A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103g)

Hank had indicated that the new wagon would be built in the middle of February and would be delivered  President’s Day week. It was shades of waiting for Christmas from when I was a boy although now I was an adult. The year I got my trains I’d discovered them about two weeks prior to Christmas and that was the longest two weeks of my life!

With the vehicles situation pretty much in order it was back to the same old grind at work. I’d talked with Judith about her ideas for Stasia only one time since we’d first discussed and she said she was waiting for ”just the right time“ to spring it on her. Messing with the cars I’d pushed it to the back of my mind. Even seeing Stasia at work didn’t get me all that fired up. There seemed to be too many obstacles to overcome. I’m not sure exactly when it was but near the end of the month Stasia didn’t show up for work one day. I had a dead on view of her desk from my work table and it seemed strange not to see her sitting there with a blank look on her face. I didn’t put the fact that she was missing together with Judith’s ”plan“ until it was time to go home. I decided to stop at the drug store to see if Judith had firmed up her ideas and to see what, if anything, I could do to help.

The only person in the shop was Judith’s husband, Paul. I wasn’t sure just how much he knew or didn’t know about Stasia so just asked for Judith and he pointed me to the back room. It seemed like she always had a smile on her face and when she saw me it broadened even more. She told me that I must have ESP as she was going to call me the next morning. Stasia’s absence had nothing to do with her ”plan? but she felt she had enough things in place to approach her.

The “plan“ was for Judith’s brother, a partner in an accounting firm near the city, to hire Stasia as a receptionist. His partner (and wife) had a small apartment in their basement where she could live rent free for six months. If she agreed to it Judith would drive Stasia and her son to the place and would stay with her for  the first weekend. I saw all kinds of ”holes“ in the plan but kept my mouth shut. Besides that,
I was still a bit paranoid about the possible fallout if Stasia went along with it and my involvement was discovered. I was pleased to hear that Judith had taken that into consideration for both of us and suggested that I not come to the drug store for a while. In her case, based upon a favorable reaction to the offer, she was going to tell Stasia to pretty much avoid the shop as well. The big question was in when she’d approach Stasia. Now I had two things ”hanging“.

With the advent of February I still hadn’t gotten any information on my attending the computer classes in Ohio. One thing that had begun to bother me was that Rich, the part time teller, part time bookkeeping machine operator, would ”zing“ me whenever I was in his area for an audit. I tried to let them slide but one day I heard him say to no one in particular ”Just what the hell was he hired to do anyway.“ It was enough for me to pursue Monty, the Chairman of the Board. When I did I almost wished I hadn’t as he ushered me into his office and closed the door. In the almost six months I’d been at the bank I’d seen that door closed maybe a half dozen times. He offered me a chair and then he sat behind his desk with his hands folded on it.

”There’s been a change of plans.“ That’s all I heard. I knew he was talking but I was still processing those words and didn’t hear what he said. I guess you might say I was in shock. The next words I remember hearing him speak... ”We’ll find you something to do, though“. I remember sitting there, totally ”lost”. Married with three kids and a new car on the way and the job I was promised was being yanked out from under me. I know I didn’t say anything because I then heard him ask if I was OK. I must’ve nodded that I was because he stood up, shook my hand and asked me not to say anything. In fact he suggested that I take the rest of the afternoon off. I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot wondering just what I was going to do. When I’d calmed down I tried to figure out what had happened. If Monte had given me the reason(s) for the change I hadn’t been listening so was completely blindsided.

So as to not drag this out, my ‘buddy“ Rich (NOT!) had been secretly campaigning to be the one to run the new equipment. He had been ”schmoozing“ some of the board members and to push them along, told then that if he didn’t get the job he was going to quit. Unfortunately, management had allowed him to establish systems that only he knew how to operate and to supervise. If he quit he could, in effect, shut the bank operations down. It took about a week for me to glean this information out of Alvin. He’d reported the conflict in a number of his internal audit reports but the Board had chosen to allow it to continue. I ended up being the victim.

I honestly felt that Monty really felt bad about my situation. Rich left for Ohio the second week of February and it coincided with the announcement that the new equipment would be delivered by the end of the month. Nothing changed as far as the work I was doing. Alvin certainly wasn’t complaining. I was doing the majority of the ”grunt“ work for him which gave him a lot of free time. When I’d told Elle about the situation I’d emphasized the fact that Monty had assured me that I did, indeed, still have a job. It wasn’t much of one and I remember how I’d chafed at doing such mundane tasks while waiting for the new computer to be delivered. Now I was glad to do it. It was very strange.

It was during that week that I found a note under my windshield wipers from Judith telling me that she'd spoken with Stasia. Initially she rejected the idea but had sort of changed her mind. To make Stasia more comfortable she was going to drive her in to meet her brother, his partner and his wife. In the note she told me that’s where Staisa would be when she didn’t show up for work. That was the best news I could get about then. Possibly someone’s life was going to change for the better.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103f)

Still mad that Elle hadn’t been interested in my ”big news“ I pretty much ignored her. I don’t how long it was before Eddie called back but I wasn’t prepared for what he had to say. I knew he had a manual transmission and I’d asked him about it as I’d wanted a stick shift for my ‘55 Chevy but he’d told me he was going to use if in a street rod he planned to build. He offered the tranny and two hundred dollars for the wagon. I won’t bore you with the ”horse trading“ we did over the next hour or so. In the end he was going to get the wagon along with the automatic transmission from the ‘55. I’d get the standard transmission, bell housing and floor shifter plus $300... and he was going to help with the transition and I could use the wagon until the new one arrived. In a way it was weird because I hadn’t even ordered it. I just knew he was getting the better part of the deal but I was getting something I wanted but hadn’t expected so that made it acceptable.

All the while we were talking Elle kept finding reasons to go in the kitchen where the phone was located. She wanted to know, in the worst way, what was going on. I was actually enjoying keeping her ”at bay“. It was my way of getting back at her for ignoring me when I’d arrived home with the news about the new wagon. As I’d mentioned I was trying to do projections to see just how I’d make the payments on it so just told her she’d have to wait until I got my ”project“ done. At that point she was fit to be tied.

Without knowing the cost of the new vehicle it was very hard to get a handle on it. I’d asked Eddie what a new four door Chevy Impala was selling for and he’d given me a price of $3,200. Knowing I needed about 25% as a down payment I was satisfied that with Eddie’s $300 and the $500 or so I still had set aside I had that part covered. I knew enough basics about how loan interest was figured that we could do it if Elle taught at least one day a week. Once I reached that point I called her over to the table and sprung the news on her.

I fully expected her to jump up and throw her arms around me but all I got was a blank stare... ”and how are we going to pay for it?“ Instead of planning what having a new, dependable vehicle would mean I ended up defending the whole concept. Prior to this episode I’d pretty much determined that I’d never be able to figure out the thinking of a female and this just confirmed it. By the time we went to bed she was at least agreeable to going to the dealership with me on Monday.

