SETTLING IN... or down, or something like that (Part 116d)

SETTLING IN... or down, or something like that (Part 116d)

When I woke up I remember thinking that I'd really bit off more than I could chew. With the mobile home it took but 10 minutes to mow my "postage stamp" yard. It had taken me well over an hour and the scary part was that I'd have to do it again in probably less than a week. Elle was outside trying to clean up what had been a formal flower garden so I knew what was in store for me for the rest of the afternoon.

The next morning we were all getting in the station wagon to go to church when I spied my jacket lying on the seat. That's when I remembered there was something in the pocket. I know I “flushed” when I saw the jacket and I hoped that Elle hadn’t noticed. Later, back at home, I wanted to take the jacket but Elle wanted me to carry our youngest, Kaye. At the door she asked how I’d gotten the jacket wet. I almost dropped the baby. I honestly don’t remember my answer. I do remember that the older two were fussing with each other and Elle stepped in to separate them and threw the jacket over the back of a chair. I never took my eyes off it hoping that Elle would go in the living or some other room allowing me to get whatever it was out of the pocket. It didn’t work that way. She ended up busying herself with getting snacks for the kids. I wasn’t really hungry but asked her to make me some scrambled eggs. There was a method to my madness as I knew she’d have to go into the refrigerator to get the eggs. I only needed a few seconds to grab the mystery item and that move gave it to me. With it firmly ensconced in my hand I headed for the bathroom. I took a deep breath as I allowed it to unfold over the sink. It was a pair of still damp, well worn white nylon panties. As much as I wanted to take a close look at them and find the label I didn’t want to take too long so folded them up and stuffed them in my pants pocket. I knew Elle wouldn’t go there so I felt I was safe.

It took until after lunch for me to get the close look at the panties that I was now dying to see. In just the few seconds I'd handled them I could fee that they had the satiny feel that I so loved. Once out in the garage and in my car I pulled them out. There were a number of things that jumped out at me. First was the crotch. It was about as wide as the original Carter's Spanky Pants, four and 1/2 inches. In all the panties I'd seen and handled I'd never see nylon panties with a crotch that wide. The next thing I noticed was that it didn't have as much of a curve to it on any of the sides especially around the leg openings. The third thing was the leg elastics. That, too, was a first. It wasn't lace but it was lace like. The waist elastic wasn't all that unique but it seemed to be quality and it did have the word "second" stamped on it. The disappointment came when I tuned the panties inside out and there wasn't a label. By that point I was already planning my next wash line "raid".

The "no-name" panties

I'd done my inspection inside the garage and car and even though the sun was out there wasn't very much light. I went outside to make sure Elle was around and, not seeing her, held them with the afternoon sun shining on them. I'd said they were well worn but in the light of day it was obvious that these panties had been wet many times by the staining in the crotch area. It added some mystery to the girl next door.

Elle had wanted me to get the whole upstairs painted as soon as I got everybody paid off. I'd only painted our room as neither of us could stand the watermelon color but had put off doing the girls rooms for lack of money. Initially, the two older girls had elected to sleep together in the same room. They'd done it from the time they were old enough to be in a real bed. The room they chose was painted a dark beige which made the room look dull. The girls had elected lavender for their color. The youngster's room had been white but she (read that as Elle) had decided on pink. There wasn't much furniture in either room which made it an easy job. It only took two nights to finish them both. That left the Northwest bedroom. Elle decided that a bright yellow would be appropriate. The difficulty was that it had been the room for one of the previous owner's sons and his color of choice appeared to be a steel blue. Whatever it was, yellow didn't cover it very well and I was bound and determined to do it in one night.

The four bedrooms were exactly the same size. The interior wall housed the all closets which, considering that the house was built in 1934, were ample. However, the room I was painting had two closets. One was a small cedar closet and Elle had already put our wool clothes in it. I'd only been in it once and noticed that there was a raised floor with a drawer under it. While waiting for the first coat of paint to dry I decided to see what, if anything, was in the drawer. It was no surprise to see it empty. What was a surprise was that it wasn't very deep, maybe two feet. I don't know why but I pulled it all the way out. Looking inside it looked like there were some papers way in the back of the cavity. I got a flashlight and when I looked in confirmed that there was an  envelope and loose papers inside. I reached in and pulled them out. There was no writing on any of it but the envelope had something inside. I ripped it open and did a double take... it was money.

To be continued...