SURVIVING... Same ole, same ole (Part 129a

SURVIVING... Same ole, same ole (Part 129a)

The calendar said it was Spring but you sure couldn’t tell it by the weather we’d experienced so far. I’ve written that my father was a weather buff and followed trends religiously. When he told me that April had set a new record I didn’t know what he was referring to. I felt that it hadn’t been a typical Spring because, even though the trees were blossoming, the grass was greening up and the plants were growing on the farms, it just never seemed to get warm. When he told me that the average temperature in our area for April was 60 degrees but it had only exceeded that on ten days for the whole month it made sense.

On the first of May that trend was about to change. Out of habit I just grabbed my light weight coat out of the closet but one step out the door I knew I wouldn’t need it. Even at 8:15am I could feel the unexpected warmth. As I stood there debating weather to put the coat back in the house or not a large colored woman (remember, it’s still the 60’s) appeared in front of me. I looked past her to the driveway but saw only my car. I was about to ask her where she came from but she boldly told me she needed to use my phone even before I could open my mouth. I stood there and stared at her for a few seconds before asking, in a less than pleasant tone, “Who are you?”

That slowed her down a bit and she, in a much softer tone, told me that her boss had sent her out to prepare the house, and she pointed to the house next door, for his daughter who was arriving that afternoon. The problem was that she’d been given the wrong keys. Even though she’d calmed down it was obvious she was still agitated. As she was speaking I remembered that Celia had given me a key way back when she was leaving but I’d never had to use it. The question was, with all the renovations had the lock been changed? I retrieved the key and we headed back through the opening in the hedge between the houses. It needed to be cut back and, in a perverse way I smiled as I watched the woman struggle to squeeze through it. The key still worked and as I opened the door got a quick peek at the renovated kitchen. Gone was the table that had been right in the middle, replaced by the second “island” that I’d seen in just a few days. It looked good there. I took my leave at that point, not even getting a “thank you” from the woman. I’d hoped to get a little information about the new neighbor from her but had nothing. I wondered if the colored woman was going to live and work there too. 

Normally, by May, we would’ve experienced a few warm days but this day was a real surprise... and much appreciated. Listening to the radio on the way in to work I heard we were in for a few days of really warm weather with the temperature possibly reaching 80 degrees. Just the thought of it was uplifting. The rest of the way in all I thought about was all the good things that soon would be coming... sailing, tennis (yea, I did write that) and short shorts. It had  gotten me into a good mood by the time I walked through the doors of the bank.

I’d pretty much pushed all the “drama” that the Trustees had created into the background. I vowed to concentrate on the things that I could control and that took some of the pressure off me. Bret greeted me with a big smile and told me I’d missed a “free show“. I’ve written that I had a pretty good idea that he was a ”panty man“ like me but had resisted talking to him about it. Even though we got along well both at work and after work I still had the feeling that there was some latent resentment towards me that went back to my being hired. When he was hired they had indicated that he was to be groomed for the position that they put me in. Although he never discussed it with me, Trish had given me the background. That, and the fact that I’d known and had had some ”panty dealings“ with his wife back when she was caring for my grandfather before they met made it a somewhat touchy subject. Without making it a focal point in our relationship I’d point out an occasional panty peek to him and he seemed to appreciate it. On very rare occasions he’d do the same. However, we never shared past peeks but here he was now telling me what I’d just missed.

I remember taking a laid back, almost casual, approach to the information he gave me. But that didn’t deter him. He came around to my side of the desk and, face to face, whispered that he’d seen Lena (the president’s secretary) with her skirt and slip up to her waist. That got my attention! As I’ve written in prior posts, Lena wasn’t all that attractive but, on the other hand, wasn’t unattractive either. I’d often thought that a change in her hairdo and glasses would do wonders for her. Back, not long after I’d been hired. I got my own ”free show“ when, by accident, I walked into the ladies upstairs restroom. So, seeing Bret’s excitement I told him to tell me about it.

He’d gone in early. The PBX phone system we had at the time had to be set when the board closed down so that any incoming calls would be directed to one extension. Since I was usually the last to leave it was set to mine. Bret heard the phone ring and it was Bert, the president, calling hoping to find Lena in at work. Bret knew she wasn’t and asked Bert if there was something he could do for him. The president needed the address of where the meeting he was to attend that morning was being held. Bret said he got directions as to just where to locate it and headed upstairs. It was in a briefcase under his desk. For some reason (and I never asked why) Bret got on his hands and knees to peruse the briefcase. While he was there he heard Lena show up and he said he could tell she was upset. When he backed out from under the desk and looked up there was Lena with her skirt and slip up around her waist and peeling one of her stockings down her leg. At that point Bret decided that he didn’t want Lena to know he was there so crawled back under the desk and waited for a few minutes. When he finally checked Lena was gone and that’s when Bret made his ”getaway“.

It was fairly obvious he was really excited even though still whispering. I told him that I would’ve loved to have seen it (I really would’ve) and told him to keep his eyes open and if he saw anything interesting on the banking floor to let me know. With that he had a BIG smile on his face and I was jealous. As he walked away I surveyed the work area. There were a group of the females that worked under me that had never even come close to compromising their modesty since I’d started at the bank. Of course, there were some I really had no interest in but Gina was one that I did. However, in the short time she’d been there I’d noticed that she knew how to wear a mini skirt and how to avoid giving away ”peeks“. Jerene and Katy still would put themselves in compromising situations so they offered up some hope. Laura, now occasionally wearing the velour pants suit, would give a good VPL but that was about it. I’d hoped that with pants suits now being allowed there would be more VPL’s but Netta, the switchboard operator was the only one. The one thing that I did have going for me was that I was always looking, anticipating something positive happening before my eyes.

To be continued...