It was along day Sunday. With all the snow she decided to forego church and my grandfather had already told me he wasn’t going to venture out. That meant being cooped up with Elle all day and waiting for her to come up with another reason why the new wagon wasn’t a good idea. I spent a lot of time thinking of how to pull off the switch of the transmissions without being too inconvenienced. I called Eddie and asked when he was willing to start. Darren was with him at the time and Eddie said that if I could wait until Tuesday night they would both be available. It sounded good to me.

Elle met me at the dealership at 6pm. I had already met the salesman that my grandfather had contacted. When he’d told me to go to Hank it didn’t mean anything to me. When I walked up to him I was taken back a bit by the fact that he was ”colored“ (remember... this is the 60’s). When he told me his whole name and, even though I hadn’t gone to school in that town but for a short time during WWII, I recognized his name. He was one of the best athletes to ever come out of the local school. He was very professional and noticed that Elle exhibited signs that she was not totally sold on this whole idea. He focused almost all of his attention on her and after we looked through the brochure for station wagons she seemed more attuned to the idea. You have to remember that back in those days there wasn’t a lot full of new cars to choose from, especially in a rural area like where we were located. I remember Hank suggesting that Elle go sit in one of the sedan models that was on the showroom floor and telling her that the front interior of the wagon would be the same. That gave me a chance to talk money.

We’d gone through the options and one that I’d rejected was air conditioning. I’d never had a car with it and had survived. Hank told me that of all the options available it was the one that actually held more of it’s value (percentage wise) over time than the car. It would pay for itself when it came time to trade it in or to sell it outright. He was a very good salesman and it got added making the total cost almost $3,700. I think my jaw hit my chest. I surely was glad that Elle wasn’t there when he tallied everything up. Hank then went to the sales manager who gave him permission to accept my $800 as the down payment even though I was more that $100 short. By the time we headed home Elle was very much ”on board“.

Every night for the rest of the week I was up at James’ shop with Eddie (and sometimes Darren). We worked well together and even with some problems both vehicles were on the road by Saturday afternoon. It was also that afternoon that I saw James' daughter Patsy again. She had brought her mother’s car to get gas and James was on the phone when she arrived. He asked me to go pump the gas for her. The drivers side window was up and when she cranked it down (remember... it’s the 60’s) I could see that her skirt was almost up to her crotch. It wasn’t something I was expecting to see and I have no idea how I reacted to it. I do know it ”stimulated“ my nether region though. As soon as I finished pumping the gas she drove off. Short but sweet.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103e)

Heading home I could clearly see that the further West I went the less snow I saw. I was really looking forward to getting home and having a real meal. As I drove through the downtown area I noticed that the driveway to my grandfather’s house was still unplowed and the walkways to the doors still needed to be shoveled. Wally, the handyman that worked for my grandfather, usually had it under control but the snow was untouched. It was the same at home. Elle was not one to do manual labor and the shoveling was awaiting me as I drove up. It was the last thing I wanted to tackle. I hadn’t noticed that my back was bothering me until I sat down for the trip home.

The kids were waiting for me to get home to build a big snowman for them. It appeared that there was about 8 to 10 inches on the ground and with the sun it had started to melt. I begged off telling them that I really needed to eat. While waiting for my lunch I called my grandfather to find out why there hadn’t been any shoveling or plowing at his place. He sounded a bit discouraged when He said that Wally had hurt himself during the storm and the plow guy broke something. He didn’t ask or even hint for me to come over and do it but, while eating lunch, I felt guilty and told Elle that, after clearing a our path, I was going over there.

It was a sloping driveway from the street all the way back to the carriage house. I got the idea to take the (older) kids over along with their sleigh to let then have some fun while I cleared the snow from the pathways. They really liked that idea so before long I was off to shovel some more. I dug out the driveway down as far as the path to the back porch. I left enough snow for them to be able slide without me having to push them and it seemed like they enjoyed it. I wasn’t keeping track of the time but It took well over and hour. I wanted to take the kids inside to see my grandfather as he only got to see them on rare occasions. As I brushed the snow off them I noticed that the seat of Jean’s snow pants were wet and asked what had happened. She turned away which gave me the answer. It wasn’t the first time that she’d let playing overrule her need for a bathroom break. I debated with myself as to weather I should take her inside but, before I could decide, the new lady who was staying at the house opened the door and ushered us in. I forewarned her about Jean’s problem and asked that she make sure that Jean didn’t sit down.

After saying ”hello“ to my grandfather the lady herded the kids into the kitchen for warm cocoa. My grandfather said exactly what I expected and that I shouldn’t have done the shoveling... but thanked me profusely. He also reached for his wallet and when I saw that I told him, emphatically, that I wasn’t going to take any money. We went back and forth for a minute or two until I told him I was leaving. He backed off but told me to pull up a chair.

You would have to ”know“ my grandfather to understand my next statement One of his endearing qualities was that he made certain motions with his hands that were almost as good as spoken words. As I pulled a chair up he had his hands in his lap with the tips of each touching. That was a sign that he was really serious about something and it was best not to speak until had gave you approval to do so. He wanted to know what I was doing about getting the station wagon fixed. When I told him I hadn’t made up my mind he frowned. At this point he was leaning so far forward that I was concerned that he would pitch himself forward onto me and I knew I was in for a lecture at this point. It started with a rehash of his disappointment about my having sold the car he’d given me. Then, he lectured me on how important it was for my family to have a vehicle that was reliable. Then came the bombshell...

Still leaning so far forward that I could smell the peppermint candy he was eating, he told me to go out and get a new Chevrolet station wagon. I swear I almost choked. I knew that I still had somewhere around $500 from selling the sailboat but that was it. He went on to say that he would co-sign a loan for me. I was speechless. I didn’t know how to react. The offer was certainly unexpected. When I didn’t say anything he told me that he’d already spoken to one of the sales people at the dealership and I was to stop there on the way home on Monday. As it slowly sank in I made some mealy mouthed efforts to thank him. When he pushed back into a less ”threatening“ body position I took a deep breath and got up. As appreciative as I really was I just didn’t know how to express it. It really was awkward.

I collected my daughters and thanked the lady for ”entertaining“ them. I went out the kitchen door so I wouldn’t have to face my grandfather again. I needed time to get my mind around the offer. With the exception of a small loan from my grandfather to buy our sofa bed I hadn’t borrowed any money at all. I didn’t know how much a wagon would cost nor did I have any idea what payments would be. On top of everything else that had happened the past two days this was almost too much. The one good thing was that it certainly got my mind off Stasia.

