{"sf1_id":1410675,"sf2_id":"RnoPwqY1","title":"Two Halves of One Whole, Part Three","author":"Joshiah","words":2088,"posted_at":"2019-01-22T03:37:00.000Z","tags":["Birthday","Clean","Daughter","Father","Female","Male","Story","development","growing up","heartwarming","plot","wishes"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1410675-two-halves-of-one-whole-part-three","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/RnoPwqY1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/4b/a6/4ba69c8b-32fb-42f3-a404-09867dc2b293","description":"First: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1395949 Previous: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1405143\nIf you've been following this series, you might be surprised at how clean and touching this chapter of the ongoing series is.\nYears after their fateful, incestuous coupling, Askim and Asker live a life far away from the small town they once knew. Working hard to abolish any rumors before they could form and keeping their past a secret, the pair have raised a charming daughter, Gertrude.\nIn this chapter, we watch the little girl grow into a preteen and then a young woman, as her father makes a promise to her on her sixth birthday to grant her three wishes when her workaholic mother can't be around for the celebration. The first two wishes take place in this story, each with some humorous banter from Askim, who finds his daughter is too clever for her own good.\nCommissions are open! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AgeWNG02o2dqiqXWNkwjDY7x7ZkjlX08IbNSxWDZaxA/edit?usp=sharing It's a new week, so there's 30,000 fresh words to purchase!\nIf you enjoyed this story, please support my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Joshiah We're near our first goal and every dollar counts!\nAs always, read, comment and enjoy!","content":"If Askim said that he didn't often think back to the night that he and his sister made a decision that they could never take back, he'd have been lying.\n\nIf he said he regretted it, that would be an even **greater** lie.\n\n\"You know why Mommy can't be here today, sweetheart. I'm sorry that we couldn't get the day off of work for her.\"\n\nWhat never should have happened blossomed into a happy, albeit unorthodox marriage. Their parents never questioned a thing when they came home for the holidays all those years ago, and when Asker said that she was moving in with her brother to find different job prospects, they wished her well and sent her off, completely unaware of what occurred in the snow only a few days before.\n\n\"But it's my birfday, Daddy. That isn't fair!\"\n\nAfter waiting such a long time to declare their forbidden love for each other, Askim and Asker couldn't get moved in together fast enough. Without the context of his life back home, no one thought to question the relationship that Askim shared with his sister, and to the outside world, they weren't siblings in the first place.\n\nNo one knew that they were related, so no one could care. They only knew that a loving couple lived down the street, raising a wonderful little girl in a warm, caring home.\n\n\"I know it's not fair, Gertrude...life isn't fair sometimes, but you know your mother loves you, and she'd be here if she could.\"\n\nCrossed arms and a pouting muzzle made for an adorable picture as Gertrude shared her displeasure with the situation. \"She'd **better** be here next year!\"\n\n\"I'll tell her to ask for the day off right away, hon,\" Askim replied, his voice blended over with the stresses of disappointing a child and the humor of seeing her mother's spirit living strong in her. \"But since Daddy got **you** the day off of school, we should make the best of it. Do you think I can make it up to you?\"\n\nAskim looked comical, sitting at the undersized table in the living room that his family now populated. His old bachelor pad near the capitol was a thing of the past, now replaced by a starter home in suburbia; for the three of them to split, it was almost too much space.\n\nSomehow, little Gertrude managed to spread her mess of toys across the whole of the home, including the play table that she and her father now sat at. \"_Hmm..._You're gonna have to think of somethin' pretty special, Daddy.\"\n\n\"Tell you what; since Mommy and I were a bit too busy to pick up your real gift today, I'll give you something to tide you over. Sound good?\"\n\nAnytime Askim promised something to his daughter, her eyes lit up in such a way that he couldn't help feeling warmth in the depths of his heart. \"Whatcha got for me?