HOME AGAIN... to some surprises (Part 157d)

HOME AGAIN… to some surprises (Part 157d)

There was no work done on the car that day. The sole purpose of the meeting was to address the money situation. “Big B”  and I were out of the shop by 3pm which gave us time to look at the boat he was interested in buying. He’d come up with a way to make some good money in the fall by going scalloping. I’ll spare you the ‘education’ of just what’s involved in scalloping and limit it to say that for his plan to work he needed fairly big, flat bottomed boat powered by an outboard motor. We pulled into this yard and saw just that with a ‘FOR SALE’ sign on it. He talked with the owner and they quickly agreed on a price. “B” had hoped the boat would fit in the back of the pick-up but it was longer than he thought which meant he’d have to come back with a trailer. Aside from that he was really excited. On our way back to my house he started in ‘selling’ me upon becoming his partner in the venture. It sounded good but with all that I had going I told him I’d have to hold off on making a decision.

“B” let me off in front of my house and I walked up the driveway wondering what kind of mood Elle would be in. I smelled dinner cooking as I opened the kitchen door. Elle had a big smile on her face and it gave me a sense of a relief. I just hoped it remained. What was a surprise was that she never asked how our boat viewing venture went. That was a bit of luck in that if I’d told her what “B” had planned for the Fall I’d be back in ‘hot water’ as she was already complaining that I didn’t spend enough time with the kids. So, it turned out to be a good day as far as Elle was concerned. However, as far as the race car… not so good... knowing I’d have to come up with more money.

The rest of the evening went quietly and once in bed I resumed my thoughts of retrieving the bikini panties from the carry bag in the closet. With Elle having to leave really early because she’d been called to teach at one of the schools near where we used to live would give me the extra time to get the panties and to put them in my ‘stash’. In my mind, once that was accomplished I could relax. In the morning, as soon as Elle headed downstairs to shower, I headed for the closet. In writing this, I’m reliving one of the biggest shocks I’d ever experienced… the bag was not on the shelf where I’d put it the night before. I remember standing there and not believing my eyes. I knew it just didn’t up and walk away. I also didn’t know just what to do about it.

Panic was the mode. My first job on mornings where Elle was to off to teach was to make sure the older girls were washed and dressed and downstairs for breakfast. That prevented me from searching for the bag. I know my heart rate was elevated as I hustled the girls on their way. When Elle returned to get dressed I had a brief thought of asking about the bag. But, I didn’t, quickly realizing that it would probably seem suspicious since it was a hardly used item since I’d stopped playing basketball. Elle told me she was skipping breakfast which meant I was responsible for getting breakfast for the kids… not what I wanted. I got them downstairs just in time to see Elle going out the door… with the carry bag in one hand. That didn’t leave me anything to do but spend the day worrying about it… and I knew I had a ‘bear’ of a day facing me.

Just being gone from work for a day would mean  playing ‘catch-up’ on the first day back. Being gone a week… who knew? There were a couple of open items when I left… the new branch and choosing gifts for the new account campaign that would coincide with the grand opening. Because of my ankle, I’d missed the last inspection of the branch construction. I’d also not been able to go to the city to visit a number of ‘premium’ (gift) distributors and was running out of time to make the choice of premiums to offer. And… the first thing I had to do was to call Gee, the Trustee/attorney and to ask him to call Gertrude to assure her that her accounts were legal and safe. However, I wasn’t prepared for what I was greeted with upon my arrival.

I was a little late and I knew it not from looking at my watch but by the fact that Trish was at her desk. She was never there before 9am sharp. She actually greeted me by handing me the job applications folder. “Netta quit” were the only words spoken. Bret was right by his desk when she told me and he proceeded to fill me in with the details. J J was on an important phone call and was cut off. He came out of his office and went over to the switchboard and proceeded to “ream her out”, calling her incompetent. Netta got up, picked up her things and while walking away told J J “go f__k yourself!” I stood there almost not believing what I was hearing. After digesting that news I asked if anything was said to J J. Neither of them knew. I also asked if anyone had reached out to Netta. She'd been a good employee and there had never been a problem with her. I was having a hard time accepting that either of them would have done what I’d just heard explained to me.

And, that was just the beginning of my day…

To be continued...

HOME AGAIN... to some surprises (Part 157c)

HOME AGAIN… to some surprises (Part 157c)

Both of the girls were pretty animated as they gave us the details about their cousins, twin girls a couple of years older than they were. They’d never met them and only knew them from pictures. They’d arrived from Germany in February and stayed with relatives in the Philadelphia area. It was their intention to go to an American college in the Fall and had come over to get used to life in the USA. The way the girls told it to us their mother, Phyllis, pushed for them to spend some time in the country. They lived in a city in Germany and were staying in the outskirts of another city. Phyllis felt they should be exposed to rural life and had finally ‘won’. I asked where they were going to live in their house because I knew that each girl had their own room. It was Mo who answered and I could tell from the tone of her voice she wasn’t all that pleased with the decision that they would have to share a room. Not that we’d remember but Elle asked for the cousins names… Herta and Helga.

The diversion of Barbara and Mo’s visit took some of the pressure off me as far as Elle was concerned. Neither of them had ever been to Florida and when Elle described Marineland and the dolphins and whale performances I could see their sincere interest. I remember our girls asking when they could go… and also remember not being able to give them an answer. I felt it was a good time to ask about how their new house was coming and Barbara laughed. She said she didn’t really know but she said it wouldn’t be ready by July 1st. I didn’t want to go any further on that topic so asked when the twins would arrive. They weren’t sure but said it might be the following weekend. As they left I couldn’t help but to wonder what they’d look like. I’d only met a couple of girls who were actually from Germany and they were taller than both Barbara and Mo and had blonde hair. Only time would tell…

As I said, Barbara and Mo had taken the pressure off me for a while. I tried to keep as low a profile as I could for the rest of the evening. When it was time for the girls to go to bed I again offered to take the suitcase and carry bag upstairs and got Elle’s approval. The first thing I did was to put the carry bag up on the closet shelf with the goal of retrieving the bikini panties while Elle and the girls were at church the next morning. With the bag out of sight I could finally relax. I fully expected to get ‘an earful’ about not being home to watch the girls earlier but got nothing… like I wasn’t even there. Past history told me to wait until morning where a new day and new events would supersede those of the previous day.

As usual for a Sunday I made it to the 8am service at church. Back at home I wasn’t sure what to expect but it certainly wasn’t to be told to return and take the girls so they could attend Sunday school. Elle had gotten a call to teach on Monday and had a week’s worth of wash to do plus getting the house back in order. Trying to make the most of the situation I convinced myself that by doing it without complaining might lessen the damage that my going to work on the race car would bring. Back home by noon, we had lunch and as I ate I tried to figure out what would be the best time to tell of my afternoon plan. Still at the table I spied a old red pickup pull up behind my car in the driveway. I didn’t recognize it until I saw the large form of Big “B” emerging from the cab. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in a while and wondered what brought him to the house.