I couldn’t wait to tell Elle of my grandfather’s offer but when we arrived she chose to make a fuss over Jeans wet pants. I knew it was useless to try and override her. In fact, it made me mad. Knowing I still had to get my arms around how I was going to be able to make payments I decided to start by doing some income projections. As I worked on it I realized that I hadn’t given any value for the station wagon, damaged as it was. Knowing that Eddie (from the service station) was all knowing about Chevy’s I gave him a call. I was lucky in that he’d just arrived home. I asked what he thought it might be worth. He told me that the intake manifold and carbureator on the wagon was ”special“ and was in high demand but couldn’t give me a value for the vehicle. Pushed, he said it might bring around $400. I thanked him and went back to my projections.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (PART 103d)

To say sleep didn’t come easy is putting it mildly. An extremely uncomfortable mattress and the experience with Stasia admitting to thinking of suicide made it almost impossible. I know I was in and out until I saw the first vestiges of light. When I got up I looked in on her and saw she was back in a semi fetal position but seemed to be breathing normally. Inez didn’t appear to be up so I put on my coat and headed outside. The snow had stopped along with the wind but it was still cold. The sky appeared to be clearing which was a good sign for the rest of the day. The path to the street that I’d cleared the previous day was mostly filled in again with snow so I shoveled it out. The street was relatively clear of snow so, with shovel in hand, headed for the bank to check on my station wagon. I was pleasantly surprised to find the parking lot had been cleared except for where I’d left the vehicle. At first blush it looked like a misshapen loaf of bread.

Without the wind it wasn’t all that bad as I shoveled the snow from around the wagon. Once I could get a door open I started it up and turned on the heater so I would have a place to get my hands warm. Once I cleared a pathway from in front of it I thought I was ”home free”. However, whoever had done the plowing piled the majority of the snow on the West side of the lot  and some of it had spilled back onto the asphalt. Without the ability to back up I could only go forward and when I did I found the radius of my turn had me running into a mound of snow. It meant more shoveling. 

My arms were tired by then and I was very hungry. I pretty much knew that all I’d get from Inez was more eggs so made the decision to walk down to the drug store to see if Judith had made it in to work. As I approached I saw her husband shoveling the snow from the sidewalk and lights on inside. It made me warm just knowing that I’d get some “real food” once inside.

It wasn’t even 8:30am and Judith wasn’t expecting any customers especially at that time. When she saw me she put on a big smile and ushered me in. She’d put coffee on for her husband and offered me some. Not a coffee drinker I welcomed anything warm. We chatted about the storm for a few minutes before I asked if she could make me a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches. I saw it on the menu on the wall behind her and for some strange reason it caused a craving. I didn’t know how to broach the subject of Stasia so told her of our experience with Inez. Judith didn’t really know her at all so much of my explanation went over her head. When I told her the part where we stayed overnight she rolled her eyes with a BIG smile to accompany it. However, it did give me the opening I needed to tell her about Stasia’s breakdown.

As I’ve previously written, Judith and I had discussed Stasia’s plight a number of times but didn’t have any ideas how to help her out of it. When I told her of Stasia’s thoughts on suicide her look turned deadly serious. I’d been exposed, at a distance, to two suicides in my life but had never met anyone that I, knowingly, had contemplated suicide. I was a bit shocked at Judith’s reaction. It was as if she didn’t believe me. That’s when I got a bit passionate, describing in detail what I saw and heard the night before. Judith let me go on for a bit before she came out from behind the counter and walked up right in front of me. Looking me right in the eye and only inches away she said “I’ve got to do something!”

I asked “What? and she said she had to think about it some more. I tried ”pushing“ but she wouldn’t budge. I didn’t have even an embryo of an idea. Soon after Judith told me that her husband walked in and she told me not to say anything. I thought that a bit strange because I’d never said anything more to her husband than a ”Hello“.
By then it was after 9am and I knew Inez would more than likely be up and wondering what had happened to me. As I walked past the bank and saw the station wagon with the front up against the pile of snow that was left after it had been plowed. I knew still had some more digging to go before I could be on my way  and I wasn't looking forward to it.

Stasia was in the kitchen with Inez and as I walked in got the tail end of a story that I’d heard the day before. I quickly turned down the offer of eggs from Inez and suggested that Stasia should be thinking of getting back to her aunt’s. I told her that I had about twenty minutes of shoveling to go and then we’d be on our way. I thanked Inez profusely for her hospitality and said I’d see her at work on Monday and left. I’d just finished with the snow when I saw Stasia approach. I could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t happy. I even had a perverse thought that she might’ve preferred to stay with Inez.

Driving Stasia to the farm I couldn’t help but marvel at all the snow. I’d not seen that much since my junior year in college and that was in a known snow area. There were a few places where the road had only been cleared to one lane. I got the impression I was in a tunnel without a roof. As we drove on I began to worry that her driveway would be filled in with the snow from the road plows as many driveways were. I wondered if I’d have enough room to turn the wagon around. Stasia had been totally quiet, looking straight ahead. As I approached the driveway I could see that someone had not only plowed it but had cleared a lot of the snow left from the road plows. I figured it would be a close shave but managed to do it. The only utterance from Stasia when she got out was a soft ”Bye“ and a little wave of her hand. I sat in the wagon and watched as she walked away. I had a hard time accepting the fact that less than twelve hours before she’d opened her heart and mind to me and all I got was ”Bye“.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings ? (Part 103c)

As I sat on the bed to wait for Stasia finish up in the bathroom I noticed some light coming from between the pocket doors. They had been pulled together to make two rooms and I could see they were touching at the top but the further down I looked I could see more light. I went over to look closely and saw that at the very bottom I could get my hand in between the two panels. I put my eye up to the gap and could see the bed. The single bulb in the ceiling didn’t give off much light but I hoped it would be enough for me to watch Stasia get undressed. I heard the latch on the bathroom door so stayed crouching by the gap and watched her walk in and head for the foot of the bed. Then I saw her walk right past where I was watching. It actually made me pull my head back. She'd bee close enough for me to touch if I'd had my hand through the opening. Then I saw a lot more light and I remembered the Tiffany lamp I’d seen on the table by the bed. Stasia walked back and then reappeared on the other side of the bed. From where I was I could see her body from about mid thigh on up. When I saw her start to unbutton her blouse I started to get excited. She made it about half way down and then stopped and rebuttoned it and I wondered why.

Almost immediately I watched as she unbuttoned her skirt and let it slip to the floor. I could barely see her panties through her slip and I became  “reenergized”. It took only a few seconds for the slip to follow the skirt to the floor. The light was perfect for what I was focusing on. I expected Stasia to pull the covers back and to climb into bed but then I got far more than I was expecting. She bent over a little and was working on something on her right hip, the side I couldn’t see. Then she bent way over and turned enough that I could see the crotch line of her panties. There was something I noticed right at where the crotch line and the leg elastic met. But, because she was still moving I couldn’t make out just what it was. She then turned to her left hip and I could now see she was undoing the garters from her stockings. As soon as she did she put her hand inside the top of the stocking and then slowly bent over as she pushed the stocking down to the floor. I can't deny that it was "stimulating". I was hoping I’d get another peek at her backside and her crotch line. When she stood back up I thought the chance was gone but she then bent over at the waist and I got exactly what I wanted. She'd bent over to puck up her stockings and the rest of her clothes.  It only lasted a few seconds but it was more than I expected... and it was long enough for me to figure out that what I’d seen in her crotch line was a hole where the stitching had started to part. I don’t know why that excited me but it did.