\"\n\n\"Well, remember when we saw that movie about the genie?\"\n\n\"Uh huh!\" she replied, nodding eagerly.\n\nAskim chuckled at the sight. \"Heh, well...since your big present is late, how would you like **three** presents to make up for it?\"\n\nHer eyes were wider than the Earth and brighter than the sun as she leaned over the play table. \"Y...You really mean it, Daddy?! What else did you get for me?\"\n\n\"You're gonna have to help me with that,\" Askim claimed. \"Cause I didn't get you anything just yet, but I will as soon as you tell me what you want!\"\n\nGertrude tilted her head slightly, flopping one of her tall, sharp ears over her head as she tried to understand. She made the connection to the movie reference and smiled as she began to get the picture, and her tail picked up in a rapid flutter as she thought of her first wish.\n\n\"So...I get three wishes, Daddy? You mean it?\"\n\n\"Of course,\" he replied. \"Any three wishes you want.\"\n\nHoping that she wouldn't immediately make him eat his words, Gertrude propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms. \"Okay! I wish Mommy had the day off work.\"\n\nAskim's face went flat. \"...Kay, we already discussed that I can't make that happen.\"\n\n\"Rats,\" Gertrude fell back in her seat and crossed her arms again. Her gaze turned to the kitchen to try and hide her disappointment, but when she looked there, the sharp child noticed that there was no cake waiting for her on the counter, and her priorities rapidly shifted. \"Well...okay! I wish I had a _biiiiiig_ bowl of ice cream.\"\n\n\"That, I can do!\" Askim nodded his agreement and smiled. \"I'll get you one for dessert tonight.\"\n\n\"For **lunch.**\"\n\nAskim scratched his temple in thought. \"Well, I guess it'll be your mother's turn to look after you when she gets home from work tonight,\" he joked. \"Okay, kid. You got me. Where are we gonna go for lunch, then?\"\n\nGertrude jumped from her chair and cheered. \" **Nifty Scoop!**\" she seemed as if she'd been planning that move for months in her confidence, but really, she was just a quick thinker who knew how to get what she wanted from her father.\n\nShe took so much after her mother in that regard that Askim worried her next wish might be for a car for her 16th birthday.\n\n\"All right, all right...we can go to Nifty Scoop for lunch,\" Askim was groaning about it, but he wasn't going to disappoint his child twice in one day. She was already running for the door and grabbing her things as he awkwardly stood up from the tiny play table, his knees bowed out in such a way that standing was a struggle. \"Just don't forget that you've already used your first wish, little love! You might want to save the other two for something more important than ice cream.\"\n\n\"There's stuff more important than ice cream?\"\n\nAskim chuckled again and shook his head. \"Well, to your father there is, anyway.\"\n\nIt wasn't a perfect birthday by any stretch of the imagination, but the height of Gertrude's day was sitting at the counter and watching an ice cream jockey swirled real, fresh strawberries into flavored ice cream and tossed it all together before stuffing it into a massive bowl with a candle pointing out of the top. Askim settled on a more modest serving of cookies and cream, one that he almost completely ignored as he sat next to his pride and joy, watching her engulf the sweet treat until she was nearly bloated. She'd complain the whole way home about not feeling well, but when their little family was whole again that evening, her smile couldn't have been wider.\n\nHe decided then and there that he'd honor her next two wishes, no matter what they were.\n\n\\*\\*\n\n\"Do you have **any** idea how much one of those things costs\"\n\nA little older but no less decisive about her wishes, Gertrude was standing with her palms pressed against a glass case, wishing after a gift so badly that she was ready to press her muzzle to the front of it.\n\nHer father was waiting for that, and for them to get kicked out of the store when she slobbered all over the display.\n\n\"Tammy got one for **her** birthday, and she says it's the best thing that's ever happened to her!\"\n\n\"Yeah, and last year at Tammy's birthday party, she said that getting a Robopony was the best thing that ever happened to her. When was the last time she played with that?\"\n\n\"But this is a phone, Dad! It's different! I'll actually use this every day!\"\n\nAskim groaned. \"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of.