The girls all loved “B” and pretty much surrounded him as he tried to enter. Elle liked him as well so we had a bit of catching up to do. After a few minutes, “B” looked at Elle and asked if she could spare me for a couple of hours. “B” was always very cagey with Elle in that sense. I stood there, not knowing what he was up to. I hadn’t spoken to him in more than a month. Elle, not surprisingly, asked what for. Very calmly he said he was looking at buying another boat and wanted my advice. I stood there listening to him but was thinking that I needed to get to the garage and the race car. However, Elle, somewhat disapprovingly, gave her approval. In what turned out to be very fortuitous, she never asked how long we’d be or gave us a time to return. Walking out the door I was happy to be free of getting chastised by Elle but had to bring “B” up to date about the race car.(50)

As I’ve written before, “B” was a really good guy. I explained about my commitment to the race car and found him to be more than amenable to changing his plans. Other than Cliffy, we were the first to arrive at the garage. The car was up on jack stands and looked somewhat naked without wheels. While I was away they guys had sanded off the white paint and the numbers and had painted it with a gray primer. Upon seeing the car “B’s” interest in racing was once again, kindled. He asked any number of questions which Cliffy patiently answered. As they chatted the other partners showed up and Cliffy got down to the business at hand.

Opening night was just three weeks away. He’d attended the organizational meeting going over the new rules. The main one had to do with tires.The race track promoter had required that everyone use the same tire manufacturer. The complaints had been many and he’d decided to lift that restriction.
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At this point I’m going to give a little discourse on naivety… mine and the partners. When we’d been offered the car for just $1,000, we all jumped at it. The sales price for cars in the similar racing class usually started at $3,000 and went up from there. The others were so anxious to continue racing (and I to get back into it) that they hadn’t thought about the ‘big picture’… and that was where the money was to come from to operate (race) the car. With Cliffy’s father having paid the bills in the past no one gave it any thought. We’d struggled to get the $1,000 together just to buy the car. I, of all of them, should have picked up on it but hadn’t. Five of the six of us were married, had homes with a mortgage and a combined total of 14 kids. To put it bluntly, we didn’t have any spare money.
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Cliffy then told us that there was a newly designed tire available and, according to the manufacturer, it was the perfect tire for a track the size we were racing on (1/5th of a mile). However, it was $10 a tire more that the old style. For us to buy a set of four we needed approximately $175. I was standing next to “B” and he gave me a ‘rap’ in the arm. I looked up at him and heard him mumble “Wow!”. Glancing around I saw a bunch of blank looks of the faces of the others. I did a quick calculation and came up with my share being $35. I knew I could do it but it would be tough since I’d overspent on the Florida trip. By then the others were complaining that they didn’t have any money they could spare. Cliffy then asked how much could the bunch of us come up with. The final tally was somewhere around $130 with Buster saying he couldn’t come up with anything. It was then that “B” spoke up and said he’d throw in the rest. As we left the shop at least we knew we could race on opening night.

To be continued…

HOME AGAIN... to some surprises (Part 157b)

HOME AGAIN… to some surprises (Part 157b)

Gertrude was her name. She didn’t want to be called Mrs.B____, Gert or Gertie. She’d told me her mother named her Gertrude, that was her name and that's what she wanted to be called. I walked through the front door of the agency and saw a big, broad smile appear on her face… for only a few seconds. The first words out of her mouth were “Tell me the truth!”… and then she proceeded to tell me, in detail, about her experience with Jerry. I knew it was useless to interrupt her so stood there and listened.

I’d known Gertrude since I was about 14. She had two sons, one of which was a high school classmate of Elle’s, that I knew. Her husband had been a State Trooper (motorcycle) that had been killed in some sort of accident while I was off racing horses but I never got the details. The son who was in Elle’s class also died in an accident but the rumor was that it was suicide. In any case, Gertrude ended up getting a large settlement from the death of her husband, plus life insurance, and that’s what she used to start the travel agency. Since it was located right down the street from the bank she had come in one day to open an account and saw me. We hit it off right away. Over a period of time I persuaded her to deposit a good amount of money… and she’d come in on Friday to deposit more.

When she finally stopped talking I tried, as calmly as I could, explaining that Jerry was new and was not aware of the arrangement and approval I’d gotten to open her accounts. She proceed to call him an incompetent and told me I should fire him. She was, at that point, ‘preaching to the choir’. I told her that her accounts were legal and that I’d have the bank attorney (and Trustee) call her Monday morning to reassure her. That seemed to satisfy her… and gave her an opportunity to just chat. That ‘chat’ ended up being a bit of a sales pitch when she asked when Elle and I had last taken a vacation. I remember laughing when I told her that just 24 hours earlier we'd been in Florida. That didn’t stop her though as she asked what the occasion had been. I explained and thought I could escape but I was wrong.

Gertrude then told me that if ever I (and Elle) wanted to go someplace to celebrate a birthday or anniversary to stop by to see her and that she’d “take care of me”. I thanked her and said I had to get home to get caught up from my week away. As I walked out the door she called to me that she’d see me on Monday. That told me that Bret’s suggestion to go to see her was a good one and I made a mental note to put a blurb in his file about it. The only bad thing was that I had to go home and try to make nice to Elle. I expected that it might be harder than talking to Gertrude.

I got home about mid afternoon to find no one there. Before I left Elle had mentioned that she wanted to do the grocery shopping and wanted me back by 2pm.  That told me I was really going to face some ‘heat’ when she and the kids arrived home. She hated to take them grocery shopping not because they misbehaved but because they got to see all kinds of ‘goodies’ that she didn’t want them to have. On top of that was the fact that I was planning on going to work on the race car on Sunday afternoon… and hadn’t yet told Elle. When I’d called Cliffy from the airport in Florida to confirm our arrival time I’d asked him not to talk about the race car on our trip home. That was when he told me about Sunday afternoon and I said I’d be there.

At least the kids weren’t mad at me when they returned with Elle. She didn’t speak a word as I helped carry the groceries to the house. They were all excited to see the pictures from the trip. I hadn’t unpacked anything so told them it’d be a few minutes. When I went to the carry case that had the Polaroid camera in it I discovered Elle’s ‘package’ from our last night there. I’d stuffed it in there along with some trinkets for the kids. I handed it to her and went searching for the pictures. I don’t know why it was then that I remembered that I’d hidden the bikini panties I’d found when I did some wash in Florida in the pocket under the bottom of the bag. If Elle had been looking at me she would’ve known something was ‘up” as I know I turned beet red. She’d opened the suitcase and was unpacking the dirty clothes so I knew I’d dodged that ‘bullet, at least for the moment. I located the non X-rated Polaroid pictures and showed them to the kids but was really trying to figure out how to get the bikini panty out of the bag without getting caught.

