AUTUMN... preparing for changes (part 142c)

AUTUMN... preparing for changes (Part 142c)

As promised, I got my ‘reward’ soon after we got home. The only thing was that I was too anxious so Elle didn’t get much out of it. That led to the next morning where, without kids, we were able to enjoy some “morning delight” and that led to something that I’d been missing. As the kids got older our wandering around the house in just our underwear had all but disappeared. Elle’s mother had called and said she was making cookies with the kids so for us to plan on having lunch with her. That took the pressure off to pick them up. I convinced Elle that it would be fun to not get dressed right away. She agreed but only until after breakfast. That was OK by me. I enjoyed looking at her more than anyone else and when in her bra and panties it was perfect.

I convinced her to cook up some bacon and fry some eggs. While she was doing that I was setting the table. As I did I saw someone run past the dining nook windows. Before I could see who it was I heard a knock on the door. When we bought the house it had a dutch door at the entrance to the kitchen. We couldn’t make up our minds weather to keep it or to replace it and, as of then, hadn’t made a decision. It had come in handy with the addition of cats and kittens because we could open the top half to let air in and leave the lower half closed to keep the felines from the screen. We hadn’t come downstairs until after 9am and, in checking the temperature, saw it was up to 70 so had opened the top half of the door. Elle, concentrating on what was on the stove, instinctively went to see who’d knocked. She was almost there when I called to her and pointed to her midsection. That should’ve stopped her cold but, instead, she made a dash to the hallway leading to the stairs. That left me stuck in the nook in just my boxers. Hoping it was a male I called out asking who it was. I recognized Barbara’s voice and she said she was looking for the girls. She and some of her cheerleading friends were going to be practiceing and wanted to know if the kids wanted to watch. By then I knew she’d seen Elle in just her underwear. Hoping that she’d leave when I told her the kids weren’t there I told her they’d be back after lunch. It didn’t work as she said she had something for them. I remember taking a good deep breath and asking if she’d just leave it on the picnic table on the patio. I didn’t hear anything and was now hiding so if she looked in the window as she headed home she wouldn’t see me. When I saw her pass by I remember thinking of what she might tell her mother (and father) about the lady next door running around in just her bra and panties.

Fast forwarding to Monday at work... There were two telephone company trucks parked by the back door. When I’d met with the service bureau they’d given me a list of things I had to do from my end before the conversion. One was to get phone lines run to each teller station to accommodate the new machines. Albie had warned me not to put it off because the phone company was notorious for not meeting deadlines. When I called to arrange for them I was told it would be at least five or six weeks. That was OK regardless of when we converted. So, you can imagine my surprise to find out that they were there to do it right then and there. It didn’t matter because lobby traffic was still very slow. However, it did remind me that I had to arrange to have the counter openings for the teller machines modified before the new machines were delivered. That thought triggered another thought and it was to find out out if the machines were going to be available should the mid December date materialize. Since the service bureau was to be the purchaser of record I called Albie. That triggered the question from him as to what we were doing about the name and address files. By then my head was about to explode. I explained the situation and after hanging up remember sitting at my desk with my head down and in my hands. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a skirt and some bare leg standing there next to my desk. Startled, I looked up to see Laura. I hadn’t really had any conversation with her since she’d moved in at Joanie’s house so that was my first thought. Before I could ask about it she wanted to know if I had a minute or two for her. Neither Bret nor Hobie were at their desks and Trish was in conversation with Cara.

Laura had matured a lot since she first started but she was still very shy. This was a big step up for her to come to my desk and want to talk about something personal during business hours. Of course I said it was OK. But, before she sat down she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was headed in our direction. I was really unsure of just what might be her reason to want to see me. She was ahead of schedule in repaying the money I’d advanced for her to buy clothes so pretty much dispatched that as the reason. Finally she summoned the courage to get to the point. If I’d been standing I probably would’ve fallen over backwards. Her question absolutely floored me. Did I still have any of the panties I’d ‘sold' her. I can only imagine the look on my face when I heard it. It took a couple more deep breaths for me to give her an answer and all it was was a simple “Yes”.

I could see her face flush and she started to get up. I reached out for her hand to keep her from leaving. As there was still no one around I asked how many she wanted. I heard a whispered “Six”. After hearing that I was trying to compute. I’d given her six pair back in the Spring and wondered why she’d need six more so soon. As I’ve previously written about her she was very smart and this was a case of that coming to the fore. It was almost as if she had a window to my mind. She, very quietly, said they weren’t for her. Naturally I wanted to know just who and more importantly, why she was the ‘front man’ for the deal. I knew I was out of line but I asked anyway. Looking down in her lap she sort of muttered “Joanie”. That was even more of a shock than when she asked about the availability of the panties. But, that was all she said.

Her answering me really raised the color in her cheeks and also made her look me right in the eyes. Then she pleaded with me not to say anything. Knowing how much I was at risk there was no way in hell I was going to discuss any of it with anybody. I assured her at least a couple of times before she finally got up. Upon leaving she wanted to know how much they were. I didn’t answer but did tell her we’d discuss it at another time. She gave me a weak smile and headed back to her work area.

To be continued...