We were eating supper when the phone rang. That was something that always upset Elle. She was closest to it but made no effort to get up. The constant ringing of the phone upset me even more so I dispatched daughter Jean to answer it. It was something that she loved to do but we didn’t let her do it all that often. She was back in seconds saying it was auntie Sabrina. That was a real rarity as she almost always just came over and knocked on the door. Reluctantly, I got up to see what she wanted. The pitch of her voice was even higher than normal when she asked if I could go get a bed for her. I hesitated for a second before asking what she was talking about.
Martin’s parents were willing to let her use the second bed in Martin’s room but somebody had to come and get it. She went on that Bebe would stay with her if she could get a bed and now she had one. Once she started talking it seemed like she wasn’t going to stop. By the time she finally did I knew that Bebe and her parents had been staying at the rooming house that Wally (the plumber and now the school board president) and his wife ran. The problem with that was he had regular tenants for weekends and they had to get out the next day. She also let me know that the women’s auxiliary at the firehouse was collecting donations of clothes for all the family. When I finally was able to get a word in I asked if there was any chance that Bebe’s parents would be moving in as well. She said she wasn’t sure about that but she really wanted Bebe to stay with her. Of course I said I’d get the bed.
I’ll bet it wasn’t a minute before she was at the kitchen screen door. I was a bit perturbed as I still hadn’t finished eating. I told her I’d get it later, after finishing up but she said she'd wait. When she said she wanted to go with me I told her I knew where Martin’s parents lived. It was in a Summer cottage colony like the one Elle’s and my parents lived in. It was where Jon’s parents Summer home was located and Pete lived there as well. In fact, that’s where most of the ”unmarrieds“ originated from going back to their childhood Summers. But... Sabrina insisted... and she didn’t take the hint to leave. I was more upset with her than Elle and I wasn’t happy that she invited her to have dessert with us. Her voice was like fingernails down a blackboard to me.
The best way to describe what Sabrina was wearing is to call it a ‘playsuit’. A one piece outfit with the top attached to shorts and with the leg openings flared. I knew they were popular in the 30’s and 40’s because I'd seen pictures of my mother wearing something like it. But we were now in the late 60’s so it really stood out. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the house and we were greeted by Martin’s mother. She was clearly German with a pronounced accent. After she showed me the bed she proceeded to instruct me on how to dismantle it. It was clear to see who wore the pants in this family. Sabrina was, thankfully, quiet during the process. Once it was loaded into the station wagon we made our getaway.
I was curious as to how Sabrina had connected with Bebe and made the mistake of asking. She and Bebe had become friendly from her dating Martin. He and her boyfriend, Pete, were best friends. After she heard about the fire she spent the day trying to locate her but with no success. After coming up with the idea of Bebe’s family moving in with her she eventually went to the firehouse and was told they were staying at Wally’s. I got more information than I bargained for but learned something interesting in the process. Bebe’s family had lost more than just their belongings and son in the fire. They also lost most of their money. Bebe’s mother’s family had lost all their money when the banks had failed in the 20’s and didn’t trust them so they kept most of their cash at home. They didn’t have a fireproof safe and when they found the container that held their money in the ashes they found it had melted with the heat. Being a banker it was hard to believe that anyone would be so stupid.
To get the mattress and boxspring up the stairs at Sabrina’s I had to enlist her help to do it. She had very little strength to lift with so I had her steady each of them as I pushed them up the stairs. When the bed was together and in place she flopped on it claiming she was exhausted. I stood there looking down at her not able to comprehend just what actual physical labor she’d expanded. However, if there was a reward for my efforts it was that she, with her eyes closed, pulled one leg up with the other sort of splayed out to the side... a very nice crotch view up the very wide leg openings of the outfit she was wearing. And, believe me, I took advantage of that (and nothing else!). The panties appeared to be cotton and not very exciting, but... After a few seconds I asked when Bebe would be moving in. Just like to my question about Bebe’s parents she answered that she didn’t know. Then I asked why the rush to get the bed. Sheepishly, she admitted that if Bebe were to say ”Yes“ the bed would be there and ready for her. Plain and simple, I was pissed. I’m not sure what it was that I said but it wasn’t very complimentary. Going down the stairs I looked at my watch and it was almost 9pm. Not that I had anything planned but I’d wasted about two hours. I remember thinking ‘chalk up another one for Sabrina!’ as I passed through the hedge into my yard.
Even though still light out I determined it wasn’t worth the effort to start in on a project so headed inside. I found Elle in the process of packing up her portable hair dryer contraption, something my mother had bought for her. We’d been invited to a party at Aurielia’s the next night and she thought, with me gone for a while, she’d wash and dry her hair and get a head start on getting ready for it. Having gone through a clean pair of shorts earlier she’d decided to wear her newest dress, the one that came with shorts but she’d left them off. When I saw that I took it as an invitation and with the camera right there on the counter from earlier I grabbed it. Down on her haunches she just looked up and smiled. Two pictures with no pleading from me was unbelievable. I still hadn’t figured out why the change in attitude but I certainly wasn’t going to ask and end up ruining it for myself. Later, as we we getting ready for bed I saw I wasn’t going to get what I’d hoped for when I'd seen her earlier. She decided that being wet twice in one day was enough so I had to settle for snuggling before she put on her night time ‘package’. With two pictures in one day at least I wasn’t completely shut out.
The ringing of the phone woke both of us up. It was on Elle’s side of the bed and, still mostly asleep, she didn’t recognize the voice. Handing the phone to me she just rolled over and buried her head in the pillow. It was ‘Big B'. Even though I wasn’t quite awake I could tell he was ‘stirred up’ from the pitch of his voice. I don’t remember his exact words but they were close to ”The stupid SOB blew himself up!“. He was almost shouting. I had no idea who he was referring to. It took a bit of effort to convey that to him and then, in a much calmer voice, explained that Bebe’s brother had been building some sort of explosive device in his room and it went off, killing him and setting fire to the restaurant. I didn’t know the guy so didn’t exactly know what to say. After a bit of silence ‘B’ closed with the fact that they found him ”in pieces“, and all burned up. I decided not to tell Elle and when she asked why he’d called I told her he was going to let us use his sailboat the following week. That part was true... but I knew that before the call.
To be continued...
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the pics PM, really like this one!
BS... my pleasure :-)
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