The bag in question was normally stored on the shelf in our closet. As an excuse to go upstairs and to put it back I offered to take the suitcase with the clothes that didn’t need washing upstairs. Still not speaking more than grunts she shook her head telling me “no”. I knew I wanted to get those panties hidden as soon as possible but I knew going up the stairs with just that little bag wasn’t going to ‘cut it’. As mad as she was it would be an untenable situation if she discovered them so I was really concerned. Leave it to the girls next door to come to my rescue. Both Barbara and Mo showed up to see the girls. I’d not had a chance to tell Elle about the guests that they’d be hosting so chose to have them tell her. They seemed surprised that I knew but proceeded to fill us both in.

To be continued…

HOME AGAIN... to some surprises (Part 157a)

HOME AGAIN… to some surprises (Part 157a)

The phone woke us both up. It was Elle’s mother asking when we were coming to pick the girls up. When I looked at my watch and saw it was after 9am I jumped out of bed. Elle was still groggy but when I told her she volunteered to be the one to get them. Without the use of her alarm clocks she was a pretty soggy so had to get washed up before leaving. As she did she asked me to run into town and pick up milk, eggs and bread so we could at least have something to eat before she did the household shopping later on. We both left the house at the same time but I heard the sound of a tractor from the neighbor’s yard. I waved Elle to leave first as I wanted to peek through the hedge to see what was going on. All I could see was two trucks in front of the garage but I could hear the tractor. Walking on over I could see the tractor had a bucket on the front and it had a load of what looked like splintered wood piled in it. By the time I made it to the garage I saw Bill (the principal) talking with two men. I waited until he was finished and then asked what was happening.

I already knew that the house had been sold and that Bill and Phyllis were building a new house. The new owner had agreed to let them rent until their house was completed or July 1st, whichever came first. But he also got permission to start on some improvements to the property itself and this was the first. He was building a shed but had decided to put it where the tree that had been hit by lightning had stood. To do it they had to dig out the stump of the tree. What I noticed was the T-pole clothes line I’d pretty much built for Bill and Phyllis was gone. Before leaving I asked what they were going to do without it figuring that Phyllis would ask to use ours. But Bill pointed to some pipe in the back of one of the trucks and said they were going to put up a temporary one for them. For a minute I thought I’d be getting some up close and personal looks again but it appeared that it wasn’t to be. When I turned to leave Bill stopped me. He said he wanted to let Elle and I know that they’d be hosting some relatives from Germany. I didn’t know why he told me about it but didn’t dwell on it and headed off to do the shopping that Elle had asked me to do.

Stopping at the post office to pick up the week’s mail I ran into Bob (of Bob and Phyllis) who let me know the ‘group’ headed up by Pat (the PTA lady) had met and that Pat was going to approach me about running for the school board. NOT what I wanted to hear upon my return. He proceeded to tell me how the discussion had gone and I told him the basic reason I was selected was that I wasn’t at the meeting to protest. In truth, I was pissed and told him I wouldn't do it!

Back at home I was still upset. I honestly believed in the goals of the ‘group’ for the school board but didn’t agree with the way Pat (the PTA lady) orchestrated it. I found her to be unbending and downright ‘pushy’. I’d taken my anger out on Bob, who was the unwitting ‘messenger’, and by the time Elle got home with the kids I was unable to dismiss the incident. I tried to greet the kids with a welcoming smile but it didn’t happen. Elle called me out on it and I tried to explain what had happened but she wasn’t very sympathetic. Here it was, not even noon on my first day back at home and I was in trouble. I wanted to go back to Florida!

Eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich (that I had to make for myself) for lunch I was trying to figure out what I’d have to do to get back to some semblance of normalcy. It didn’t come from the telephone. I’m going to say that just about the last person I expected a call from was Bret. We’d pretty much had a pact not to call each other at home with bank business. I’d been the first to break that agreement so wasn’t really that upset when I heard his voice. He apologized but immediately wanted me to know he’d completely resisted calling me while I was in Florida. That little tidbit still didn’t make me feel all that good.

Hobie’s mother-in-law had died quite suddenly and he wasn’t at work the last three days of the week. That had left just he and Jerry to handle the ‘platform’. My immediate thought was that that shouldn’t have been a problem since Bret and I had been alone to oversee the area for most of the time I’d been there. Hobie, as corporate secretary, spent a good bit of time at meetings and the two of us seldom had a problem. I should’ve guessed what the problem was… Jerry.

Without giving lessons in banking, let me just say that I’d worked real hard on getting a customer to bank with us. I’d devised a plan (approved by the Trustee/attorney) where she could keep money from her business in savings accounts earning interest rather than just having it sit in a commercial bank account and not earning a penny. The woman came in on Friday when Bret was at lunch and she was waited on by Jerry. When she told him what she wanted to do for an account he told it was illegal. She got upset and walked out of the bank threatening to close all her accounts on Monday. When Trish told Bret about the situation he tried to get in touch with her but failed. So, knowing my relationship with her, he called to suggest it might be wise to come into town and go to her place of business, a travel agency, (banks weren't open on Saturdays back then) and try to resolve it without the distraction of Jerry to get her upset all over again. I definitely remember taking a few deep breaths before telling him I’d do it. I also remember wanting to strangle Jerry.

To be continued...

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156y)

None of us had ever seen an enclosed mall this big. Recently built, it was the forerunner of the regional malls that became commonplace throughout the country. One vivid memory was this immense waterfall in the center. We were told it had something to do with the air conditioning for the whole place. I didn’t have any more film for the Polaroid and had given the Brownie camera back to my mother. Jane had left hers in the car so we didn’t get a picture. I remember there were three large department stores, none of which I’d ever heard of. Jane was bound and determined to get a bathing suit so that was to be our first stop. I think the name of the store was Belk's. Right next to the bathing suits was a section with ladies tennis clothes. Elle had enough bathing suits but was always interested in finding cute tennis attire. She’d decided that skirts and dresses were the best for her with her ‘problem’. By that point in time we were way over budget for the trip and I wasn’t interested in adding to that deficit. HOWEVER… Elle found a dress that she just “had to have” and, after she tried it on… I knew I had to buy it for her. It was everything I could’ve wanted for garnering peeks. Even though she knew it was short she wanted it and I wanted to see her in it. The price was a bit ‘much’ but I took a deep breath and pulled out my American Express card.

Jane had found two suits she liked and caught up with us as I was paying for the dress. When Elle held it up for her to see she offered that if she was a tennis player that was a dress she’d want to have. Now, with Jane’s ‘mission (for a bathing suit) accomplished I wondered what we’d do next. Stupid me! Women in a mall… together… equals disaster. I asked Doug how he put up with just following his wife from store to store. I remember the smile on his face when he gave me his answer… “paradise”. I wondered if he had to ‘bargain’ from time to time to get what he wanted like I did. I held my breath every time Elle held another piece of clothing up to look at. By the time we’d made a cursory visit through the three big stores it was around 6pm and we were all hungry. Doug had mentioned that he’d originally wanted to be back in time for dinner but had changed his mind so we decided on a meal at the restaurant in one of the department stores. We we headed for one when Jane spied something in a store window and we stopped, yet again. My ankle was throbbing by then and all I wanted was to sit down. If there had been anything in the area I probably would’ve. But, there wasn’t… so I trudged on into the store with the rest of them.

