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

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

I could probably write a whole post just on J J... but I won’t. He truly was a nice guy, knew mortgages inside and out, meant well but he lacked common sense. What he wanted me for was to complain about the heat build up... as if it were my fault. He started in on me as soon as my visage appeared in his doorway. He said it was unrealistic for the women to have to wear stockings in the current conditions and that he’d told them they could take them off. Without stopping he continued on his diatribe about the dress code rules. There was no point in me trying to say anything so I just stood there and let him ramble on. When he finally shut up I just stood there and stared at him. That really upset him. I don’t remember how long it took for him to finally break the silence and asked what I thought about it.

I wish the statement ”It is what it is.“ had been around back then because it would’ve been the perfect retort. But it wasn’t so I started by saying that there was nothing written in the dress code about women having to wear stockings. If there was anybody who knew that to be a fact it was me. I’m the one who rewrote it after the approval for female employees to wear pants. I distinctly remember him staring at me with his mouth open. Finally he said that after he’d ”given the word“ to the mortgage department staff, Lena, the president’s secretary, told him that stockings were the rule for Winter. I remember looking at him like he’d just made that up. Even though she was in her late 30’s I knew Lena to be somewhat ”progressive” so couldn’t fathom her making something like that up. But J J was adamant. I could see Lena from the doorway so headed over to ask about it. I got the immediate indication that she was a bit embarrassed after I asked the question. She then motioned me into the president’s office (he wasn’t there) and tried to explain.

I was right that wearing stockings had never been put into print. It was something that was started by the previous president who had shared his belief that for a female to be properly dressed in a business situation she wore stockings. Lena went on that she’d been the one assigned to police it and, in her terms, "in a nice way“. She said he relaxed it during the Summer months though. She’d been avoiding my eyes as she spoke, mostly looking down. Then she looked up and said that she’d probably spoken out of turn when she spoke to J J. I just listened not knowing exactly what to say. Finally I sort of muttered something about it really being hot upstairs and there really wasn’t any harm in it if those who wanted to take their stockings off did. I also told her that I’d try to get it settled as soon as I could but didn’t know even where to start. As I went past J J’s office he called out something about him being right. I just shook my head.

Fortunately, Hobie was free when I got back to my desk. He’d been hired by the previous president so had lived through it. When I told him about J J’s pronouncement he just shook his head. It was obvious that he was displeased because he made a statement about how J J lived ”in his own world“. But what was interesting was he went on to say that he had no problem with it other than it should’ve been discussed before J J arbitrarily made the decision and announced it. I asked if it was OK to pass the word to the women on the banking floor and he shrugged and said the damage was already done and to withhold approval would only create more problems. As I moved towards Trish’s desk he said he’d address it with Bert, the president.

When there was a heat build up like we had the second floor would end up being about 4 to 5 degrees warmer than the first. Trish’s reaction was passive at best saying that she wasn’t all that uncomfortable. I told her the source and she smiled in a way that told me she wasn’t surprised. To be truthful the only ones who showed some excitement were Jerene, Katie, Jaz and Laura, all of whom had, from time to time and in a mild sort of way, complained about the cost of stockings on a beginners salary. I thought Gina would’ve been happy with it too since she was only making the base wage for tellers but she just smiled and continued on with her work.

I left early (for me) at 5pm wanting to take advantage of as much daylight as possible for painting the racecar. Elle, as you probably already knew, wasn’t happy with me but she did have something for me to nibble on for supper. I called Pete to confirm that he’d be there to help me. As I was talking with him I was hoping that Bebe would be with him but he said our base of operations was too ”rustic“ for her. I was, of course, disappointed. I’d purchased a cheap electric spray gun to do the painting. ”B“ had decided he wanted the car to be maroon and white and I was worried that the old paint on the car would bleed through so on my way home picked up some primer to cover at least the parts of the car that were to be white. By the time Pete got there I’d covered the tires, seat, steering wheel and dash with rags to protect them from overspray and was ready to start.

I’d never done anything like this before so it was a struggle. I had most of the car primed when the paint stopped coming out... the nozzle was clogged. While I was trying to find something to clean it Pete asked if I’d strained the paint before starting. I didn’t know I was supposed to. Typical male. I didn’t read the instructions. After trying to clear the nozzle and giving up I decided that we’d paint with brushes which is what ”B“ and I had originally planned before I got ”a better idea“. I started on the roof which was to be maroon. Pete started on the main part of the body with the white paint. We finished up about the same time we lost useable daylight. Standing back from the somewhat finished product I was pleased. One more coat of white and then painting the numbers on it and we were about ready for the track.

At home I found a note from Elle that our new neighbor had come over for a visit. There wasn’t much information on it but there was a somewhat caustic comment that I ”should’ve been there“. I had no idea how to take it. Did it mean she was good looking or was she a complete character. I decided on the latter, especially since she’d told me she was a hopeful author. I’d had a customer who told me she was an author/ poet  and ”off the wall“ was as good a description as I could come up with for her.

To be continued...

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

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

I was anxious to get home to see if Elle had any contact with the new neighbor. The rare warm weather had her outside playing with the kids in the yard. To my great pleasure she was wearing shorts. Her normal routine when arriving home was to change out of her school clothes and ”dribble panties“. Then, to please me, she’d put on two pair of the nylon satin panties along with some sort of casual outfit. Walking up the path I could see the VPL clearly showing the two pair of panties. That usually created the start of a bulge and did so this time as well. Before I could open my mouth to ask about the neighbor she was telling me about her.

Basically, she was a ”wanna be” author. According to Elle she wanted to be called Selina and had written two unpublished novels. Her father’s original intention was to refurbish the house to sell but she’d convinced him to keep it off the market so she could her spend the Summer there. Supposedly there was a group of aspiring female authors in the area and she was hoping to latch on to them for inspiration. In telling me all of this I don’t think Elle ever took a breath. It was interesting but I wanted more detail... age, height, looks etc. However, I was smart enough not to mention it hoping that the two had set a date for a more formal introduction.

It was obvious that the girls were getting hungry so we all went inside. It was nice not to have to close the door after entering. When Elle went into the refrigerator to get the makings for supper I followed her and managed to get my fingers under the cuff of her shorts. As usual, she slapped my arm away and told me to be patient. My problem with that was I wanted to go to the barn and prepare the racecar for painting after we'd eaten and I knew she'd be displeased. For the paint that we were going to use to come out right the temperature had to be above something like 68 degrees. I desperately wanted to take advantage of the three days of warm weather. “B” was, as usual, on the road making his sales calls. Since boating season was upon us, it was his busiest time of year so I had to do everything myself. When I told Elle my plans the “air” went cold and all I got was a frown.

I’d mentioned that the “unmarrieds”, or at least some of them, had come to the barn the previous Saturday. Because we'd spent the afternoon messing around with my old refrigerator, nothing got done on the car. I took a chance and called one of them who lived in town. Pete was a bit of a character and actually the one who’d come up with the name “unmarrieds”. He swore that he’d never get married. But, when I asked if he could meet me at the barn he hesitated a bit. He’d been very enthusiastic when “B” had come up with the idea of racing and had even promised to put in money for tires. I pushed him a bit and he finally agreed but he said he was bringing a friend. I didn’t ask who that was and when he showed up at the barn I was quite taken aback to find it was a female.

