Friday, July 31, 2015

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135d)

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135d)

What Sabrina saw was two grown adults in clothes almost totally soaked plus three children in the same condition. I wouldn’t say the look on her face was one of shock but it was close to it. She was dressed as if she’d just come from a lawn party. A flowered chiffon dress that came to just above her knees was what she was wearing. I hate to admit it but she did look good. She wanted to know what was going on and as the kids gathered around her they told her she should try it too. She laughed her little girl laugh and then politely declined. Elle told the kids to go on without us. The three of us then went over to the patio and took a seat around the picnic table. Knowing that Sabrina had been spending time with Bebe I tried to get some more information without being ‘pushy’. As soon as I mentioned Bebe her expression changed. The fire chief had told me about Bebe’s brother but I didn’t know who knew and who didn’t so took a different ‘tack’ (sailing term). I asked where Bebe and her family were going to be staying. At first she gave a ‘hands up’ signaling to me that she didn’t know. Then, as if a light came on she jumped up and said that maybe they could stay at her house. I knew she didn’t have much furniture and the only bed in the house was hers so kind of dismissed the idea right away. My ‘take’ was it was a hair brained idea from an ‘air head'.

But she seemed fully committed to the idea and started bouncing up and down. She already knew that there were literally no rentals available as Tom had told both she and Martin that some relatives of his had tried to get a place right before the 4th of July. Most rentals were signed up almost a year in advance because our geographic area was a Summer destination. It was obvious that she was sincere about the concept so I tried to reel her enthusiasm in a bit by reminding her about her lack of furniture, especially beds. She wasn’t going to be deterred and headed back through the hedge.

By then both Elle and I were getting a bit cold. Wet clothes, even in almost 80 degrees but with a stiff breeze blowing, can chill a person very quickly. As Elle stood up I could see her backside wasn’t all that wet and I grabbed her and pulled her into my lap. With my right hand buried into her crotch I asked if she would ‘go’. I got a ‘look’ but within seconds I could feel my groin and upper thighs get unusually warm. We didn’t stay that way long as Elle was concerned that the kids would be getting cold as well.

Listening to the news on the way in to work in the morning I heard the official ‘word’ about the death in the Always Inn fire. But, there was something very unexpected in that news... fire officials believed that the cause was an explosion and not in the kitchen area. Preliminary speculation had been that the fire started in or around the kitchen even though it didn’t start until after 1am. That was all the information that was given. I didn’t dwell on it but it did get me to thinking about Sabrina’s idea of letting Bebe and her family stay at her house. I wondered where she went after leaving our place the previous evening and if she was able to generate any interest.

Arriving around 8:45am I was shocked to see J J’s VW 'bug' in the parking lot. He never got in early usually arriving about 9:10am or so. Also in the parking lot were the cars for Bert and Hobie. I pretty much knew why they were all there. What I didn’t expect was to be called to Bert’s office right after the doors were opened to the public. J J wasn’t in his office as I walked by so I assumed he was in Bert’s office... but he wasn’t. It was just Bert and Hobie. Told to sit down after closing the door I listened to Bert say that what I was about to hear was not to go any further. It sounded ominous and I wondered why I was there.

Basically I was asked what I’d seen as the acting Secretary for the mortgage committee meeting.  I went over everything including Joe’s ‘attack’ on the new account/gift campaign where he’d totally ignored the chairman of the gift selection committee and got the other members to agree with his position. Then I told them how Joe challenged J J’s underwriting skills on a number of mortgage submissions and that J J wasn’t allowed to explain or to defend his position. That led to J J telling Joe ‘off’ and Joe shouting back at him. At that point I was told that ‘Polak’ Joe had seriously overstepped his position. I was told that the Chairman of the Board had called for a special meeting that afternoon and the situation was to be fully addressed at that time. They told me that even though J J had been wrong to challenge Joe and to have gotten into a shouting match with him he was still employed. Then I was told, emphatically, not to talk about the situation with anybody, inside or outside the bank, as it was strictly a private matter. I was then excused. As I walked out I checked J J’s office and it was still empty.

Lobby traffic had fallen off dramatically and as I came down the stairs I could see that there were no customers opening new accounts. The three girls were just chatting with each other so I decided to find something for them to do. The tool kits that we were giving away as gifts were still not moving. I’d confirmed that we could return one gross of them so decided to have the girls pack them up. When they’d arrived we had no place to store them in the cartons they were shipped in. The only place we had was under the stairs right at the very bottom and to get them placed there we had to take them out of the cartons. Lillian had climbed under the stairs and Fran and Karen passed the individual boxes in to her. It had been enjoyable watching Lillian as she showed little modesty as she moved about in the cramped space. For that reason I was tempted to have her be the one to retrieve them but the reality of the situation called for it to be more prudent to have her spend the time working with Katy, the drive-up teller, who she’d soon replace. That left just Fran and Karen. Fran had been adamant that she wouldn’t compromise herself by climbing under the stairs and she was again. Even though she wore very short dresses and skirts she knew how to do it with grace. I looked over at Karen who just stood there not saying a word. Finally she shrugged her shoulders and made a bit of a disapproving face.

We’d thrown the original packaging used to ship the tool kits into the trash so knew we had to find replacement cartons. Hank, the messenger/custodian, had located some heavy cardboard boxes used to ship typewriters. I showed them how to place the individual kits inside the boxes and then left them to get to work taking Lillian over to the drive-up window. One of the caveats to getting Lillian to stay was in offering Fran, her best friend, a job. The only thing I could come up with was organizing the old records located in the basement. She wasn’t overly thrilled but it was a job and she would still be working (sort of) with her friend, Lillian. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure it was all going to work and I fully expected Fran to be a potential problem.

To be continued...

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135c)

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135c)

Never comfortable without Hobie when I was meeting with Trustees I immediately went to Trish to see who was on the mortgage committee for the month. They rotated every month with each Trustee serving as Chairman during the year. I was ambivalent to the first names she read off but when I heard ‘Polak Joe’, I cringed. There was another name I wasn’t too thrilled about, he being the chairman of the gift selection committee. I’d heard some ‘asides’ attributed to him about the poor presentation of the gifts so knew he’d have something to say before, during or after the mortgages were presented. But it was Joe that bothered me. This was the first time he would be actually voting on anything. Up to this time he'd been limited to his ‘words of wisdom’ (NOT!), and he had plenty to say. Before he left Hobie gave me a bit of a pep talk saying that the Chairman of the Board was on the committee this month and he’d keep Joe in check. I could only hope.

Trish was a big help getting me prepared with all the materials that were to be handed out. She’d given some indication that she was not a big ‘fan’ of Joe in the past and when he walked across the lobby a full half hour prior to the meeting she gave me a warning. Right from when he joined the Board he’d sidle up to employees and ask them questions about how things were going. When he did that to her he turned her off as he was trying to get something on Hobie. On this afternoon he went right to Gina’s window. I was in no position to hear any conversation but on almost every window transaction the teller would have to leave the window to get a ledger card or to check a signature. Gina never left her position. After seeing Joe with Gina for so long Trish made the comment that she didn’t like the looks of it. It was a bit of a surprise to me in that Trish had never ‘taken’ to Gina. It was primarily due to the fact that she was an unwed mother. Being Polish, Catholic values prevailed but now her distrust of ‘Polak’ Joe overrode that.

I still had to work on the 'numbers' for the new account campaign but felt it behooved me to talk with Gina. During the ‘busy period’ I’d made a point of using the other tellers to avoid any sly comments from her. But this was important. She had left her window to get a ledger card so I intercepted her. It took a few seconds for me to make myself clear that she’d done nothing wrong but that I dearly needed to know why Joe had spent so much time with her. She seemed puzzled with the question but managed to say that he wanted to know how the teller area was functioning. She had to get back to her customer and I had to finish my preparations for the meeting so I left it at that. At least he was consistent with his inquiries.

I’ve tried to come up with one word to describe the meeting and decided upon “frenetic’. The Chairman of the Board was supposed to be there as just a member of the mortgage committee but he didn’t show up. The chairman of the mortgage committee saw that he was missing a total of three members and didn’t know if he had enough to constitute a legitimate meeting. If Hobie had been there or the Trustee that was a local attorney it could’ve been easily determined. But he wasn’t sure so he went to the telephone. While he was doing that Joe took control of the other members who were there. It was as if he was in charge, asking what they thought of the new account/gift campaign. I was expecting a comment or two from the sub-committee chairman who had chosen the gifts but Joe blindsided me. He went around the table, basically ‘grilling’ the others and in some cases actually ‘led’ their answers. It was obvious that he thought that it could’ve/should’ve been better and he managed to get the others to fall in line. The sub-committee chairman never protested being bypassed. Never once was I asked a question or allowed to speak to inform them of the results.

By the time he was finished the Trustee who’d been on the phone reported that they could review the applications and their action(s) would be ratified at the next meeting. I thought that would be the end of Joe’s verbal assault(s). Out of the seven or eight mortgages that were reviewed Joe asked pointed questions on at least four of them. J J, the mortgage officer, was there to present them and I could see his face get redder with each challenge from Joe. When J J finished he was told by Joe that there were too many unanswered questions and that for the following week’s meeting he wanted to see an improvement. My thoughts were where does he get the 'balls' to do something like that?

