SPRINGING AHEAD... A busy time (Part 127c)
I knew I had to be
patient when asking Elle about Sandy but it was hard. The smile that had
been on her face was one that I’d come to know was going to cost me
something. After a little ”bartering“ (the cost of which was for a new
Spring outfit) she started in to tell me. Since the middle of February
she said Sandy had told her she’d been very ”uptight“ and hadn’t been
feeling all that well. She went to her regular doctor who prescribed a
tranquilizer to calm her down. She was supposed to take one first thing
in the morning but had a hard time remembering to do it and, on this
day, mistakenly, had taken two. She told Elle she felt like she was
drunk and that her legs were like rubber but she insisted on being at
the game. Johnnie was concerned but got her to her regular seat behind
the bench but she hadn’t remembered to visit the rest room. When she
tried to get up to go her legs wouldn’t hold her up so she sat back
down. Johnnie had to be there an hour before the game and there were no
people there to help her so she proceeded to just sit there and wet
herself. Between the tranquilizers and her embarrassment she wasn’t the
usual hyperactive Sandy that we were used to see at the games. We were
in bed with the lights out and under the covers when Elle told me this.
It always bothered Elle when I’d show ”excitement“ when I’d see the
panties of another female or to see (or hear) about a wetting ”accident“
so I had to be especially careful what with she and Sandy being such
good friends. When I didn’t comment I think Elle might've asked if I was
still awake. I don’t remember how I responded but I do remember
thinking that I’d just spent almost two hours sitting next to a woman in
wet pants and hadn’t even known it. That upset me!
One thing for
sure was that the incident with Sandy had taken my mind off Peggy and
Laura’s problems... until the morning. I had a meeting with one of the
service bureaus who the bank was considering to process our deposits and
withdrawals. I should’ve been thinking about that but was consumed with
thoughts of what was soon to happen with Peggy's return. The meeting
was with with a regional commercial bank who maintained their own
operations center. I met with the two men who oversaw the center, Alan
and Bruce. I liked them right from the first handshake and, without
taking you through the whole process, was ready to sign a contract
before I left, but it was not my decision. If there was one piece of
positive information that I was able to glean from my day was that if
the bank was truly going ahead with plans for a branch, there was no way
it could process the added transactions with the processing equipment
we were presently using. I’d spent way more time than I anticipated so
by the time I was back at the bank the employees were on their way home.
Trish was still there and the look on her face told me she had some
good news.
There were any number of people at work who knew James
and his family. It didn’t take long for the news of the tragedy to
spread and for the word that Laura would also soon need a place to live.
The mother-in-law of the lady who was in charge of the accounting
department, Betsy, had died right around the Christmas holiday. She’d
lived in a converted garage out behind Betsy’s house. Her sister worked
in the mortgage department and, after the death, had asked if Betsy
would let her oldest daughter live there for a few months while her
husband was waiting to be reassigned. The assignment came a lot sooner
than expected and Betsy wasn’t in any rush to do anything with the space
until she heard about Laura. The two of them had left early so Laura
could see the space. I remember Trish holding up her crossed fingers.
At
home, Elle had agreed to host the upcoming party for the ”group” on
that Saturday. I was not looking forward to it. Since neither Elle nor I
drank I had to “borrow” the liquor from my father. He’d been good about
it in the past but I knew he’d be looking for replenishments in the not
too distant future. After a call to him it was agreed he’d deliver it
to the house, saving me a trip. As I was talking to him I saw lights on
in the house next door. Concerned, I put on my coat to go take a look. I
knew workmen had been there on a “hit or miss” basis for a few weeks
but hadn’t taken the time to see, up close, what they were doing.
Peering in from the back porch I didn’t recognize the kitchen. All new
white cabinets rimmed the three walls I could see. There were florescent
lights on the ceiling and, although no walls were moved, the space
looked a lot bigger than it had when I’d been there when Celia lived
there. On my way back to the house I wondered who would end up living
there and if we’d like them.
When Laura went to see the space
that Betsy showed her there was on major problem. There was no provision
for cooking. When the mother-in-law lived in it she ate with Betsy and
her family. Laura, on the other hand, had been fed by Trish’s family
when she lived there and, presently, by Peggy’s parents. Betsy wasn’t
interested in doing that so things were up in the air. At Peggy’s, Laura
wasn’t paying rent because she was doing the bookkeeping for James’
business. Betsy wanted $20 a week rent but utilities were included. At
that time Laura was making around $65 a week (gross). Trish had told me
that she’d just started to put money in the bank and rent was going to
be a hardship. We just didn’t know what to do.
At the Chamber of
Commerce luncheon meeting that week I ended up sitting next to the
manager of the new department store that had opened on Main Street the
previous Fall. In the course of conversation he offered to open a charge
account with the store for me. Up to that time I’d avoided getting
credit cards with the exception of a Sears card. He was a good salesman.
As soon as the meeting broke up we walked over to the store. I’d only
been in there a few times and never to buy anything. They had just
expanded into an adjacent building and moved the furniture and appliance
section. That freed up the basement of the original space where they’d
added kids and teen clothing as well as a large lingerie section. The
manager’s office was down there as well and as we made our way to it I
couldn’t help but notice all the panties they had displayed. There was
one brand that I recognized but hadn’t seen in any local store...
Shadowline. They were available at department stores in near the city
and I’d bought a few pair for Elle but, because they were “fancy
panties” with lace and appliques, she wouldn’t wear them all that often.
They were made almost entirely of nylon satin tricot, my favorite
material, and were a bit expensive. I still made a note of the fact that
they were now readily available.
When filling out the papers for
the charge account I found out that I was to be deemed a “VSC”, a Very
Special Customer and would get a 5% discount on all my purchases. I
was tempted to take a look around before going back to work but I’d been
gone for over two hours by then. I do remember making a point of not
telling Elle about the card though.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment