SPRINGING AHEAD... A busy time (Part 127o)

SPRINGING AHEAD... A busy time (Part 127o)

Waking up early, my main thoughts were on how to tell Laura that I’d been able to find the velour pants suit she so much wanted. That and how to make sure she wouldn’t obsess about paying for it. I was halfway to work when I remembered Ginger’s panties that I’d hidden in the linen cabinet. I was upset with my self because, as it had turned out, I would’ve had plenty of time to get them up to the attic and into my ”stash“. The rest of the way to work I spent  convincing myself that Elle would have no reason to go rummaging in there when she got home from school... or at least hoped she wouldn’t.

The days immediately prior to the start of a ”busy period“ were almost painfully slow. Depositors would hold off making withdrawals of even the smallest amount just to avoid losing the interest earned on over the prior three months. I’d learned that it was a good time to do ”maintenance“ on the signature card file to make sure they were alphabetically correct. As I headed behind the teller line I couldn’t help but notice the outfit Donna was wearing... the same velour out fit that Elle had and was to also be Laura’s. I don’t remember the exact reaction I had but ”shock“ would probably fit. I went down the line to compliment her but before I could say a word she was already asking what I thought of it. She went on to tell me that after I’d told her where Elle had gotten hers she used her lunch hour to go get one for herself. I don’t remember saying anything but I know my thoughts were on what to do with the one I’d arranged for Laura.

It took a few minutes to recover from that and while I was Cara came up and asked if she could get out of the signature card project. She pleaded that there had to be something more ”exciting“ than flipping through cards. The report on the discrepancies in the passbook loan files was sitting right on top of my desk so I gave it to her to tackle knowing that she’d get it done and done right. One potential problem solved... until the phone rang.

It was the manager at the department store letting me know that he had the suit. After hanging up my first thought was to just forget the whole idea. I made up a story to tell him during the lunch break. But, as I walked into the store I changed my mind. My grandfather had a saying that went something like this... ”If you don’t knock you’ll never know if anyone’s home.“ I figured why not get the suit and give Laura the opportunity to make the decision on weather to keep it or not. There was no way she hadn’t seen Donna that morning but I had no idea what her reaction to it had been. Neatly boxed up I carried it back to work.

The next obstacle was being able to tell Laura about it. The timing of my meeting with her on Friday had been perfect but that was more luck than planning. I decided to keep an open mind and stop stressing about it. The box was safely between my desk and the wall so I didn’t have to do it that afternoon. The signature card project had gone without any major problems and would definitely be finished by the time we all went home the next night. I’d pretty much forgotten about Cara and the passbook loan project. Knowing that the whole crew would be working late for the next three days I decided to let them all go a bit early. When Cara walked by to say ”good night” she put a folder on my desk and said she was done. I asked how she finished so quickly she laughed and said Laura must have gotten “confused” during her audit because most of the missing papers were there but misfiled and proceeded to show me. Cara had the advantage of knowing about many of the loans and was able to successfully sort through them.

Laura didn’t report to me so she was still there as I looked at the material Cara had left on my desk. I saw her headed for her work area and called her over to show what Cara had done. I was well into it when I looked at my watch and saw it was after 5pm. I mentioned it to Laura and she said she didn’t mind if we finished it up. With those few words I had my “opening“ to get into the matter of the pants suit.

It was a little awkward at first because I asked if she noticed Donna’s outfit. Immediately, there was a look of disappointment on her face. I remember asking that if she’d been able to find one the previous Friday how would she have reacted to seeing Donna wearing the exact same one. I remember her sort of looking off into space for a few seconds and then turning to me and saying she would still wear it. With that I reached over to the side of my desk and pull out the box.

By then there was no one left on the main bankiing floor. I knew the only people, if any, left on the second floor were officers as Hank, the messenger/custodian, had left. The officers all had keys and he knew not to leave with any regular employee still there. Laura sat there with the box sitting on her lap not knowing what to do so I told her to open it. All the anxiety I’d experienced was worth it just to see the look on her face. All she did was to just rub the material. I finally had to prod her to take the jacket out. She was cradling it when the look on her face changed and she sort of mumbled ”How am I going to pay for it?“ With all the thoughts I’d gone over in my mind I was ready for this one. ”The same way you paid for the clothes that Trish and I helped you with last year.“ By then she wasn’t looking at me but at the things in her lap. For a second I thought she was going to cry but she, still mumbling, said that she now had to pay rent and she barely had enough to get by.

Her one year anniversary was coming up and I didn’t feel like I was out of line when I told her she was due for a nice raise. I went on to say that I was in no rush to get the money back as long as she made an effort, be it just a dollar or two each payday. She opened her eyes really wide and then the tears followed. I’m at a total loss for words when a female cries, regardless of who they are or their age. I got her attention when I told her she was getting her new suit wet. As she gatheered up her composure she asked if there wasn’t something she could do for me. Initially, I wasn’t going to give her an answer but then looked at her and said it would be nice if she’d model the outfit for me. That way I’d be the very first person to see her in it. She jumped (literally) at the idea.

The small restroom that Hobie, Bret and I used was right there. She took the pants and went inside. It didn’t take her long before she was back and grabbing for the jacket. I stood up and took a few steps back to get a good look. She really was a very cute girl and the suit looked like it was made for her to model. I asked her to do a slow turn for me and when she was facing away from me I got my second ”payment“ in the form of a very clear VPL. But, seeing it reminded me of the flaw in the seam of the pants. I told her about what the manager had told me and about how Elle had to sew a bit of one of her side seams. She was trying to look down at her hips turning first one way and then the other. On the second look she found it and pointed it out to me spreading it just a little. As she did I could see just a little of her white panties. I asked if she thought that would be a problem for her and she shook her head from side to side. There was no way she was going to give that outfit up at that point.

It was getting late by then so I suggested that she wear it home. She agreed but had to go get her coat and while she did I folded her skirt and slip and placed them into the box. When she returned I made a comment on the fact that it looked like she could use a new slip or two. I could see her face start to flush a bit and told her I had some that she was welcome to just like the panties I’d given to her. She didn’t say anything and I , ”pushing the envelope“ asked her as innocently as I could if she was still wearing those panties knowing full well she was based on the diamond shaped VPL I’d just seen. By then her cheeks were bright pink and, figuring I had nothing to lose, told her I'd give her a couple of slips and a few more of the panties for her upcoming birthday. Nothing more was said as we walked out the back door.

To be continued...