FINISHING OUT THE YEAR... (Part 92g)


I was still on my knees and on the floor during this last dialog. Seeing her reaction I got up and immediately apologized saying that I hoped I hadn’t offended her in some way. She finally looked at me and with a sad look in her eyes said something that really grabbed me. She said she really didn’t have any ”special days“. My reaction was to do the typical clueless male thing and say that she must have something like a birthday or Christmas that was special. She didn’t respond and I noticed that she had turned her eyes back down towards the floor. At this point I knew I’d really stuck my foot in it.

Jan really was a sweet girl. She loved being a nurse and, to the best of my knowledge, was good at it. She’d accepted the position at the local hospital because our area was rural, much like the area she came from. When her sister (Janice) followed her she was very happy but after the sister took the second shift at her job they hardly ever got to see each other. I’d picked up some more background from the sister when she was babysitting the kids for us and found out that their parents were very strict and there was not a lot of ”love“ given out. On top of that Jan’s boyfriend had decided to join the Peace Corps pretty much ending a long term relationship. Knowing all that and seeing her looking so upset my heart wanted me to give her a hug but all I could do was to stand there and mumble out another apology. If I could’ve snapped my fingers and disappeared I would’ve.

I was smart enough by then to just shut up and headed into the living room to say goodbye to my grandfather. I had to pass through the dining room to leave and when I appeared in the doorway Jan was right there. She had tears in her eyes but, thankfully, wasn’t crying. I had to stop to avoid running into her and when I did she apologized to me saying she now realized that I wasn’t doing anything more than making conversation and she’d reacted poorly. I was glad to hear it but thought that was it. In what had to be a 180 degree turn in attitude she proceeded to tell me that the panties (she still called them underpants) that had been stolen were the first she’d ever purchased on her own. Up to that purchase her mother had bought all her underwear and because the family had to struggle to pay for her education bought ”plain and simple“. I thought that was about all she had to say and offered up some sort of platitude. I was overjoyed to hear the explanation but, by that time, wanted to ”escape”. As she stepped aside so I could leave she thanked me for fixing the drawer. I’d almost forgotten about it. I turned and looked at it standing in front of of the sideboard and realized that it would have to be put back into the dresser. I told her I’d do it the next day when I came to pick up my grandfather for his weekly trip to see my grandmother. At least she was smiling when she said goodnight. On my way home I wondered how I’d managed to get things so screwed up.

Sunday turned out to be the first snow of the season. It pretty much caught everyone by surprise and my grandfather called to say he didn’t want to go out in it. It wasn’t all that bad and Elle, I and the kids went to church. I thought about stopping at my grandfather’s on the way home to replace the drawer but Elle, even wearing a partial “package”, had leaked and didn’t want to go. I decided that I’d go over later but before Jan got there. I really didn’t want to face her after the events of the previous night. Even though I was into watching the football game I left around mid afternoon. When I pulled into the driveway I was somewhat shocked to see Jan’s car. I could’ve backed out but that was dangerous even without the snow so I sucked it up and went inside.

I honestly felt that Jan was glad to see me. I explained why the drawer hadn’t been replaced and she said it didn’t matter. I don’t know why it seemed so heavy when I picked it up. I could only hope my “fix” worked as I slid it into the opening. It was a little tight but it worked a lot better than before. I had Jan try it a few times and she gave it a passing grade. I asked why she was there and not at work. She proceeded to explain that on Sunday’s she often worked a split shift with some of the other nurses so they could be home with their families in the evening. What was interesting was that as she explained it to me she was taking neat little piles of her things off her bed and placing them into the drawer. She’d moved a couple but when she picked up the pile with the nylon panties and the Lollipops she ended up dropping some of the nylon ones on the floor. I honestly wasn’t thinking and was only reacting when I bent over to pick up the ones on the floor. (THAT’S THE HONEST TRUTH!) I already had them in my hands when I remembered her reaction when I’d picked her panties up the night before and started blushing before she realized what I’d done. Even though it was relatively dark in her room that fact was pretty obvious to her when she turned and saw the panties in my hand. I wasn’t expecting the reaction that I got as she turned around. Her face lit up with a big smile when she saw me with a guilty look and her panties in my hand. That only made my embarrassment worse.

I tried to explain that she’d dropped them but by then she was just shaking her head from side to side and trying to wipe the grin from her face. It took a few seconds for her to get control and when she did she said she understood and that everything was “OK”. I handed the panties to her and when I did she said something along the lines of “Now I really don’t have any secrets, do I?” I wanted to laugh but I really couldn’t. With the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her she finished putting her things into the drawer and then half pushed me out of the room.

To be continued...