Coppernicous

I also found myself being dragged to the pond to swim and I spent many hours on the sand volleyball court. Kat enlisted Coach Thorson in an effort to get me exercising and working out. By the end of the year I was back down to the weight I carried when in college, and my doctor was more than pleased. I hadn't been all that heavy, but I had let myself go after Marja died.

Needless to say, when it came time to decide if the girls would stay with me again the next year I was more than happy to oblige. Dr. Cook and I came to a more than satisfactory agreement. She offered to purchase my property for the volleyball program, but I demurred, offering instead to give her an extended lease of the property with a right of first refusal if I ever decided to sell.

That first summer I upgraded the kitchen, even more than my wife had, so that I had a fully professional facility for their food prep. I even went so far as to hire a full-time cook to prepare all of the meals, which took a great load off of Coach Thorson. I thought it was the least I could do for them for the money the university paid me. I still made out like a bandit!

Coach Thorson and I continued to get along very well. She continued to use the Jenny's old room, but had redone it to her own liking and taste. A few of the girls sniggered a little at first, but between Darlene and me, we managed to get that stopped right away. Around any of the students she was always Coach Thorson. It was only on the rare occasions the two of us were alone that I addressed her as Darlene. In the beginning she tried to make the girls call me Mr., but I put the kibosh on that promptly! It was either Toomas or Coppernicus. The latter was used in jest, as it had been at work, and I took it as such, but most of the time it was Toomas, which suited me fine. Often the girls looked to me as a surrogate father figure, and more than once I had a crying girl in my arms when I helped them deal with a breakup or with other issues they didn't know how to handle on their own.

There were a couple of the girls who tended to tease me more than did the others. Kat always got a kick out of them and would josh me almost unmercifully about them when she caught me in the house alone. Of course, she kept her own room, so she was not out with the others, but there didn't seem to be any ill feelings from it. She certainly received no favoritism from Coach Thorson when it came to discipline.

**********

Kat's senior year was a great one for the team. In the NCAA tourney they were the Cinderella team, making it all the way to the final four, the best they had ever accomplished, and Kat, to my pride, was one of the sparkplugs on the team. She made All-America that year, and was named MVP of the tourney, in spite of the team being beaten badly by the team that ended up winning the championship. They had to settle for third.

I normally did not travel with the team to away games. Sure, I could afford to, but I'm not much of one for crowds, especially when away from my home turf. The team insisted that year, though, so once they made it to the sweet sixteen I traveled with them and got to see Kat play in her final collegiate games. It was bittersweet flying home with them after the loss, but what a thrill it was to see Kat shine. My only thought was how disappointed I was Marja could not be there with me.

Darlene was very sensitive to my feelings on the plane. She came up by my seat and kicked Kat out of hers for a few minutes and she sat down next to me. She looked in my eyes and said, "You are thinking of Marja, no?"

I nodded, and tears filled my eyes.

"I know she would be proud, as I know you are. What is more, she would be proud of what you have done with your daughter. She is more than just a great volleyball player. She is a great person, and it is to your credit. Marja can rest in peace knowing what a wonderful daughter you two have. Don't mourn, but be joyful for what you have and what you have accomplished." Darlene leaned in and gently kissed my cheek. "I think you have been a wonderful dad, and you have been one for the rest of the team as well. I've even heard some of the girls call you 'Poppa' when they talk about you. You've made quite a difference to this team, and I thank you." With a quick squeeze of my hand she stood and made her way back to her own seat and Kat came back and sat back down by me. I'm not by nature a demonstrative person, but I put my arm around Kat and hugged her to me while the tears dripped down my cheeks.

**********

Christmas break began the day after we returned from the tourney, and Darlene and the girls all scattered to their homes. Kat and I were alone in the house for the first time in quite a while. My other children came home Christmas eve, with their families, and we had a fun Christmas together, and that had the house noisy again, but when they all left the day after Christmas it got really quiet again. Kat and I tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, but the place felt like a tomb.