I didn’t want to embarrass him so didn’t “razz’ him about it. He introduced the girl as Bebe. I sort of recognized her but couldn’t put my finger on it. Attractive with bobbed blond hair, she was, for her size, well endowed. Wearing a white blouse, unbuttoned down to the point of seeing her bra, I had a hard time assessing her other attributes. She, like Elle, was wearing shorts but they were a bit baggy so I knew a VPL was doubtful unless just the right opportunity presented itself. I told them what I had in mind... hand sanding the whole car. It was painted blue and red and had sat out in the weather for a few years so the paint was badly oxidized. The goal for the night was to get it prepared so that, hopefully, I could get one coat of paint on it the next night. Pete was about 5’3” and Bebe may have been 5’ so that meant I had to do the roof. “B” had brought a ladder so that was my domain.

Because the paint was in such bad shape it didn’t take much effort to get the oxidized stuff off. From the ladder I got some very good top down views. For a “breast man” it was perfect positioning. The only light we had was from the open doors and as it got later and later the light grew dimmer and dimmer. We had no running water so when I heard Bebe say she needed a bathroom my ears really perked up. Even though the church was right next door, I didn’t have the key. The luncheonette over by the entrance into the parcel closed at 3pm. The only other place in town open that late (about 8pm) with toilet facilities was the soda (ice cream) shop and that was quite a walk from where we were. Pete, surprisingly, told her to just go pee outside. She didn’t like hearing that but Pete told her it was her only choice, softening it a bit by saying that with all the growth around the property no one could see in. I added that I attended the church next door and didn’t even know the barn was there until “B” brought me there. Reluctantly, she headed out the door. She was gone for what seemed like a long time before returning. She was not very happy. Pete, trying to make light of the situation, asked her if everything had come out all right. She just stuck her tongue out at him. About that time I realized that she probably didn’t have anything to wipe herself with and wondered just how wet she might be. The thought of it put a smile on my face.

I’d brought some rags and a bucket with the idea of wiping the residual paint dust off the car before we left. There was a water spigot at the luncheonette where I got the water. Bebe was anxious to go but she knew she was a “captive” until Pete decided to go. At first she wasn’t going to help but eventually pitched in. I was mad when she took a rag and bent over the bucket. It was too dark for me to really see anything... but it did give me hope if she were to come back. Elle was in bed and asleep by the time I got home. Even though she was giving me the “cold shoulder” with her back turned towards me at least I didn’t have to put up with her ‘“hot tongue”.

With the second day of the warm weather I was somewhat prepared for what lay ahead at work. The bank had been remodeled by adding a second floor a few years earlier. To save money they decided to stay with the air conditioning system that had been in place. Big mistake! First of all the engineers totally miscalculated the demand. To start with heat rises and then there were eight floor to ceiling windows facing West with no shades or drapes. Secondly, it was outmoded. When the cooling season was over the whole system had to be drained and shut down. That meant that when the warm weather came back they would basically have to start it up as if it were a new system. You couldn’t just go over to the thermostat and switch from heating to cooling. I remembered it taking a few days to get it running the previous year. Another thing was that once it was started it had to stay running. In the past they’d targeted the middle of June as the starting date. But here we were, early May and the heat build up was already being noticed.

That afternoonI got a call from J J to come upstairs to his office. With J J I never knew from which direction he was coming from and he didn’t give me any hints. I pretty much always took the stairs because I could beat the elevator and needed the exercise. As I described in previous posts the stairs were curved and as you reached the second floor you were facing the side of the PBX switchboard... and Netta, the operator. But as my eye level reached floor level I had to do a double take. Stopping, there was Netta, still behind the board, with her skirt hiked up almost to her waist and pulling down the stocking from her right leg. I stood there motionless and watched as she struggled to get the stocking over her heel. In desperation she sort of spun her chair a bit to the right and as she did she lifted her leg so as to get a better grip of the stocking. If only they had iPhones back in those days!

I backed down a few steps hoping that she hadn’t seen me. I took a deep breath and started humming a song as I retraced my steps back up the steps. She was back in her normal position and as I approached asked how she was doing. I got a sharp reply... "It's hot!" I smiled because Netta hadn’t been there the previous Summer so she really didn’t know how hot it could get. But, more importantly, it seemed as if she hadn't noticed me on the stairs.

To be continued...

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...

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128n)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128n)

Looking out the bedroom window in the morning I could see this pile of trash in front of the garage. It was the packaging material (cardboard, wood and metal straps) from the new refrigerator that the delivery guys had left behind. That reminded me that I had to get the old fridge out of the kitchen. Removing the trash and getting the fridge moved were two things that had not shown up on my “radar” when I was originally planning my weekend. My primary focus had been working at and on the barn where the racecar was now located. As it turned out “B”  rounded up a couple of the “unmarrieds” to help at the barn and when I showed up we all focused on moving the fridge. At my house one of them said he thought he knew someone who might buy it. So, instead of working at the barn we spent most of the afternoon trying to track down his “buyer”. It was worth the time as I ended up getting $35 for it but nothing got accomplished at the barn. Time was running out on us if the car was to be ready for the first practice at the track and that concerned me.

Because of the “meeting” at Aurelia’s house that Pat (the PTA lady) had called, I had to get home to get cleaned up, eat and dressed to go. By the time Elle and I were ready I had mixed feelings about seeing Aurielia’s house. Initially I’d been looking forward to it but over the past few days, lying in bed and thinking back to the time I’d spent there, I wasn’t so sure.

The driveway was about 1/4 mile long and tree lined. As we turned in it was like we were in a tunnel as the tree had grown so much as to create a canopy. It had been at least 15 years since I’d been there and the trees were no where as big and as fully developed. Approaching the end I recognized the small horse barn off to the right. The sight of it quickly brought back the very vivid memory of Wendy and I hiding in one the lofts as we listened to her sister having sex with her boyfriend in the other. Off to the left was the driveway to both the guest cottage and to the garage for the house. The house was still white with blue shutters so to my eyes, nothing had changed. Straight ahead was the tear shaped drive to the front door. I could see a few cars parked on it so followed suit. We were greeted at the door by Aurelia’s oldest daughter. I know I wasn’t expecting that. In all the times the “group” had gathered there had never been any children. “Zee”, we were told was nine years old but she did look older. She'd been recruited (reluctantly) to be the greeter and to take our coats.

It was really strange to be in the house and not see Wendy even if had been 15 years. As I looked around it  didn’t seem as if there had been any changes other than the furniture. Aurelia came out and asked if we’d like to have a “tour“. That was funny, at least to me, as I could have conducted it myself. Elle had never been there so she followed Aurelia and the others while I looked out the front windows. It was still light enough outside to see the water of the bay. That, of course, triggered more memories of my Wendy/Judy summer.

When Aurelia led the group upstairs I again declined to follow. I decided to take a look at the kitchen. This is where my memory sort of failed me. I’d remembered a really large kitchen and the one I was looking at didn’t seem to be as big as the one at our house. It took me a few seconds to figure it out. Although I’d seen no other changes, the kitchen had been completely redone. What made it seem smaller was there was an island in the middle with drawers and doors. As I studied it I saw a wide array of cheeses and wines on it’s top. I decided I liked it and looked around some more. The appliances were all new including a double wall oven like we had. The other change was the door to the pantry was missing. It seemed like every time I’d ever been in that kitchen we raided the pantry for something to eat. I walked down the short hall to the door to the outside and as I peered through it I was somewhat shocked to see a pool where the patio with the privacy fence had been. I never quite understood why people with waterfront homes and beach access would build a pool. I was standing there wondering about it when Auriela and the others showed up.