I think I told you that J J was Irish and also from the city. When he exploded at Joe I wanted to cheer. The two yelled back and forth for a few minutes before some of the other’s got in between them. J J’s face looked like a ripe tomato while Joe just stood there with his arms folded across his chest as if to say ”Come on! Try me!“. Bert, the president, wasn’t a member of the Committee for July but someone had notified him about all the shouting. When he appeared in the doorway I thought J J was a goner, for sure. Bert told him to go to his (Bert’s) office and wait. I was excused and headed downstairs. When I left the room the Trustees were just milling about with Joe still in the ‘challenge me’ position. Downstairs, the employees had gone for the day and I knew better than to wait around. Driving home I wondered if I’d see J J at the bank again. Another ’Hot’ day!

The way the day had gone I’d not thought all that much about the fire at the Always Inn and how Bebe and her family were doing. However, as soon as I got in the car that’s where my thoughts went. I stopped at the firehouse hoping that there would be someone there who could give me an update. The Chief, a big, rugged man was standing on the apron looking at two of their three trucks as I pulled up. I knew him from one of my parent’s parties. The stern look on his face made me think twice about approaching him... but I did. He didn’t recognize me but when I identified who my my parents were his demeanor changed. Still, with a dour look on his face, he sort of whispered that the news wasn’t good. It wasn’t ‘for publication’ but it appeared that Bebe’s brother had died in the fire.

During the day Elle had received a number of calls about the fire but didn’t add anything to what I already knew. I debated with myself to tell her about the death but decided to keep it to myself. It was a quiet meal with little conversation. The girls picked up on it and Elle suggested that I take them outside to play. The weather, still very warm and rain free, was now taking it’s toll on the lawn. I pulled out an old lawn sprinkler that I’d gotten when my grandparents house was sold. I called it ‘the clicker’ because as it sprayed the water it made a clicking sound. My grandfather had attached it to a wooden crate that had been used to deliver glass soda pop bottles way back in time. I’d had a lot of fun with it when I’d lived with my grandparents and thought the kids might like it. I set it up and turned the water on... then, fully dressed, ran underneath the stream of water coming from it... much to the delight of the kids. Kaye, the youngest, decided to do it as well and laughed the whole time. The trouble with that was that she also had on clothes and not a bathing suit. Elle saw us and came out from the house, yelling at me. I actually thought it was cute so ignored her and challenged the older two to follow me. Elle tried to stop them but they, wanting to have fun the same fun as their little sister took off under the stream of spraying water. On what was probably my third of fourth ‘pass’ through it I headed for Elle, grabbing her around the waist. I held her there even though she was yelling at me to let her go. I could see the stream headed our way and made sure she got a good dousing. When that happened the kids went wild with laughter. Elle broke free from me and, now pretty much soaked, started chasing me with all the kids following. I headed for the hedge between our house and Sabrina’s and as I did, Sabrina appeared.

To be continued... 

Sunday, July 26, 2015

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135b)

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135b)

After getting cleaned up and into bed neither of us could get our minds off what we’d witnessed. I remember Elle declaring that she never wanted to go to another fireworks show... ever! From my perspective it was I ‘d go but at a very safe distance from the ‘action’. As we were leaving the site I’d tried to get some information about anyone being hurt, primarily the guys who were in the ‘firing area’. The cop guiding the traffic out of the area was in no mood for conversation and just waved us on by. I knew that Bret would have some ‘inside information’ in the morning as his brother-in-law was a ranking fire official.

When Elle’s 2am alarm went off to get her up to make a bathroom visit neither of us had been to sleep but for short periods of time. I’d become so used to all three alarms that on some nights I never heard any of them. It was still very warm out and very little wind so all the windows were open. I remember hearing a truck out on the dual highway. Then we heard the fire house siren. The fire house was located in town and, as the crow flies, about a mile away. However, on this night it sounded like it was out by our garage. I was one of those rare kids that never wanted to be a fireman. So, after moving back to town when we bought the house, I declined the offer to join the all volunteer department. However, my parents were big supporters and held a party for the members each Fall. I’d helped them out a couple of times and had gotten to know some of the members. One of them, in trying to get me to change my mind, invited me to visit the fire house. I'll admit it was interesting and there were a few things I remembered from the visit. One had to do with the siren. There were four separate sound sequences. The most common was one that had a WoooooEeeeeeWooooEeeeeee sound. That indicated a low level fire, usually a brush fire. The other one that I remembered had a long, continuous wail. Fortunately it was one that was seldom used. It usually meant there was a house fire and lives were at risk. I’d only heard it a couple of times so when I heard it that night it caught my attention.

When it stopped I could hear the fire engines with their sirens going. The sound seemed to be disappearing which told me the fire was in the opposite direction. Eventually, we both fell asleep but it wasn’t long before I saw it get light. Elle was basically out cold and didn’t hear me get up and dressed. Without the kids there was no reason to wake her up. Even though I was facing a busy day at work I couldn’t get the sound of the fire siren out of my mind so I decided to take a slight detour and to drive past the fire house. Because it was an all volunteer department it meant department members who lived a ways out of town needed to know where the fire was when they arrived at the station and the trucks were gone. There was a big 4’ by 4’ blackboard attached to the front of the building where the location would be written and could easily be seen from the street. As I drove by and read the location I felt my heart beat go up. Just two words... ALWAYS INN.

The Always Inn was the restaurant/bar owned and run by Bebe’s parents. I knew that they, as well as Bebe and sometimes her brother, lived upstairs from the restaurant. A few years younger than Elle and I, I’d known who she was but hadn’t gotten to know her until this Summer. But, that fact didn’t lessen the thought process about her safety. In spite of knowing I had to get to work I decided to take a ride by the fire location to see for myself.

On my one visit to the firehouse there was one thing that had caught my attention. It was a very large map on the rear wall showing the whole fire district. All the roads were clearly marked as were all the fire hydrants. There were also numbers posted on specific areas of the map, mostly on the perimeter. I distinctly remember asking about them and was told they represented the expected response time. One area I was particularly interested in was where both Elle’s and my parents lived. The number was a 12 meaning that it should take about twelve minutes to arrive. I also remember seeing some much bigger numbers... well up into the 20’s. Knowing where the Always Inn was located I knew it was a long way out. Not good.

I timed my ride and it was over 20 minutes... and that was in a car and not a multi ton, large fire engine. The roads were all narrow and through farm fields with multiple 90 degree turns. To get to the Always Inn you had to make one last 90 degree turn and then go down about a 25 degree grade. As I approached the turn I saw barricades across the road and manned by a policeman. Pulling up to him I saw it was my neighbor’s brother-in-law. At first he was indicating for me to turn around. When I got up to him and he could see who I was we got to chat a bit. Bebe, her mother and father had been accounted for. The question was about Bebe’s brother. No one had seen him in a while.

Lee was the same age as Elle and I and had, at one time, been in Elle’s class at school. He was always considered to be ’different’ and by the time he was to start high school he’d been left back a couple of times. All Elle and I knew was that shortly after he started he was suspended. From that period on no one knew where he was at any given time. Elle’s father, a fisherman, used the dock at the Always Inn as his base of operations each Spring and, from time to time, he’d tell us stories about Lee, none good.

I talked the cop into letting me walk part way down the hill to look at the remains. What a shock. All that was left was the South wall and part of what had been a porch for eating. There was still smoke rising from the ashes and a firetruck still pumping water on them. The best way to describe how I felt driving to work was ‘drained’.

It was about 9:15am when I made my way in to work. The lobby, as expected, was full and, thankfully, there were people lined up to open new accounts. The first thing I did was to ask Bret about the fireworks show and if there had been any injuries. He didn’t know about that but did have the cause of the explosion(s).  Each of the men who were setting the fireworks off had a road flare to use to ignite the fuses and two of them had collided with one dropping his flare. That lit flare ended up against a series of fuses tied together for the rockets that were to be set off to end the show. They had been lying on their side in their tubes awaiting the time to set them up for detonation. I told him the scene was pretty spectacular but not what I’d expected. He smiled. 

With a mortgage committee meeting that afternoon I knew I needed to have all the current information concerning the new account/gift campaign together so Hobie could present it to the Trustees. Speaking of Hobie, his son was now at home recuperating from his injuries after being hit by a car. I could tell he was still concerned about him and asked if he wanted me to take the meeting for him. He hesitated but then said it might be a good idea. Truthfully, I was kicking myself for having offered.

To be continued...    

Thursday, July 23, 2015

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135a)

HOT, HOT, HOT... in many ways (Part 135a)

We ended up having supper with Elle’s parents. Her mother was jealous of any time our kids spent with my mother even though she saw them at least three times a week. In any case, we had to go home to shower and change before heading for the fireworks show. Choosing what to wear was a bit of a problem because it would definitely get cooler by the water after the sun went down. I’ve always been a mosquito magnet so I decided to wear a pair of slacks for protection. Elle wasn’t sure just what to do. Finally she chose white knit slacks and a tank top but took a long sleeve one for later. The real discussion came with a panty choice. She wasn't willing to forgo her dribble panties because I couldn't guarantee that we’d be home within her basic two hour window. I told her that it was entirely up to her and then she surprised me by adding a second pair but without a pair of sanitary panties.

The show was scheduled to start at dusk, somewhere around 9:15pm. However, the sponsors representatives were supposed to be there at 9pm to get recognition. One of the ‘perks’ for being a sponsor was there was reserved parking as well as a cordoned off viewing area for them. The reason the Town Beach was chosen as the site was that it was the one area the township owned where the fall-out from the explosives would do the least damage. Parking on the grounds was a problem but the town, for this one event, allowed parking along the sides of the road leading to the beach itself. There were also limited rest room facilities so to offset that two banks of porta-potties were brought in... one on the east side of the parking lot and one on the right.