It was a boutique very much like my friend Judith’s back near home. Jane asked for the dress she saw in the window and a clerk got one for her in her size. I was just standing there, pretty much talked out by then but noticed that the changing rooms didn’t have doors but only curtains… and Jane was disappearing behind one… or so she thought. Doug was flipping through a rack of clothes that were on sale as was Elle. I was free to look where I pleased… and that was at the little booth that Jane was in. The gap between the partition and the curtain was at least two feet and by the time she’d stepped out of her dress and into the new one I’d had about a 270 degree look at her in just bra and panties. I’d become somewhat accustomed to seeing bikini panties and when I’d had the up skirt view of Jane by the side of the pool I thought that was what she was wearing. But, as I stared at her there was no doubt about them being brief style panties. One of the reasons I remember them so well was that there was a cut out with a lace insert on one side. I wasn’t more than ten feet away so it wasn’t my imagination. All in all I had almost a one minute, uninterrupted peek… probably a record. She ended up getting the dress and after cutting the tags off decided to wear it to dinner.

We all made a pact there would be no talk of cars or kids at dinner. We had a perfectly enjoyable evening discussing how similar all our upbringing had been. Doug and I had spent time in a city and had summered in a small beachfront community. Jane and Elle had grown up in a small beachfront community and had met their spouses there. We had three girls… they had three boys. The only difference was that they were now living in a suburb and wished they were in a more rural area. We finished up around 8pm and headed out for the airport. It was only 15 minutes away and when we were saying our good bye’s, promised to stay in touch… fully knowing it wouldn’t happen. As I was shaking Doug’s hand and thanking him for being so accommodating he handed me his business card and told me if he could be any help in my racing endeavors to give him a call. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the race car had a Ford motor in it.

At the airport I managed to call Cliffy (the race car driver and friend) to confirm our arrival time. I figured he’d be at the shop working on the car and was right. He said not to worry, that he’d be there for us. Hearing his voice was a vivid reminder we’d soon be home and back to the reality of every day living. Elle called her mother to talk with the kids and they were excited to know that they’d be sleeping in their own beds the following night. We both felt the same. Five days was enough for the first time being away from them and although Elle never got ’teary’, by the third day she was talking more and more about them. For me, it was work that was starting to impinge upon my thoughts. I put my best effort into not thinking about it but Monday was right around the corner.

The flight was uneventful but retrieving our baggage was a total disaster. Somehow, the baggage handlers took the bags from our flight to a different carousel area and no one knew. By the time we found out and got our suitcase Cliffy had had to make about a half dozen passes around the terminal. (They were a lot different back in those days!) He wasn’t in the best mood when we finally climbed in his station wagon. It was almost 3am by the time we got into the house and, because we’d turned the heat way down the house was cold. We just left the suitcase and other things in the kitchen and headed on upstairs. Elle put her “package” on, grabbed an extra blanket and made the comment that she wasn’t going to set her alarms as she climbed in bed. We snuggled together for warmth. Our vacation was over!

To be continued…

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156x)

Back at the room we didn’t have much time before we had to vacate it. The maid’s cart was just outside the door when we approached. We’d laid out our clothes for the trip home as well as our bathing suits. The only thing(s) left were the panties Elle had washed out earlier. I still didn’t know how to wrap them to bring them home. It was Elle who suggested I put them inside the new plastic panties she’d worn at night. I got them from the suitcase and quickly rolled the panties up and into them. The carry case I’d used to bring the Polaroid camera was sitting right there so just stuffed them into it… and then we were off.

We were not that warmly greeted when I knocked on my parents door to leave our suitcase and the things for them to bring back home with them. The situation wasn’t helped when I told them we were going to the pool to meet another couple and to have lunch with them.  At that point my father pretty much told me I was on my own as far as finding transportation to the airport. I pretty much knew the source of that was my mother and it was because she was being upstaged by these new people.  As we left I told them we’d be back later. I’m sure my mother had some sort of comment but I never heard it.

At breakfast I’d not paid much attention to what the woman (Jane) wore other than it was a dress because most of my conversation had been with her husband. I fully expected to see them in bathing suits when we arrived but saw her lying on a chaise and still wearing a dress… a short dress. I couldn’t believe I’d not noticed it at breakfast. She was somewhat attractive but, even with the dress, looked a little ‘puffy’. Elle asked if she was going to go in the pool and she said she needed a new bathing suit. The guy (Doug) was ready to dive in. When he saw us he approached and challenged me to a race. I’ve always been competitive but swimming wasn’t something I’d  done in a competitive manner. But, he goaded me into it. When I returned from the locker room he said we’d do it in the big pool. That gave me an indication I was in trouble. I did get one concession and that was we’d do it by starting while in the pool… no diving to start.

I’d pretty much adjusted to the slight pain in my ankle while walking but wasn’t expecting it while swimming. I gave it my best shot but by the time I was halfway to the end I had to stop. I didn’t realize just how much movement a foot makes when swimming and all of it goes through the ankle ligaments. Elle and Jane had come over from the small pool to observe. When I dog paddled to the side of the pool and looked up, there was Jane… and I had a nice view up her dress. It wasn’t for long as she moved over to greet her husband. I was happy about the peek but not so happy about the ankle. I remember thinking I should’ve left the brace on.

We made our way back to the heated pool and watched Doug swim laps. It was while this was happening that Jane told us that he’d been a competitive swimmer in college and still swam on weekends. That news didn’t make me all that happy as I then knew I’d been ‘suckered”. Jane was quite the talker and we found out that Doug was an engineer with General Motors and they lived in a suburb of Detroit. They were both from Massachusetts… he from the Boston area and she from a little village on Cape Cod. They met when he was a teen and his family Summered on the Cape. They, like Elle and I, dated for four years through college and married after he graduated. They also had three kids… ironically, all boys with the oldest being ten. When Doug joined us I mentioned to him that my grandfather had been a General Motors car dealer, “way back when”.  He told me his first position with the company had been working on the first V8 motor for the Chevrolet model. That little tidbit got me started on car racing and before we knew it the time was after 1pm… and we hadn’t eaten.

At lunch I mentioned that I’d just become a part owner of what was called a ‘modified’ stock car. That really got his attention as he told me his uncle had raced modifieds. He then asked if I’d ever heard of Norwood Arena… and I had as it was one of the fastest short tracks on the East coast. Some of the best drivers of the day had started their careers there. He told me he went to the races there up until he got married. I asked for his uncle's name but I’d never heard of him. While the two of us were in deep conversation the ladies were in one of their own. Jane finally interrupted us to remind Doug he’d promised to take her shopping. That led to him asking what time our flight left and that brought me back to reality. I still had to find a ride to the airport. When I told him it was around 9pm he made a comment that it was too bad it was so late as they were headed in that direction.