Pat (the PTA lady) was the last to arrive. The rest of us were enjoying ourselves, socializing a bit and partaking of the wine and cheese when she walked in and said we had to ”get down to business“. I can honestly remember standing there, shaking my head, wondering why people would sort of ”jump“ at her every command. I will say this for her... she truly was organized. It was obvious that she was still peeved at not being invited to my so called birthday party as she avoided eye contact with both Elle and I as she went over her agenda.

She started with the current status of the Board of Education election. We’d heard that the board member that Wally (the plumber) was running against had decided not to run. No one really ”knew“ Wally but the consensus was that he was one of ”us“, meaning that he would be all for changes. However, Bob, our candidate, was up against a formidable opponent. The man had been on the board for over 20 years and was a highly respected member of the community. With that in mind Pat laid out our (her) strategy. Assignments were made, discussed and pretty much accepted. Then she moved on to a subject that she’d raised at a prior meeting... the need to raise money. She went on to say that, since no one made any suggestions, she’d gone ahead with the idea of an Olympic type competition between the teachers and parents. That generated a lively bit of discussion, mostly positive. She said she’d already spoken to the administration about the use of the gymnasium and was told that it wasn’t possible until the following school year. She said that wasn’t all that bad in that we’d have more time to plan events and get more support.

I couldn’t believe my watch as it was almost 10pm. Even though it wasn’t billed as a party, Aurelia and her husband had supplied us with plenty of good wine, cheese and crackers. My head was light and I could see Ginger was slurring her words. That wasn’t entirely unexpected as it didn’t take much to loosen her up. As Pat wound the ”meeting“ down I repositioned myself so I could keep an eye on Ginger. I was hoping to keep my ”streak“ alive where I’d managed to garner at least a glimpse of her panties at these affairs. That I pretty much knew what she was wearing for panties didn’t matter... a peek is a peek is a peek! I thought it was about to be broken as people got up and headed for the den where ”Z“ had placed the coats. It was a sunken living room with a step up into the foyer and as Ginger made her way, didn’t see or realize it. She tripped and as she did, fell on her side. My sight line was partially blocked as she fell but a quick maneuver put me in line to see just what I wanted to see... or sort of. What I saw was a pair of sanitary panties. She managed to get her backside covered before I could determine weather she was wearing ”dribble panties“ under them of if she had her period. I chalked it up as a ”win“ as far as getting a peek though.

To be continued...
  

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128m)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128m)

I got a phone call on Friday afternoon from Elle’s mother. My first thought was that something was wrong with Kaye. It wasn’t. There was a big truck backing up the driveway. It took a few seconds to get my mind in gear and to realize it was the new refrigerator. The deal was that the truckers would put it in place but we would have to find a place for the old one. I told her to have the driver call me after he got to the door. When it took about a half hour for the him to call I began to wonder what was taking so long. He explained that they had to uncrate it before bringing it in to the house as it had been shipped direct from the factory. I just knew Elle would be pleased when she got home and I wished I could be there to witness her reaction. I was scheduled for late duty but decided to trade Friday’s with Bret to get home a little early. At least that way I figured I’d still get in on a bit of her excitement and possibly get a ”reward“.

When I got to the top of the driveway I was greeted with a pile of cardboard and wood stacked against the garage door. That, for sure, didn’t make me very happy. However, that changed quickly after I walked through the door. Elle, still in her school clothes, was busily taking the food from the old refrigerator and transferring it to the new one. It was highly unusual for Elle not to change into more casual clothes as soon as she arrived home if for no other reason than to get dry panties on. She was wearing a smile from ear to ear and told me that my job, after supper, was to bring up the frozen things from the freezer chest in the basement. That was her primary complaint with the old refrigerator... no freezer, and it had meant many trips up and down the cellar stairs for her. With my coat still on and her bent over placing things in the back of a lower shelf I walked up behind her and reached up under her skirt. I expected to find a warm mass under her sanitary panties and I wasn't surprised. Normally, with the kids around, she’d smack my arm but all she did was giggle. I knew it was going to be an exceptional night.

The old refrigerator, being in the middle of the floor, was a bit disconcerting but it didn’t matter as Elle was just beaming as she made her way around it while getting supper ready. All I could think about was what was going to happen after the kids were in bed. Much to my displeasure she decided to go upstairs and change out of her damp (wet) panties before she ate. I'd been hoping she'd leave them on for a little after supper play. When she returned she had on a shortie nightie and panties. I could only hope that she'd put on two pair of the nylon satin ones. As she made the turn into the kitchen she was smiling but said she wanted one picture with her and her new refrigerator. Dinner was on the table and the kids were occupied with eating. As anxious as I was for some ”good“ shots, I couldn’t argue with her on that and grabbed the camera. Supper could wait!
                                                     

 
I actually took a couple that way but for some reason they weren’t developing properly. Even though there was still a few more pictures to be taken in the pack I decided to pull it out and put in a new one. I wanted to be sure ”MY“ pictures came out right. As I was helping her clear the table she told me she’d been saving something for me since we’d finished supper and motioned for me to follow her into the bathroom. To occupy the kids we let them watch TV, a rare treat. I think she was already peeing before her fanny hit the seat but I was right there with my hand between her legs for the majority of it. The only thing was that I was in pain. Crouching down in front of her my hard on was hurting me so I only got a few seconds of pure pleasure out of feeling the warm wetness before I had to stand up.

Elle sat on the toilet for a minute or so to make sure she dripped off before standing up. Sometime back I’d dreamed of getting a picture of her wet crotch from beneath her. Walking back into the kitchen the idea came to me to have her stand on the counter with me kneeling in front of her. Initially, she wanted no part of it, citing the kids. I had her take a look into the den and the kids. When she returned gave me a half hearted smile indicating that she wasn't totally against it. Bartering had worked in the past so I tried it again. She’d promised ”pictures“ with an ”S’ but no specific number had come up. The prospect of a picture like that had me very, very excited so I offered her a “deal”... let me have that one and just one other and that would be it, for now. I wasn’t sure she’d bought into it until she headed for the closet that held the step stool. I almost came when she pulled it out.

She, reluctantly, started to climb up. I was tempted to take a picture of her rear as she did but it was only three steps and I wasn’t yet ready with the camera. She made me promise that her face wouldn’t show and, somewhat defiantly, she stood there with her hands on her hips. As soon as the flash went off she was on her way back down. With the Polaroid camera you had to pull the picture that was just taken out of the case before you could take the next one so she was “safe”.
                                             

Even with the picture taking she was still in a very good mood after she'd put the kids to bed. We headed for our bedroom way earlier than usual, especially for a Friday night. Initially, she ended up straddling me for a while (see post 128h) and then we rolled over on our sides, snuggling for a bit. I was enjoying myself but, for once, it was Elle who was a bit impatient as she struggled to get her panties down and off. When all was said and done I lay there trying to think of something else that would get her so turned on. It was quite a night.

To be continued...











                                      
                      

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128l)

APRIL... More of the same (Part128l)

Sandy was released from the hospital on Monday and Elle called that night to see if there was anything she needed. She told Elle that she wanted to talk with her whenever she could find a few minutes. Elle really didn’t have a lot of free time but told her she could come right over if she was up to it. That left me to put the kids to bed. They were usually good about it, at least for Elle. But, with me, they knew they could get away with some “stuff“. Elle had warned me that Anne was an ”instigator“ and that she’d try my patience... and she did. My patience was tested, for sure!
I was beginning to get worried when Elle hadn’t returned by 10pm, Elle’s usual bed time. I was about to call over to Sandy’s when I saw the headlights in the driveway. I fully expected Elle to walk in, say ”Good night“ and head up the stairs. But she took off her coat and sat down at the counter and indicated for me to join her. It was rare for Elle to want to talk about her friends but I was a willing listener.

Sandy had been given some bad news. In fact, two doses of it. The first was that she’d probably not be able to carry a pregnancy to term. As soon as Elle told me that I felt a shudder go through my whole body. As I’ve said before, I knew how much she and Johnnie wanted a family. They were both nice people and it just didn’t seem fair that they would be denied something that, in life, seemed so natural. Elle was clearly shaken as she told me and her empathy for Sandy was evident.

The second piece of bad news was that, while being examined in the hospital, the doctor(s) had diagnosed her with  being afflicted with Spina Bifida. I remember wrinkling up my face and repeating ”Spina Bifida?“ and making a gesture to indicate I had no idea what it was. It was obvious that Elle didn’t really understand it either but Sandy had told her that it had something to do with the nerves around the spinal cord and it's a condition you're born with. I remember trying to digest what Elle was saying and fitting it in with what little I knew about back problems having had some as a result of an accident when I was still training horses. She was clearly struggling with explaining it but said it was probably the cause of Sandy’s ”dribble“ problems. Sandy had been told that it should’ve been noticed by the doctors in the hospital right after her birth but Sandy came from a rural area and hadn’t been born in a hospital. A midwife had delivered her. I knew a bit about that as my father and his mother had the same experience. In any case, through the years it hadn’t been noticed in Sandy as she had about as mild a version of it as was possible. The bad thing about it was that there was no cure for it. You’re born with it and it’s with you for life. It sounded ominous but I wanted to know more details about it. I also wondered why I’d never heard of it.

I asked Elle about Sandy’s state of mind. As I remember it she was non-committal saying that she thought Sandy was struggling nore with the fact that she’d not be able to have children. I asked about Johnnie but Elle said he was at a coaches meeting. She’d stayed with Sandy until he arrived home and she never got a chance to speak to him. By the time we headed for bed it was almost 11pm and  6:30am would soon be there. In bed, I tried putting myself in their shoes and I couldn’t. It made me realize just how lucky we were to have three healthy kids.

At work, things had slowed to a crawl. Hobie was almost back to normal, smiling and chatting with the staff once again. I spent some time observing Gina and how she was fitting in with the staff. I remember being surprised at how Letitia, the older woman on the teller line was getting on with her. The age gap was easily 25 or more years. I asked Trish for her take on her and she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say ”no problem“. I was going to ask Laura but decided to ask Liz, her boss. Her reaction was a real surprise. Liz was a bit of a curmudgeon, quick to find fault and especially with the tellers, but said something praiseworthy (although I don’t remember what it was). I’d pretty much let my visit with the president concerning her fall to the wayside so she, thankfully, was now pretty much a ”non-issue“.

All the issues with the Trustees other than the new account campaign with gifts were compleely in their hands. Even though not specifically directed to I started planning for it by contacting the advertising agency to give them enough time to be prepared. They gave me a list of things the gift distributors needed to provide like pictures and descriptions of the gifts. That week I also started to plan how we would set up the lobby to handle the opening of accounts. There was no way we’d be able to do it with the current staff. Even though it was two months away I went looking through the job applications to see what was out there. Trish asked what I was doing and laughed when I told her. She raised a very valid point... all the applicants in the file were looking for full time employment. I remember looking up at her and feeling a bit foolish.

Back at home the big excitement was that Elle had seen activity at the house next door when she got home one afternoon. I hadn’t seen anything when I arrived but when I put the garbage out after supper I saw lights on. Even though I had no idea who it was or what she (if indeed it was a she) looked like, it was good to see ”life“ at the house once again. It reminded me that we hadn’t heard anything from Celia and Sophie in quite some time.

My plan for the weekend was to work at the barn where ”B“ and I were now keeping the racecar. Even though the floor was dirt it was hard-packed which made it workable. The big thing was in making a workbench. ”B“, when I last talked with him, was starting to get excited which, in turn, was getting me excited. He told me that he’d taken the wood we needed to the barn and said that he’d climbed in the car and had pretended he was driving on the track. It had me thinking of the last time I was behind the wheel and on the track. I'd ended up crashed into the guard rail... not a good way to end my driving career.


To be continued...

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128k)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128k)

The news left both of us in a less than “amorous” mood so there was no chance for any panty play. Under the circumstances, Ginger, reluctantly, did agree to take Kaye for the next day although it presented a bit of a problem for her. She told Elle she’d call in the morning with last minute instructions. I suppose I could’ve taken the day off to do it but with all the items that pertained to me at the Board meeting I felt I needed to go in plus Hobie’s frustration after the meeting had me bothered.

On the days that Ginger babysat Kaye, Elle would deliver her to the house on her way to work but when Ginger called the next morning she asked if it could be a little later. That meant I would have to do it. It wasn’t really a problem for me but sometimes Kaye could be a “cling-on” and not want to be left off. Elle was a “pro” in handling such situations and I wasn’t.

I arrived at Ginger’s around 8:30am and when I knocked on the front door no one answered. I could hear crying from inside and finally the door was opened by Ginger’s 4 year old. I could see Ginger sitting on the floor leaning up against a sofa holding on to her crying 2 year old. She had her legs out in front of her with her daughter standing between them. I remember seeing a lot of skin on her legs which told me she had on a skirt or robe of some sort. As I spoke the crying daughter turned towards me and then bolted for the hallway. That left Ginger sitting there with her uncovered legs straight out exposing a bit of her panties. She then turned her upper body towards the direction her daughter had headed and when she did her right leg raised up a bit now showing a good bit of the panty crotch. It all happened so quickly I couldn’t ascertain if she was wearing a pair of the “dribble panties” Elle and I’d made for her but it didn’t really matter. As I’ve said before, Ginger was fairly consistent in giving me unintended panty peeks. I actually got a really good, but short, view as she stood up to retrieve her daughter. With Kaye clinging to my leg I really didn't get enjoy the moment(s).

After extracting my leg from Kaye’s grasp I headed off to work. I remember being a bit late. Hobie was waiting for me and started in by saying that the contract for servicing our accounts had been tabled once again. Before I could start in on that he went on to say that the only thing the Board had acted upon was in choosing the gifts for the new account campaign that it appeared we’d be holding in the next “busy period” at the end of June. I knew of the three that the committee had chosen and just assumed they were the ones approved. I could see Hobie was a bit agitated when he was telling me this so kept my mouth shut. When he told me that one of the three gifts was to be a blanket I remember laughing. I couldn’t believe it. A blanket, just as Summer was beginning, just didn’t make any sense... but I stayed quiet. The other two were ones that had been chosen by the committee: a small tool kit, about 8“ by 5” that could easily be stowed under a car seat as well as a soft insulated picnic bag. Hobie saw the look on my face and just shook his head. He did comment by saying that the whole Board got involved and they had basically wasted an hour just on that. I asked about the prospective branch sites and the application for it and I remember him mumbling something about “back to the drawing board".