We couldn’t believe how far down the road cars were parked... in both directions. It took a while to get to the parking lot entrance even though it was almost an hour before the first shot went up. Fortunately, the police chief was directing traffic at that spot. He knew who I was and allowed me to enter. Sure enough, there was an area set aside marked ‘Sponsors’ and I pulled right in. The area set aside for viewing was on a small sand dune across the back of that parking area. It was perfect. I could see the rows of explosives from there. We brought our folding chairs but some of the others who’d arrived before us had spread blankets or towels right on the sand. Still warm, there was just a slight breeze blowing in the opposite direction of where we were located. The best of all worlds because we wouldn’t be getting any of the smoke.

I had to go through the introductions of all the sponsors. I don’t think anyone paid any attention to us at all. I’d suggested that Elle might want to use the porta potty before it got dark but she declined. I knew she hated them with a passion but asked anyway. The fireworks show was to take but a half hour and withe the 9:15pm start was sure we'd be home by 10:30pm, Elle's 'witching hour'. We really got into the show because it had been many years since we’d seen live fireworks and there were a lot that we’d never seen before. It was about ten minutes into the show when right in front of us there was this loud explosion and it wasn’t one of the displays going up. As I mentioned before, we could see the rows of tubes from which they were launched. I could see three forms, men darting about in the darkness with flares used to light the fireworks. But just about the time of the explosion I only saw one of them. Within a matter of seconds there were many explosions and none of them in the air. Then the whole launch area seemed to be on fire and pandemonium broke out.

There were two fire trucks there more to put out any brush fires that might’ve started due to falling debris than to contain a conflagration like what Elle and I were witnessing. With all the cars stuffed into the parking lot and now, with people in panic mode, it was almost impossible for them to make their way to the carnage. From our preferred view, it didn’t look like the spectators were in danger as the explosives were quite a ways from them. The sponsors area was closest and I could see that the tubes that had been knocked over and were exploding were facing away from us and towards the water. However, my words to Elle, trying to explain that we were safe, fell on deaf ears. I knew some of of the other sponsors, at least the males, and the ones nearest us felt the same as I. We knew it was useless to go to our cars as the parking lot wasn’t moving... in any direction, but the women were scared.

After the explosions stopped and there was only fire I got Elle calmed down enough to sit back down. It took the firemen at least 20 minutes to get close enough to even start to put water on what was left. We ended up joining two other couples who had witnessed the same thing and agreed that none of us had ever seen anything like this before. As much fire as there was I honestly never felt much heat. That was because the wind was blowing it, and the smoke, in the other direction.

It was close to 11pm before we (the three couples) were ready to start towards our cars. When I indicated to Elle that we were leaving she grabbed my arm and told me she couldn’t get up. With all that had been going on I never once gave her ‘problem’ a thought. She pulled me down to whisper in my ear and said that she was wet and didn’t want the others to see her. I made some excuse to them and hung back for a minute or two. When Elle stood up it was obvious, even in the darkness, that she wasn’t kidding. The dribble panties and knit pants she had on had held most of her pee and with the wicking action of the liquid it had spread all across her backside.

One look at her when we got into our kitchen told me that I just had to get a picture... no matter what it cost me. She was tired and, thankfully, didn’t want to argue. She agreed but with one caveat... it was to be of her pants only. At that point I didn’t care. I just wanted a picture. As I’ve written, I’d decided to keep the camera in the hall closet so it took but a few seconds to get it. I was nervous and fumbled getting the bellows to open and that’s when she told me she was counting to ten. Whew!
                                                 

After the picture she made straight for the bathroom. But, as I’ve been writing, there had been a change in Elle’s attitude and been much more liberal about pictures and when she came out she had a half smile on her face and her wet slacks in her hand. She handed them to me and told me the price of the picture was for me to wash them. Then she headed up the stairs. It was a small price to pay.

To be continued...  

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134i)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 124i)

Elle had fallen asleep while watching television. She was in the reclining chair, tilted back, with the TV still on. As I walked up to her I could see that she was wet. The chair was vinyl so that was a good thing. I tried to wake her gently but that didn’t work. She tried to sit up but with the seat back she just flailed her arms. I grabbed one of her hands and pulled the chair up to a normal sitting position and that’s when she realized she was wet. Thinking that she was peeing right then she jumped up and headed for the bathroom which was only a few feet away. I kind of laughed at her as
 I followed her in. She started to pull her shorts down when I told her it was too late. Still half asleep she didn’t understand. I then just guided her down on the seat and again, told her she was too late. She tried to get up but I wouldn’t let her and told her to just let her pee go. I waited for a few seconds and then asked if she went. That’s when she realized what had happened... and laughed. That was a good sign, for sure.

She was too tired for any kind “play” so it was as we turned out the lights that I told her about having to attend the fireworks show. Being dark, I couldn’t read the expression on her face. I asked if she wanted to go and after a few seconds said she thought it would be fun. When I asked about the kids she said she was sure her mother would take them but she reminded me that we were expected to visit with my parents during the day. It was somewhat of a tradition that we visit on the three Summer holidays... Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor day. I actually knew that but had repressed the thought. So, as I lay there trying to go to sleep and listening to the music from next door, I tried to figure just out what we’d do while at my parents house. The kids loved the beach that was there. However, our Sunfish sailboat was now at the sailing club. I knew I could go there and sail it back but that was a lot of effort. I also knew that the people who rented the house to the West of my parents house had made arrangements to use the house owner’s sailboat. Talking them into letting me use it was a distinct possibility. I’d done it in the past with the only caveat being that I’d have to give them a sailing ‘lesson’ or two. That was my plan as I dozed off.

We were experiencing an extended period of good weather so it was no surprise to wake up to bright sunshine. Curious to see if Martin had stayed overnite with Sabrina I went into Kaye’s room to look into her yard and driveway. The stove that “B” had used to cook the lobsters was still in the driveway so I couldn’t really tell. I was smiling to myself as I peered out through the open window thinking back to what Martin had proclaimed back in the Spring... “No more females for me!”.

I still had some of the Sunfish gear in the station wagon from Sunday so went outside to remove it. Once again I heard the sounds of music so, instinctively, went to the hedge to see the source. I actually made Martin jump when my head and shoulders popped through. He was cleaning up the yard from the night before. I’m not sure he was embarrassed or not but when Sabrina came out of the house with what appeared to be a beach cover-up I thought I saw him blush a bit. She called over to us asking if they’d been too noisy the night before. It didn’t appear to bother her that whatever it was that she was wearing was sheer enough that I could see the brown of her nipples and the outline of her panties. When Martin tried to get between me and Sabrina it was obvious (to me) that he didn’t want me to see her that way. I just assured them that the noise had been tolerable and ducked back into my yard.

When we got to my parents house I noticed that there was only one car at the neighbor’s house. On most weekends and on holidays there were usually four or more cars parked there. That somewhat annoyed my father as they usually infringed on his property. The first question I asked my mother was what was going on. Her answer was a total surprise in that Jeannette, one of the sisters that rented the place, had separated from her husband. She was the one with the inquisitive son, Danny, who loved to go sailing. It was impossible to get Jeannette’s sister to get in a boat and almost as hard to get her out on the beach. The news was good in that I wouldn’t have to devote any time to take Jeannette and Danny sailing and could spend the time taking Elle and the kids out.

Just to be polite I told the sister about my plan to use the boat. She seemed pleased that it would get used. She even helped me get the gear from the garage and to the beach. Even though Jeannette wasn’t there I couldn’t help but think about how different the sisters were. Jeannette, a natural blond and petite loved all aspects of the water. Karen, tall, dark haired and big boned only made token appearances on the beach or out in the water. I’ll admit that I’d been looking forward to seeing Jeanette because of her penchant for short shorts that often revealed her panties under the leg openings.

After getting the boat all rigged and the sails up I went to gather the kids and Elle for a sail but there were no takers. My mother had the older ones in the kitchen making up potato salad for a party they were hosting that evening. With the proximity of the beach that was a bit of a surprise. Kaye, even though there was hardly any wind at all and there was little chance for the boat tipping, didn’t want to go out. She just wanted to play in the sand. Elle didn’t want to leave her alone so all that left was me.

The type of boat was called a sloop... two sails rather than just one like on the Sunfish. With the amount of wind, or lack thereof, that was blowing at the time it was easy to sail it alone. But sailing alone can also be boring. I was out for about ten minutes when my thoughts went back to my having seen Sabrina and Martin earlier. She’d reminded me at her party that, in a moment of weakness, I’d promised to take her for a sail. I decided that this would be the perfect time to do it. I’d get my obligation out of the way and maybe even have some fun in the process.

I called her and made the offer. Because Martin and my brother were friends he knew the way to my parents house and within the half hour they were there. It had been a while since Martin had been there so I reintroduced him, as well as Sabrina, to my parents. My mother had ‘the gift of gab’ and used it while I, impatiently, stood by. I finally broke in and got them out to the beach. Martin was dressed in regular clothes but Sabrina was wearing the same thing she’d been wearing earlier but with a bathing suit under it. Walking down the beach to the boat she stripped it off and then it came to me... the flowered panties I’d seen her wearing earlier in the Spring and that had been driving me crazy trying to see again were actually the bottom part of a two piece bathing suit. They looked and fit just like the full brief panties that Elle wore only there was a matching bra to go with them. Finally, the mystery had been solved.
                                          

Sabrina and Martin

In a way it was a good thing the wind hadn’t come up. Sabrina was very unsure of herself once in the boat. I walked the boat out into deeper water and when I jumped aboard the boat rocked a few times. I’m sure that the people five of six houses away heard her scream. Martin had sailed when away at Summer camp many years before and when I explained some of the nuances of sailing he seemed to grasp them. Sabrina was ‘on edge’ the whole time we were out, about an hour. They thanked me for the ride and then Martin said they had to “make an appearance” at his parents place. I could only smile at that.