I have no recollection as to who made the suggestion but basically it was if we were willing to sit around the airport for a while they’d be happy to drop us off. My initial reaction was to decline the offer. A quick calculation was that we’d be there for four to five hours, time we could be enjoying ourselves. But… and I do remember this quite vividly… Jane suggested that we could all go shopping and then they’d take us to the airport. Evidently, she’d done some research about this new enclosed mall not far from the airport and had gotten Elle’s interest way up. I made an initial attempt at resisting but it dawned on me that if I agreed I’d have some ‘chits in the bank’ for the future.

They drove us back to change into our travel clothes and to get our bags. My parents weren’t there and I didn’t have a key. Thankfully, Thea was at the desk and gave a spare to me. I ended up leaving a note for my parents apologizing for leaving without saying our ‘good byes'. As we headed for Doug’s car Jane wanted a picture for their trip scrapbook with a promise to send a copy... and they did.

To be continued…

Note the buildings behind us... those were the apartments and the owners were going to duplicate them where the present facility was located.

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156w)

Elle wasted no time heading for the shower. She chose to leave her panties on so as to rinse them out. However, it was a reminder that as far as clean ones were concerned she was down to just her ‘dribble’ panties. She’d been rinsing her wet panties out but without soap. Other than the ones she was wearing in the shower they were dry. We’d decided to hold back the wearing of the ‘dribble’ panties for the trip home so when she appeared in the doorway I reminded her. She made a face but without hesitation decided to do a ’smell test’ of the others. After picking out two pair that passed she proceeded to get dressed. Since we were only going into the bar area or lounge there was no need for a dress so she chose her white knit slacks with a pink knit top. I earnestly approved but didn’t tell her my real reason… they gave off a very nice VPL, especially with her wearing two pair of panties.

I decided on a pair of slacks knowing my mother would have a comment if I left my shorts on. It was almost 10pm when we walked into the bar. To say they were less than happy to see me is to put it mildly. My father started in by telling me I should’ve had him paged rather than to just leave a message. I just stood and listened as he got it off his chest. He followed that up with the fact that there had been a change in plans as far as getting Elle and I to the airport. Our flight was for sometime around 9pm and since my father no longer drove at night he’d made arrangements with one of the bellhops to drive us. I don’t remember what his real name was but he’d been working at the place for a long time. I’d been friendly towards him way back when I stayed there as a teen and all I knew him as was “R C”, which stood for R C Cola, something that he seemed to drink gallons of. When R C agreed to take us he thought he had the day off. But, with the influx of people arriving for the closing affair he was told he had to work. That left us without a ride.

Taxis from the airport were expensive and sometimes not reliable. My father believed in trying to help the staff out whenever he could and that’s why Ben, the bartender, had picked us up back on Sunday night (Monday morning). He’d been trying all evening to find an alternative but, at present, hadn’t come up with a solution. With things a little ‘frosty’ I decided to call it a night and took Elle’s hand and we left. Walking out I was a bit relieved because the couple that were with my parents were people I recognized from many years ago… both alcoholics and as I observed them they seemed to be in that condition. 

Back at the room I suggested that we start packing since we had to be out of it by 10am. My parents had told us we could leave our things in their room until it was time to leave. By doing it then would mean we’d have more daylight time to enjoy ourselves. As we laid our clothes and souvenirs out on the bed I was a bit surprised at just how much we’d purchased. I’d had a hard time getting the suitcase closed and locked as we packed at home and it looked even more daunting as I stared at it. One of the first things that jumped out at me was the amount of space that our tennis sneakers would take up. Even though I’d put them in a small carry case along with the Polaroid that was all the bag could hold. I decided to put them aside for my parents to bring back when they drove home as they were already planning on bringing the shells that we collected. Elle added to it saying that we wouldn’t be needing our tennis clothes as we certainly wouldn’t be playing tennis at home in April. That brought up the need for most of the clothes we had… they were primarily Summer things. All of a sudden I had plenty of room in the bag. Of course, we made these decisions without talking to my parents. But, as we prepared for bed we seemed to have solved our biggest problem.

Morning brought our next problem… Elle’s wet panties from the night. They didn’t have plastic bags like today. The bags we’d gotten while shopping were paper and they wouldn’t be suitable in any way shape or form. Elle suggested that since she had so many panties anyway that we could just throw them away. To a panty lover, that was blasphemous. However, I couldn’t come up with an immediate solution so suggested we get breakfast. Even though it was only 8am or so, the dining room was more crowded than I’d seen it. All the two place tables were occupied so we were given one with four places and were asked if we minded having another couple join us. Trying to be pleasant we said it would be OK… and it turned out to be very fortuitous.

It was a couple somewhat older than we were… Jane and Doug. They had spent their honeymoon there and had fallen in love with the place, returning every Spring until they had kids. When they heard it was closing they contacted the owners and were able to get in on the closing event. Ironically, they were celebrating their 15th anniversary. Of course, we had to go through the same ‘drill’ we’d gone through with my parent’s friends. But, it was different. We wanted to do it. We hit it off really well and found there were a lot of similarities in our lives. We got so caught up in conversation that I forgot that we had to be out of our room by 10am. I’d casually mentioned that we would be on our way that afternoon and they stated they were disappointed to hear it. They asked what we were doing the rest of the morning and said they’d been looking forward to going to the pool. Acting on the spur of the moment I asked if we could join them there a bit later and they welcomed the thought.

To be continued…

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156v)

But, it wasn’t just the look. I can’t remember her exact words (and there were quite a few!). However, I didn’t say anything… which for me was unusual. Basically, she was saying “No way!”. When I didn’t argue I think it surprised her. I just sit there looking at her. After a minute she asked if I was going to say anything. I think I took a deep breath before I spoke. I do know I asked her to let me have my say without interrupting. She rolled her eyes but kept quiet.

I took my time before starting. At lunch, when looking over the menu, Elle saw they had shrimp scampi. My mother had introduced her to it and she loved it. She also told Elle to be careful where she ordered it and suggested that she’d be safe at most seafood restaurants. I started by reminding her that she’d commented that she wished that we were there for dinner. Neither of us was used to eating much at lunch so it wasn’t an option. I went on to add that I really didn’t want to go through another meal with my parents (mother) having to answer all the inane questions about what we did for a living and all about our kids. We’d endured three nights of that and I’d had enough. There was more but those were the primary points I wanted to make.

In Elle’s little tirade she brought up the fact that the back of her dress was wet and that she ”smelled". She said she wouldn’t get out of the car that way. I gently ‘attacked’ her points, again asking that she let me do the talking. As to the wet (actually damp) dress and the stain I reminded her that we’d overcome worse situations when she wore pants or shorts where the wetness was far more obvious. I mentioned what I’d done just the day before when I walked closely behind her down the dune, effectively blocking the wetness from the people we'd passed walking on the dune and then where we'd parked. Adding to that I pointed out that the light color of the dress along with the print on the material would be muting the stain. I could see that she wasn’t agreeing with me… but I wasn’t done yet.

