ALMOST SETTLED... and happy too (Part 62e)

The weekend following was the Territorial Championships which would qualify three area sailors for the National Championships. Even though there was no possible way that I could race in the Nationals I still wanted to compete in the Territorials. They were being held at the same club where I’d had my biggest sailing disappointment three years earlier when the Nationals were held there. In spite of that negative experience I liked sailing there and had made some good friends among the members including the twins, Pam and Penny.

There was a problem in that I discovered that a critical part that held the rudder to the hull of the boat had developed a serious crack. Before Frank had his new boat built by Rex, the local boat builder, he raced a boat that was built by the same boat builder as mine. He’d told me that he still had some spare parts from it and to let him know if I ever wanted them. I didn’t say ”yes“ and I didn’t say ”no“ when he offered them to me as I didn’t have any spare money. I still didn’t but I needed that part if I was to race on the weekend. I called him about it and he said he’d leave it out on his patio for me to pick up as he was leaving on a business trip. I didn’t really want to make a special trip to get it but really didn’t have a choice. That Tuesday, after supper, I drove down to Frank’s house and looked for the part but didn’t see it. The door was open and I could see into the kitchen. I called for his wife but there was no answer. I was upset that the part wasn’t there and without it I’d be taking a chance on really doing damage to my boat if it broke while racing. I called her name a few more times and then tried the screen door and found it was open. I wasn’t exactly comfortable just walking in but I was desperate for the part. I walked into the living room and saw Ronnie, Frank’s wife, sitting on the floor with her arm up on the sofa and her head resting on it. I called her name but didn’t get a response. When I looked on the end table I saw the reason. It was a half empty fifth of vodka. She was passed out.

I didn’t know what to do and as I was walking out I saw a door that appeared to go into the garage. I figured ”why not“ and opened it. I was partly right. It did lead to the garage but it was also a laundry room. Not one to walk past a washing machine with no one around I opened it. I didn’t see anything "interesting" but stuck my hand in anyway pulling out a handful of clothes. I could feel some dampness and quickly sorted through the small pile and found the clamdiggers that Ronnie had worn at the party. There wasn’t much light but when I held them up I could see the stain from when she’d wet herself on the patio. My brain went into overdrive and immediately I wanted to find the panties she’d been wearing when she did it. But I was worried that she might wake up so threw everything back in the washer and went to check on her. This whole episode probably took less than five minutes. Finding her still out cold I started back to the washer. I happened to look out the kitchen window and saw part of a wash line and a few bras. I went to the window and then saw something more interesting... panties. The immediate problem with that was I didn’t see a door to get out there.

I was frustrated at first but I didn’t give up. I went outside and walked around the outside of the garage and there was this tiny little space, probably no more than 10 feet by 20 feet, that made up the back yard. The wash line took up about half of it and on it I saw what I wanted. As I approached it and the panties two things jumped out at me... the waist elastic and the crotch. I’d seen the waist elastic the night that the sailing group had been at the bowling alley and I'd noticed it on the panties Ronnie was wearing. It was also very similar to the waist elastic on Elise’s panties that I’d picked up at the meeting hall back at the park. But I could easily see that they weren’t made by the same manufacturer. The crotch was way higher in both the front and back than Elise’s Shadowline panties. There was also one other slight difference in that they weren’t as opaque. I remember my heart pounding as it was still daylight and here I was, a stranger, at the wash line. I could see the house right behind Frank's through the hedge and just couldn’t bring myself to take a pair or to even check out who had made them. I just went back to my car and headed home without the part or a pair of panties. So close...

I beat myself up all the way home. I was mad because I’d chickened out on the panties and even madder that I’d lost focus on picking up the needed part. I told myself I could get it on Friday night when I would go pick up the boat but my chance for seeing the panties again was lost. I lay awake for a long time that night.

As if the lack of a part wasn’t enough Elle got her period the next day. She’d raced one day with it and was a mess when it was over. The combination of incontinence and a period is not pretty. She just shook her head when she told me. Initially, I took it as an omen saying that it really wasn’t meant for me to sail that weekend. It was Elle who came up with the idea of trying to reach Paul, the old friend who was home on leave, to see if he would be willing to crew for me. I had to have my father walk down to his parents house to get in touch with him. When he called he wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea as his leave was almost up and he wanted to spend the time with his wife. I told him to think about it and call me by Friday.

When I didn’t hear from him by lunch time on Friday I pretty much gave up hope. I was seeding the new pads when this car stopped out in the road. I didn’t recognize it but as I stared at it I knew I’d seen the face of the girl in the passenger seat. It took a few seconds before realizing that it was Paul’s wife. He’d left it up to her to decide and she’d said it was OK. I was happy!

To be continued...