The next day, Kat decided to brave the shopping mall, so I took a call for her on the house line while she was gone. Amanda Harris, who had been the freshman volleyball coach Kat assisted during her year of ineligibility had been offered a head coaching position at another school in the state, and she wanted to know if Kat would be interested in becoming her assistant.

Kat, of course, was ecstatic at the opportunity, and she took off upstate for a three-day trip to interview and look over the other school right after New Year's, leaving me all alone in the house. I could have gone with her, but I decided to enjoy some peace and quiet around the place. There was some maintenance that needed doing that would be a lot easier to do with the girls gone. The quiet and solitude was short-lived, though, because I had no more than pulled a troublesome drain-line from one of the girl's lavatories just before noon and my phone rang. I sat up quickly to get the phone from my back pocket and smacked my head on the base of the sink.

Rubbing my head with one hand, I fumbled the phone from my pocket with the other and grumbled a curt "hello" without bothering to check to see who it was.

"Toomas?"

"This is he."

"I'm sorry. I didn't recognize your voice." It was Deidra, one of the other seniors on the team.

"My fault. I hit my head on the bottom of a sink trying to get my phone out of my pocket. I apologize. I wasn't very polite answering."

"Ouch! I'm so sorry for interrupting you, but I tried Kat and didn't reach her twice, so I called you."

"Kat is driving, so I'm sure she isn't taking calls. Is something the matter?"

I heard a sigh on the phone. "It's just the usual. Mom and Dad are fighting again, and I couldn't stand to be in the house any longer, so I headed back down there. I thought maybe Kat and I could hang out or something. Is it OK if I come back early?"

"Deidra, you are welcome anytime. Kat won't be home for a couple of days, so it would just be you and me here, but come on if you'd like."

"Thank you. You're cool, and I like to be around you anyway. I'll be there in about an hour. Thanks, Toomas."

I was connecting the drain pipe when I heard Deidra's voice calling me. Without crawling out from under the sink I just called out to her and focused on tightening the nut at the base of the sink. A set of long tanned legs came toward me and stopped right by the sink. I leaned my head out just a little to say "hello", and the angle I was looking up from showed those long legs all the way up inside her loose shorts, and from there, my view was directly up her cut off tee-shirt that tented out over two luscious boobs and up her cleavage. I don't recall ever seeing a girl's cleavage from quite that angle before, and I must say it was a sight to behold. Of course, Little Toomas started to stand up and pay attention, best as he could.

"Hi, there, Deidra. Welcome back," I croaked. "I'll be out in just a minute. I've got just one more nut to tighten down and then check for leaks, and I'll be done."

"Oh, that's fine. I don't really need anything. I just wanted to say, 'Hi.' Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Sure, if you would like to, you can turn the water on when I get this nut tightened. It will save me having to crawl out and then back under here." I thought under my breath, "Please stay there where you are." Though I tried hard to not be a perv around the girls and to treat them with respect, I am still a man, and I enjoy looking as much as any. I knew that image would be in my mind when I stroked off in the shower later.

Have you ever tried to fit a wrench on a sink drain nut while your eyes are looking up a girl's shorts? The wrench slipped off of the nut and smashed my knuckle for fair, and I bit my tongue to not say what was on my mind.

"Are you OK?" Deidra's head showed under the edge of the sink as she bent down to check on me. When she did, her shirt slid upward a little and bellied out, leaving her left nipple exposed.

Little Toomas jumped in my shorts as I managed to try to look her in the eye as I said, "I'm OK. I just didn't get the wrench on the nut right, and it slipped."

I had tried to look Deidra in the eye, but she saw where my eyes had gone first, and she gave me a little smile and stood slowly back up, making no attempt to cover herself in the process. I finally got the nut tightened and slid out enough to not have any leaks hit me in the face, but also got myself back into position to see up her shirt again, although she couldn't see my eyes.

"OK, please try the water now."