The next thing I saw was Stasia get on bed and sort of crawl towards where the lamp was located followed by complete darkness. I then went and did my thing in the bathroom. When I returned I felt the blankets that were lying on the bed I made the decision I’d sleep in my clothes. They were a really rough wool and I really didn’t want then against my skin if I didn’t have to. I was wide awake and lay there wondering just what it was going to be like when I got up and how long it would take for me to get home. I’m sure I must’ve dozed off a time or two but the sound of crying woke me out of my stupor.

As I’ve written in earlier posts, crying females and I were like oil and water. I lay there for a while and it wasn’t just simple whimpering that I heard but rather violent sobs. I got up and went over to the pocket doors and called to Stasia but all I heard were the sobs. Then I went out into the hall and opened the door to her room. Even though it was dark I could see her in a fetal position and I could see her body softly heaving as she sobbed. I was concerned but hesitated before touching her. It was enough to get her to look up at me but she continued to sob. I know I had to have said something to her but still got no verbal response. All of a sudden she sat up and even with me sitting on the edge of the bed she bolted past me and out the door. I don’t know why but I just sat there for a minute or two. Finally, I got up and headed down the hall. As I did I could hear the sounds of retching and when I walked into the bathroom I saw her on her knees hunched over the toilet. Even in the ambient light I could see her panties but, believe it or not, it didn’t excite me.

I got a wet towel and gave it to her while she was still on the floor. I watched her take a few deep breaths and then signal for me to help her up. Back in the bedroom she just flopped her butt on the bed with her feet on the floor, staring at them. I didn’t have any idea what to say so just sat there waiting for her to speak. I honestly don’t remember what she said to break the silence but when she did she turned and looked right at me. I don’t think I’d ever seen a look like that before in my life. Her words came out like a flood.

I’ve thought long and hard about how to write this portion. I’ve decided to summarize it to say that Stasia had reached the point of no return and in the course of what she had to say admitted that she’d thought about suicide a time or two. In truth, what she told me corroborated what Judith (from the drugstore) and I had discussed about her. For all intents and purposes she was a “prisoner“. She told me that she had no ”life“ at all and saw no future. She admitted that she’d made a mistake by getting pregnant but couldn’t accept that she was to be punished for the rest of her life. She apologized for what had just happened and admitted that she’d worked herself up the same way a time or two before.

I had no answers for her. It wasn’t until she made a move to get back in bed that it dawned on me that she’d been sitting there in her panties all that time. I got a quick full crotch view as she crawled up past me and could clearly see the hole I’d discovered earlier. Fortunately I had my pants on. Again, if I said anything as I left the room I clearly don’t remember it.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103b)

Under normal conditions it would probably take no more than five minutes to walk from the bank to Inez’s house. It took us twenty and that was to just be standing in the street in front of it. The street had been plowed but it had been a while and when they did they spread salt on it. That meant we were trudging through about two inches of slush. My feet were wet and VERY cold and my face felt like if I were to smile it might break. I tried to block the snow and wind from hitting Inez and held her arm as we walked. Stasia was on her other side and I guess we pretty much dragged her most of the way. It was snowing so hard that I could barely make out the house even though it was probably no more that 25 feet away from where we were standing. The problem we faced was the path the great grandson had dug from her porch to the street was now filled in with blowing snow. There was no way Inez could make it so I made my way to the porch to get the shovel. The snow was knee deep and it was very hard to make my way. As bad as it was for me I felt badly that Satsia and Inez were standing in the street being buffeted by the wind and snow.

It probably took as much as a half hour for us to be inside the house. My hands ached from the cold and I had no feeling in my feet. When Inez opened the door it was like a flashback for me. We were in a vestibule very much like in the house where I lived during my sophomore year at college. There was a very large piece of furniture that had a bench where Inez collapsed. Our faces were so cold it was almost impossible to talk. I could only remember being that cold once in my life.

There was so much snow still on us we had to take our coats off before going inside. Once there Inez told me where I could find blankets which we promptly wrapped around ourselves. Without exaggeration I was fearful about how cold we’d all become. My hands and feet were now burning. Right or wrong I decided that what we all needed was to drink something warm so went into the kitchen and warmed up some water for us to drink. I think this was the longest that Inez had been quiet all day.

It took about an hour to be reasonably warm. It was during this period of time I got a chance to look around. The furniture was definitely antique and similar to my grandfather’s. The layout of the rooms was a combination of my grandfather’s house and that of the German professor’s house I lived in at college. What I would call the living room was, to Inez, the parlor and there was another room right behind it separated by two sliding pocket doors. They were pulled together with an opening about the size of a normal door between them. I could see a bed in there and that reminded me of what my father had done for my grandfather.

Poor Inez was still shivering in spite of the blankets and warm water. When I’d reached that point I realized that none of us had eaten anything since breakfast. I had never cooked anything except to warm water and Stasia was about the same so it was up to Inez. We got her out to the kitchen and she scrambled some eggs for us. I was never a big fan of eggs cooked in any fashion but they sure tasted good about then. Stasia called her aunt and I called Elle. She was doing well but worried about me. I described how much snow we had and she said she didn’t think that there was that much at home.

Unfortunately, with the warming came a return of Inez’s voice and Stasia and I were trapped. There was some relief around the time it got dark as the grandson showed up with some bread, milk and eggs. He was able to tell us that about 16 or 17 inches of snow had fallen and that the main road had been blocked with multiple drifts during the afternoon. It was while he was there that I got the distinct impression that Inez lived on eggs.

I wasn’t far off as that was what we were offered for supper. At least we had toast to add to the eggs. More stories from Inez followed. At around 8pm she declared that she was going to bed and told us there were two bedrooms upstairs and indicated that she wanted us to leave. She said that one had a bed that was made up and the other didn’t but there were blankets. I looked at Stasia and rolled my eyes. It did get a slight smile.

There was no doubt about the age of the house. The doors to the rooms had thumb latches. The bathroom was at the head of the stairs and when I walked in it was somewhat reminiscent of the one at my grandfather’s. There was a footed bathtub, a pedestal sink and a toilet and one light bulb in the ceiling with a pull chain. It was broken and even with me being over 6 feet tall i had to stretch to reach it. The fixtures seemed lost because of the size of the room, probably 10’ by 10’. It had probably been another bedroom when the house was built and there was no indoor plumbing. From there we walked down the hall to the bedroom facing the street. There was a fireplace with the opening closed off and a double bed with a high headboard and footboard. In seeing it I thought I was back at my grandfather’s upstairs bedroom. As on the first floor there were pocket doors on rollers. These were pulled together. Like the bathroom there was a single light bulb in the middle of the ceiling. On the far side of the bed was a small Tiffany lamp. It was pretty spartan. The bed appeared to be made up so I told Stasia to take it and I retreated to the back bedroom.

It was a bit of a shock. The room was basically the same size as the front one but the only furniture in it was a single bed... nothing else. My guess was that the furniture had been moved to the first floor for Inez. I’d told Stasia to use the bathroom first and that when I was done I’d turn out the light. If there was any conversation between the two of us I don’t remember it.

To be continued...

