WARMER DAYS... on to Florida (Part 156e)

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156e)

While I was looking at the Evette sign Elle was looking at the dress that was displayed right above it. I knew I was in trouble when I heard her say “It’s me!” I don’t think I said anything right away and we walked into the store. Although it was definitely old, there was modern lighting and some display fixtures that were definitely post WWII. A feature that I remember was that the different departments were displayed on signs hanging from the ceiling. As I looked up I noted that the ceilings were metal with designs stamped into it. Quite quaint. Of course, my focus was on the lingerie section which I picked out as being over on the right of where we entered. Elle was having none of it and I watched her head for the area designated “Dresses”. I quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her. Before she could speak I told her that we didn’t have money for things like a dress and that, for the panties, we were spending money that was designated for things like Marine World. That put a pout on her face as I headed her towards the lingerie area.

By then a clerk had accosted us. When she uttered the phrase “Is there anything I can help you with?” Elle surprised me, once again, and said she needed some panties.... this from the woman who never bought panties! Following the woman (she was around our age) over to the lingerie counter I heard her ask in a somewhat ‘knowing’ way, “Bikinis?” Elle never hesitated and responded with something like “Regular panties, please.” When asked about size Elle emphatically blurted out “Five” having just heard it a short while before. The woman reached behind her and pulled a box from the shelf. I recognized it immediately as being an Evette box.

When I found out my old sailing friend, Willy, was involved with a lingerie company that his father owned I’d made a visit to their show room in the city. When I asked if I could buy some for Elle to try out he said he’d take care of it. I thought I’d get just a few things but, surprisingly, he sent boxes. For the panties they were both size four and size five. He’d warned me that they ran a little on the large size so, at the time, I was prepared. The four’s fit Elle perfectly. When it came to panties Elle was totally clueless. She didn’t know one maker from another and never looked at a label. All she did was to put her hand in the panty drawer and pull out a pair or two. So, after hearing Elle mentioned size 5, I, quite forcefully, said “size 4!” The look on the woman’s face was of shock. Here was a male ordering her to get a specific size of panty. I’m sure that had never happened to her before.

As long as I’d ‘blown my cover’ as a husband dragged along on a mundane panty buying trip I decided to step up to the counter and to feel the material. I could tell immediately that it was nylon satin tricot and what I definitely preferred. With the panties close up I could readily see the lace appliqué. I finished my inspection of them by telling the clerk that we’d take the whole box. She still had a look of disbelief on her face as I paid for them.

Heading for the door it was Elle’s turn to grab my arm. She pleaded with me to let her at least go take a look at the dress. I pretty much knew that if there was one her size there would be a lot more pleading... but I agreed. There were a few of the dress she liked hanging on the rack. I took a quick peek at the tag and the price about choked me. I prayed (to myself) that there wouldn’t be one of her size. She spun through them and was relieved to hear her say that they were “all in the teens’ and too big. She was a size ten which I knew was a fairly common size. (NOTE: Back at this time in her life, at thirty, Elle weighed 140 lbs, not bad for a 5’71/2 woman who’d had three kids. Today, some 47 years later she weighs 136 lbs and wears a size 6. That shows you how the fashion industry has ‘dumbed down’ the sizes to make women feel better about themselves.) The clerk who’d waited on us in the lingerie department had caught up with us by then. When Elle asked if they had any more the woman, now over the shock from the panty dealings, said that when she’d done inventory the night before she was sure there were two that were smaller. She went into the changing area and returned with two, one a size 12 and the other a size 8. I thought I was home free at that point but Elle took them and disappeared behind a drape to try them on. Within minutes she was standing before me with this big smile on her face. She was wearing the smaller one. I had to admit the dress looked good on her.

Elle’s ‘pleading’ took the form of a half pout. Even though common sense told me I shouldn't do it I quickly came to the realization that if I said "yes" to the dress it’d be like ‘money in the bank’ as far as getting Elle to agree to some of my wishes and desires as far as ‘wet play was concerned for the remainder of our Florida time… I nodded my approval. No verbal pleading and no negative argument… a winning combination… or so I hoped. The saleslady had turned her attention to some new customers and had left Elle and I alone for the minute. I’d been holding the bag with the panties while Elle had tried the dress on. When she turned to go behind the curtain to change back into her sundress I stopped her. I held up the bag with the panties and asked if she’d put on a pair of each of the two different kinds of panties. I knew before I asked that she’d resist but when I smiled and pointed to the price tag on the dress she took a deep breath and grabbed the bag from my hand.

To be continued...