When I turned back to look at the teller work area I checked to see if anyone was wearing a pants suit and saw none. I smiled to myself remembering just how worked up the Board had gotten over that simple matter. My thoughts were not very complimentary about the Board as I did.

Walking in the door at home that evening I could see Elle was upset. Sandy had lost her baby. She was still in the hospital and not seeing visitors. As the evening progressed Elle received any number of phone calls from the other ladies in the ”group“ concerned about Sandy. But one wasn’t about her at all. It was from Pat (the PTA lady) saying that it was imperative that a meeting be held to plan strategy for the upcoming school board election. Bob (from the ”group“) had agreed to run and Pat wanted to get everyone ”in line“ as to what needed to be done. She’d spoken with Aurelia, the newest member, and she agreed to host it. In hearing that my mind flashed back to about 15 years prior.

If you go back to Part 6a, b and c of this much too long tome, you’ll read about my ”adventures“ with Wendy/Judy. When Aurelia and her husband moved to town they bought the house that Wendy had lived in at that time. I'd known about it and, from time to time, had wondered about how much the property and house had changed. The news that the gathering would be there made the prospect of having to deal with Pat more tolerable. She'd wanted it to be this weekend but Aurelia had other plans and agreed to holding it the following Saturday evening.

Saturday was taken up with getting the racecar and all the tools and parts moved out of my garage and into the barn that ”B“ had located for it. This is another thing that brings a smile to my face as I’m writing. By now I was now very much involved in the running of the church as a vestryman. I thought I knew the downtown area fairly well when, in following ”B’s” directions, I couldn’t believe the barn was on the property right next to the church. The property had, in my memory, always been overgrown and I had no idea that there was a house and a small barn located on it. I was aware that there had been a service garage out by the street but it had been closed for many years and never paid attention to what was behind it. To get into the property we had to go down a narrow alley next to a small luncheonette that faced the railroad tracks. I’d never been down the alley so was completely taken aback to find the house and barn. “B” told me that it had been owned by an eccentric old lady and when she died a grandson inherited it. The grandson had gone to school with “B’s” father and that’s how he knew about it. The grandson was a successful businessman out in California and just hadn’t gotten around to do anything with the property.

The outside of the barn looked pretty ragged but the inside looked to be perfect for our needs other than for a layer of dust about a quarter of an inch thick over everything and a small hole in the roof. We managed to get the doors open and backed the car in. “B” said his father had some scrap lumber from which we could build a workbench. He’d already made arrangements to run a drop cord from the luncheonette for electricity so in a matter of minutes we were in “business”. I was excited to be getting back into racing. It was only a month before the first practice session was to begin and we still had a lot of small stuff to get done. We hadn't seen any of the "unmarrieds" throughout the Winter and into the Spring and we were going to need their help. "B" promised to round them up.

To be continued...      

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128j)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128j)

Nanci had brought the contract for the refrigerator to school that day. To get the order processed I needed a down payment of $100. Normally I wouldn’t have had money in the bank but Elle had gotten her first full paycheck the previous Friday. So I made a “loan” vowing to repay it as soon as I had access to my trust. After supper we all piled into the station wagon and headed for Nanci’s house. Neither Nanci or her husband, Fritz, would be considered to be what people would call “outgoing”. Reserved would be a better description. However, Fritz greeted us at the door and was the most effusive I’d ever seen him. He stuck out his hand and congratulated us. I wasn’t sure for what but when Nanci appeared she filled us in. By combining their order with ours we’d be able to share shipping costs. My fist thought was “What shipping costs?” I’d never given it a thought. Fritz went on to show me how much money we both were saving. I’d meant to check the prices in the Montgomery Ward catalog but hadn’t. Fritz had them all worked out. Even with shipping we were actually saving about 15% over the catalog store. He also told us that the trucking company would unload and put the new refrigerator in place. I kept glancing at Elle and could see she was really excited. It’s actually funny in writing about it after all these years to realize that a refrigerator could turn a woman on so much.

The next day at work was to be the monthly Board of Trustees meeting which meant all of them would be in. That got me back to worrying about what some of them might have to say about Gina. I can’t tell you just why I still had her application in my briefcase but I did and, more importantly, remembered that I did. I dug it out and called her. She was really surprised to hear from me, immediately thinking there was something wrong. I assured her there wasn’t but I needed her to do me (and the bank as a whole) a big favor. She didn’t hesitate one bit and asked what it was. I actually asked if she’d wear one of her longer skirts the next day. I remember her laughing. She didn’t hesitate at all assuring me that she’d be “presentable”. In my mind she was, very definitely, “presentable”. When I hung up Elle wanted to know what the call had been about. I “fudged” my answer and changed the subject back to the refrigerator and what we were going to do with the one we already had. That got her back on track and, again, very excited. I immediately started plotting my next move and that was to elicit approval for a picture or two.

We were turning off the lights prior to heading upstairs when I broached the subject. She laughed and asked what had taken me so long. The only caveat was that since the refrigerator wasn’t in place I could only have one picture. I hated that because it put a lot of pressure on me to get a good one with my only try. I grabbed the camera and followed her up the stairs. Much to my disappointment she decreed that I could only take her backside. When I complained she said I could “revisit” the request after the refrigerator arrived and was being used. I kept my word and only took one but I can tell you that as I lay in bed that night I was coming up with a whole bunch of scenes that I wanted to take.
                                                   

Note two pair...

I found myself having a hard time getting to sleep, thinking about the agenda for the next day Board meeting. Hobie and I’d talked a bit about it and I, again, stressed the need for them to pick a service bureau to process our transactions. He reminded me that his role was just to record the happenings of the meeting and, unless asked a specific question, had no voice at all. The other items included filing an application for a branch, possible branch sites and gifts to be offered in a new account campaign. Seeing how the three member sub-committee handled the review of potential gifts I had a feeling the gift thing would be a bit of a hassle with all the members in attendance.

Because I was so interested in the service bureau issue I stayed until the meeting was over. I’d done this in the past and seldom did any of the Trustees even acknowledge my presence when leaving. When I saw two headed my way I figured it had to be about Gina. I was wrong! It was Donna they were asking about. They thought it was a mistake to take her off the teller line. They thought that having a good looking older woman (Donna was only a bit over 40) on the line offered a balance between Letitia (the so-called head teller who was 50 something but looked older) and all the “kids”. I just smiled and told them that Donna possessed skills needed in the mortgage department and also that J J had requested her. Even though it wasn’t the exact truth it was close enough to get them to move on. Hobie was one of the most laid-back people that I knew but when he got back to his desk I knew enough to keep my mouth shut. Normally, after a meeting, he’d get out his pipe and light it up, sit back in his chair and relax. He just dumped the Minutes book on his desk, nodded at me and headed for the coat room. That told me the next day was going to be “interesting”.

Elle, who knew I’d be late, was quiet when I walked in. The kids had been fed and were playing games out in the living room. The look on her face told me there was some bad news coming. It was. Sandy had been taken to the hospital. Phyl, her neighbor, had told Elle that she thought it had to do with her pregnancy. I know women have unique feelings when it comes to having babies but I actually had a bad feeling when Elle told me that. I called her husband, Johnnie, a friend but we really weren’t as close as Elle and Sandy had become. But, I knew from talking casually with him that Sandy’s pregnancy was a big deal for both of them. On a personal level, having Sandy in the hospital affected us too as she was the babysitter for Kaye on Thursdays.