A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103a)

I wasn’t sure what work would be like never having faced year end reports so was a bit apprehensive. It turned out to nothing more than “numbers crunching” and more boredom. I’d been at the bank for four months and there really hadn’t been any news about the new computer. I didn’t know what to do about it though and didn’t want to make “waves” by asking so I basically suffered in silence.

I was using the station wagon to get to work, afraid to leave it for Elle with the prospects of trouble so high. It only took a few days to realize that the transmission wasn’t the only problem. It was burning oil at an alarming rate... almost a quart per tankful of gas. That knowledge just added to the confusion I already had about what to do with the transmission.

That Friday I woke up to find that it had snowed a bit overnight and was still snowing as I headed off for work. As I drove through Main St. the roads were fairly clear but as I headed East they got progressively worse. It appeared that there was more snow on the ground the further East I drove. Each township was responsible for the roads within it’s boundaries including the State roads. As I crossed over the line into the township where Elle’s and my parents lived the road conditions noticeably worsened. I remember thinking that the roads hadn’t even been plowed once. I was halfway to work by then so decided to just keep going. I was almost to the village where the bank was located when the wind and snow made seeing the road almost impossible. It took about 10 minutes to go less than a mile.

For all intents and purposes the station wagon was acting like a plow as I pulled into the bank parking lot. It hadn’t been plowed either. I was about 15 minutes late and as I couldn’t see any other vehicles thought that maybe the bank was closed for the day due to the weather. However, I saw the lights were all on. I pretty much abandoned the wagon in an open area just behind the building. I had to fight my way through at least 5 inches of snow on the ground plus the biting wind and snow to get to the back door. I was relieved to get inside and to be able to get warm.

The tally for attendance was seven. No one who had to drive to work, except me, was there. The only officer was Mona who, basically, lived next door. There were two tellers including Rich, Stasia who had come by bus, and two of the mortgage clerks. By ten o’clock there had only been three customers and two of them were there when the doors opened. By eleven Rich was pushing Mona to let us all go home. As an officer she knew that permission had to be given by the State banking department and she wasn’t going to do that. Rich, who didn’t much like Mona in the first place, decided he’d call Monte, the Chairman of the Board. Just before the noon siren blew at the fire house Mona got a call from him telling us to close up shop and to go home.

Mona, who had been reluctant to take any action, was the first to get her coat and head for the door, even before the vault was closed and locked. There was a bank rule that the door had to be locked by an officer... but she hadn’t gotten very far. There was a snow drift right across the back door about four feet high. Rich was the only one who knew where to find a snow shovel and he ended up digging through it for the rest to be able to get out. The reason for the big drift was that the wind was blowing 25 to 30 mile per hour. The snow was about six inches deep where the wind had blown it off so the people were able to navigate once they reached those areas. I turned towards my wagon and was shocked to see that the drift that had been across the door continued around the end of the building and had pretty much buried the front of it. I could see the back but the drift was up and over the hood. I was only outside for about three or four minutes but, without a hat and heavy coat I was chilled though and through so I headed back inside. The only ones left were Stasia and Inez.

Stasia was stuck until the bus came... if it was still running. Inez had been delivered to the bank by her great grandson in a four wheel drive truck and didn’t know how she was going to get home. To get there all she had to do was cross Main Street and go to the second house... not far. But, she was over 90 years old and probably weighed 100 pounds, if that. I knew I was there until the storm was over and the parking lot got plowed. Basically, three lost souls.

I’ve described Inez as being a non stop talker but, because I seldom worked in the area Inez occupied I really hadn’t suffered though one of her “memory trips”. I lasted through two before I interrupted her to say that we really had to come up with a plan of action. I got Stasia to call the bus company and I called Elle. I told Elle I had no idea when I’d be home but I’d call from time to time. By the time I got off the phone Stasia had heard the bad news that there would be no bus. My phone call probably lasted ten minutes and as soon as I hung up Inez started in again. I hated to do it but I told her that stories would have to wait and that she needed to get in touch with someone in her family to come and get her. I could tell she was “hurt” by the look on her face but it did prompt her to make some calls... about four. She did get to talk with her granddaughter but she was no help at all. When she hung the phone up after that call she looked at Stasia and I and shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to invite us to her house provided we could get her there. I honestly had to think about the offer before agreeing to it. My concern was my sanity. I wondered just how long I could put up with her babbling.

To be continued...

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102i)

I survived the ”inquisition“ when I arrived home but just barely. When I told her that I had arranged to go to Peggy’s father’s garage on Saturday to really find out what was the problem with the station wagon she backed off a bit. I told her how nice he’d been and how I felt uncomfortable in trying to leave. However, she did give me a one of those ”we’ll see“ type looks. Jean pestered me all afternoon as to when Peggy would be back. I told her I didn’t know but that Karen would be disappointed if she knew that she (Jean) didn’t want her to babysit anymore. That gave her something to think about and shut her up for a while.

I was at James’ gas station bright and early Saturday morning. He introduced me to a tall blond haired man, younger than me, telling me that he was his nephew, Eddie. James started to get in the wagon with me but Eddie stopped him and asked me to pop the hood. I asked why and he just said he wanted to look at something. I asked James what he was doing and all he did was to shrug his shoulders. I sat there while Eddie went from one side to the other and then shut the hood and waved us off. It was puzzling.

It took lees than a minute to get to the transmission shop. James introduced me to Gus, the owner. It was obvious that he was from the city by the way he talked. James proceeded to tell him about my experience with ”Alec“. The reaction wasn’t quite as dramatic as when I’d told James about it but it was noticeable. Gus told me that he’d check it out thoroughly and said he'd call James in about an hour. James and I walked back to his shop and then he introduced me to his other mechanic, Darren. He looked to be about my age and said he remembered my race car which made me feel good. I knew the driver he was helping so it was an enjoyable meeting. I liked him right from the start.

I just hung around the office watching just how busy the place was. James never let the smile leave his face as he was in and out waiting on the gas customers. It was obvious that his customers liked him. Every time the phone rang I thought it was the transmission guy. It was well over and hour before the call I was waiting for came in. James talked with him for quite a while and when he turned to me the smile was missing.

Long story short was that the transmission needed to be completely rebuilt. It wasn’t like so many other things on a car that you can unbolt and put a replacement part right on. My knowledge about automatic transmissions was non existent so my question was ”How much?“. James didn’t answer the question but interjected that a better solution might be to buy a transmission from a junk yard and take my chances with it. Even though I’d only known him for a few days I felt he was looking out for my best interests with that suggestion. However, I wasn’t ready to make that decision right then and there.

I picked up the wagon at the transmission place and headed home. Elle, because Christmas was on Friday, hadn’t done her weekly shopping and with me home could do it without the kids. I was happily playing with them when I got a call from Eddie up at the gas station. James had told him what the prognosis was on the transmission and he was calling to offer to help me if I decided to get a used one. I was pretty impressed that he, without knowing me at all, would make an offer like that. But, I wasn’t ready to make a decision... and I don’t remember why.

