END OF SUMMER... September (Part 74e)

Jack and I were on the road by 6am. Being a Saturday the traffic was fairly light. As we approached my town Jack suggested that I drop him off at his grandparents who lived there as well. I liked the idea because it would save me about an hour. I was really looking forward to seeing Elle and the kids as this was the longest time I’d been away from them. I’d decided to take the boat to my parents garage for Winter storage the next day to give me a chance to relax. The first thing I noticed as I made the turn towards the trailer was that the station wagon was gone. As I pulled up in front I saw clothes on the wash line. I knew Elle couldn’t be too far away. Inside, I found a note on the table telling me that she had taken the kids as well as Millie and her daughters to her mother’s to go swimming in the bay. That puzzled me as it looked like it was about to rain. I was trying to digest all of this when the phone rang. It was Elle. It was raining at her mother’s house and she wanted me to collect all the clothes off the line even if they weren’t completely dry. I was on the way out the door when the phone rang again. It was Elle, again, asking me to do the same for Millie’s clothes.

I was just about finished with our wash line when it started to sprinkle. For us it was mostly sheets and the kids clothes. I dumped them all in the bathtub and ran outside to get Millie’s things. As I stepped over the fence I got a glimpse of one of my favorite things... panties. The wind had come up and as it blew the sheets closest to me to and fro I could see panties behind them. I ducked under the sheets and there were four panties that, from their size, had to be Janelle’s swinging back and forth on the line. Over time I’d seen a number of Janelle’s panties and they'd all been nylon or acetate. These were obviously cotton and they were also band leg. I grabbed at the one closest to me and as as soon as I did I could tell that they were a heavy cotton. But they weren’t like Elle’s, heavy ribbed cotton, but were very soft like my T shirts. As I inspected them I could feel that they were a lot heavier and softer than my shirts. By then it had started to rain but I wanted to see the label... Carol Brent size small. Another new brand! As the rain increased I started just pulling the wash off the line letting the clothes pins fall where they may. I got to the last line and discovered two pair of plastic panties. The answer to the question I’d asked before leaving for the championships was on the wash line. Millie had taken the advice to help Janelle and her night time wetting... and I had another brand of panty to research and find. Carrying the wash back to the trailer I could feel the bulge in my pants.

I put Millie’s wash on the dining room table and took a closer look at the cotton panties. I knew that Janelle wore a size 4 nylon panty having seen a few of them but these were obviously larger. I went to get a pair of Elle’s cotton ones and laid them on top of what I was sure were Janelle’s and they were about the same size. It was a bit puzzling but, by the same token, interesting. Interesting in the sense that Millie had to have gotten them locally and that meant if I could find out where I’d buy some for Elle.

Before Elle got home I got a call from Jim. With rain the stock car races had been postponed. I’d forgotten that I’d told him that I’d go on the last night of the season. I actually gave out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t even imagine what the conversation between Elle and I would have been like if I’d told her I was going to the races that night.

When Elle got back Millie went to her trailer to close the windows before coming to collect her wash. I was tempted to point out the cotton panties to Elle but decided not to. Millie thanked me for “rescuing” her clean wash and I remember thinking that it was I who should be thanking her for asking me. If she hadn’t I wouldn’t have been made aware of another brand of interesting panties.

Back at work on Monday I was greeted by a new look. The correct panels had been installed to define our work area. No longer would people walking down the hall be able to look in at us. Inside, panels had been put up to create defined storage areas. Even though we’d only been in the space a short time I’d become used to the openness of it and now it seemed more confined. I could also see the channels had been laid down for the panels to create an office for Jay. It was going to take some getting used to.

Even with the short week and my absence the Police payroll went off without a hitch. I was about to start in on the reports for it when the door from the hall opened. It was Rena. She just stuck her head in to say “Hi” and disappeared. What was missing, though, was Jay. I asked Jo where he was and she said he was preparing for a Board of Supervisors meeting. They were going to consider leasing the new tape drive that the three of us had gone to the city to see demonstrated earlier in the year. That was good news... if they passed the proposal. The department was in desperate need of help both mechanical and in personnel. We’d been able to keep up mostly though the dedication of Jay, Jo, Lucy and myself, finding ways to get more done in the same amount of time.

When Jay walked in he looked “drained”. Never one for stepping forward in a true leadership role, he’d been put through what he called a “wringer” with all their questions. He said he had no idea of how they would vote but said the Controller was talking with the Supervisors when he was excused. About mid day the Controller walked in to give Jay a “thumbs up”. It was great news and Jay, Jo and I took off to have a celebratory lunch.

I was truly surprised when Jay took us to the restaurant that Rena worked at. I asked why he’d chosen that place and he said that Rena had come in a few time the week before and suggested it. I wondered why Rena had been “visiting“ when, basically, the only person she knew in DP was me... but I didn’t pursue it. It was somewhat strange to be eating ”real“ food at lunch but we had a good time. Jay went over his plans for the new piece of equipment and also the pressing need for an additional machine operator. He, again, asked both Jo and I if we felt Lucy could handle it and we said we were OK with it. We all knew the request for the new position was sitting in the Deputy Controller’s office but Jay hadn’t wanted to go up against him with the approval for the tape drive pending. With that over with he said he was now ready to do battle.

To be continued...