In a small town it doesn’t take bad news to travel fast. Even though Elle knew Ginger had her hands full with her four kids she called to ask her if she could take Kaye in for the day. I really don’t know how long they were on the phone together but it was a fair amount of time. I ended up putting the kids to bed. When she finally took the phone from her ear she couldn’t wait to fill me in with all the “news”.

As far as Sandy was concerned, she’d been “spotting”, not a good thing in a pregnancy, especially in the early stages. However, when she discovered a lot more than just a few spots she called her doctor. He just told her to get off her feet and to go to bed. After a few more days she mentioned it to Nanci who suggested that Sandy call the gynecologist who’d delivered her last child.  Elle and I’d grown up with just the one doctor in town who did everything (a general practitioner) from treating colds to fixing broken bones to delivering and caring for babies and that was who Sandy had been going to. But he was getting old and when we moved back into town Elle ended up with a husband and wife doctor team. One treated women and all their problems (a gynecologist) while the other treated pregnant mothers to be during through to birth (an obstetrician). In any case, Sandy had been going to the old timer (the GP) and when she called them and explained the situation she was told to get to the hospital immediately.

To be continued...              

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128i)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128i)

I began to sort through the information Jay had provided on my way home and as I did I came up with a reasonable explanation as to why Mrs. K might have been reluctant to say much about Gina. I figured the situation with the purchasing officer had been somewhat embarrassing for the County and as the one who had the oversight for all employees she wasn’t going to perpetuate rumors. I didn’t know that for sure but I wanted to believe it.

I could see Elle had experienced another trying day at work as soon as I walked in the door. I was still concerned about my having been called into the president’s office and I guessed it showed. Elle said something about “making a deal”. We’d done this a number of times in the past where we agreed not to ask each other about a particularly rough day. It was our personal version of “Don’t go there!” She was preparing supper so I went upstairs to change. Upon my return I saw a brochure on the counter next to the mail. It was for Amana refrigerators. I’d never heard of them. When I asked Elle about it she said she’d gotten it from Nanci at school. I was a bit puzzled and wanted to know more about it. She told me to wait until after we’d eaten so I took it to my seat at the table and perused it. I’d never purchased a refrigerator before. We’d bought two new mobile homes and each had come with a new refrigerator. The one in the house was only a year old when we bought the it and until Elle started to complain about the lack of a freezer compartment I never gave it a thought. In the short time I had to read the material it looked like it would meet Elle’s desires.

Having the brochure to concentrate on took my mind off work (and Gina) so I relaxed. I could sense Elle was excited about it when she asked what I thought of the material as she served dinner. I don’t remember what I said but by my picking the brochure up and looking at it without a negative comment seemed to have sent a message to her that I was amenable to purchasing one. That, in turn relaxed her. After eating I stayed in the kitchen to help her clean up and to also get started on the story behind the brochure.

At my “birthday party”, such as it was, Elle had offhandedly mentioned that we would be getting a new refrigerator to a couple of the women who were there. Nanci said she was getting a new one as well and had told Elle that she’d gotten a really good deal. Her brother worked for the company that had bought the Amana company. They were primarily located in the middle of the country but her brother’s company had expanded the distribution to the Eastern states. They were offering a promotional discount for the month of April and, if we were to buy one we’d get a colored door panel for free. My first thought was just who would service it if there was a problem. But Elle had already picked out the one she wanted and the door panel to go with it. A reasonable assumption would be that I would go out and do some price comparisons... But, for reasons that I still don’t know, decided to go with it. We called Nanci and told her and she was excited as well promising to get the paperwork to us as soon as possible.

We’ve all heard of “buyer’s remorse” and by the next morning I sure had it. I still hadn’t filed all the papers to have my trust fund released and that would have to be done for me to pay for the refrigerator. I didn’t say anything to Elle about the way I felt and decided to just leave it as it was. I still had to sign the purchase contract so it gave me some time to let it all sink in.

Back at work my focus (for a change) wasn’t about Gina or my visit to the president’s office but was on the refrigerator. At lunch I walked down to the appliance store that I’d bought my washing machine and TV from to ask about  Amana refrigerators. When I asked my friend who owned the store with his father I got a strange look. He’d heard of them but had never seen one. Not a good sign. I walked on down to the Montgomery Ward catalog store just to take a look in the current catalog. That was a surprise because it actually showed a couple of models. That was a good sign. However it did get me to thinking about service for one if needed and I knew that both Sears and MW serviced all the brands they sold. While there I found out that MW would even sell service contracts for appliances they didn’t sell so that made me feel better as I walked back to the bank.

I’d brought all the paperwork for the release of my trust fund because my signature had to be notarized on the release papers and Hobie was a Notary. When I pinned him down to do it he made an off-hand comment about my visit to the president’s office, telling me not to dwell on it. He said the matter was too convoluted for him to even try to explain it to me. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. By the time I left for home all the paperwork for the trust was completed in in the mail. At that point I was almost sure I would go ahead with getting the refrigerator. That allowed me to start thinking of what would be forthcoming from Elle in the way of “treats” once the new refrigerator was in place. By the time I got home I knew we’d get it.

When I pulled up to the garage Elle was standing in the little yard between the house and garage and was looking over at the neighboring house. Work on it had been sporadic, at best, over the past few weeks. The last time I’d peeked in I could see the kitchen had been totally redone. I asked her what was going on and Elle pointed to a truck in the driveway that was partially hidden by the house. She said she thought it was a moving van. I’d given up trying to keep track of what was happening there and hadn’t talked with Vic, the real estate agent who had tried to sell the house, in at least two months. Going in our house I headed right for the phone.

The “scoop” was that the builder who’d bought the house in foreclosure was moving his daughter into the house for the Summer while he tried to sell it. That’s all he’d heard. To me it was both good and bad news. Elle and I’d hoped that it would eventually be occupied by a young family with kids. Neither of us liked the idea of an unoccupied house being next to us. Even though there hadn’t been any known vandalism in our town we were constantly reading about it happening in neighboring villages. Having someone there, even if not permanent, was better than having it empty. The next question was what would the woman be like?

To be continued...
        

APRIL... More of the same (Part128h)

APRIL... More of the same (part 128h)

By the time I got back down to my desk I didn’t know what to think. Hobie was at his desk and he was about the only male who hadn’t spoken to me about Gina. I don’t remember how I approached him or exactly what I said, still trying to gather myself up after my “inquisition” by the president. I know that, in some way, I asked what his observation of Gina was.

Up to this time I’ve given you, the readers, my observations on J J and how he approached females but I haven’t mentioned much, if anything, about Hobie and his likes and views about them. He was an “observer” in that he never verbalized his feeling about any of the female employees. My own observation was that he appreciated a good looking, young and smart female. He often would stop and talk with Lauri, the the bookkeeping (computer?) operator and her assistant, Jaz. I’d also seen him chatting with Laura and I knew he and Trish had a mutual respect for each other. So, when I approached him about Gina I was breaking new ground by asking his opinion.

Once the public was out of the bank he would take out his pipe and light it up. It was his way of relaxing. He’d just gotten it lit when I came up to him. Again, I don’t remember the words I used but whatever they were they didn’t elicit a noticeable change in his demeanor which I took for a good sign. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity finally asking if there was a problem with her. I know I was fairly emphatic in saying that as far as I knew there wasn’t, adding that in the few days she’d been dealing with the public she struck a “proof” on the first try each day. He could see I was struggling so he prodded me a bit and I told him about Bert calling me in to, basically, ask why I’d hired her. I’d been on my own as far as hiring people for my area of responsibility for over a year and had never been questioned about any of the hires. Leaning back in his chair he told me not to worry about it and that he’d try and get an answer for me. That took a little pressure off me... but not a lot.