Elle started to speak and I remember putting my finger up to my mouth and shaking my head from side to side.  That elicited a negative look. I told her I had a question for her and that it was an important one. It was to ask if she remembered what she smelled and what she said when we’d first walked into the restaurant at lunch time. Again, she had a perplexed look after hearing it. I remember prodding her by putting two fingers on my nose. That brought out a small smile… and a weak answer… “It smelled fishy”. I smiled at that point but added “cigarette smoke”. She nodded, affirmatively. That was my cue to make my ‘sales pitch’.

Since I’d been talking about the smell I started there and told her that there was no possible way that anyone could smell anything inside the restaurant. She didn’t offer any retort to that so I moved on to the stain on the dress again, stressing that it wasn’t all that big and that by the time we’d get in to the restaurant it might be almost dry. I still couldn’t get a positive reaction. About to give up I made one last stab. I suggested that we drive down to the river and take a look at the place. She didn’t say “No” so we headed in that direction.

It was easier to find this time. Since the place was located in the middle of the business section of the waterfront there wasn’t a lot of parking. The restaurant had a lot right across from the dock that led to it and as I turned in a car was making it’s way out of a spot. I took that as a good omen. We sat in the car for a few seconds before I suggested that we take a short walk out on the dock. I promised I’d be walking right behind her and she finally popped open the door. When I walked around to her side of the car I made an honest appraisal of the back of her dress and, to my eyes, it wasn’t that noticeable. I told Elle that and swore I was telling the truth. When she made a couple of tentative steps towards the street I was pleased.

We walked about 1/3 of the way towards the restaurant. There were people hanging over the railing up closer to the restaurant but there was no one where we stopped. Elle pointed out the activity on the water up near the building and I could see it was the catfish performing as they had done at lunch for us. Elle surprised me by wanting to get closer and we headed that way. It was even more amazing watching the action of the fish without having to peer out a window as we’d done earlier. We were maybe fifteen feet from the door where we stopped. After a few minutes I made my ‘push’ to go on inside and was totally surprised when she turned for the door.

After an absolutely scrumptious meal (expensive, too… had to use my American Express card) we headed back. Elle admitted she was glad she decided to do it. She was really relaxed and agreed that it was a nice respite from my mother. I’d called and left a message for my parents before we ate so I wasn’t all that concerned about catching up with them upon our arrival . It was around 9pm or so and Elle definitely wanted to get washed up and changed before we went looking for them. As Elle stripped off her dress she started into the bathroom. I saw her sit on the seat with her  panties on. But I’d already made a move to get the Polaroid camera and there was no way for me to take advantage of it. Elle wanted to know where I was. When she saw the camera she started to protest but didn’t. She looked at me and calmly said I could have one but without her face. She let me ‘stage’ her and didn’t rush me for which I was thankful.

 To be continued...

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156u)

The woman started back down the stairs with me following. Elle seemed to drag behind. Back at the entrance the lady apologized for rushing us but said she had another job to get to. As I thanked her and I reached back for Elle’s hand. Looking at her face I could see she wasn’t very happy and I wondered why. Outside and on the pathway to the parking lot I asked what was wrong. “I’m soaked!’ (or something close to that) was her sharp response. That caught me by surprise and I immediately tried to figure out where it had happened. I’d been with her from the time we left the car up until then and there was nothing I could remember that would’ve been an opportunity for it to have happened. I tried to stop to ask and she just pushed me onward. Back at the car her only words were to tell me to get out the oilcloth again. While putting it down on the seat I caught a glimpse of the back of her sun dress and could see a round circle of wetness. That made me even more puzzled. I don’t know just what I said but I remember sort of pleading with her to tell me what happened. With a look of resignation she climbed in the car. After a few seconds she looked up at me and accused me of being “insensitive” to her needs. I didn’t have a clue as to what she meant.

I stood there just looking somewhat bewildered. Finally, she started in on me. It was a ‘flood’ of words (pun intended) about how I went about doing “my things” without considering her. In the back of my mind I was still mad about the “Fountain of Youth” visit which was for her benefit alone so couldn’t reconcile her complaint. What had I done (or not done) that had her so upset? I guess it was the look on my face that got her to slow down a bit and she went back to when we were leaving the park with the “Fountain”. She said I’d “rushed her“ and hadn’t listened when she said she need to use the rest room. I heard her words but for the life of me couldn’t remember her making that request. My look of innocence prompted her to accuse me of not caring about her needs saying that it was my responsibility, as a husband, to make sure she didn’t embarrass herself. Standing there I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Off the top of my head I could think of any number of occasions, since we’d been in Florida, where I’d taken steps to protect her. I stood there and with my arms at my side, put my hands up as if to surrender. I knew it was useless to try and defend myself. The only thing I could do was to apologize… but for just what I wasn’t sure.

I climbed in behind the wheel. But before starting the car I turned and asked, again, what had happened and where. At first I didn’t think she’d answer but with a somewhat sour look on her face she started. In summary, she' been aware that it was quite a while since she’d used the toilet back at the restaurant so wanted to use the one at the park where the fountain was located. She said I cut her off when she asked about it but didn’t make a “fuss” thinking that she’d use the rest room at the parking lot for the fort. When she got out of the car she dribbled. I’d already started towards the entrance to the fort and, as I was so focused on getting into the fort before it closed, she was afraid I’d just go off and leave her so she followed me. The “flood” was while I was trying to persuade the lady to let us in. As she described it I remembered her standing behind me. She went on to say she’d stood in the grass… “and it all came out”.

As she was telling me this I saw the expression on her face change and I could see a wisp of a smile in the corners of her mouth. I didn’t dare speak for fear I’d cut off more of what she had to say. I sat there for a bit and then her face showed more of a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. She’d been facing forward, looking out towards the front of the car but then turned a bit towards me. I wish I could remember her exact words but it was along the lines of “It was sort of exciting…” I didn’t know how to respond but I’m sure the look on my face showed surprise… if not shock. I don’t know if I said anything at that point but I do remember her adding one more thing… that her pee didn’t run down her legs.

With that part out of the way I thought I was somewhat ‘home free’ but I was wrong. What had her so upset was that she was convinced that there was no visible evidence of her wetting up until the lady had insisted that she sit on the wall of the fort so she could get the picture of us with the river in the background. She told me that she’d tried to say “No” but that I’d grabbed her by the waist and put her up there. With that her wet panties had wet the back of her dress… and that was what had really upset her.
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Now, at this point in this post I’m going to refer you back to the previous post and the last picture. Note the look on Elle’s face… definitely not a happy one! It wasn’t until I got home and had the pictures developed that I saw it but it confirmed what Elle had told me in the car.
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We talked for a while and ended up agreeing that we were both somewhat at fault… lack of communication. By then it was after 5pm. We didn’t have a set plan as far as meeting up with my parents for dinner so there was no rush to get back. On the spur of the moment I suggested we go back to the restaurant with the shrimp. The look on her face was priceless. I wish I’d taken a picture.