I'm pretty sure she knew where I was looking, because she leaned forward just a little bit, causing her shirt to belly out just enough for me to see part of her nipples when she turned on the taps. I sucked in my breath. It had been so long since I actually saw a woman's tits in the flesh. Of course, I see them in videos and pictures, but they are just not the same. So badly I wanted to reach up and caress them, to pull one in my mouth and suckle on it for a while. I tore my eyes away long enough to check the drain, which wasn't leaking and with a shaky voice I told her she could shut off the water. One last peek up her shirt, and I had to turn my head away before I made a fool of myself and created an incident that could destroy everything I had going with the university.

I gathered together the tools I had with me in the vanity, and then I scooted out onto the bathroom floor before trying to stand. Deidra gave me a big smile, and a little glance down at the bulge Little Toomas was making in my shorts. It wouldn't have been so bad, but with Kat gone, and knowing what I planned to work on, I hadn't bothered with underwear, and I was wearing an old pair of gym shorts. There was no way I could hide the bulge I was sporting. I know my face was red with embarrassment, both from being caught looking, and then for my body's reaction, but Deidra was unfazed. Instead of shaking my hand, as I had expected, she stepped in to give me a tight hug, and it wasn't a short one, either.

She pressed her breasts tightly against me and held them there, and although I tried to pull back she pressed herself against my rapidly growing to full size cock and almost cooed. "I missed you, Toomas, and it appears you are happy to see me, too."

Deidra pulled her head back, while maintaining her embrace. She gave a big grin at my obvious discomfort. "Don't worry. I don't care if you look, and I think I've been approved." With a giggle she leaned in and kissed my cheek. "And I'll not tell anyone anything as long as you don't. Not even if we think up something that would be worth telling." Her impudent grin gave me reason for concern as she released me and turned to walk away.

I continued working on my list of repairs for the rest of the afternoon, but I'll be honest, my attention kept wandering and I didn't get nearly all of what I had planned finished. Finally I quit for the day and headed toward the kitchen to see what I could fix for Deidra and me to eat. I had given the cook time off as there was no need for her to be there to cook for just Kat and me, so I knew it would be up to me to find something. I was surprised to walk in the main house to smell a delicious fragrance. Deidra popped her head around the corner.

"Oh, good. I was trying to think how to find you without dinner being ruined. If you hurry, you will have time to grab a shower while I finish things up."

"I didn't expect you to have to cook dinner."

"I know. I did it because I wanted to. I love to cook, and I hope someday to have my own restaurant with me as chef. Hurry on, now. I don't want dinner to be spoiled."

I hurried, conscious that Little Toomas was stirring as I talked with Deidra. I recognized I had a problem, and not just a temporary one. How was I going to be able to handle things when all of the girls came back? I couldn't go to sporting wood every time I got around Deidra and remembered this afternoon. Of course, with all of the girls around, and as I mentioned earlier, sometimes one of them would not be fully dressed when I went to their rooms when something needed to be fixed. I frequently had to take matters in hand later in the evening, as it were, but this was different. There had never been any physical contact with any of the other girls like there had been with Deidra today. I stepped under cold water in the shower and tried to quickly wash up, but with only a few strokes on my cock I exploded all over the wall of my shower.

My knees buckled, and I ended up on the floor, cold water pouring over my head, and I gasped for breath. I had a problem!

**********

I walked down the hall to see soft light coming from the dining room. I had expected we would eat in the kitchen, but Deidra surprised me again. I found the dining room table set with my wife's good china and silver, and there was a candle burning in one of the silver candlesticks. The stereo was on, with classical music, no less. Was I being set up?

Deidra swept in from the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates. She had somehow found the time to change clothes and brush out her hair. Normally, she wore it in a long pony tail, but tonight she had it brushed out and over her shoulders where her almost white-blond hair contrasted with a black silk shirt. To say she was a vision would be a cliché. OK, flunk me for a cliché! She was indeed a vision. Based on what I saw of the table and the music playing I half expected her to be wearing something short and sexy, but instead, she had on a long skirt, but the effect was if anything more pronounced than if she was trying to be sexy. I was pleased to see her shirt was buttoned low enough to look attractive, but not overtly so. Until I saw the way she was dressed I was almost ready to run for it.

"Excellent timing, Toomas. If you would be good enough to pour the wine, I'll grab just a couple more things and we'll be ready to eat." After seeing her earlier that comment hit me like a blow to the chest.

