YEAR END IN SIGHT... (Part 93c)

The party was very nice. Mrs K’s husband, Larry, ended up being the entertainment. Wearing a Santa suit he fit the bill. Because of my dislike of John’s wife I avoided her all evening. The women, some meeting for the first time, got along well and Elle managed her “problem” without incident. Wilson’s wife and Elle shared similar backgrounds and interests which I thought was a real bonus. We left fairly early with Elle’s pregnancy as the excuse. Not unexpectedly we found Karen asleep in the swivel rocker and the TV on. We startled her as we walked in and she jumped up. Her coat was draped over the chair she’d been in so she just put it on and we were out the door. I drove her home with nary a word spoken. I paid her and told her I’d see her in church in the morning. Even that didn’t get a “rise” out of her.

Elle was dressed ready for bed and sitting on the sofa when I walked in. By her feet was this small bag with the name of the local high school stenciled on it. Karen, in her rush to leave, had left it on the dining room table. It didn’t matter as we’d see her in church in the morning. I was in bed when it came to me that there was a good chance that a pair of Karen’s panties would be in the bag. It took a while to fall asleep as I tried to come up with a plan to investigate it in the morning.

Nothing was going well as we prepared for church. Anne, our youngest woke up in a snit and wasn’t co-operating with Elle about anything. Trying to dress her Elle finally picked her up and took her down to our bedroom to do it on our bed. I immediately headed for Karen's bag. Initially, it appeared that all that was inside was Karen’s red and white uniform. I was rushing, afraid Elle would appear from behind me but I made one last swipe and found something silky. I pulled it to the surface and it was as if the panties knew that I was looking for them as they were inside out and right on the top with the label, Isis, right there. I knew immediately where they came from. We had a W T Grant store down on Main Street and it was like an upscale 5 & 10 cent store. I’d seen them a time or two before and had been impressed by the quality. All I had time for was to read the label. I stuffed them back inside the bag and went on down the hall to help Elle.

After the church service, when Elle and I went downstairs to retrieve the girls from the nursery, it was the “old” Karen we saw. With a big smile on her face she was down on her haunches helping a very young boy with his coat. I stopped and waited, hoping for a peek. When it didn’t happen and she stood up I still visualized her there in just her Isis panties. I also hoped that we’d be able to have her babysit again under better circumstances.  
 
With Christmas approaching I’d gotten to thinking about Jan and her sister being alone and I got the idea of including them for Christmas dinner at my grandfather’s. Jan's comment to me about not having any "special days" had really gotten to me. I ran the idea by my mother who thought it was a good one. However, because Jan would be working Christmas day, we’d have to change the time for dinner to be served. That became a problem.

My grandfather, at his age, was very set in his ways. Christmas dinner was ALWAYS in the early afternoon. Added to that... Elle’s mother NEVER served the main meal of the day before 5 or 6pm. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I’d stirred up a hornets nest. However, help came from an unexpected source. Elle’s brother had been working in the city since getting out of the Army and that Fall he’d just landed a good job. With Christmas on a Wednesday he had to be at work on Thursday. Since his only mode of transportation was the train and the last train was at 3pm Elle’s mother HAD to have an early dinner for him to participate. That solved half the problem. My father, reluctantly, agreed to handle his father which pretty much solved the other half. I can still remember the reaction from Jan when I gave her the invitation.

John and I had seen a definite slowing of applicants for the Clerk Typist exam as we approached the holidays. On the Monday right before Christmas the turn out was the least we’d seen. By the time the last test taker had finished we had all but a handful scored which gave us quite a bit of time for lunch. John had continued to bring his lunch so I had over an hour to go get mine. Like most towns, this one had a small locally owned department store. I’d thought about going in a few times but by the time I’d ordered and eaten my lunch there wasn’t enough time. But, on this day I had at least a half hour after eating. I remember the name of the store started with “Bon” but there are a couple of names that keep popping up in my memory for the second half of it. In any case I already had Elle’s present so that meant I was free to wander... right to the lingerie department. As opposed to a number of other like stores it was way in the rear. As I approached it I saw this rather large display at the entry way. Actually , it was a cart with bins painted in an ivory color and the name, in script, read Roger’s. A hand made sign was taped across it that read “Closeout Sale’. There weren’t many panties but the first pair I saw was truly beautiful. Lace cut-outs on both the left and right side of the front with lace all around the leg elastics. The waist elastic was distinctive as well. But the clincher was the feel... nylon satin! I rooted through all the panties that were left and all I found of the fancy ones were two size 6's. A saleslady walked up and must have seen me digging through the bins as she asked if she could help. I showed her what I’d found and asked if by any chance that there might be any more in size 5. She was really very nice but told me that everything they had by that manufacturer was on display. I already knew I was going to take the two pair I had in my hand even though they weren’t what I wanted as I rationalized that Elle could wear them during the next few months of her pregnancy.

To be continued...