It was a typical Sunday what with church and then a visit to the hospital with my grandfather. After the church service, when Elle and I were collecting the kids, Karen came up to ask how we’d made out with Patsy. I told her about Patsy wearing the Elf costume and got a ”roll of the eyes“ look from her followed by another ”that’s soooo Patsy!“ comment along with a big smile. It gave me the opportunity to pursue my curiosity about the comment especially from a week ago. She was reluctant to explain but I pressed her saying that it was unfair for her to lead me on by having repeated the statement. I reminded her of when she first said it over at Patsy’s house when we’d gone there to meet her. That made her laugh but I could see she was still reluctant. I ”pushed“ a little more and she finally broke down telling me that Patsy had done the same thing (leaving off her uniform panties) at the memorial Day parade. I had to ask in what context that was in and now, laughing, told me that Patsy was a drum majorette in the school band. I can tell you that the image of this pretty girl, high stepping in front of all the people along the parade route, in a short skirt with just her regular panties on was pretty exciting to me. I was concentrating on that image when Karen grabbed me by the arm and, now all serious, pleaded with me not to let Patsy know that she’d told me. Of course, I did, but I will also tell you that the image is still vivid, even though I didn’t witness it in person.

When I arrived at my grandfather’s place I was greeted with the news that my father had found a replacement for Jan. Actually, it was a replacement for Edith as well. He’d found a retired nurse who was willing to move in and be a full time caretaker for my grandfather. In a bit of irony, my grandfather knew her mother from when they were kids. It was going to take some time to get everything organized but at least my parents would be able to move back home on a permanent basis. My grandfather seemed to be happy about the prospect which was also important. After the hospital it home to try and relax before heading back for another boring week at work.

To be continued... 

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho! (Part 102h)

I knew it was useless to expect any “loving” from Elle. Any time we had guests she was always concerned that they would hear us. The best I could do was to cuddle. When the “toilet alarm“ went off at 7am I knew that Elle had gotten up. The next thing I knew she was back but with the baby and a bottle. She told me that everybody was still asleep. The next thing was hearing laughter. I looked at the clock and was surprised to see it was now around 8:30am. I got up and pulled on a pair of pants, headed down the the hall and as I got to the living room found the girls on the sofa bed climbing all over Patsy, laughing as they did. From where I was standing they couldn’t see me so I just stood there and observed. Patsy was on her back and as soon as one would climb on she would lift her off and the other would take her place. After standing there for what seemed like a long time I saw Patsy roll over and she pretended like she was going to lay on top of them. When she did the hem of her gown ended up hung up on her back which gave me a side view of her panties, right up to the waist. I wasn’t expecting it but happily took the sight in for the few seconds it lasted. I figured I’d been lucky so turned and walked back down the hall. My guess is I was probably 8 to 10 feet away and from that perspective the panties sure looked like they were nylon. It made me wonder where the Carter’s panties fit into the whole picture.

Elle got up and made us all breakfast. While eating I finally got around to asking Patsy about her family. Her father was career Air Force and had retired four years ago as a Master Sergeant. Her mother was a ”local“ and the two had met when her father was stationed at the air base just down the road from where we lived. She wanted to come ”home“ and James had promised she could.  They had been back for almost four years. Patsy smiled and said that this was the longest time she’d spent anywhere since she was born. She told us she was born in Florida and had lived in six different places. I asked just what her father was doing now for work and she said he had the gas station right across from the high school. I knew just where it was because when Elle and I had played tennis at the school we drove right past it. I found it rather interesting in view of my recent experience with the station wagon. I mentioned that I owned and raced a car at the local track and Patsy said that one of the men who worked for her father went to the races all the time. That got my attention.

I, of course, had been hoping for more peeks of Patsy’s panties before she left but it didn’t happen. I tried to manipulate my way into the bathroom while her clothes bag was still there to see if I could get even a glimpse into the bag but it didn’t work out. After eating she took a shower and got dressed. By then it was after 10am. The girls, even Anne, didn’t want her to go. As I went out the door I could hear Jean crying.

Pulling into her driveway she told me to drive to the back as she would go in through the kitchen door. Approaching it and the back yard I saw one of the prettiest sights that a panty lover could see... a clothesline with panties hanging on it. The house wasn’t very big and neither was the back yard. There was a one car garage that took up about 1/3 of it. There was a T-pole clothesline ran across the rest of the backyard. The sun was shining right on the panties and my memory says there were at least six white pair, all the same. They sure looked like nylon and there wasn’t a band leg pair in sight which, based on my discovery of the Carter's panties the night before, was a bit puzzling. There were also a number of tap pant style panties that had to belong to her mother. Oh how I wished I could get out to investigate.

I ended up paying her for five hours feeling that the way she fit in with the kids was worth the extra money. I had a hard time getting her to accept it and because of the time it took James came outside to see if everything was OK. Patsy jumped out of the car and, excitedly, told him that I was a car racer. That did it. I ended up turning the car engine off and got out. Mistake! (as far as Elle was concerned)      
 
I won’t bore you with all that we discussed but will say that he was a ”motorhead“, through and through. Although he had never owned or raced a car he was very much interested and told me that one of his mechanics worked on a race car. He told me I should stop by the gas station to meet him. That gave me the opening to ask why he had ”mechanics“ if he just ran a gas station. With the same smile I’d seen on his face since the first time I’d seen him he told me that selling gas was only one part of what he did and proceeded to explain. I waited a short time before I told him about my recent misfortune with the station wagon. What I remember most about it was that when I mentioned ”Alec’s“ name he wrinkled up his face. That told me a lot! At that point he told me he was real good friends with the guy who ran a transmission repair facility just down the street from his place. He told me to bring the wagon over the next day and he’d take me down and introduce me to the owner who he assured me was a ”square shooter“. That way I’d get an honest opinion of just what was wrong with it.

With that out of the way he proceeded to open the garage door and proudly showed me a late 30’s Pontiac coupe that he was restoring. It still needed a lot of work but was in pretty good shape from what I could see. We spent a good bit of time in there as he gave me the history of the car. Over in the far corner of the yard was a dog house and I could see a basset hound sitting in front of it. I’d owned one back when I was training horses in North Carolina. I’d always liked them and asked James about where he’d gotten the dog as I hadn’t seen one since moving back. He laughed and said he ”won“ him in a card game when he was down South and still in the service. He started walking over towards the dog and I followed. Our path took us "dangerously" close to the wash line and my eyes were firmly fixed on the white panties. I was so close and really wanted to at least touch a pair... but I didn’t. It was hard listening to James knowing the panties were right over my shoulder. It was Patsy that broke up our conversation when she came out and scolded her father for ”bending my ear“. James was certainly a different man when not around his wife. I looked at my watch and saw it was past the noon hour. I’d been there for almost two hours and knew Elle would be upset. With both James and Patsy standing there I couldn’t turn and take one last look at the wash line but at least I’d gotten one up close look. As I drove away I hoped I’d get more chances.

To be continued...      
 