To be continued...

Sunday, July 19, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134h)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part134h)

As we were finishing up handing out the coolers I saw Hobie approaching and looking very concerned. He called for me to come over to where he’d stopped in the lobby. The telephone call he’d been on was telling him that his teen aged son had been hit by a car and was on his way to the hospital via ambulance. In past posts I’ve told of the bank’s participation in various Chamber of Commerce promotions. It was always a big sponsor of the 4th of July fireworks show. Hobie was the primary representative at meetings and functions with me filling in occasionally. Donors to the fireworks shows were rewarded with a choice viewing spot and reserved parking. Hobie had always taken his family but with his son’s condition in question he wanted to alert me that I should be prepared to go. The venue was at the town beach which was a perfect place from which to watch but with serious parking problems. That was the primary reason Elle and I never attended. A secondary one was that the girls weren’t all that fond of loud noises. I felt badly about his son and told him that I’d be there to represent the bank if he called. It was one of those mixed emotion deals... and I wasn’t sure how Elle would feel about it.

The cooler handout went well with most recipients appreciative of the gift. There were a few who declined so by the time everybody had left there were a few left over. I asked Bret if he was interested in another and he readily accepted. He’d heard Mala’s comment about them being a perfect diaper bag and he had another baby on the way. I took an extra one as well although I hoped it wouldn’t be for use with diapers. In a few of our recent sexual encounters we’d failed to use ‘protection’ so there was the lingering doubt until ‘that time of the month’ arrived.

I decided not to mention anything about the fireworks show to Elle, choosing to wait until I heard something from Hobie. When I was walking up to the house I heard music from over at Sabrina’s yard. Never knowing what to expect I made my way to the opening in the hedge. “Big B” was unloading things from the back of his father’s pick-up. There was a stove like contraption in the driveway in front of the truck. Then I saw Pete and Tom carrying a large table with the legs that fold up under it. I watched for about a minute when I heard the unmistakable voice of Sabrina calling to me. She wanted to know when we’d be over. I asked her “For what?”. Then she realized I hadn’t yet seen Elle.

She was hosting a “lobster party” and “B” was the cook. He was amazing and it sometimes seemed like there wasn’t anything he wasn’t capable of. Sabrina told me that she’d spoken to Elle about it but didn’t really get an answer from her. I told her I’d find out and would probably be back. Walking into the house I could hear Elle on the phone. It was Hobie. His son was in the ICU with multiple broken ribs, broken leg and fractured wrist. He didn’t have to say anything more... I knew I was now going to the fireworks show the next night. I still didn’t say anything to Elle, wanting to know about the lobster party next door. She hadn’t said “yes” because of the kids. She knew it was much to short a notice to get her mother to take them but hadn’t said “no” thinking I’d probably want to go.

I did. I’d never turn down a free lobster meal. I stayed home while the kids ate their supper and then headed next door. By then there were two big steaming pots on the stove, two tables, a tub with a quarter keg of beer and about a dozen people. I recognized the “unmarried’s” crew as well as Jon’s (the milkman) sister, Leigh, and my brother. Martin, of course, was there as he and Sabrina were a confirmed twosome. Bebe, Pete’s girlfriend, was also there. However, there were four women I’d never seen before. All the people I knew were dressed very casually but the four of them looked like they were dressed for a formal lawn party. Sabrina grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me over to the women to introduce me. They were some of the writers that she had hoped to connect with during the Summer. It took me but seconds to see just what ‘phonies’ they were. Self promoting pseudo sophisticates is how I tabbed them. The one older woman, when telling me her name, held out her hand and it felt like a damp washcloth. She informed me that Sabrina was a “bright light” in an otherwise dim literary world. Of course, Sabrina ate that up and thanked her profusely. All I knew was that I didn’t want any part of them. Just give me my lobster and I’d be happy.

Pete and Bebe got me up to speed on Sabrina and Martin. Now with a car, he was driving out in mid week to see her. Pete winked and I took it to mean he was staying at her house when he did. I did know he was staying with his parents on the weekends and, with a smile, wondered what was happening that night. Right from the time I’d first met Bebe I’d wondered how she was able to get off from work like she did what with her parents owning the restaurant where she worked. When I asked she laughed. With a twinkle in her eyes she answered that she was “Daddy’s girl”. She went on to say, in a much more serious tone, that she worked in the mornings by cleaning up from the night before and then through lunch as a waitress. For the evening’s seating her parents had basically the same crew of servers for years and they didn’t want to make a change to slot in Bebe. She said she liked it because she had most of her evenings free. With that she smiled and turned both her palms up signifying that was why she was able to be there.

I avoided Sabrina's guests as best I could spending some time with “B”. As I’ve posted before, “B” was an over the road salesman for a boating supply company calling on large marinas. However, he also had a bit of a side business selling the same stuff at a discount to his friends. One of them was a lobsterman and, from time to time, “B” took lobsters in lieu of money. It was a bit too early for corn to be in season so it was store bought salads for the accompaniments. By the time it came to cook the lobsters the unmarrieds were well into the suds, especially Tom. Of them all, he was probably the funniest and, with a supply of beer, he became the entertainment. Not far behind him was Leigh. At one point she fell off the table she was sitting on which was also funny.

To me, the funniest scene was watching Sabrina fawn all over her four guests, especially the older woman. Even though I only heard partial conversations I could recognize most of it as pure bull. Even though it was none of my business I felt badly for her. I had no idea if she had any talent but they were just laying it on her and she was eating it up.

During the evening I got talking to “B” about using his sailboat. I knew it was OK during the week when he was on the road but I just wanted to confirm it. Sabrina overheard us and asked when I was going to take her sailing. I’d forgotten about mentioning it to her so it caught me by surprise. Not wanting to commit to a specific date I told her I’d call.

None of Sabrina’s four ‘guests’ held any interest for me as far as panty peeks were concerned. Jon’s sister had on a short skirt but not really a mini. Bebe was wearing khaki shorts but had on what appeared to be a man’s shirt with the sleeves cut off and the tails tied in front. When talking with her I’d tried to position myself so that I’d get either a DP (down pants) or VPL (visible pants line) but was unsuccessful. Sabrina was wearing a sun dress but I was pretty sure there was no slip with it. I saw a nice silhouette when she was in the sun but I couldn’t see her panties. It was around 10:30pm when I started to get bored and made the rounds saying my “good nights”. I’d pretty much ignored Jon’s sister, Leigh, but as I turned towards the opening in the hedge I saw her fall and roll onto her back. She wasn’t more than 10 feet away and, even with the poor light from the porch I was able to see a somewhat familiar crotch design... the diamond shape of Sans Soucie panties. I went over to help her up and ended up getting a confirming view. The problem was that she was so drunk she couldn’t stand up by herself. I didn’t know what to do with her. “B” saw me and came to my rescue. He picked her up like she was a feather and took her over to an Adirondack chair. I quickly ducked through the hedge and the safety of home.  

To be continued...

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134g)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134g)

It wasn’t much of a race. Even before the start I could see that the neophytes were headed for trouble. Of the eight of us, four had raced. Two knew the very basics of racing (Fritz and Bob because I’d gone over some things with them) and Johnnie and a guy I didn’t know. Right after the start the guy I didn’t know ran into Bob. Basic sailing rules (not racing rules) determine who has the right of way when two sailboats approach each other. He, not Bob, was in the wrong. He was yelling at Bob and Bob was yelling at him. Then, Johnnie and one of the experienced sailors got into a confrontation with more yelling. I’d been interfered with by having to maneuver around the boats who had collided. By then Howie, Rex and the other experienced racer were long gone. I decided to gather the four of them up and to give them some very basic ‘rules of the road’ and we headed for shore.

Long story short... the guy I/we didn’t know was a total ass hole and didn’t want to participate. He was really mad at Bob and it seemed strange as it was bob’s boat that got damaged. His attitude got me mad so i made a point of finding out who he was. I asked some of the guys who’d raced the Comet class sailboats and they didn’t know either. When I got back to the others they had decided it was time to go home but agreed we’d meet at the club on Wednesday night and we’d try to do it then.

Elle had already taken the kids home by then. The four of us got the boats cleaned up and put away and while we were doing it, Howie cane over to find out what had happened to us. I was almost embarrassed to tell him but I got a chance to introduce him to Bob, Fritz and Johnnie. I told him what I was planning to do with them and he volunteered to join us. He suggested that we all bring our sails and equipment and that way we could make it a practical lesson on the water. I thought it was a great idea and was surprised it came from Howie. He’d always been a bit ‘standoffish’.

When I got home Elle was setting up a picnic type supper out on the screened in porch. She was still in her bathing suit... or at least part of it. It took me less than a minute to find out she’d removed the suit panties and only had on her regular panties. It was obvious that her ‘good mood’ was continuing. The only thing was I had no idea what had or was prompting it . After getting the kids into bed (a little after 9pm) she re-appeared on the porch in one of her short cotton nighties... and another pair of nylon satin panties... and they were wet. A quick stop in the bathroom took care of that. We spent the next hour or so just snuggled together on the love seat. It didn’t get ‘serious’ but it was still a nice way to end the day.

I absolutely hated the holidays that occurred during the work week. The fourth of July and New Years were the real problem because they fell during the ‘busy period. People, naturally, wanted to take Monday off what with the 4th of July on Tuesday. Because it had proved to be a problem for the bank in the past they had a rule that if anyone took the day before or after without a note from a doctor they would be docked two days of vacation. This rule was in place when I started but I still had a couple of bad experiences of being short handed. All I could do was hope that everybody showed up.

