THE REST OF THE FALL SEASON... (PART 39d)

Elle and I both had classes until noon that Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. My school had a rule that if you missed any classes three days prior to any vacation without permission it was an automatic F. So, it was almost 1:30pm before I got to Elle’s sorority to pick her, her roommate Nancy and the other girl from near home, Pauline, up. The one good thing was that it was a perfect day for traveling. I’d picked up a short cut tip from the boyfriend of one of Elle’s roommates that was supposed to save at least a half hour drive time. With it being the day before Thanksgiving I knew there would be a lot of traffic near the city so saving time was a bonus. We made two stops for Elle prior to getting to the outskirts of the city. The expected traffic was there and it was almost 10pm when we got to Nancy’s house. Her mother insisted we all come in for coffee and cake and, as Elle needed to change her ”package“, it was hard to turn it down. Once we were on our way again it only took about 20 minutes for the girls to fall asleep. They stayed that way all the way to Pauline’s house. She was in the back seat and I had to get out of the car and shake her awake. I remember that she didn’t know where she was. I got her suitcase out of the trunk and up to the door for her. I got a surprise when her father answered the door in that he knew who I was. As it turned out, he and my father had gone to grade school together.

When we turned the corner to my house the familiar driveway light was on. So were the front porch lights at Elle’s house. As it was after midnight, that was a surprise. We could see a car in the driveway and Elle said it had to be her relatives from Massachusetts. She said that the last time she’d talked with her mother they weren’t sure they were coming. It meant that Elle would be tied up with them as long as they were there. That was not good news for me. The only commitment I had was to go to my grandparents for Thanksgiving dinner. All the way home I was counting on some serious ”snuggle“ time with Elle. As we walked over to her house with her bags we could see that everybody was up and waiting for her. All I got was a little peck on the cheek on the walkway up to the door. Not much of a reward for driving over 10 hours!

With no chance to see Elle before leaving for my grandparents I slept in. My mother had to wake me up. It was the first she’d seen of me since I’d gotten sick and she was shocked at how I looked. My brother had brought a friend home from his boarding school and he was occupied with him so I didn’t have any escape from her and her "concern. It was more of the same from my grandparents. I thought I looked pretty good, at least compared to when I was staying with the T’s. Dinner was a very boring time and I couldn’t wait to ”escape“, even though I didn’t have any plans. I ended up going back to my house and went for a walk on the beach. My mind got back to the panties I’d taken. I couldn’t come up with any plausible way to possibly get Elle to wear them without admitting to where they came from. But, knowing that Elle was going to be tied up with the relatives the next morning I hatched a plan to see if I couldn’t go find some of the same kind and buy them new.

I was up bright and early the next morning. The relative’s car was still there so I didn’t waste time by going over to Elle’s. I’d firmed up my ”action plan“ while lying in bed. I would take the newer pair and then look in some different stores to see if I could find any to match them. I decided to bypass the town where my grandparents lived. I knew I'd never seen any like them in my various visits there. I headed to a town further West. My plan was that if I didn’t find what I was looking for that I was going to ask for help. I’d come up with a story that I was married and I wanted to duplicate the panties as a present for her. I’d been in that town a few times and knew there were two small department stores. When my father asked where I was going all I said was that I was going looking for a job for over Christmas holiday. I remember rehearsing my story over and over all the way there. Even though I had my ”lines“ down pat, I was really nervous.

The first store I visited was called the Bon Ton. It was a small, local department store, much like the one in my grandparents town. I headed strait for the lingerie department. There were two display tables directly opposite the lingerie counter. I made a quick sight tour around both tables but, not seeing exactly what I was looking for, went to the counter. There were two ladies there and I chose the older one. I don’t know or remember why but I hit a ”home run“ as she turned out to be the buyer for the whole department. I know I was very, very nervous. I pulled the panties I’d purloined from the wash line out of my pocket and laid them out on the counter for her to see. I started in with my rehearsed ”lines“ and she never once interrupted me. She didn’t even question where the panties I’d brought came from or why they didn’t have a label in them. When I finished little speech she said something along the lines of ”Let’s see what I can do to help you“. I was totally surprised by her reaction.

She reached under the counter and pulled out about a half dozen catalogs and started flipping through the pages. On about the third one she folded a page back and pointed to a line drawing depicting a pair of panties that looked like what was on the counter. When I said they were the right ones she asked how many I wanted and what size. I told her I wanted six in size 5. She started writing the order up almost immediately. She asked if I wanted them to be mailed and since I didn’t want to give out my name or address I told her that I’d be back to pick them up. At that point she said it might be two to three weeks as it was going to be a special order and the manufacturer didn’t respond that quickly to small orders. I didn’t care. I had found what I was looking for and if they were there by Christmas I was going to be very happy. The total cost was just under $10 and, as my grandfather had slipped me a $10 bill the day before, I didn’t have to use any of my own money. That made a good day even better.

On my way back I started to fantasize what I’d say when I gave them to Elle. They were so very different that I hoped she would like them. I actually remember pulling the panties I’d taken over with me out and laying them on the seat next to me and stealing glances at them as I drove. Christmas couldn’t come soon enough.

To be continued...