CATCHING UP... a bit (Part 123g)

CATCHING UP... a bit (Part 123g)

Elle left me to babysit Kaye, not wanting to have to drag her around. I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t been doing a tune up on my car. Upon their return they went right to Celia’s. It was mid afternoon by the time she and the kids finally pulled up our driveway. Of course she had to tell me all about their trip even though I wasn’t all that interested. Sophie had been very pleased with all the attention she got. The ”hi-light“ was after the luncheon when they all shared a banana split. When the waitress heard it was Sophie’s birthday she found a candle and put it on the top. As far as the shopping part went Elle didn’t want to go into detail but I prevailed. It was obvious her heart had been in control. I prevailed and she gave me the total dollars spent. It was around $80 to $85 dollars. To be truthful I thought it would be more but the one item(s) that got my attention was the panties.

Wanting to be frugal, Elle started at W T Grant, an upscale 5 & 10 cent store and then went to Woolworth’s. While there she happened to see some ribbed cotton band leg panties on the table with all the other ones Woolworth’s sold. Curious, because they looked so much like the Carters Spanky Pants she wore, she saw the price was only 59 cents. Over the Summer months she’d seen the somewhat raggedy nylon panties that Sophie wore and thought that these would be a good buy. I’m smiling as I write this because up to that point I don’t think Elle had ever bought a pair of panties. In any case, there were only a few in the bin so she asked a salesperson if they had any more. The lady came back with a box and Elle told her she’d take all twelve of them. It was at about this point I asked if Sophie had ”missed“ and wet herself. That brought a big smile to Elle’s face.

Before leaving, and thinking ahead, she’d spoken to Celia and asked her if she’d ever used the ”package“ that Elle had put on Sophie when she’d stayed overnight with us. Elle had explained her own incontinence at the time and the purpose of the combination of multiple cotton panties, sanitary pads and the plastic panty. Celia said she hadn’t and Elle asked why. It was plain and simple... she didn’t have the money for the sanitary pads. Elle than asked if it would be OK to have Sophie wear the ”package“ for their trip and that way there wouldn’t be a worry about an ”accident“. She did and there wasn’t which was the main reason Elle bought the panties. She also added a whole box of sanitary pads as well as a brand new pair of plastic panties for Sophie. Sitting there listening to Elle go over her day and purchases I couldn’t help but be proud of her.

Tuesday night was to be the third practice for the basketball team that Johnnie had put together. We’d gotten together the previous Tuesday with about the same results as for the first meeting... not good. I walked in the door and Elle greeted me with an instruction for me to go over the Celia’s. I knew she was leaving in the morning and had planned on stopping over to say my good byes before going to work. I asked if she had any idea of why she wanted to see me. Elle kind of wrinkled up her face when she told me that she needed help in packing her car. I just knew it wasn’t going to be good.

After grabbing a bite to eat I made my way through the hedge and saw a pile of boxes next to Celia’s car. It was a 1948 Packard... a ”boat“ if there ever was one. I saw the first problem and it was the boxes were too big to fit in the car. The next was that there were too many of them. I asked if she had any smaller boxes and she motioned for me to follow her inside. There were about seven or eight and they were filled as well. I knew Celia wasn’t going to like what I had to ask... ”Do you need all of these things?“ I remember clearly that there was no hesitation in her answer when she said ”Yes!“ I knew then I needed help in dealing with Celia on this and the only person I could think of was Elle. I went home to call Johnnie to let him know I couldn’t make the practice and to also try and persuade Elle to come over and reason with her.

Long story short... Elle called Susan (from the ”panty house”) to come over and watch the kids and then came over to help me out. Celia listened to Elle and culled out almost all of her husband’s old things as well as more than half her own. When it came to Sophie’s things it was even easier because of the new clothes Elle had bought for her. Most were pants and blouses and with the promise that Celia would keep Sophie in a “package“ there was no need to save the faded and stained dresses that she normally wore. By around 10:30pm I had repacked all the smaller boxes and had them safely into the car. What was left was mostly kitchen items and we finally got her to agree that her sister probably had all the same ones at her house. I wasn’t physically tired but mentally... it was a different story. It was another reminder that the mind of a female is totally different than that of a male.

Celia and Sophie were on their way to a new life at around 9am the next morning. Celia had given me the keys so John (my farmer neighbor) and I could get the furniture he’d bought out of the house. When we were done we were to give them to Vic so he could start showing the house. I called John and we agreed to do it after Thanksgiving. That was fine by me. I’d seen far too much of the house over the past week.

When I called Johnnie and told him I couldn’t make the practice I could tell he was upset. I tried to explain but he just hung up the phone. I called him Wednesday night and was told that there was no more team. I tried to get an explanation but all I got was the click of the disconnect. I was more concerned about the way Johnnie felt towards me at that moment than about the team. After the second practice I had a feeling that he’d bitten off more than he could handle. I enjoyed the exercise and being around the guys but it was obvious that we all had different agendas. Thinking about it for a while I was glad that it was over.

Thanksgiving was probably the most laid back one we’d experienced since moving back to the area. Elle’s parents went to visit her father’s only living relative which meant all we had to do was watch the parade on TV and then go and eat turkey at my parents house. My mother told Elle to ”take a day off’ and wouldn’t let her in the kitchen. I remember her sitting and watching the waves break on the shore and saying that’s what her dream life would be like.   
 
To be continued...