The customers sure did!. There was a crowd waiting at the back door at 8:50am  I’d not done an inventory of gifts on Friday night but knew we needed to get more blankets up from the basement. With Hank manning the back door to let employees in it was up to Bret and I to lug them up the stairs. Actually, it wasn’t the stairs that gave us problems. It was navigating our way around and through the work area since we couldn’t see around the cartons. I was on my third trip when I felt something and immediately heard a curse. The box was knocked partially out of my hands and when I looked down there was Gina, flat on her backside and with her legs splayed apart. After I’d run into her she sort of bounced backwards and into a desk, falling down beside it. I was still in some sort of shock as I stared down at her. One of the other tellers came to her rescue and tried to lift her up but Gina shrugged her off. By then I’d gotten myself together and was able to get a bit of a look up her skirt as she pulled herself up on the desk.

We both were apologizing to each other. Gina’d been late in arriving and was rushing through the gate into the work area. I was hurrying to get the blankets in place before the doors opened. I asked if she was OK and she assured me that it was only her pride that had been damaged. In saying that she finished it of with one of what I called a ‘wicked smiles’.

When the doors opened all my people were in place and within a few minutes there were people waiting in line to open new accounts. That was a very good sign and I hoped the it would continue through the day. The flow of regular customers had slowed enough by lunch time that I felt I could allow the tellers to take their full hour. It appeared that even Bret and I could sneak out for a bite. When it was my turn I was headed across the street to the luncheonette and as soon as I was about to step out the front door, in walked Gina. When she saw it was me she laughed. I didn’t know what was funny so didn’t respond but just gave her a blank look. She sidestepped me and as she did said something I didn’t quite understand. The look on my face must have told her because she stopped and said, very clearly, “It’s getting to be a habit, isn’t it?”. When it registered in my brain I could feel my face getting red... and I headed for the luncheonette.

By the close of business almost 50 accounts were opened, our best day yet. I took the time to get the inventory straight and found we’d given away less than a dozen tool kits. That meant we had almost 275 of them left. The blankets were definitely the hot ticket. My bet would’ve been on the insulated picnic coolers. But less than 50 had gone out the doors. With four more days to go for the gift campaign we were going to have a ton of gifts left so I contacted the distributors for each to find out their return policy. That was a shock. We could ship the tool kits back at our expense and with a 10% restocking fee. The blankets could be returned in half gross lots but the coolers were ours.The Trustees, in their infinite wisdom, had bought a “close-out” item with no return provision.

With that information in hand and doing the extentions of just how many more gifts would be given, out I turned to let him know. I remember him wincing but not saying anything. I’d figured that we’d have over 180 of the unreturnable coolers left so suggested that we give one to every employee if the wanted one. The next day was the 4th of July and, to me, it appeared to be the right time to do something like that. It only took him about 10 seconds to lean forward in his chair and say “Do it!”

We had 23 regular employees and seven officers. I had Hank bring 30 coolers to the back door. We wanted to get everybody out the door as soon as we could and when the tellers struck a proof around 4:20 pm the word went out to have a happy 4th. Hobie wanted to be the one to hand them out but he was on the phone so Bret and I did it. I made sure Bret was the one to give Gina hers. I’m sure it made his day. I just didn’t want to get any more teasing from her... implied or real.

To be continued...

Monday, July 13, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134f)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134f)

The next morning got off to a great start. I honestly don’t remember the details but my DayTimer notation shows a star. That was my way of acknowledging that Elle and I were both in ‘sync’ as far as reaching a climax was concerned. I definitely remember the phone ringing and disturbing us right after. It was Elle’s mother. Elle never wanted to get up after sex without putting on panties (the ‘no drip’ rule) so slipped on a pair of the heavy cotton Carter’s Spanky pants, ones she’d worn during the night. The alarm routine usually worked and it had that night so they were dry as she stood up to take the call. The call was something about her not returning one of her mother's baking sheets that she used for cookies. As I headed for the bathroom Elle was headed downstairs to see if she could find it. I got washed up and when Elle still wasn’t back upstairs, went down to see what the problem was.

In the warmer weather and when the kids were at her mother’s we’d go out on the screened in porch in just our underwear to eat our breakfast. Elle was in the process of scrambling some eggs and cooking some bacon as I made the turn into the kitchen. With just a thin cotton pajama top and panties on she looked pretty good and, in spite of just having experienced one of our better love making sessions, I found myself with a ‘growing’ appreciation of her visage. She saw it and laughed. We ate out on the porch and when we were done I had her come over and sit on my lap. My hand, of course, nestled between her legs and my fingers were definitely ‘doing the walking’. Most times, after sex, she’d rebuff any attempt at getting ‘involved’ but didn’t this time. Emboldened, I asked for a little squirt and I have to admit, much to my surprise, she responded. She let me play on the outside but wouldn’t let my visit inside but that was still OK.

The phone rang again and at first I told her to ignore it. Being a female, it was typical for her to want to know who it was so she got up and went inside. My underpants were wet from her and I knew I’d have to get cleaned up again. I immediately got the idea of a joint shower and that kept my ‘excitement’ level up. The call was her mother, once again, to inform her that she’d found the missing cookie sheet. I went over to her to suggest the shower but she didn’t seem interested. But, with her wearing somewhat wet panties my hand went to its natural place... into her crotch. Fully expecting it to be pushed away after a few seconds I found some more warmth on the tips of my fingers. I was really liking the mood she was in!

After a few seconds she said she’d appreciate help in making up our bed. Trying to be funny I came back with something like “It’ll cost you”. She responded with a big smile and a very surprising answer... “What, a picture?” and with the smile continuing. My intention had been to get a ‘promise’ of some sort but not necessarily a picture. But, with her bringing it up I was ready to pounce on it. The camera was on the end of the kitchen counter from the previous night so I grabbed it and followed her up the stairs. As we ascended I kicked myself for not having it ready to go because my view on the stairs was fantastic. I loved following her up the stairs especially when her panties were wet

It didn’t matter though. She immediately flopped down on the bed and raised her right leg. The sight of her wet crotch had me at ‘full attention’ and I struggled to open the camera. She did tell me to hurry as her leg was getting heavy and that only put more pressure on me. I was shaking when I pushed the shutter button. As soon as the flash went off she dropped her leg and jumped off the bed and admonished me to “get to work” as she pulled the sheets and blanket up. I had to wait to develop the picture but not for long. She grabbed some clothes and headed back down the stairs to shower. The picture was perfect and, in looking at it, couldn’t believe she'd let me take it. I didn’t know what was the source of her good mood but I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.
                                                 
Since she was just going to the sailing club for the beach and not for racing she said she’d go get the kids and meet me there. I wanted to be there a little early to meet up with Bob, Johnnie and Fritz. I thought I could go over some basic racing rules with them since none of them had ever raced. Arriving just as the noon whistle from the fire house went off I didn’t expect to see all the activity. The first thing I saw was a Comet sailboat (the kind like I used to race) on a trailer and waiting to be unhitched from a dilapidated pick up truck. It was beautiful. Every Comet I’d ever seen had been painted but this one was varnished... every last part of it. All Comet sailboats were measured and registered by the class. The registration number was carved into the centerboard trunk and when I looked inside the boat it truly was a shock. The boat had been built by Rex for Willy, my friend who owned the lingerie company in Now Orleans. When Willy raced it the color was forest green which had to be the ugliest color for a boat... ever. I tried to remember the last time I’d seen it but couldn’t.

It wasn’t hard to find the owner but it was hard to tell how old he was. His hair was down to his shoulders and he had both a bushy beard and moustach. He looked completely out of place at the club. But as different as he looked it was the girl who was with him that everybody was paying attention to. Short, painfully thin and certainly not pretty, she was wearing a bikini bathing suit that was, by far, the most skimpy suit I’d ever seen. (Remember, this was the late 60’s. Think of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues today for comparisons) In any case, the conversations on the beach weren’t about sailing.

The guy’s name was Rance and he was the son of a man I’d raced against when I first started racing. He’d bought the boat, stripped off all the paint and refinished it himself. As I said, I was impressed with the way it looked even if I wasn't by his looks. As far as the sailing club was concerned, it brought the number of Comets up to eight, a very respectable number. The only question was, did he know how to race.

Elle and the two older girls arrived just after the Comets had left the beach to race. Nanci and Phyl had brought their kids so they were all occupied. I saw Elle had chosen my favorite bathing suit... the skirted one with a light flowered print and with separate panties. Whenever she’d put it on when I was home I’d get her to wear a pair of nylon panties under the suit panties. There was no way for me to check on that what with the other ladies around so all I could do was hope that she had.

The races were not to count for the season trophy and were called “tune-ups”. The schedule was for the Comets to race two races with the junior sailors (those under 16) racing their Sunfish sailboats between the two. Then, the seniors would race in the Sunfish boats to close out the day. While we waited I went over some more racing things with Bob and Frtiz. Johnnie was out sailing with Sandy. I’d seen her for a brief moment, talking with Elle, Phyl and Nanci and she was wearing a bathing suit... a disappointment for me. As we waited for the juniors sailors to return to the beach with their boats I counted eight men in all who had signed up. I only recognized two as experienced racers with one being the guy, Howie, who’d bought my old boat. It had been a few years since I’d last raced and as the time approached I wondered how I’d react with a much smaller boat and with only one sail.

To be continued...