One of the things that was still on my mind about Gina was that both my friend Jay and my old boss, Mrs. K didn’t come across as being truly forthcoming with me about her when I’d asked. Because of the incident with the president I decided to go over to the County Center and track Jay down. I hadn’t been back since I’d quit and gone with the first bank and was curious to see how much the data processing department had grown in the two years since. Jay and I talked every so often and he’d told me of all the new processing equipment he’d gotten the County to buy. I got the OK from Hobie to leave early and had Bret take care of closing the vault. It only took five minutes to get there

For some reason I was a bit nervous as I approached the door of the DP department. The first thing I noticed was that the space the Purchasing department, which had been located right across the hall (remember Rena?), was now integrated into DP. The second thing I noticed was that I didn’t recognize anyone. After I told an older woman that I wanted to see Jay she pointed to an area that had once been the store room for the department. Jay was standing over a woman and gesturing to her about something. I immediately had second thoughts about my visit. Before I could turn and leave he saw me.

After the inevitable questions about our families I managed to broach the subject I’d come for... Gina. In writing this I’ve had a hard time trying to come up with a description of his reaction, both facial and with body language. He was clearly uncomfortable and led me out into the hallway. Cutting to the heart of the matter, he, point blank, asked if Gina had said anything about him. That really caught me by surprise. I had no idea that he was (or had been) in any way involved with her but the question and the manner in which he asked it told me he had. I remember shaking my head from side to side indicating that she hadn’t. Now I was really intrigued. I don’t remember how the conversation went from there but I did get across that she’d just walked into the bank and that when I interviewed her there had been no talk of any personalities from her days working for the County. I did volunteer that when I’d inquired about the lapse in time from when she left the County until the present she’d told me that she’d had a baby. I’m trying to remember if he showed any emotion and I really can’t. Then there was an awkward silence. Finally Jay gave out a big sigh and told me to follow him which I did. We ended up in the parking lot. I was at a loss as to what the whole story might be but I was realizing that when I’d had the thought that the hiring of Gina might be trouble was coming true.

Jay was clearly uncomfortable when he started to speak. One of the first things he said was that what he was going to tell me had, and he emphasized the “had”, to be just between the two of us. I remember thinking to myself “Do I really want to put my friend through this?” but he was already talking. Long story short... when Jo was pregnant with their daughter Jay had become “friendly” with Gina. He added that it had gotten a bit too “friendly”. BUT, and this is what might be called the “juicy” part, she was also being “friendly” with the County Purchasing officer at the same time. That was another surprise to me because when I’d worked at the Civil Service department he’d been dating Mrs. K’s secretary and,  as a married man, was the talk of the Center. In any case there arose a problem... Gina became pregnant.

I really didn’t know what to say or how to react. I know I must’ve had a surprised look on my face. After a short pause Jay continued. Before Gina began to “show” she resigned but she went looking for “help“ from both of them. He said that part got ”messy“ because the last thing he wanted was to have his wife find out. Gina absolutely refused to talk about an abortion. As far as paternity was concerned they would have to wait until the child was born. The purchasing officer was already separated from his wife so he and Jay agreed to cover her living expenses until it was determined. Unfortunately for the purchasing officer, his dalliance with Gina wasn’t that much of a secret and when word got out about her pregnancy it was spread throughout the County Center that he was the father. However, Jay said there had also been ”whispers’ that he'd been "involved" with Gina as well. He said nothing much had came of it because the Purchasing officer had had the reputation as a “ladies man”.

It was almost too much to digest on top of everything else that had gone on that day. I wanted to ask about the paternity but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. He ended the conversation by saying that he knew I’d keep the secret and slapped me on my back to emphasize it. As he headed back inside I felt like I’d just run a mile and yet I hadn’t done anything but stand by his truck. I sat in my car and wondered just what all of what he’d told me had to do with my being called into the president’s office. I was totally confused.                

To be continued...    

   

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128g)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128g)

Life at home that week was less than idyllic. Even though Elle had been teaching full time for a few weeks she still hadn’t mastered getting her lesson plans done, correcting papers, recording all the information required by the school system and still caring for our kids and running the household. What made that week especially bad was that Elle had her period. As soon as the kids were in bed... so was she. I tried to help out where I could but I was a poor substitute for her. I remember having to answer the question ”What’s wrong with mommy?“ more than once. I was hoping that she’d recover somewhat over the weekend because I needed time to prepare for a ”Gift“ Committee meeting Monday morning. To make matters worse for me I got a call Saturday afternoon from the man in charge of the Vestry at the church that there was to be a special meeting following the 10am service. I hated the 10am service because it ended up taking so much time out of the day. I’d gotten out of the last Vestry meeting using the ”busy period“ at work as my excuse so knew I’d have to attend this one. I felt like I was being pulled in many directions all at once but I couldn’t complain to Elle because she was in the same situation.

We were both pretty grumpy Monday morning. On the bright side symptoms from Elle’s period were letting up so I was looking forward to some ”loving“ in the upcoming days. However, my frustration from work didn’t allow me to get too far ahead of myself. When I saw Gina as I walked across the lobby I remembered my last words to her and wondered what I’d find her wearing when I got over to my desk. All I can say is that she had really nice legs... and I could see a lot of them. I wasn’t sure if any of the Trustees had noticed her the previous week but was sure that some of them would be upset when they saw just what she was wearing.

I think this is when I came to realize that some people were born to wear certain types of clothes. Gina was born to wear a mini skirt. I’ll admit my first thought was in wondering how long it would take for me to get my first panty peek. Bret was a little late arriving that morning but when he saw Gina it made him shake his head. He then turned to me to ask if I’d seen her. I think I laughed but I know I smiled. The first comment came from Trish. As I’ve indicated in previous posts, Trish was very conservative. I don’t remember her words but it was the rolling of her eyes that said it all. I remember taking somewhat of a deep breath and shrugging my shoulders. She clearly let me know she didn’t approve.

I want to say Gina’s skirt was shorter than what Jerena was wearing but, and this is what I meant in my first sentence in the previous paragraph, on her it didn’t look out of place. Jerena was short and Gina was tall. Gina’s was a pleated plaid and Jerena’s was light gray and somewhat flared. With the two of them working side by side Gina looked like she should be wearing a short skirt and Jerena looked a bit ”dumpy”.
                                         

Similar to what Gina wore but without the belt

I’d spent more time surveying that situation than I’d wanted and had to hustle to get upstairs to my meeting. I hadn’t noticed if any of the three Trustees who made up the committee had stopped in the lobby and when I walked in I was truly waiting for comments about Gina. But the only comment had more to do with Donna now being in the mortgage department than Gina being her replacement on the teller line. I think I breathed a sigh of relief.

Another of the things that “bugged” me about the Board of Trustees and the committees they created was that, for the most part, the people on them knew little to nothing about the subject they were to make decisions on. I’ll admit that I knew very little about gift campaigns but we wasted almost an hour on mundane things and not on the important ones like getting an approval from the banking department to even offer one and the costs of running it. I remember listening to them discussing (arguing) the merits of one brand of product over another and not on weather the base product would be desired by the public. It was a long morning!