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102g)

As we walked up the path to the door Patsy stopped and slipped off her coat and handed it to me. She told me that she thought her entrance would be more “effective” as an elf and hoped that the kids would remember her from Sunday. Jean had taken over the door opening duties a while back so I stayed on the patio so I could watch her reaction when she opened the door. I wasn’t disappointed. She let out a little scream and then backed off and started running around the living room. I followed Patsy inside and saw Anne cowering in the hall, not totally unexpected. Patsy made hand motions for Jean to calm down and then squatted down to have her come over and to give her a hug. I liked the view!. As this took place I looked down and saw four different colors... flesh, a strip of white, a strip of green and then the red of the waistband for her skirt.

Elle had been putting the baby down for the night and wasn’t too happy with the hyper activity exhibited by Jean just before she was to go to bed and expressed it to her. Patsy apologized and said she’d play with her to get her calmed down. I remember Elle shrugging her shoulders in a manner as to indicate she gave in. I was still in my suit from work and as the party was to be casual I wanted to change. Elle was already dressed and looked as if she was ready to go off to school to teach. It was a lesson I was slowly learning about the mind of a female. “Casual” had a whole different meaning to a woman than it did to a man.

After changing I walked down the hall and found Patsy sitting in the middle of the living room floor. She was facing me and sitting yoga style. Seeing her that way took my breath away as the skirt for the costume was probably less than 12 inches from waist to hem and even though she’d tucked it into her crotch there was an awful lot of flesh showing. Elle was on the phone with her mother so I didn’t have to worry about her seeing what I was looking/staring at. Jean had given her one of her dolls and my two girls had their new princess dolls and were walking in circles around her. I had no idea what they were pretending to be doing but I saw Patsy reach back to grab Jean. When she did one of her legs went up in the air and I saw her crotch and hip get exposed. The light from the table gave me a good view and even though the pants were green I was sure I saw a band leg indicating that her green pants were really just panties. I only had a few seconds to see it but it was enough to get my attention. I knew I’d seen a bit of white when I saw Patsy squatting down in front of me (DP) when we first walked in. I just found it interesting that she might actually be wearing two pair of panties.

When we left for the party I asked Patsy if she wanted me to make up the sofa bed for her. She said she’d be fine the way it was until we returned. I told her it would probably be before midnight and she just smiled. The party was OK... nothing special. There were around two dozen couples and a few singles there. Elle recognized more people than I did but she’d pretty much been around the park for the past four months. The only one I truly remember was this middle aged round faced woman. She was one of the few who wore slacks and she filled them out nicely. I managed to get a couple of vivid VPL’s. Loved those slacks/pants on females!

Patsy was curled up asleep in the swivel rocker with a blanket wrapped around her when we walked in. We startled her and she jumped up and I could see she was still in the elf outfit. Elle went down the hall to check on the kids and to also use the bathroom and I started setting up the bed. Patsy picked up her bag and waited for Elle to reappear. As she walked down the hall I was hoping that her night gown would be at least a little revealing. When she returned I was not totally disappointed. She had on a flannel gown that was just above her knees. I would’ve preferred a nylon, see through gown.

Elle was already in bed when I made my way down the hall. I still had to wash up and use the toilet and when I walked into the bathroom I saw Patsy’s bag on top of the washing machine. More importantly, I saw the elf costume on top of the bag. I really wanted to peek into the paper bag to see what kind of panties she wore but was afraid to touch it for fear that Elle would hear the rustle of the paper. I stood there using the toilet and staring at the bag. When I flushed the toilet I realized that I’d missed a chance to peek into the bag. I ran the water in the sink but it was pretty much noiseless. Disappointed at myself I concentrated on the costume remembering that I’d thought that the green pants Patsy was wearing under the skirt looked a lot like panties. I picked up the skirt and right there in front of me were the green pants. Even though they were green I pretty much recognized the waist elastic as being they kind that was used on the Carter’s Spanky Pants. I quickly found the elastic and, sure enough, there was the label, right in the middle of the back of the panties. Carter’s was the only manufacturer who placed their label there. When I looked at the label itself I was still able to make out the name and size even through it had been dyed green... but noted that it was different from the panties in Elle’s drawer. That made me look more closely at the panties themselves.

I spread them out on the counter next to the sink and the first thing I noticed was that the crotch area was noticeably longer from front to back. I also noticed that it was narrower from side to side right in the middle. I knew right away that I liked the longer crotch because it would mean a much better chance for a VPL but wasn’t pleased with the other change. In any case it gave me something to think about when I climbed into bed.
 
To be continued...

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102f)
 
I saw Elle walking through the dining room towards us and the look on her face told the story... at least to me. Patsy, as she returned down the stairs, blithly flipped up the hem of her skirt to show that she now had the rest of her costume on. Even though it was just a quick flip of the hem I swore they looked like regular panties only they were a dark green to match the rest of the outfit. With everybody now reassembled it was time to get the answer we’d come for. Patsy’s mother took over and stated that Patsy was available but that she (the mother) had reservations about having Patsy “out on the road” on New Years Eve. I jumped in and said that we lived less than 15 minutes away. James spoke up saying that it only took a few seconds for an accident to happen. A quick look at Patsy’s face told me that she wasn’t at all happy about her parent’s position. Some more words were spoken and then Patsy, looking straight at Elle, asked if it would be OK to stay over. That caught all of us by surprise and the first to speak was the mother who promptly scolded Patsy for being so rude. Even though I really didn’t want to go to the party it only took me a few seconds to conclude that I’d like to have her stay over. But, it was going to be up to Elle and the mother to make a decision. Elle, to me, was obviously uncomfortable. I’d noticed that from the time she’d returned from the bathroom and assumed that she’d “missed” and was standing there in wet panties and wanted to leave. The mother was in the process of telling Patsy to apologize when Elle interrupted by saying that it was perfectly OK. I was looking at Patsy’d face when Elle said it and the smile was from ear to ear.

Once she agreed to the idea Elle started moving towards the door. Taking the cue I told Patsy that I’d pick her up around 8:30pm but she then asked if I could come around 8pm as it would give her more time for the kids to adjust to her before we left. Elle was already out on the front stoop when I said that would be fine. We were getting into the wagon when I mentioned it to Elle and, already upset, she snapped back at me that she’d hoped to have the kids in bed by then. I didn’t say a word.

We had to take Karen home and by the time we dropped her off it was well after noon time. I normally picked my grandfather up around 11:30am or so to go to the hospital and was way late for that. It appeared that it was going to be “just one of those days”. I waited until we were back home before asking how bad her “miss” was. I don’t remember her exact words but it was along the lines of that it was something that I would’ve liked. It was enough to create some “stirrings” in my nether region.

My father had told my grandfather about the troubles with the station wagon on Christmas and my grandfather, still a bit upset about my being late to pick him up, started in on me about having sold the car he’d given me for my graduation from college. I just sat there, not saying a word. The way the day had gone so far I just knew that it wouldn’t be productive to try and justify (again) the reasons. He gave me a bit of an opening when he asked what I was going to do about getting the vehicle fixed. I decided not to mention my experience with “Alec”, the relative, not wanting to upset him what with "Alec" being related. However, by the time we got to the hospital I changed my mind and told him the whole story. He didn’t appear to be that upset and told me to go back and demand that “Alec” make good on the work that he’d done. I already knew that’s what I should do but was afraid that if I did I’d get mad and say (or do) something I’d regret.