Saturday, July 11, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134e)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134e)

She stood in the same place for quite a few seconds and then I saw ripples in the water right behind her. I was actually watching her wet herself. I won’t lie... I had a ‘boner’ almost immediately. To save face I had to turn away and walk up towards the house. Many times I’d watched Elle wet herself both by accident and on purpose but, to see a cute girl do it right in front of me and then have to turn away was hard... almost as hard as my penis.

We all made our way back up to the house, silently, with Sandy trailing. My hand was in my pocket nesting my bulge as best I could. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to see the results of her ‘accident’ but I couldn’t bring myself to embarrass her any more than she already was. Jon and I walked around to the side of his house as Sandy, Elle and Johnnie climbed the stairs to the deck. However, I did hear Ginger tell Sandy where she could find panties and shorts in her room. Hearing that kept my bulge ‘alive’.

After an appropriate wait Jon and I climbed the stairs to the deck. Elle was sitting next to Ginger when we got to the top. I definitely wasn’t going to say anything but Ginger blurted out the comment that she, with her recent procedure, wouldn’t be faced with that sort of problem in the future. I don’t know why but I felt it wasn’t something she needed to say even if Johnnie and Sandy were both inside. The operation she had was relatively new and when Elle had tried to get information found it was limited. In a way I hoped she was right but, in another, that she was wrong.

When Sandy and Johnnie emerged from the house Sandy was wearing a pair of baggy white shorts with cuffs. She immediately thanked Ginger for the use of the clothes and for inviting them. Ginger asked where they were going noting that it was still light out. It was obvious that Sandy was still embarrassed. Then Ginger made a pretty bold statement that caught all of us by surprise. I’d seen her do it in the past but usually when she was a bit drunk. I can’t give you the words she used but, paraphrasing, she said that she felt really at ease with the people who were there. She pointed out that they (the females) all suffered from some type of incontinence and that the men all knew about it. There were no secrets among them and they shouldn’t be ashamed... especially Sandy who was born with an untreatable condition. Basically, she was pleading with Sandy (and Johnnie) to stay. They seemed to hesitate a bit so both Elle and I encouraged them to stay as well. Finally they sat down.

The conversation got more into gossip at that point. Jon’s sister ( the girl that “Big B” and I had determined had been using Jon’s parents Summer house as a trysting place during the Winter when we were putting the engine for his racecar together in their garage) had just gotten engaged to this rich heir to a major corporation and quit her job in the city the day before. Jon told us that she’d figured “why work when I’m gonna have all this money”. She was now living in the Summer house and had helped Ginger out with her kids during the day and then taken them for the night. Hearing about her made me think back to when “B” and I’d played detective trying to figure out who’d been in the closed up house in the middle of Winter with no heat ... and the panties I'd found under the bed.

Jon was not the most interesting conversationalist and Johnnie had started to show ‘beer effects’ which signaled to me that it was time to go. I still had the hope of good times to come with Elle when we got home. It was early, probably around 10 to 10:30pm when I got up to leave. Elle had made a salad to go with the dinner and asked me to go get the bowl that was in the kitchen. It was on the table but right under it was a canvass bag with the word “Sandy” embroidered across the front. I’d not noticed it when they arrived but as I looked down on it I saw the funny colored shorts that Sandy had been wearing. They were draped over the opening but I couldn’t see any signs of wetness. The challenge, at that moment, was did I have enough nerve to try and take a look at them. I don’t know how long I stood there before turning to take a look back onto the deck. I saw Elle, Sandy and Johnnie kind of hovering over Ginger. That was enough for me to bend over and to unfold the shorts. Inside were the ‘dribble panties’, with the wetness wicked up almost to the waist elastic, and the sanitary panties. Her ‘accident’ had been no dribble. I carefully folded the shorts back the way they were and returned to the Deck to say a final “good night.”

Elle was in a good mood on the way home. It only took a few minutes and I was already contemplating just what I (we) might do to make it a memorable night. I still hadn’t told Elle about my plan to try racing the Sunfish the next day and figured it might be a good time. As we pulled up the driveway I casually suggested that we might want to spend the day at the sailing club as most of the members would be out to celebrate the 4th of July which was on Tuesday. She, with a big grin on her face, told me she already knew of my plan... Phyl, Bob’s wife had told her that I was going to teach both he and Fritz (Nanci’s husband) to race. That put a stopper to my immediate intentions.

She was still in a good mood once we got inside. However, when I made an attempt at getting some ‘lubrication’ from between her legs she nodded in a negative way. It took but a few seconds for her offer a ‘deal’. When she was getting dressed and I’d picked out the fancy panties for her to wear I’d made a comment that I’d like to get a picture of them. She'd immediately rebuffed me, again noting that we were already late for Ginger’s party. But, she’d managed to stay dry the whole evening and she really wanted to stay that way. So, she offered me a picture ‘deal’. I’d learned early in our relationship that something was better than nothing so I agreed. I was also rationalizing that she wasn’t upset with my intention of racing so it was best not to push it. The final thing was that, with no kids in the house, there was always the next morning.
                                                   


I’d learned to keep film in the camera, having missed some great opportunities in the past. I had also placed it in the hall closet so it was readily accessible for ‘action’ on either floor. While Elle washed out the bowl I grabbed the camera. It only took a few seconds for her to slip out of her shorts and a few seconds more for me to take the picture. I even got a smile from her. Going up the stairs I was so horny I was tempted to make one try for some ‘lovin’ but backed off. Watching her pantied bottom shimmy and shake up the stairs it was hard... as was something else. It was only eight hours until morning.

To be continued...
  

Thursday, July 09, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134d)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134d)

After getting in touch with someone from her family to come pick her up all I wanted to do was get out of there. I don’t remember how long it was but I think all of the bank employees felt the same way. On Friday nights the tellers didn’t have to do a cash proof as they were actually doing Monday’s work. It didn’t take long to get the cash boxes in the vault and to herd the crew out the door. I didn’t even bother to see how many new accounts had been opened. Monday would be soon enough.

Doing chores on Saturday took my mind off the bank. At lunch Elle told me that Ginger had called and that we were invited to her house for a cook-out as a thank you for looking after her girls while she was in the hospital. At first I wasn’t too thrilled but when she said Sandy and her husband would also be there I changed my thinking. Later that afternoon I tried to get in touch with Bob again but with no luck. Up to then all I’d heard was some ‘grumbling’ about the new school board president, Wally. When I stopped at the post office some of the ‘locals’ were calling him a “traitor”... or worse, for not keeping the long time principal. I figured I’d get some ‘real’ information from Jon, (the milkman) Ginger’s husband, as he was on the Board as well.

All three of my kids were excited about going to stay with Elle’s parents. Elle’s mother would usually let them make cookies before going to bed, a real treat. I was excited for a different reason... with no kids it pretty much meant there would be no excuse for not having some wet fun... and more... without excuses from Elle. She took off for her parents house with the kids while I took my shower. I was waiting for her when she got back hoping I’d get a ‘preview’ for what I hoped would come later. However, she looked at her watch and said we were already late so that idea got shot down. While she was choosing what to wear I decided to make a plea for being able to choose her panties. She’d gotten into the habit of pretty much wearing her dribble panties most of the time during the day. They were OK but I liked it better when I could get her to wear two pair of nylon satin panties. When wet the feel was very sensuous. It took a little persuasion (and without having to give anything up) for her to do it. I chose two pair of fancy panties and what made it even better was that she chose to wear knit shorts. That usually meant a real good VPL.

Jon and Ginger’s property was pie shaped with about 30 feet frontage on the road but over 100 feet along a small lake out in back. The property behind the house was like a shallow bowl, gently sloping down to the water. The house was small, especially for four kids and two adults. However, as Ginger explained any number of times, the property was “perfect” for them and was worth the inconvenience the house presented. They had added a nice deck in the back and when we got there Ginger was out on it and lying on a chaise. Even though she was almost prone I could see that she’d lost even more weight. Since we first moved there she’d lost at least 20 pounds, if not more, and I thought she looked pretty good. Jon had built one of those permanent back yard grills that had become popular and was getting the charcoal started as Elle and I climbed the stairs to the deck. We were saying our “hellos” when Johnnie and Sandy arrived. I was always looking to see what Sandy wore. I’d seen her in some fairly tight short shorts the previous Summer and was happy to see her wearing a pair. Since I was already up on the deck I wasn’t in position to check for a good VPL but hoped my time would come.

We all chatted with Ginger for a while before Jon called to Johnnie and I to come on down to keep him company. I was pretty anxious to get the ‘scoop’ on the school board actions from Jon’s perspective. He wasn’t always forthcoming but told us he’d heard that there was a ’movement’ afoot by the teachers that had resigned or had decided to retire and for them to create some sort of boycott to start the next school year. He didn’t seem too concerned but Jon was one of those laid back types that never seemed to show concern. He also offered that he’d been told Wally’s plumbing business was suffering as a result of the Board's first actions. I asked if he’d seen any effect in his milk delivery business and he, reluctantly, acknowledge that he’d lost a few customers. Without commenting, I stood there hoping that all the effort we’d all put into trying to make a change would be worth the turmoil that had been created.

When the charcoal was ready Jon called up to Sandy and Elle and asked if they could bring the burgers and hot dogs down to the grill. Sandy volunteered and when she did it gave me the chance to really scope out her shorts. Neither Jon nor I were what could be called ‘drinkers’, satisfied to nurse a beer or two along, and Elle didn’t drink at all. Ginger had been told to refrain during the early stages of her recovery so that left Johnnie and Sandy to ‘suck up the suds’. In need of a refill after Sandy brought the meat down for Jon to cook, Johnnie joined her when she returned to the deck. That meant I could take a real good look at Sandy’s backside as she climbed the stairs as Johnnie wouldn’t see me staring at her.

