me about some of the things that she was doing and feeling. More than once, I found myself starting to sprout an erection at some of what she was saying, but I was always careful not to be obvious about it, or make any kind of big deal about it. I simply continued talking to her as though she really did have a brain, and as though she were as grown up as she thought she was.
Finally, as Thanksgiving approached, we had done as much as we could on the science project – all that was left was for her to do her analysis of what she'd worked on, and write a report on the whole process. Not a trivial task, of course, but nothing overwhelming, either.
It was the first week of November when Paul got the word that he absolutely, positively had to go on a road trip that would last a full week, as well as both weekends around it. He was to leave late one Friday evening of the second week of November, and return a week after the following Monday. He was most definitely unhappy at the idea, as were the kids, but they all knew that not liking it wasn't going to change anything. So, Paul and I got together with the kids, and figured out what we were going to do, and how to get it done. Since the kids schedule was pretty well set by their school, it didn't take all that long before the what-to-do part was settled. Surprisingly, it didn't take much longer for us to work out the 'how' part of it. A few phone calls to get transportation help at a few points, and it was settled: I'd spend the whole time at Paul's place. During the school week, I'd drop the kids off at school, and collect them after. I'd handle some of the transportation duties, but the kids would get most of their rides from the parents of other kids that were involved – except on weekends, when I would have the whole job. No special events like sleepovers or parties were planned, and thus excluded until after Paul got back. If a special event came up, and there was time, Paul would make the decision; otherwise, what*I* said was law, with no argument or complaining.
Since we all pretty much knew what the routine was from prior experience, there really weren't any problems expected – but Paul and I figured that it couldn't hurt to make sure the kids understood exactly who was in charge, and when.
When the fateful day came, it was decided that the kids could all go to the airport to see Paul off – even though he was leaving a bit late, we figured the kids could sleep late the next day (Saturday) to make up for it. As usual, Paul promised to call them each night – a promise that he never failed to keep, always calling about 7:30 so that he got them between supper and bedtime. We all watched as Paul finally got his flight, and even hung around long enough to watch the plane take off. I have to say, it was a quiet bunch that rode back with me in Paul's minivan. By the time we got home, Jan was the only one awake, and she helped get the boys to bed: I carried Leo, and she carried John. We each stripped them down to their underwear, put them under the covers, and left them to sleep it off, as it were.
Jan was looking a bit sad and apprehensive, so I asked her if she wanted to stay up for a bit with me before going to bed, and she readily agreed. She watched as I made each of us a Coke, and added a splash of rum to mine. She asked if she could have some too, and I figured that a
With the stereo softly playing a little Beethoven, we sat there quietly for several minutes, taking the occasional sip of our drinks. Finally, though, Jan looked over at me, and said'Uncle Dan, I know it's only been a little while, but I already miss Daddy. This is the first time he's ever gone away for a trip this long.'
'Well, Trouble, he'll be back soon enough. I know you'll miss him, but remember that he didn't want to have to leave for this long, either.'
'I know, but it's still hard.'
'I know it is. But you pretty much a grown-up, now' – earning me a wry smile – 'and that's the kind of thing that grown ups have to learn to deal with. I'm sure it will be hard, but try to be brave about it, because Leo and John are going to be watching you to see how they should react. If you can be calm about it, it will help them handle it, too.
Besides, it's not like you're really alone alone – I mean, I'm here, too, remember?'
'I know you're here, and I think that's the only thing that's keeping me from crying right now. I'll try to be brave about Daddy being gone so that John and Leo don't cry, but I don't know if I can do it.'
'Jan, I didn't say you couldn't be sad, or cry. I just said that you should try to make sure that the boys only see you being strong. If you have to cry or anything, just try to wait until you're alone to do it, so they don't see it. As grown up as you're trying to be, you're still only 15 years old, and nobody is going to think bad about you for missing your dad – least of all, me.'
'Okay. Thanks, Uncle Dan.'
'No problem, Trouble.'
We sat there like that for a little while longer, before Jan spoke up again 'Uncle Dan?'
'Yes, Jan?'
'Is it okay if I sit next to you, and you hold me?'
'Sure, honey, if it helps make you feel better.'
'It would. Let me get a blanket first, though, 'cause it's kind of cold in here.'
'Sure, go ahead. I'll be here when you get back.' I answered, and getting a small smile in return.
A couple of minutes later, she was back, with one of the light blankets they used in the den in winter. She quickly sat next to me, and arranged the blanket so that it would cover both of us. She leaned against my side, with her head on my shoulder, and pulled my arm around so that it was draped over her shoulder, and my hand was on her belly. That done, she pulled the blanket up so that it covered her; then laid her head on my shoulder. A minute later, she moved my hand up, so that it was cupping her breast, and held it there. I suspect that the little bit of rum she'd had started to kick in, because it wasn't much longer before she apparently fell asleep: I could hear soft snoring sounds from her. I wasn't in any rush to move, so just left her there; before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep, as well.
When I woke up the next morning, I was still on the couch – though I'd move around a bit, and was half-laying on it, instead of leaning against the end as I started out the night before. In addition, I was surprised to find that – whether by her doing, or mine – my hand had found it's way inside her shirt, and I was holding her bare breast in my hand. On top of that, her hand had gravitated to my crotch, and she had a slight grip on my semi-erect penis.
My efforts to gently extract my hand apparently woke her up: she opened her eyes and looked up at me, saying 'You can leave it there – it feels good, and I like it.' before closing her eyes again, snuggling into my chest, and giving my penis a little squeeze.
Since we were still covered by the blanket, I didn't have to worry about the boys finding us, and – yes, I admit it – it felt pretty damn good to have her tit in my hand; so I just closed my eyes, and drifted back into a half- sleep.
A while later, I started having a dream that someone was gently squeezing and stroking my erect penis, and that I was caressing a breast I couldn't see, and playing with it's nipple and areola: drawing little circles on the areola, gently pinching and pulling on the nipple, softly squeezing the breast, and so on. That continued for several minutes before my conscious re-asserted it's control over my brain, and I woke up to find that it wasn't a dream: Jan WAS doing those things to my penis, and I WAS doing those things to the breast I still held. As I was looking down at her, she looked up at me, and I could see that her face and shoulders were more that a little flushed from arousal.
Fortunately, we were saved from either embarrassment or going where we didn't need to go by the sound of Leo and John getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. Jan blinked a bit as she got control of herself, and took her hand off my penis. I kissed her on top of her head as I carefully extracted my arm from her shirt, and told her 'That was a nice way to wake up, Trouble.'
She responded by saying 'Yeah, but did we have to wake up, though? I was starting to feel pretty good, there!'
I laughed, and answered 'You sure were 'feeling pretty good', in more ways than one. But I don't think that's something we need to repeat, either – particularly with the boys around. I think we're lucky we woke up when we did, rather than have Leo and John find us like that.'
She giggled a little at my joke, and replied, 'Yeah, I suppose you're right. Still, it was fun.'
With that, she gave me a little peck on the lips – surprising the hell out of me – before getting up. As I got up,