I took the wagon to work on Monday and debated with myself all day about stopping at “Alec’s” on my way home. I didn’t decide until I was just about at his shop and when I pulled in I saw him duck inside. I parked and went into the office. The only one there was a woman and when I asked for “Alec” she told me he wasn’t there. When I told her I’d just seen him come inside she just stared at me and said it must’ve been someone else. I wasn’t “quick” enough to ask where that “someone” had disappeared to. Frustrated, I left and knew right then and there I wasn’t going to get any satisfaction from “Alec” then or in the future.

With New Years Eve being the last business day of the year I’d been forewarned that there wouldn’t be any early exit from work like At Christmas and Thanksgiving. By the time I got home there was just enough time to get a bite to eat before leaving to pick up Patsy. Elle had relented and decided to let the girls stay up to see Patsy.  I pulled into her driveway, went to the door and was greeted by James. He still had the big smile on his face that I’d seen the first time I saw him. However, on this occasion he was rather “chatty”. It took a minute or two to realize that his wife wasn’t there and I smiled as I did. After exchanging pleasantries for a short while James called up the stairs to Patsy. As he did he looked at me and uttered but one word... “Women!” but still with the smile.

Patsy came bouncing down the stairs wearing the elf costume she was wearing on Sunday. I mentioned the “bouncing” because it gave me a few quick peeks under her skirt. I knew the chances of her not being fully dressed were slim to none but it did get my heart racing. She explained that she thought the kids would be more accepting of her if she did. After putting on her coat she picked up a paper shopping bag which I assumed were her clothes. James told her to call him if there was a problem and then kissed her on her cheek as we walked out the door. All the way home I wondered if I was going to get the opportunity for any peeks. All I could do was hope.

To be continued...   
 

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102e)

I parked the wagon in the space next to the unit as usual and, still fuming, went inside. Elle knew me well enough not to “push” me for answers as to why I was mad. The experience with “Alec” threatened to ruin what should’ve been a nice quiet evening at home with my wife and kids. When I finally calmed down Elle asked me if I would go to a New Years Eve party being held at the meeting hall right there in the park. When we moved into the park there were two active social clubs... the 1849ers for those within that age range and the Golden Agers (GA’s) for those over 50. Both had been inactive for a while. The GA’s because most of them had moved to Dick and Ben’s new mobile home park designed just for them. The problem with the 1849ers was that the “movers and shakers” who had behind the creation of the club moved on and no one had stepped up to carry the cause forward. However, there were now a lot more in that age bracket what with the GA’s moving out and a few couples volunteered to try and revive it. Elle had been asked what she thought about having a New Years Eve party as a starting point one day while she was up at the mailboxes. Thinking that it would be a good way to meet some of the new people she said she was in favor of it... but this was the first I’d heard about it. Having me in a better frame of mind would’ve probably been better but time was running out on making a decision. Reluctantly, I said OK. The only problem was we needed a babysitter.

Elle’s plan was to ask Karen while we were at church the next day. We loaded the kids in the wagon and I got in and put the wagon in gear. Because of where we normally parked the wagon I had to put in reverse to get out into the street. Nothing happened. I heard the engine rev up (and saw smoke from the exhaust out behind the vehicle) but not even a wiggle of movement.

I’d promised Elle that I wouldn't swear in front of the kids but there was no way to hold back my feeing at that moment. The air was “blue” as I got out and raised the hood. I had scared the kids and realized it when I returned to turn off the ignition. Elle had promised to help out with the “greetings ”committee at church and was now upset at both me and the situation. I took a deep breath (maybe three or four) and headed for the trunk of my car and fetched my chain. I got Elle to steer the wagon as I pulled it out from the parking space. Once out in the street we, silently, headed for church.

We were a bit late but Elle was still able to fulfill her duties as a greeter. After the service Elle went to ask Karen about sitting for us on New Years Eve while I put the girls coats on. I could see Karen shaking her head in a negative manner which didn’t really bother me. Even though I’d agreed to go to the party I’d only done it because I felt badly about how I’d acted when I came home after paying “Alec” to fix the wagon. If we didn’t go it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all. I’d gotten away from the party scene and hadn’t attended even one with my sailing friends during the Summer. But... Elle’s conversation with Karen continued and the two of them came over to me. Karen had suggested a good friend of hers. That wasn’t good news as far as I was concerned and I could tell Elle wasn’t overly excited about it either. Then Karen’s mother walked up to us. After hearing Elle’s concerns she told us that Karen’s friend was a nice girl and came from a good family. She suggested that Karen take us over to the girl’s house to meet her. I figured Elle would turn the offer down but she didn’t.

I parked out front of the house in stead of the driveway so that I would be able to leave without having to put the car in reverse. Karen got out and went to the door to make sure her friend was there. A tall, balding man answered and I could see a big smile on his face. A minute later he was standing on the stoop and waving for us to come on in. As I helped Elle to get out I wondered how I’d gotten myself into this situation. I was not comfortable at all and still very agitated about the station wagon. We were greeted at the door by the man. He introduced himself as “James” and he promptly introduced his wife, Estelle. She, of course, fawned over the baby as most women do when they see an infant. As I watched I realized that the person we’d come to meet wasn’t there. After the introductions I saw feet and bare legs coming down the stairs. I had to do a double take because I was looking at an elf dressed in green and red... or a very pretty girl dressed like one. She said a boisterous “Hi!” to Karen and then turned to Jean with an equally emphatic “... and who are you?” I was pleasantly surprised that Jean wasn’t intimidated and went ahead and told her her name. Anne, the middle daughter, had her head buried into Elle’s skirt, too shy to want to be seen. The girl’s name was Patsy and her mother introduced us. After that I just I had to ask about the elf costume.

Patsy was a volunteer Candy Striper at the hospital and for the holidays they had all dressed as elves. After she cheerfully explained her mother told us that it had been Patsy’s idea. I stood there looking at this particular elf totally impressed with not only her personality but also her looks. I also noticed that the skirt was very short and immediately wondered what she was wearing under it. Elle suddenly asked if she could use the bathroom and handed me the baby. The mother pointed her in the direction of the kitchen and, to save time, I proceeded to ask Patsy if she was available for babysitting on New Years Eve. She had come over to me to try and get Anne, who was now clinging to my leg, to talk and was squatting down next to me. Before she could answer her mother butted in and actually asked the same thing that I’d been thinking only a minute or so ago. Patsy, reacting, looked down as she spread her legs to see. I was too close to get more that a glimpse of white. Patsy jumped up and went running up the stairs with Karen laughing as she went. Karen said something along the lines of "... that is sooo Patsy!" as she continued to laugh. I saw her mother roll her eyes as she looked at her husband who hadn't said a word once we were inside the house. It was pretty funny.

To be continued...