Her shorts were a funny color, almost the same color as a mouse, but they were short... very short. The VPL told me she was wearing the ‘dribble panties’ but also a pair of sanitary panties over them. Their ultra large crotch line they presented pretty much gave them away. As I watched her ascend to the deck I remembered that in the past, after a few beers, she was prone to have ‘accidents’. I knew I’d be keeping an eye on her backside during the rest of the evening.

When Jon, Johnnie and I’d been talking about the school board actions I was surprised that Johnnie didn’t bring up his situation. The previous Winter “Coach” had been forced by the Board to give up coaching JV basketball and Johnnie had taken over the position. I thought he did an admirable job considering that some of the team had never played organized basketball before. With the news that “Coach” was being stripped of all coaching duties except for soccer it seemed reasonable that Johnnie would be in line to assume responsibility for the varsity team.  So, after we’d eaten and were walking down by the lake I broached the subject. Jon was not happy with me but he was civil and addressed Johnnie by saying that all coaching positions would be decided upon after all the teacher positions had been filled. I felt badly that I’d jumped in like that.

Sandy and Elle joined us down at the water. Ginger wasn’t allowed to use stairs so remained up on the deck. In all the visits I’d made to the place I’d never gotten down the hill all the way to the lake. As I looked back up at the house I could see why Ginger (and Jon) loved the place. They had a beautiful, large back yard and were relatively secluded from the neighbors. By the time Sandy and Elle arrived I could see the effects of the beer that Sandy had consumed. The lake was fresh water and Jon had brought in some beach sand to emulate a regular beach. Sandy took off her sandals and waded in a ways. Spring fed, Jon told us that the temperature usually remained in the 60’s even in August. Sandy got out to the where the water was up to her knees and I remember her saying that she couldn’t feel her toes, laughing as she said it. Jon told her that’s why his kids seldom went swimming in the lake. Then, as she started to come back to shore, I saw the expression on her face change and she stopped. She’d only taken a few steps so the water was about at mid calf. Other than the ripples that her leg movements had made the water was still. Then she made a strange little sound and put her hands between her legs. At that point Johnnie called out something along the lines of “Oh no! Not again!”

To be continued...

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134c)

BRING ON SUMMER and the heat (Part 134c)

After the girls and the few depositors that were left in the lobby had gone I called for a quick meeting of all the tellers to make sure they understood what was going to be happening starting the next morning. I went over the procedures they were to follow in order to expedite the process. There were a few looks of doubt but, all in all they seemed to understand. I’d also put a call in to the equipment company who made both the teller machines and the bookkeeping machine (computer?) to have their service man, Robby, come by to do a maintenance check on all of it just to be somewhat sure. As I left for the night I felt confident that everything had been covered.

The next morning the anticipated crowd was at the doors... but not to open new accounts. It was to get the interest posted into their passbooks and to make withdrawals that had been postponed so as to preserve the accrued interest in their accounts. The local newspaper didn’t get delivered until early Thursday afternoon and that was where we’d focused our main advertising. So, with never more than two new accounts being opened at the same time that morning I rationalized the lack of interest by telling the girls that it would be busy once the people got their newspaper. I just hoped that was the case.

I’d been at the bank long enough to have created my own list of least favorite customers. I really hadn’t thought about them in connection with the gift campaign but I should've. One was a little old lady who NEVER had anything good to say about any of the tellers except Letitia, our head teller (in name only) and that was because she'd been around forever. She arrived right about mid day with a packet of savings passbooks to get the interest posted. On her way out she saw the gift display and immediately went up to Fran and demanded a gift for each account she had in her hand (passbooks). Poor Fran had no idea what she was talking about but had the presence of mind to come and get Bret. I, at my desk with a customer, could hear her demands. Her point was that she hadn’t gotten a gift when she’d opened the accounts and it wasn’t fair that the ”Johnnie come lately's walked out with something. There were probably fifteen to eighteen customers standing in the teller lines and I could see them all with their heads turned towards all the noise. I tried to concentrate on the person at my desk but when the complaining didn’t slow down I excused myself and went out to where they all were gathered. As nicely as I could (and it was hard) I asked her to come have a seat and steered her to Bret’s desk. Then, before she could start in with me I asked to see her passbooks. There was only one that had enough money in it to qualify for a gift ($500) so I had Bret give me a withdrawal slip and filled it out for $500. Then I asked her to sign it. Of course she asked me why and I told her that we’d open a new account for her and she’d be eligible for a gift. I know she didn’t understand the process but she did know she was going to get at least one gift so she signed it. I got five $100 bills and gave it to her and told her to go to one of the tables and she’d be taken care of... and would get a gift. As she got up from the chair I heard her say “I want one of those blankets!” When she was walking away I whispered to Bret that I’d like to stuff it up her ass.

By the end of the day we’d opened but 35 accounts... including the ten we’d opened the previous afternoon. It was pretty disappointing. The girls were keeping track of which gifts were being selected and, much to my surprise, it was the blanket, two to one over both of the other gifts. Who knew? Before I left I heard Hobie talking to one of the Trustees who had been on the committee that had selected the gifts. I hoped that he would let him know how poorly the first day’s results were but he told him it was too early to “get a feel for it”. I just shook my head.

Thursday was much better, especially in the afternoon. I had a good feeling that things would pick up as soon as the local paper was out. The regular lobby traffic was as expected... an average of about six in each teller line and there were actually people waiting to open accounts. Gina’s suggestion as to how to handle the new accounts was working well. Only a few demanded that they get their passbook right then and there. Forty something accounts were opened and again the blankets won out handily as the gift of choice.

The first thing I did upon arriving home was to grab the local paper. It wasn't to see where our ad had been placed but it was to read the article about the school board meeting that had been held the previous week. There wasn't much information that I didn't already know but what I found to be especially interesting was that the editor chose to write an editorial about it... not all that favorable. Even before eating I called Bob to see how much 'flak' he was taking about it but no one answered. I tried again after we'd eaten but with the same result.

I honestly and truly expected Friday to be ‘the day’ and I was right. The only problem was that when I’d interviewed the girls I forgot about being open until 6pm and they'd been told they would be finished at 3pm. They were close to being overwhelmed at different points during the day and when, at 2:30pm, I realized it there were still customers waiting. When I was able to get their attention I broached the subject broadly and asked if any or all of them were willing to stay “a little later”. Both Lillian and Fran  immediately shook their heads in a negative motion and one piped up that they “had plans”. I didn’t plead but looked immediately at Karen. She had a big smile and was nodding her head affirmatively. Having one was better than none.

As expected, lobby traffic let up after 3pm but was still more than on normal Friday nights. When I got a chance to check on Karen she seemed to be doing OK. I had to get up from my desk to do so because where she was placed I couldn’t see her. Just as I was turning back to my desk I saw this woman fall down in the middle of the lobby. I ran out through the gate to see if she was OK and when I got to her she was out cold. I called over to Cara to call to the police station right across the street. I could feel a pulse so that was a relief. I remembered seeing a movie or two where a person had passed out and someone put something under their head. I stripped off my jacket and stuffed it under her head and neck and then kneeled by by her waiting for the police. The people in the lobby had made a semi-circle around us but I waved some of them away so that when the police arrived they’d have a clear path right to her.

I was anxious as could be and I remember saying (to myself) “Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!” I looked over at Karen who was only a few feet away. She seemed like she was frozen in place, eyes open wide and not moving at all. After a bit I noticed she had her feet together and her knees spread just like I'd seen earlier in the week. I know I looked down at the lady when I heard her trying to speak and forgot about Karen. Just about then a policeman came running in through the front door with a small case in his hand. I backed away as he started talking to her and as he did I looked over at Karen and she still hadn’t moved. As close as I was to her there was no way not to see the crotch area of her panties up under her skirt even with her legs under the card table. I couldn’t believe that she hadn’t moved while all the ‘action’ was going on in front of her. BTW: the lady was OK. She’d not taken some kind of medication and just collapsed.

To be continued...

Sunday, July 05, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134b)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134b)

The amazing thing about that exercise was that both Karen and Fran (her best friend) got to see basically the same view that both Bret and I did as we handed the boxes in to her and yet neither said anything. I wasn’t complaining. She did change position a couple of times and as she did we got a little different view. The whole process took no more than fifteen minutes but it was a show like no other I’d ever seen.

It was close to 3pm when we finished up and I didn’t see any point in starting something new with them just before they were to leave so told them to be back at 9am in the morning. They hadn’t even gotten to the back doors when Bret grabbed my arm and asked if he’d been dreaming. I knew what he meant and all I did was smile. I wondered if we were to get any more during the gift campaign.

We got Hank (the messenger/custodian) to bring all the loose picnic coolers up from the boiler room so we’d have a supply of all the gifts when we actually started the program. He wasn’t happy about it but by 3:30pm he’d dragged about thirty of them up. To make space I decided to take some cartons of blankets downstairs. I remember shaking my head about the choice to offer blankets in the Summer as I made my way down the stairs. Once I got into the boiler room I continued to shake my head as I looked at all the cartons. For the whole previous calendar year the bank had opened just under 1000 accounts and the Trustees had ordered over 800 gifts for the first give away program the bank had ever offered and it was only to last for eight days. My head got tired from shaking it side to side.