"Wine?"

"Sure. I'm twenty-two, and it's just us here. Why not?"

I shrugged. I'm not much of a drinker, but I enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner. With all of the underage girls around the house, though, I hadn't had a glass of wine in a couple of months. I don't like to have it out when underage girls are around. Sure, I know they probably drank at parties and stuff, but it isn't going to be in my house.

"Dinner smells wonderful, Deidra. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. I told you I like to cook, and someday I hope to have my own restaurant. I'm practicing." Deidra smiled up at me as I seated her at the table. "I never have a chance during the school year, so I thought, 'Why not tonight?' and I grabbed a few things on the way down here. I didn't know I was going to get to have such an intimate dinner, though." She giggled and glanced at me through lowered lashes as I sat down. "I really thought Kat was going to be here, but I'm not sorry."

I took a quick sip of my wine.

"Please, don't misunderstand Toomas. I'm not up to anything, except maybe a 'thank you' for taking us in. This is so much nicer than any of the dorms at the school, and you have been so much fun to be around." She reached across and gently squeezed my hand. "Now, the food is going to get cold. Eat up!"

I took my first bite of grilled salmon with some sort of sauce that I didn't recognize, and it melted in my mouth. I'm not a big fish lover, but this was the best I ever had. Fresh whole green beans with rosemary and twice-baked potatoes stuffed with sour cream, chives, and green onions quickly disappeared from my plate, with hardly any conversation at all. I caught Deidra glancing at me, smiling as I relished the best meal I had eaten in a long time. I realized I hadn't even taken a sip of the wine since the one when I sat down, so entranced had I been with the meal. With the last bite of baked potato carefully wiping up all of the sauce I could find on the plate I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't very polite of me at all."

Deidra giggled. "I took it as a compliment, Toomas. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner. There is no greater compliment to a chef than to captivate a diner's attention with food."

"Aye, well, you captivated my attention, for sure. I can't recall ever having better."

Deidra looked down at her hands clasped on the table and actually blushed. "Thank you," she whispered.

Her reaction surprised me, but I had no chance to say anything more as she pushed back her chair and flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Stay right there. I'll be right back with dessert." Her hips captured my attention as she walked to the kitchen. Deidra didn't have to try to walk sexily. She did it without even being aware of what she was doing, and her waist-length hair, loose for the occasion swung back and forth as she walked, catching my eyes.

I felt a stir deep within myself and tried to tear my eyes away, but it was no use. When Deidra came back into the dining room she had pulled her hair over one shoulder, draping it down across one breast, which only accented the other, which from the movement I knew was braless. I tried to focus on the two dessert plates she carried, but it was difficult.

Deidra set one plate containing a cream-filled cake with a single lit candle in the center. A light fragrance of Jasmine caught my nose, leaving me with a desire to search for its source. I'm not much of one for perfumes, for most women think they have to bathe in it to get their point across. Deidra on the other hand had on just enough to make one wonder if he really smelled it or not. That always got my attention.

"What is the candle for?"

Again, a slight blush from Deidra. "I called Kat after I got here and I found out she wasn't going to be here. I wanted to be sure she thought it would be OK for me to cook for you, and she told me your birthday is next week. She said you will never allow her to say anything about it, that you don't like a big fuss over it publicly, so I thought I'd celebrate it with you tonight." She blushed again. "I promise I won't say anything when the rest of the girls are here."

Totally on impulse, and I have no reason why I did such a thing, I reached for her hand and brought it to my lips for a gentle kiss. "Thank you. This has been a wonderful dinner, and you will one day have your own restaurant. You are totally spoiling an old man."

I blew out the candle and then took my first bite of her creation. It was marvelous. The cake moist, yet crumbly, and the cream filling was almost divine.

"I've never had a cream filling like this, Deidra. What is it?"

"I made it with anisette, a liquer made from anis. Do you like?"

"It's wonderful!"

Deidra let out a happy sigh. "I'm so glad. I was experimenting on you with it. I created that recipe myself, and I never let anyone else taste it before."