\"\n\nIt was Gertrude's birthday again, and with a gap of four years between wishes, her father was starting to wonder if she'd forgotten all about the promise that he made to her.\n\nShe remembered after all, but unfortunately for his wallet, and his distaste of Apple products, Gertrude's birthday happened to line up with the release of the new iPhone 2X...and preteens couldn't be cool anymore without a new phone, as she'd explained to Askim several times already that month.\n\n\"I'll be good, I promise! I'll use it to talk to my friends, study, and play games. That's it,\" Gertrude offered as she stood up from the case and looked up at her father. She was nearly bouncing with excitement, a perfect mirror of the salesperson behind the display who was hoping that Askim would pull the trigger on their latest 'deal.'\n\nHe was still hesitant, as if he was forcing her to say the words 'I wish' before he made a move. \"I'm not worried about you misbehaving, sweetie. You've never given me reason to think that you would.\"\n\nGertrude flattened her ears a bit. \"Then...what's the problem?\"\n\n\"Just, can't...can't you go for a different brand?\"\n\nThe preteen canine rolled her eyes. \"_Ugh,_ no. The only way that I can be cool and get Jed to pay attention to me is if I have an iPhone! All the coolest kids have them too!\"\n\nShe didn't realize she was talking herself out of the product, but she'd been raised with such an honest background that she couldn't help a little extra truth slipping into her explanation.\n\n\"Jed, huh?\"\n\nGertrude looked off to the side and thinned her lips. \"Kiddo, you know I love you, but this thing is **crazy** expensive, and you just don't need it that badly right now. We could get you three other smartphones for that price!\"\n\nPeer pressure and the youthful desire to fit in didn't listen well to reason. Gertrude knew that she was running out of ways to plead with her father, but she'd started off her request by saying she _wanted_ an iPhone.\n\nWith a sly grin, she turned her gaze back to him and crossed her arms over her t-shirt. \"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but...I **wish** for an iPhone 2X.\"\n\nThe clerk looked over at Askim with a bewildered expression as he threw his head back and grumbled. \"Baby girl, do you really want to use up a wish on this?\"\n\nThe smirk never left her muzzle. Just by his reaction, she knew that he was going to give in.\n\n\"You do realize that this is the last smartphone you're getting until you graduate, right?\"\n\nEven at that threat, she didn't waver.\n\nSwearing under his breath, Askim turned to the cashier and pointed to the phone in the display case. \"I guess we'll be taking one iPhone 2X, please.\"\n\nBubbly and cheerful as she'd ever been before, Gertrude hugged her father around the back as he stood at the counter. The breeze from her wagging tail nearly blew other phones off the display behind her as she watched the transaction with a beaming smile, and even Askim couldn't hold onto his frustration when he saw how happy she was.\n\n\"In pink, please!\" she added to the order, while the clerk made his way to the stock room to pick out her newest present.\n\nAskim snickered. \"Of course you'd want it in pink,\" he teased her. \"Gotta match the rest of your stuff, right?\"\n\n\"Duh,\" she replied, showing off more of the teenager-to-be attitude that she'd gained recently. \"That's how fashion works, Dad.\"\n\n\"You don't even have the damn phone yet and you're already acting more pretentious,\" Askim muttered, hoping his words wouldn't reach her sensitive ears. Playing it safe, he gave her a wink so she'd know that he wasn't really frustrated, but he was already hoping that she'd save her last wish for something truly important, rather than a material possession. \"Oh, and baby girl?\"\n\n\"Yes, Daddy?\"\n\nHis smile softened; she called him that less and less by the day. \"You'll have to introduce me to this Jed boy...so I can block his number.\"\n\nGertrude huffed. \"Dad, that's **so** unfair!\"\n\n\"Like I said last time, sweetie: life isn't fair.\"\n\nShe continued to grumble, even after the phone was placed in her paw. She'd forget about her frustrations on the ride home just playing with the screen, but she'd never forget that she had one last wish to cash in from her father.\n\nShe knew how much he cared for her, and never once questioned the love in their family. She wanted her last wish to be something that they could both enjoy, but at the time, she couldn't begin to fathom what it would be.\n\n  \n  \n\n"}