To be continued…

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156t)

When my father gave me the keys he also gave me $10 for gas and told me to keep the change. That wasn’t like him but I wasn’t going to complain. As we drove past the area we’d stopped on our way back the day before I had to smile. What had been the possibility of being a problem ended up being the start of something good (for me). We got into the city limits and stopped for gas. Elle decided she wanted to eat before going on to the Fountain of Youth but I had no idea where to go. I ended up asking the gas attendant (we still had those back in those days) where a good seafood restaurant was located. He asked if we liked shrimp and when I told him “yes” he gave me directions to this place located on the river. We had to go into the city to get there and when I finally found it he wasn’t kidding… it was on pilings about 100 feet out into the river. It was, for sure, a shrimp lovers delight. But the best memory of the place wasn’t the food. For ‘entertainment’ they would sell you a basket of stale bread and then you’d go to a window and throw pieces of it into the water. The catfish would go crazy for it. I’m not kidding. It was quite a show. Thirty to forty fish fighting for a few pieces of bread. Every time I thought about St. Augustine after that I”d think of the catfish. Elle got her shrimp salad and I chowed down on shrimp cocktail. It was probably the first time I’d eaten really fresh shrimp. The waiter pointed out the window to the shrimp boat that they bought them from. I was impressed.

We ended up walking the docks while we were there. I’d always loved looking at boats and with Elle’s father a fisherman it was interesting to see the different types.  A deckhand was cleaning up a shrimp boat that had just unloaded its haul. I asked some questions about how they went about catching them and the first thing I knew it was approaching 2pm. My plan had been to go to both the fountain and the fort but I wasn’t sure we’d be able to do both. Since Elle insisted on the fountain we headed there first. The words of my father were firmly entrenched in my mind as we  drove up. The archway into the grounds looked interesting but I was puzzled about why it was so elaborate when all we wanted to see was a simple fountain. It wasn’t until I paid the entrance fee and got the brochure that I realized there was more than that. There were formal gardens to visit… not my favorite thing, especially having had to pay to see them.

We followed the paths to the fountain and I can still say I was underwhelmed. The first thing was that there was no fountain to be seen… and it smelled like a whole bunch of people had let off a simultaneous fart.. All I saw was a grate over a hole in the ground. It only took a second for me to grasp what my father had warned me about… rip off!. I wasn’t happy but Elle tried to placate me by saying that at least she’d seen it. I was ready to leave but Elle said that since we’d paid the money she wanted to see the gardens. I’ll admit that if flowers and gardens were your ‘thing’ it was impressive. We were looking at a formal garden and Elle was trying to get me to take it all in since the area behind our garage had, at one time, been one. I was impatient to leave and had turned to go when this stranger called out to us. I saw the woman waving and rushing towards us. My mind said “What now?" as she ran up to us. Almost immediately she addressed Elle by name… her maiden name. Long story short, she’d Summered in our town in a cottage right across the creek that bordered where we’d grown up. When the tide was too low to swim in the bay we’d go down to the creek and swim there. She'd seen Elle and somehow she’d learned her name and, even more interesting, remembered it. Of course we had to indulge her and listen to where she was living now (Florida) and how much she missed our area, especially in the Summer. Elle was a lot more patient than I was so when I interrupted to tell her it was 4pm and we would have to hurry to get to the fort to get a few pictures she gave me one of her ‘looks’.

When we’d been at the fort earlier in the week the lady at the ticket window had indicated that if she was on duty when we came back that she’d let us in for a few minutes to take some pictures without charging the fee. By the time we pulled into the parking lot it was a little before 4:30pm and I wasn’t sure we’d get in for our pictures. My focus was on that and only that. I jumped out of the car and implored Elle to hurry. She hesitated and that just made me mad. Finally she started towards the designated area to cross the street. We were running when we got to the entrance. I was excited when I saw that the person at the gate was the same woman who we’d dealt with. She didn’t recognize us and started to say that she was closing for the day. I immediately reminded her of our conversation from earlier in the week and she smiled… but that was all. I was frustrated in being so close to accomplishing what I’d set out to do but now wasn’t going to achieve it. I don’t know for sure if it was the look on my face that made her soften her stance. She said she’d let us in but she would only give us five minutes. That was all I needed and as we walked through the gate she then volunteered to go with us and to take pictures with both of us in them. I couldn’t say “No” since it was up to her to let us in or not.

The whole time this was taking place I paid no attention to Elle. She was standing behind me and off to the side. When the lady took the lead up the stairs Elle caught up with me. She wasn’t smiling and I asked why but she didn’t answer. I couldn’t figure out why she was upset with me. The lady was clearly ‘in charge' and told us that we were only going to the top steps on the upper level where there was sun. She took one picture and then suggested another with the river in the background. Again, what could I say? That ended it.

 To be continued...

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156s)

Dinner that night was mega boring. My parents had been coerced into joining two other couples. Elle and I were an extraneous part to the dinner. The men regaled us with their business conquests and the women tried to outdo each other with places they’d traveled. I don’t think Elle spoke more than a dozen words. We all retired to the bar for an after dinner drink at which point I was frustrated enough to order a Cherry Heering, an incredibly sweet liquor. I ended up seated next to one of the men and was finally able to engage him in a conversation about something I had some interest… baseball. The man was a Board member of a large Pittsburg corporation and mentioned he had a small ownership with the Pirates baseball team. A classmate of mine from boarding school was a very good pitcher and had been selected by them. He made it up as far as AAA ball with a West coast team that was affiliated with the Pirates. To make conversation I asked if he’d ever heard of my friend and that brought forth a loud laugh. I had no idea what was so funny but I didn’t question it. When he calmed down he, in a sort of sneering tone of voice, asked if I had any idea of just how many players came and went during a year in the Pirates organization. He then closed the conversation by saying he’d never met any of the minor leaguers… that was for the “underlings” and turned away.

Up until I attacked the sand dune on our way back from Marineland the pain in my ankle had been tolerable. But, the bending of my foot in  the unstable sand had aggravated it. That, added to the haughty attitude of the businessman, was about enough for me. I made a half hearted attempt at being civil as I excused Elle and I from the group. Before leaving I got Ben, the bartender, to wrap some ice in a towel for my ankle hoping it would help. As we approached our room it was obvious that even though it was after 10pm the air temperature was still very warm. I asked Elle if she would sit with me on the sea wall for a while until the ice melted. We walked away from the flood lights before we sat down.

Up until then we hadn’t really decided on a plan of action for Thursday. I hadn’t know my father’s need for his car. I pretty much knew we were headed back to St Augustine for the Fountain of Youth to appease Elle. Without tennis on our schedule we had the whole day. It turned out my father’s need for the car was minimal so it was up to us to decide what to do and when. After a brief discussion Elle said she’d like to go back to the pool and cabana area first. It didn’t matter to me as I knew I wasn’t going to do any more diving. By the time the ice had melted on my ankle we decided we’d head for St Augustine after lunch. By then we both admitted to being tired so headed back to the room.

