CONTINUING... surprises & changes (Part 138e)

CONTINUING... surprises & changes (Part 139e)

To be truthful, I did a double take. It wasn’t the clothes that caused me to do it but it was the fact that her hair was down and and not in the pony tail that I'd become accustomed to seeing. Her bangs were swept aside giving her face an entirely new look. After staring at if for a few seconds my eyes caught the rest of the new look. She was wearing what I’d call was a moderately fancy light blue blouse along with a deep blue pleated skirt that was about two to three inches above her knees. Unfortunately, the total effect was muddied by the fact she was wearing penny loafers. But... she was definitely ‘in style’ and looked more mature. It was definitely progress.

Standing there at the gate right behind her was Lena. I caught her eye and nodded in an affirmative way. She got the message and then turned towards the elevator. Looking back at Joanie I got the definite impression that she wasn’t totally convinced that she liked her new look so I went up to her and told her she was on ”the right track“. That embarrassed her and she looked down at the floor. Then, almost immediately, she looked back up at me, pointed at her shoes and said something like ‘except for those’. I smiled and she did too. By then Cara had come over to comment in a positive way. Bret also chimed in which only served to embarrass her more.

As other employees passed by her desk that afternoon there were more positive comments. I was hoping that they’d serve to make her more comfortable but I couldn't tell. After the doors were closed to the public I had her come over to my desk and told her I’d give her a ride home and that on the way we’d stop and pick up the rest of her choices. I used that as an opening to ask just what else she’d picked out. I could tell she was uncomfortable so just said that she could show me later.

I spent the rest of the day preparing for the full Board of Trustees meeting that was to be held the following day. I’d gotten the final agenda for it from Bert (the president) and Joanie typed it up... twelve times. It actually annoyed me because the bank was still using a wet copy machine and most of the copies weren’t legible. So, to make the Trustees happy, it had be typed 12 times. She hadn’t quite finished when 5pm came so she volunteered to stay until they were done. That worked for me because it pretty much eliminated the possibility of questions being raised why she was in my car.

We pulled up to the back of the department store and entered the lower level. Krazy Korner was to the left as we entered and I asked if she and Lena had stopped there. She, now very bubbly, stated that everything she’d picked out except the blouse she had on had come from there. That, to me, was good news. The customer service window was up in the front of the building right behind the stairs to the main floor. There were two aisles around the staircase. The one to the right was right through the lingerie department. I started in that direction but she went the other way. I thought it funny but didn’t say anything. She gave the clerk her name and in a matter of seconds she was back with Joanie’s clothes.

Right on top was what appeared to be a plain gray cotton skirt. The price tag was right there for me to see. $4.99 was written across it but I could still see the original printed price under it... $9.49. Not quite 50 % but still a really good price. The clerk took it off and started folding it exposing the next item, a beige skirt that, as she did, appeared to be a wrap around type. I couldn’t see the price on it but if it had come from the Krazy Korner I knew it would be a good one. A white blouse was next followed by a light gray dress with what looked like white vertical stripes. As the clerk wrote out the ticket the store manager, who I knew from the Chamber of Commerce, came out of his office. Seeing me he asked if I’d seen the new clothes for Fall. I said I hadn’t and when I did he told me to go upstairs to check out the new Villager line of clothes the store had taken on. He added that they were just setting up the display and the signs probably weren’t up yet but, to introduce them they were offering them for 20% off. l thanked him and he walked on by. The clerk had handed the sales ticket to Joanie so I reached over and took it from her. The total was just under $36. That was when I asked about the clothes she was wearing. She smiled and said that Lena had paid for them. I signed the ticket and then started walking in the direction of the lingerie department.

I made the turn from under the stairs before realizing that Joanie wasn't with me. Turning around I saw she was at least five or six steps behind me. I immediately picked up on the fact that she really didn’t want to be seen in that department with a man. I thought it was funny. When I had approached the area I saw a rack with nothing but half slips hanging on it. There were probably a dozen and they were displayed with the shortest to the left going to the longest on the right. It triggered the thought of just what was Joanie wearing for a slip under her new skirt as the dress she’d worn to work was knee length. I stopped and waited for her but she had stopped also. So, I turned and walked back to her asking what was wrong. I remember her standing there slowly shaking her head from side to side. Then I asked if she and Lena had purchased a slip when they’d been there earlier and at that point I could see her cheeks were flushed. I had to ask that question again to get her to answer and it was that they hadn’t. I told her, and I remember being rather firm about it, that she needed to have a slip that went with her new clothes. She said she didn’t. Then I asked why not and she just stood there with her still rosy red cheeks. So, I reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her into the lingerie area. Reluctantly, she followed but only for a few steps. Meekly, she said she’d go pick one out but not if I was with her. Reluctantly, I agreed and walked back to the service desk. I watched as she went to the rack of slips and took a few off and held each one against her skirt to check the length. When she was satisfied, she walked back to where I was standing and I pointed towards the service desk. The clerk bagged it up and wrote out the sales slip. After signing it and we headed for the stairs only this time she led the way and it was through the infants section and not the lingerie area.
     
To be continued...