Microchips Chapter 1, Dale learns about the Adult side of technology. by Ghostwalker. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Dale stood at the counter staring at the items on display. He had no idea exactly what had brought him into this store but here he was. When he left home earlier it was to try and find a birthday present for his mom, his step-mom actually. Natalie was only 6 years older than him. She’d been working as a model at his father’s clothing company when they met. She stood 5-foot 9-inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes, and though it was considered a unique combination, it was her figure that drew the most attention. Understandably, his father had fallen head-over-heels for the beauty. The big surprise came when the two of them announced they were getting married. His dad had been considered a ‘confirmed widower’ after his mother’s death, choosing instead to spend all his free time with Dale until Natalie came into their lives. Not that it really mattered much afterwards. The three of them quickly bonded and Dale was overjoyed to find that she liked almost everything that he and his father did, the one exception being scuba diving. “Why in the world do you want to go where you can’t breathe just to see a bunch of stupid fish,” she’d tease them continuously, “especially when some of those fish would like nothing better than eating you?” More prophetic words couldn’t have been spoken. His father left it up to him to decide what he wanted the family to do for his 18th birthday. Originally, he’d suggested kayaking on their favorite stretch of river but found that the area was closed due to low water. Then he suggested a backpacking trip only to have the plans canceled at the last moment due to a wild fire in the region. “I give up,” Dale had exclaimed. “Everything I come up with falls apart. How about you decide, dad?” “How about a day of diving? We haven’t gone down to the cove in months.” “What about Natalie?” “She can come along and get some sun. Afterwards, we can go to dinner at that little restaurant up the beach that you like.” “Sounds like a plan,” both Dale and Natalie had said, simultaneously. The day was warm and clear. Dale’s father checked the weather and found that there weren’t any storms in the area. What he didn’t check was if there were any storms father out to sea. The three of them drove to the beach and after checking and double-checking their dive gear, Dale and his father entered the water. At first everything had been clear and the visibility seemed endless but after an hour the visibility suddenly dropped. The water became gray and cloudy, filled with sand and kelp that was being washed in from further out. After signaling each other, they recognized the dangers and headed for the surface. Dale surfaced first and waited for his father … and waited … and waited. After 5 minutes he dove back down to the bottom where he’d last seen him. All that he found was his dad’s face mask laying on the bottom. He surfaced and waited again looking in every direction. It was then that he saw the dorsal fin further out to sea. “A Tiger Shark,” he thought to himself and he swam to shore. The moment he got there, he called Emergency Services and the local Beach Patrol. They arrived within minutes and spent the rest of the day searching for his dad. It wasn’t until two days later that a fisherman found a piece of his dad’s dive suit with skin still inside. The officials confirmed what they had all been thinking. The shark had gotten his dad. One of the most important day of his life had suddenly become one of his worst. A small memorial service was held a few days later and then the squabbling and fighting about his dad’s company started. Late one evening, Natalie came looking for Dale and found him in his father’s study. “Dale. Do you have a few minutes?” “Sure. What’s up?” “Well, as you may know, several of the investors in your dad’s company want to sell it while several others want to keep it BUT on