A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 13

This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Today’s story idea: “That Time My Father and I Fell for the Same Woman.”

It would have been an average father-daughter spring break in Paris if not for that courtyard party we attended 13 years ago. The first time I saw Audrey there, I thought she was sexy. Turns out, my father did too. That night, somewhere amid the clinking silverware and Charles Aznavour playlists, our futures were being quietly rewritten.

Audrey, in her mid-30s, was the epitome of grace and artistic flair, an award-winning production designer for the opera, and the definition of French-Vietnamese beauty. Her hair was held up by two red chopsticks, and the rest of her was fitted in an orange satin dress. This was her normal attire.

Then there was me, mid-20s, jeggings, who thought day-drinking at the Louvre was peak culture. Yet somehow, over clams au beurre and enough chardonnay to drown a fish, we hit it off.

Under the stars, we shared her pack of Benson & Hedges — along with an actual dinner plate, to make more elbow room at the table. She is always the woman everyone in the room is looking at, I thought, including me.

A year later, outside of a Starbucks on Queens Boulevard in New York City, when my father told me he was having an affair with a woman he met in Paris, my first thought was, “Oh, I know just the one.”

Audrey had been promoted from the chic French friend to the other woman. My second thought was more of a realization: My father said he was “in love,” and for the first time in my know-it-all life, I realized I had no idea what that meant.

There are so many ways we could take this central conceit: two people fall in love with the same person. Like the NYT article, it could be a parent and adult child who each are smitten with the same person. Father-Son. Mother-Daughter. Or there could be a bisexual dynamic: Father-Daughter or Mother-Son fall for the same woman or man.

Or best friends. Or siblings. Or a married or engaged couple.

Perhaps one member of the duo discovers a hidden side to their sexuality (e.g., a straight guy or gal → homosexuality; queer guy or gal → bisexuality or heterosexuality).

What if it’s a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary on a trip to an exotic island discover latent desires through their sexual encounters with the same native lover. Or spin it age-wise: A couple celebrating their 10th anniversary have a similar experience only with a woman or man who is in their 50s.

Apart from comedic and dramatic possibilities, the intimate interactions with the lover cause the couple to reassess who they think they are, resulting in a journey of personal self-discovery … and as a duo.

Lots possibilities. Where would you take this setup?

There’s my 13th story idea this month.

Previous articles in this year’s series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12

Here are links to previous series:

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2017)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2018)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2019)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2020)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2021)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2022)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2023)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2024)

Note: The articles from 2010–2016 have corrupted URLs. I am in the process of cleaning those up.

Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.

See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.