That meant that Emma and Gail weren't able to do the things that they wanted as much, either — which had them coming over to swim in my pool more than they had before. I said that both of them were cuties, and that was true when they were younger. But shortly after the divorce, first Emma, then Gail, hit puberty and started to grow up — and out. With them coming over to use the pool more often, I got more and better chances to appreciate their developing bodies, and how pretty both of them were getting. I've always thought that pubescent girls had an innocent beauty, and seeing the blond Emma and Gail starting to grow more womanly shapes didn't do anything to change my mind.

One of the things that developed before the divorce was that both of the girls knew that they could come over to my place if they needed help with something when their parents weren't home. It didn't happen very often, but there were still a few times that I'd go over to deal with an overly-aggressive spider or other bug, or they'd want to stay at my place for comfort and reassurance when there was a particularly enthusiastic thunderstorm going on.

After the divorce, with Andrea working full time, they gradually began to turn to me more and more. Not for dealing with bugs (Emma was quite capable and willing to dispatch them by that time), but more as a substitute father figure. I'd brought it up with Andrea, and while she wasn't happy about it, she realized that they needed SOME adult male figure in their lives after losing their father. She did tell me that if they ever got in the way of my work, or became nuisances, that I should send them home; otherwise, she was just grateful that I was willing to give them the attention they needed. I asked if there was any subject she needed or wanted me to stay away from with them, and she managed to give me a half-grin before answering "If you're asking that, then I think it would be a good idea if I said 'no'." I quickly assured her that neither of them had brought up anything special; that I was just trying to find out ahead of time.