MORE GOOD TIMES... August (Part 120e)

MORE GOOD TIMES... August (Part 120e)

It was hard for her not to say anything but I persevered. I did admit that I probably should have told her when I first noticed the missing suit panties but I was sincere when I told her I was positive that Ginger had not noticed. It took some doing but I got her to say she believed me. At that point she reminded me about my promise to buy her the outfit she wanted from the Sears catalog and asked me to follow her into the kitchen. The catalog was open and I saw a three piece, plaid wool set made up with a skirt, vest and cape, with the cape acting as a coat. I liked what I saw as far as the clothes were concerned but looking at the price I took a deep breath... again. I’d told her that I’d get it for her as a birthday present. Her birthday was in October and, as of October first, I’d be eligible to borrow against my trust again. I shook my head affirmatively only to hear her say that I had to order it right away. Being early August she was afraid that if I waited they’d be all gone. I remembered I had a Sears credit card that I’d taken out when I was buying and selling cars but hadn’t used all that much since then. I told her that I’d place the order at lunch time on Monday. That news didn’t take all the ”heat“ off me but it sure helped.

On Thursday morning the big question was were we still going on the planned family sailing trip. Just to be on safe side I waited until everybody was up and eating breakfast before asking. The decision to go wasn’t unanimous but Elle made the most important one. Because of the delay in deciding we got a late start. Among the lessons Elle and I had learned on our trip on Monday was that the girls needed to wear their sneakers. Big B had varnished his floorboards and they were very slippery when wet. We’d also discovered some hardware (cleats) that were just lying in wait to ”bite“ anyone not paying attention. We brought along some of my old socks to wrap around them hoping that it would soften the blow should one of the kids run into one. By the time we got away from the dock it was almost noon.

Elle wore her pink seersucker bating suit, the one piece one that looked like a playsuit. I liked that one too as it was the one where she wore a pair of her regular panties in place of the sewn in ones. It didn’t take much movement for me to get my ”peeks“ in. Elle really didn’t like having the kids out in the noonday sun so she put a time limit on our voyage saying we had to be back at the dock around two o’clock. We motored out into the bay before hoisting the sails. There was definitely more wind than we’d had on Monday but not too much. Because the boat was heeling with more wind Elle had to hold on to Kaye which didn’t make her very happy. Jean, our oldest, didn’t really know what to make of it and with every puff I could see her eyes bug out a bit. On the other hand, Anne just loved it. With the wind there were waves and with waves there was some splashing of water up into the cockpit. Anne positioned herself so the spray would hit be sure to hit her.

I’d hoped for the trip to be an opportunity for the older girls to learn a bit about a boat with two sails but there was too much wind for that. I did offer Anne the chance to help me steer the boat. At least she thought she was helping. I had to give her credit for being willing to give it a try. We made it back to the dock a little early and because we hadn’t had any calm water to take a lunch break Elle broke out the sandwiches and cookies. For Anne, anyway, that was the icing on the cake. All in all I gave the trip a grade of ”B”. By the time we got home and all cleaned up Elle was back to what I called normal. I just knew I had to “behave” to keep it that way.

I called Jay at work and confirmed that he’d be at the house “as early as possible” , the next day. He qualified that by adding that it was really subject to getting Jo and his daughter organized.  I was pretty much ready, having transplanted two rose bushes the night before and set the cement blocks that would act as the footing for the “bump out” addition to the garage. I was in the garden looking at my handiwork when Elle walked up behind me. Still feeling a mite bit guilty I wondered what was up. When I turned around to look at her she had a bit of a sheepish smile on her face. I returned the “look” and waited for the the shoe to drop... and it did... but it wasn’t all that bad.

When we’d gone to Judith’s boutique a few weeks back Elle hadn’t seen anything jump out at her. However, she did make a statement that a striped dress she’d looked at was “cute” and, in hearing that, I had told Judith to put it aside for me. And then, in a moment of weakness and to get a few pictures told her I’d get it for her. I’d forgotten about it but she hadn’t. Standing there in front of me with a sheepish smile still on her face she hinted that since I wasn’t involved in a project at that moment that I could go and get it for her. I hesitated for a few seconds and her look changed to more of a pleading one. Knowing that I had a bit of an upper hand I decided to take a bit of a risk and said I’d do it if I could have a picture. She wrinkled up her face and with it still that way sort of hissed out and asked when. I told her I didn’t know yet and then she kind of whispered “OK”. I was on my way within seconds.

It was about a twenty minute drive to Judith’s store. On my way it came to me that Elle hadn’t tried the dress on so I was concerned about the size of the one that Judith was supposed to put away for me. Another thing was that I knew Elle’s preferences for color and they were mostly pastels and bright. As I remembered the dress it was quite dark even though it had horizontal stripes of many colors running through it. Judith was happy to see me but when I asked about the dress she said she’d sold it since I hadn’t contacted her about picking it up. Upon hearing that my heart sank. I’d worked so hard to get back in Elle’s “good graces” and now it would be gone when I showed up at home without the dress.

To be continued...