WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108d)

Memorial Day was on Sunday but it was celebrated on Monday. Not having to work was nice except that Elle had a full day planned for me. Her mother had given us three small bushes to plant in front of our unit. She thought the front looked “tacky” and that we needed to hide the hitch that was used to tow it from the factory. On top of that Elle wanted me to till the vegetable garden so she could plant her seeds. Right before lunch I heard Jean, my oldest, yelling at me that I had a phone call. One of her birthday presents was that she was now allowed to answer the telephone and this was the first call. I wasn’t expecting any calls so no matter who it was it was going to be a surprise. When I heard J J’s voice I just knew it wouldn’t be good.

He was to move into his new “digs” the next day and had decided that he’d get a head start so brought some of his things from his home in the city. He had the key but had expected that Art would be there to help him bring a desk inside. Of course he didn’t bother to call and ask first and when he got there no one was at the main house. He was calling me from a gas station just down the road and wanted me to come and help him.

I don’t really know how to explain J J. Charismatic is a word that comes to mind. In the short time I’d known him I’d come to like him (it was incredibly hard not to) even though I felt some of his thought processes were off kilter. Even though I'd only met his wife once I'd decided that I didn't like her at all. I asked if she was with him because if she was I wouldn’t have agreed to go but I told him I’d be there in a half hour. Elle thought that this was some sort of “deal” that I’d worked out to avoid working in the yard. In spite of her obvious displeasure I told her I’d be back within two hours.

J J was waiting at the gas station. Ironically, my brother had just started working there. He’d finally graduated from college (six years, fully matriculated, to get a four year degree) and was now pumping gas. It was the first time I’d seen him since Christmas. I introduced him to J J and then we were on our way. I basically knew the location of the main house although I’d never paid much attention to it. It was on one of the roads that the county had made modifications to eliminate two dangerous curves. I hadn’t been on it since the by-pass was opened about eight years prior. I followed J J and when he made the left turn into the driveway I couldn’t see the house. There was a line of trees that blocked a view of it from the road. As we drove past the house I didn’t see the guest house. What I did see was one of those fold up clothes lines that I hated and I saw a couple of bras and slips hanging from it. But we kept on going. There was another line of trees and when we drove in behind them I saw a small, square cottage. I stopped the car and looked at the size of it knowing there was no way that two adults and four (soon to be five) kids could live in it. I thought it must be a joke.

In a way it was. J J admitted that he’d gotten tired of commuting five hours a day. His wife had told him that if he really expected her to move out to “the sticks” he was going to have to build her a house that she wanted. He told me he was embarrassed and that he was sorry he’d “fibbed”. That led him to ask if I knew any property that was for sale. I didn’t but I remembered that Artie, the mortgage officer from the bank where I used to work, had told me that his bank had made a loan on some nice property where a new development was planned. He’d told me that when I was ready to build that he’d be able to help me out on the land. After passing that on to J J we unloaded his desk and his other belongings.

We ended up talking about the main house. Even though I’d lived in the town as a boy I knew nothing of the history of it. As we were driving out J J suddenly stopped. He walked back to my car and encouraged me to go for a walk with him around the house. Where we’d stopped put me in view of the clothes line. Even though I knew I’d get home late I willingly got out and followed him to the prominent bow window facing the gardens. To get there we walked right past the clothes and, much to my great glee, on the side that I’d not seen were four pair of panties... three pastel bikini’s and one pair of full briefs. Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while know that one of the things I relished was in seeing (and knowing) what kind of panties females that I knew, wore. Even though I'd consciously been avoiding Amy the sight of her panties was "stimulating". I found the combination a bit interesting... and wished that J J wasn’t with me at that time so I could inspect the labels. It was still a good sighting.

By the time we made it around the whole house and peered through as many windows as we could reach I was definitely going to be late getting home. Somewhere along the line I’d mentioned that my parents lived in the area and on the water. He asked if I’d show him and although I knew I was in for “hot tongue and cold shoulder” when I got home said I’d take him there. The main reason was that there was slight chance that he could be related to my mother as his surname was the same as one of those in my mother’s family tree. They were all Irish and both families were rooted in the city. I figured “why not?” and we headed off.

To be continued...