everywhere, eventually cried herself out in her fathers loving embrace. She thanked him before asking if he could let her go freshen up. Her father long used to such a thing from his happy marriage to her mother nodded before going back to finish his now cold burger.

Beth entered the door marked ladies and proceeded to a stall after she grabbed a paper towel with water on it. She always wiped both sides of the toilet seat before she sat to do her business. When she exited the stall she was surprised to find Angie standing not 4 feet away with tears on her own face. Beth still mad at her for the hurt tried her best to ignore her. She got her compact out and leaned into the mirror checking the damage.

"Your dad says your not Eric."

"Correct."

"I don't remember him ever having a sister."

"I don't remember having a brother either. Before you ask I have been as I am all my life. I grew up a girl doing normal girl things. Going to girl scouts, communion in a dress, prom in a gown. So no I'm not Eric and never have been."Beth turned around and rested on the counter edge with her back to the mirror.

"Are you adopted or something?" Angela asked with her arms crossed in front of her.

"No. They really are my parents. I remember my mom teaching me how to cook, clean, and how to sit in a dress quite clearly."

"And they remember you?"

"I wish I could say yes to that more than you can guess. But no they don't. It was a bit of a surprise to us all yesterday."

"I can't imagine how tough this is for you. I mean like how is this even possible?"

"I don't know but I hope, no I will find out."

"I.. Look I really am sorry for what I did earlier. I was wrong of me to say that."

"In your shoes I guess I would have done the same." she raised her eyebrow in a gesture copied from her father."Did you really date my brother?"

Angie moved to stand beside Beth leaning against the same counter top.

"Yeah I did. At first it was more of a puppy crush thing. I mean have you seen pictures of Eric."

"Yes one in particular with you in his arms."

"I remember that. I was so sure he was the one you know. It was going great till the week of prom. Then things at home changed."

"Changed how."Beth asked strangely concerned for her friend.

"It.. no it really started before that. A few months beforehand one of my cousins came out as gay. I mean you hear about lesbians, gays, and transfreaks on tv but to actually have one in your own family. Well it shook the family to the core. My dad kinda blamed it on my moms brother who is my Uncle Clarence's dad. It created a wedge between them. By the time I was to graduate dad was not always sleeping at home. The weekend before prom he and mom got into a huge fight. I tried to stop them but I couldn't." Angie broke down in tears at what happened her hands to her face as the memory went through her. Beth moved closer and put her arm around Angie.

"Thanks. He .. hit her. I can still see the shocked look on her face as it happened and hear the scream from mine. He left after what he did. I haven't seen him since. It's just mom and myself now trying to get the other three through school. Jason wants to help but mom is right he has to complete school first with good grades. Mom has always been like that."

"So you broke up with Eric because of your dad leaving?"

"Kinda. I mean he was there for me but I needed to help mom more. I didn't go to prom because I returned my dress for the money." Angie whispered.

"That sucks. I can't imagine how that feels either. I had three prom gowns myself. My prom in the red satin dancing arm in arm with Bradly was like the best thing ever. To miss something like that would kill me."

"Bradly? As in Bradly Thomas?"

"Like duh who else would I mean."

"Oh gods he was like so much a hunk back then."

"Like I know! All us girls on the cheer squad had a thing for him."

"And you landed him? Fuck girl I'm so jealous!"

"Don't be his hands were all over so were his eyes."

"I mean like still Bradly Thomas!"

"It was just for prom. I kinda wanted more but it never happened he was pretty steady with whats her face with the pink hair streak."

"Melony. Yeah he was but she went with that rich guy instead who turned out to be more interested in guys if you know what I mean."

"Rick was gay?"

"Apparently."

"Damn."

"Yep. So you said your name was Beth and we were on the cheer squad together?"

"That's the way I remember it yes."

"Do you do the cheer still?"

"Gods no! Just the stretches when I do my aerobic workout."

"I should do the stretches. Maybe... oh you wouldn't want to."

"Doesn't hurt to ask."

"Maybe...we could get together and like you know go through the stretches some time."

"Maybe. And maybe we could chat a bit more about this brother of mine."

The two girls exchanged emails with each other. Beth remembered Angie's phone number which hadn't changed and neither had her mom's. Her sorority didn't have a phone as most had a cell which Beth didn't. But then neither did ether of her parents. She couldn't explain it but they just didn't like cell phones. If someone wanted to get a hold of her that badly they could wait till she was near a real phone. It did not take either girl long to fix themselves up. They gave each other a hug of friendship before leaving the bathroom. Her father was impatient as always and was waiting with her coat as she exited the bathroom.

While Beth mourned for the lost friendship she once had with Angie in school, she also smiled at the possibility of a new and even better one. It was with this happy thought that she exited the restaurant with her father.