Tuesday, to get the girls a little more into the spirit of things, I asked them to come up with some suggestions as to how the display of gifts should look. I told them they could do anything they wanted but it had to fit in this one space between the bottom of the stairs and the wall. They were told to come get me when they’d come up with something that they liked. I had month and quarter end reports to work on and, with my desk just around the corner from where they we working, couldn’t see them. I had to get up to answer a question from a customer at Cara's teller window and when I did  I could see them working diligently at it. Lillian had worn a dress and, as I’ve mentioned a few times before, short dresses ride up when the wearer bends over. Even though I was across the lobby from where they were working I could tell that Lillian had on yellow panties. I had to take a deep breath. I fully expected a comment from Cara bus she didn't utter a word. On the way back to my desk I looked to see where Bret was but he was no where in sight. However, Trish was and, as soon as I got back to my desk, she was there with a look of indignation on her face. She told me, point blank, that it was ”disgusting“. I knew what she was alluding to but played ‘dumb’. That got her even more upset. She didn’t stay long and when she turned back to her desk I could hear her mutter something about how all men were alike. I just smiled.

Actually, the girls did a nice job. They used a bunch of blankets, still wrapped, to make a table and then used one to make a sort of covering for it. They placed a couple of picnic coolers on and around it and had a few of the tool kits in between the coolers. Karen came up with the idea of buying some picnic accessories to enhance the look and, from the petty cash that Hobie kept, gave her some money to go out and get them. I’d worked out the logistics of the pre numbered passbooks and ledger cards with Liz the auditor. Laura, her assistant, would be the ‘keeper’ and make sure the girls didn’t get them mixed up. Gina had suggested that they make up packets that would include pre numbered deposit slips and asked her to oversee that process. There were no meetings scheduled in the Board room that afternoon so suggested that the four of them work out of there after lunch. I figured that 100 would be plenty to start with and rounded up all the supplies they would need.

As I walked out the front door, headed for my lunch, I ran smack dab (literally) into Mala and her daughter. I’d already called her and had set up a date for her to come in after the 10th and discuss her possible re-employment so her visit was a bit of a surprise. She’d only been in to the bank a few times after she’d left although her mother was in once a week. She’d give Mala’s old work mates updates on the baby. But, they were both there with me in the vestibule. My initial thought was that she’d gotten the date wrong (it was in two weeks) so I asked her what brought her to the bank. She stated, boldly, that she was there to open a new account and to get a picnic cooler. I hesitated before saying that the campaign didn’t start until the next day. She then held up the Pennysaver paper with our full page ad. As I looked at it I realized that she was right, The ad agency (and I) had missed that when we proofed it. We'd had little time after the Board had ordered me to do it and we'd 'goofed'.

Of the bank floor people who’d been there with Mala only a few were there at that time. Of course they fawned all over the baby. With the new account girls out at lunch I decided I’d open the account for her. When she saw the cooler she commented that it would also make a great diaper pail. I won’t say I was offended but she proceeded to show me what she meant. The outside bag was soft plastic with some sort of insulated material between the inside and outside layers. Then there was a hard plastic container that fit inside and it resembled a waste basket. There was a zippered top to cover the whole thing. Mala proceeded to take one and I went about opening the account for her. Surprisingly, there was no mention made of possible future employment. As she got up from my desk I made the comment that it was good to see her once again. I got a weak smile in return.

The decorations that Karen had purchased really brightened up the display, especially since the 4th of July was just a week away. They, and Gina, made up the new account packets and when they were finished suggested that they each do another ‘trial run” out in the lobby. I didn’t have to find volunteers as more people had showed up with the Pennysaver ad. I went to the end of the first check writing desk in the lobby to observe. Karen had the table in the middle and as she waited for her ‘customer’ I saw her sitting there with both her feet together, almost sole to sole, and her knees over a foot apart. Even from the position I was in I could see the ‘magic triangle'. I will admit I was tempted to walk across the lobby at that time to get a closer look but didn’t. I then remembered her doing the very same thing on the day of her interview. I certainly found it interesting.

By the time the day was over we’d opened almost a dozen new accounts as a result of the Pennysaver ad. It was proof that some people actually looked at it. The girls did well but I still had some concerns should there be a ‘crush’ of people wanting to open accounts but felt as prepared as we could possibly be.

To be continued...

Friday, July 03, 2015

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134a)

BRING ON SUMMER... and the heat (Part 134a)

After a day at the sailing club and being around boats after a long Winter had me all fired up for Summer. By the time the day had ended I’d been besieged to join in racing the Sunfish. Rex had sold some more of them and now there was a fleet of about a dozen. Some of the new people, Bob and Fritz included, had agreed to participate. I hadn’t ever told Elle I wasn’t going to race sailboats anymore like I’d done with the car so felt I had some ‘wiggle room’. I just had to pick the right time to broach the subject.

I was looking forward to Monday when the three girls I’d hired as temporary clerks to open accounts were to start. Talk about anxious!. I got there a little after 8:30 and two of the three were already waiting. I  thought I’d remembered their names and called them out as I approached. I had them right but assigned the wrong name to each. They just laughed. Lillian, the tall thin girl was wearing a slightly flared khaki skirt and white blouse. Fran, the shorter blonde haired girl was wearing a pretty summer dress. Both skirts were short and I figured Bret would be on that as soon as he walked in. I knew I was.

We’d purchased three card tables for them to work at and were setting them up when the third girl, Karen arrived. My plan had been to have Cara show them the paperwork they’d have to handle to do the job in opening accounts and she’d put together samples for each before she left on Friday night. However, she called in sick. Upon seeing Gina arrive I immediately thought back to Friday night. But, it wasn’t as you’re probably thinking. I’d truly been impressed with her thought process on how to handle getting the new account information entered along with the expected heavy lobby traffic. I decided to ask her to do the training. That freed me up to try and track down the missing tool kits that we needed for the gift campaign.

The girls were told they would only work until 3pm. I’d figured that five hours would be enough. However, right before lunch time, Gina showed up at my desk with the three of them trailing her like little puppies. She announced, happily, that they were all ready to go. I had my doubts and it showed on my face because Gina then challenged me to have them open an account for me. She had that impish grin that made me want to do it.

I wanted it to be realistic so we headed for the lobby. Fran volunteered and, to be truthful. it was almost like she’d been doing it for years. However, Gina sprung something on me when Fran was finishing up. She’d come up with the idea of pre-packaging all the paperwork that would be necessary for each account and keeping a supply of the packages right out there where they’d be working to save time. I couldn’t come up with any reason not to go with it with the exception that all blank passbooks were kept locked up until it was time to actually post the first transaction in the book. Gina then reminded me of her previous suggestion of using receipts. She had me again!

By then it was time for lunch so I excused the three girls but asked Gina to stay. As I wrote about Friday I mentioned that I’d had it in mind to compliment Gina on her idea but when she fell that went away. I wasn’t sure how to phrase what I wanted to say as I didn’t want her to mistake the intent. So... I came at it ‘from out of left field’ but still lingering in the back of my mind was the unease I’d seen in both Hobie and Bert (the president) after I’d hired her. “What do you really want to do with your life?” was what I asked her.

Here we were, still in the lobby (although it was almost empty), and I’m asking her a philosophical question. Remember, I warned that it was ‘from out of left field’. It’s hard to describe the look I saw on her face. Surprise?... maybe. Unease?... probably. Disbelief?... a bit of that too. At that point I think we both took a deep breath. It was almost like who was going to break the silence. It was me. I know it’ll be  hard for you, the readers, to believe what I’m going to say after having read so much of my voyeuristic escapades. I told her with as serious a look on my face as I could muster, that I felt that, as a teller, she was way underutilized and that the two suggestions she’d just put forth proved that. I quickly added that, in no way, did I want her to leave. I told her that she’d ascended to the top of the list of tellers in an incredibly short time and that the customers really liked her. BUT... I also wanted her to know that if there was something that I could do to help her achieve a career goal that I was willing. I think I added that her mind was capable of far more challenging things than to appease the demands of “the great unwashed”, meaning the public.

We stood there for at least five minutes. I knew Bret was waiting for me to come back to my desk so he could go to lunch so I kind of forced the issue. I told her to think about it and to get back to me. I saw a weak smile and heard an equally weak “Thank you...” as she turned and headed for the back entrance to the work area. Of course Bret wanted to know what was going on between the two of us. Bret kept his eyes on her more than any other teller but all I said was that she’d come up with another good idea and I was complimenting her on it. The look on his face told me that he wasn’t buying it but I didn’t care.

Without my ever getting a verbal response from the distribution company, the tool kits arrived  just as I was about to leave for lunch. Like both the coolers and blankets there were two gross of them. Thankfully, they were small. Bret and I’d determined that the only place left we could put them was under the stairs in the small space at the very bottom. We’d measured a four foot space to the wall and then about a three foot space to the half partition which stood about three feet high. Blankets filled all the rest of the area to the front wall. We found we would be able to stuff four of the cartons, unopened, into the space and that would take care of 192 of the kits. But, it meant breaking open the others and then stuffing the individual boxed tool kits into the available space that was left.

Bret at 200+ pounds and me at 6’1“ were not going to fit into the designated space. The logical one to do it was Fran because of her size. But, when it was suggested she shook her head and smiled. Lillian just stepped right up and asked how we wanted them placed. Bret explained that it would be best to push as many as possible right up under the first step of the stairs. Without any hesitation she squatted down and duck walked into the area. When she got in as far as she could go she turned around and put out her hand to start receiving the boxes. Neither Bret nor I was looking at her hand as she presented an absolutely fantastic view of her crotch. Her knees were at least nine inches apart and even though there wasn’t much light under the stairs there was no mistaking what the white that we were looking at really was.

To be continued...