Leaving the meeting the last person I wanted to see or talk to at that moment was J J. Even though he’d just gotten a replacement for the retiring settlement clerk he had approached Bert, the president, and talked him into letting him hire a “floater“. I tried to escape from him but he followed me down the stairs. His reasoning was that with the growth of the bank (the last ”busy period” notwithstanding) and with Summer vacations almost upon us he felt he needed someone to fill in during that time.

I’ve commented on and made “asides” about J J throughout the postings here. From reading them it could be interpreted that I didn’t like him. That wasn’t the case. He was a “good guy” and would do anything to help just about anybody. (I won’t deny that I had no use for his wife though.) But, when it came to common sense... well there wasn’t very much there. Good at his job dealing with the public and mortgages, he had horrible timing with just about everything else. He’d get an idea, good or bad, and want it to be acted on immediately.

I sort of lost my composure and, still on the stairs, let him have it. Fortunately, there were only a few customers in the lobby so it wasn’t a big scene. One thing I said, and knew immediately that I shouldn’t have, was that I wasn’t his lackey and that just because he was an assistant vice president didn't make him my boss my. I can’t tell you what his reaction was because I continued on down the stairs and left him just standing there.

When I got a call later that afternoon to go to the president’s office I figured that was it and that I’d gone way too far. I couldn’t have been farther from the matter at hand. Bert greeted me and then proceeded to close the door. Definitely not a good sign. You probably could’ve heard my heart pounding. After a few pregnant seconds he asked about how did I come to hire Gina. It was like I hadn’t heard him because I didn’t utter a sound. The question came from so far out in left field I couldn’t process it. After he, very calmly, asked a second time I told him that she’d been a walk in. I didn’t know what else to say. He prodded a bit and mentioned Donna which gave me the opening to explain how the whole thing had gone down. I started with Mary’s retirement (and not mentioning that J J had forgotten to let me or anyone know it was coming up) and went to the fact that I’d pretty much determined that Donna, as good as she was technically and the public, was a distraction for the other tellers. I’d felt that she would work best in an environment that didn’t involve too much interaction with other staff and suggested her to J J. When he liked the idea I had to hire a replacement and Gina was the first to walk through the doors. Since she had both money handling experience and had dealt with the public it was a “no brainer” for me. I really didn’t know what he was looking for so just sat there. He never asked another question. When I walked out the door it was like I’d just taken a shower with my clothes on.

To be continued...      

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128f)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128f)

There were more than a few raised eyebrows after Trish took Gina around to introduce her. I think the funniest thing was in watching some of the people from the mortgage department come down the stairs to try and take a peek of her and then to retreat back up the stairs. Actually, I was surprised it took J J so long to make it back down as he didn’t show up until mid morning. I’d put Leticia, the so called head teller, in charge of teaching Gina the terminal digit numbering system we used for filing the ledger cards. It was the only aspect of her job that she needed any training. They were not in sight when J J appeared so he headed for my desk. I didn’t have time for him but he insisted that I give him her background. Annoyed, I asked him why and he just gave me a leering smile back. The term “lecherous” comes to mind.

By lunchtime, Trish had processed all the paperwork for Gina and was familiar with her employment history. When she brought them over she, quite astutely, noted not only the break in employment but the fact that she’d be making less money with the bank than with the County. I decided to take her aside and asked her not to make it an “issue” and that, when the time came, I’d fill her in. She was somewhat disappointed but when I told her “I promise” she agreed. It left me wondering if I was going to be in for trouble in the future.

Gina had her own cash drawer and was waiting on customers on Friday. Her way with customers, men and women, was equal to or better than Donna’s and I noted a few walking away from her window with smiles. Her acceptance by the other tellers was not the same. I was sure it was her good looks that had them somewhat intimidated. However, she brushed it aside and made a conscious effort to be cordial to them. I’d placed her between Letitia and Jerena, the two polar opposites in both age and speed, hoping that in time she’d be a middle of the range choice for the depositors.

By Friday night J J had made at least a half dozen trips to the lobby and managed to get to Gina’s window a few times. Bret had picked up on that as well and I found it amusing being that Bret had made the phone call to me the previous weekend about her. He’d been “reserved“ in his dealings with her and I was a bit surprised. However, I did catch him sitting at his desk staring at her a few times.

Another amusing thing that happened that week was that on Wednesday, the first day Donna was upstairs, Laura wore her blue velour pants suit for the first time. It didn’t take me long to spy the VPL that I’d hoped would be forthcoming. Even though she had her jacket on it didn’t cover her backside when she bent over to get a file from a cabinet. The unique diamond shape of the SanSoucie panty crotch stood out prominently. Even though I’d yet to see any money for my ”investment“, I’d just gotten my first ”dividend“.

The week after the ”busy period“ was usually very slow as far as lobby traffic was concerned. I tried to take advantage of it advantage of it by getting a head start on what I’d overheard would be coming up for the next ”busy period“... a new account campaign featuring free gifts. The ”damage“ that the new bank to the West had done as far as net withdrawals (about 7%) had woken not only management up but also the Trustees. As previously mentioned, a number of new committees had been formed to combat the ”attack“. Among them were the branch committee (to find out what needed to be done to get State Banking Department approval); the acquisition committee (to find property for a branch); the service bureau committee (to determine what service bureau should do our depositor accounting when we had a branch {but was needed immediately}; and a ”gift“ committee (to choose gifts to provide to customers for a new account campaign during the next ”busy period“). I had nothing to do with the first two committees but was very involved with the other two. It annoyed me to no end that I was doing all the ”leg work“ and they’d get all the credit when the full Board made their ultimate decision.

I spent most of my time trying to track down companies that dealt in what the banking trade called ”premiums“ or gifts as far as the rest of the world was concerned. By Friday night I’d assimilated a list to present to the ”gift“ committee at their next meeting scheduled for the following Wednesday prior to the regular mortgage committee meeting. I quickly found out there was a lot to the process. I was wrapping it all up when Gina stopped by my desk on her way home. She wanted to thank me for not making her too uncomfortable about her ”situation“, as she called it. By then I’d pretty much forgotten about it so I think I just smiled back at her. Then, changing the subject, she caught me by surprise and asked about the dress code.

She’d worn somewhat tight fitting skirts that fell just above her knees for each of the days she’d been at the bank which, compared to some, was conservative. Whenever I’d thought of it I’d checked on just how tight they’d been, looking for a possible VPL, but hadn’t noticed any. After she’d asked the question I realized I hadn’t touched on the code with her. Her question was a bit unexpected and she asked if we had a limit on the length of skirts. As I said, I wasn't expecting the question and took it the wrong way. I’m shaking my head as I write this to think I’d been so ”thick“. I thought she meant the long way, from waist to the ground. She laughed, heartedly, at my answer and then quickly apologized. I apologized too... for being so out of it. Then she wanted to know how short could she go and noted the shortness of Jerena’s skirt. I don’t remember what I answered probably because I was somewhat conflicted with the issue. On the one hand I knew what the attorney Board member had stated in that if the bank set limits we could be subject to law suits. On the other hand I knew that the majority of the Board was conservative and didn’t like mini skirts, at least for the employees. I tried to end the conversation by telling her that pants suits had just been approved. She said she didn’t own any and gave me a look that I took to mean ”help me out here“. I closed it off by getting up from my desk and asking her to try and be ”reasonable“ with her choices. (That was the bank officer speaking but the ”inner me“ was thinking ”Go for it!, Gina, Go for it!“.)

To be continued...