Again, the bright sun woke us in spite of the blinds. With nothing to do until the dining room opened for breakfast I decided to try again for some “morning delight”. I won’t give you any details other than to say Elle was more than willing. I’ve written on a number of occasions how my preference for sex was in the morning. It always seemed to set a positive tone for the day. Without any thoughts of the kids interrupting it made for a really enjoyable start for the day. Our joint shower was like icing on the cake.

At breakfast it was obvious that people were still arriving for Ed and Thea’s big closing shindig. We saw suitcases being piled in front of the main desk. There was a small bus outside the entryway. As we were seated I watched about a half dozen people enter and line up to check in. Because we weren’t going to be there and a part of it I’d not taken the time to find out just what was planned and made a mental note to find out before we left to return home. Walking out for the shuttle that would take us to the pool I thought I recognized one couple from back when I’d been there as a teen. The lady saw me and walked up and gave me a hug. It was embarrassing. At that point all I wanted to do was to escape to the pool. The shuttle only took a few minutes and by 10am we were comfortably ensconced under an umbrella at the pool. Even though the air temperature was probably in the 70’s, it sure was nice to be swimming in a heated pool. We decided to stay and eat our lunch while there and then head South. Elle spent a good portion of time in the pool itself.
                

She didn't...

I wasn’t tired but found myself falling asleep. I was awoken, not by Elle but by my mother and the lady who’d given me the hug. Not who I wanted to see. We hadn’t seen my mother that morning before we left so she was unaware of our specific plans. That worked out to my (our) benefit as I lied telling them we were late in heading for St. Augustine for lunch. Elle was surprised when I told her we were leaving but didn’t say anything to embarrass me. My mother’s arrival with her friend worked for us in an unexpected way. My father had driven them to the facility and had run into an acquaintance so was still there. I tracked him down and he agreed to let me have the car. Elle and I’d worn our clothes and had changed into our suits at the pool. So, all we had to do was change and be on our way. In getting dressed I’d suggested that Elle wear a sundress in case of an ‘emergency’. She readily agreed. I’ll now admit I had another idea (or two). The only thing about leaving early was that we’d miss out on the snack bar’s shrimp salad for lunch, I told Elle there was always the next day as we walked out to the car.

To be continued…

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

WARMER DAYS… onto Florida (Part 156r)

When I returned to tell Elle she gave me one of those ‘What do we do now?' looks. We had enough time to wait to see what the people in the cars were going to do but neither of us felt like doing that. So…. The choices were to go back to the car with Elle leading and me close in behind her or… me leading with her following. A quick ‘inspection' of her shorts showed that most of the wetness was up her backside, the result of her squatting while peeing. The front wasn’t nearly as bad but because the shorts were knit cotton the wetness was wicking its way up. I told her I thought it better for her to go first since the people we’d be meeting would be concentrating on making their way up the dune and not focusing on us. With me right behind her I’d be blocking the view of the real ‘damage’. She wasn’t really convinced but with a slight push towards the path we were on our way.

I’d been right in that the people climbing up the dune only gave us slight attention, concentrating on making their way through the sand and over the sawgrass rushes. It was near the bottom that we had to make another decision. The kids I’d seen  were still running around with minimal attention being paid to them by the parents. The man was leaning against a front fender of their car and the woman was between his legs and being held in an embrace. I thought we were ‘home free’ when I saw that. As we reached the bottom I told Elle to head for the car and to open the back door and sort of hide behind it. It was my intention to open the front door to make a sort of protected space for her until I could get in the trunk and pull out the oilcloth we’d used before. However, as soon as the couple saw us they broke from their embrace and called out to us and started heading our way. The car belonging to the couple we’d passed on the path was in between us which gave me a few seconds to decide what to do.

I remember telling Elle to quickly sit on the door sill and to place her hands in her lap. She frowned and hesitated but I put my hand on her shoulder and pushed her down… just in time. The guy, big and burly with hair down to his shoulders, walked up to us with the woman following close behind. The only thing I remember him saying was something about being a fellow Northerner and pointing to the plates on the car. To me it was a relief to have something to talk to them about. Elle stayed seated for the few minutes they hung around. As I remember it they left us to attend to one of their kids who’d gotten hurt in some way.

I retrieved the oilcloth and spread it out on the front seat. As Elle stood up to climb in I suggested that she take off the  wet shorts telling her that if she did her panties might have a chance to dry by the time we got back. That brought forth one of those ‘knowing’ smiles. After a few seconds she slid the shorts down and got in the car. I distinctly remember her telling me there was to be no “touching” on the rest of the trip home. I also remember wishing that I’d brought the Polaroid camera. She'd been adamant that I wasn’t to take any ’special’ pictures that had to be sent out for developing. Looking over at her with the ever lowering sun coming through the windshield I tried to persuade her to let me take one but only of her top. It was still a “NO!” She knew me too well.

Approaching our destination, Elle decided that she’d put on the dry shorts she’d brought for “just in case”. She reasoned that even if her panties were damp, it wouldn’t show through that much and she’d be able to make it through the lobby and lounge area without detection. What impressed me was how matter of fact she was about it and I was proud of her for it. I, personally, hoped we wouldn’t see that many people on our way back to our room. But, with the time approaching 6pm there were quite a few people waiting to be seated for dinner. In spite of my efforts to avoid meeting my parents friends I was recognized by a couple of couples they knew and were called over to where they were waiting. I tried to be pleasant but I really wanted to get back to the room. Finally escaping, we were making our way across the courtyard when Elle started laughing. I had no idea why. I tried to get her to tell me but she just put a finger to her mouth telling me to be quiet.

I opened the door and as soon as she walked in turned me around and put one of my hands in her crotch. It was wet… not damp, as I’d expected. She was all smiles as I bent backwards to look at her face. I asked what was up with that and, now giggling, said she had a “slight accident” or something like that. I asked her if it was while we were walking across the courtyard and that brought forth more laughter. She, shaking her head from side to side, sort of mumbled that it was while we were talking with the “old geezers”. Now it was my turn to laugh. I asked why she didn’t break away and head for the ladies room which was right there in the lobby. She shrugged her shoulders and with an impish smile told me she didn’t know.

With an hour to spare before we had to meet my parents I suggested that we had time for some ‘afternoon delight’. She responded by saying she’d let me have some “wet play”. That was better than nothing so I helped take off her shorts and she helped me with my things. Up on the bed she lay on top of me . I slid my penis right up into the wet crotch of her panties and then we rolled over onto our sides. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the nylon satin material of the Evette panties was especially sensuous to me. I don’t know how long I lasted but it wasn’t for long. We lay there like that for a while but my arm was pinned under her body and had fallen asleep… as had Elle. I had to extract it from under her and then get up to try and shake the tingling out. As I did I looked back down on her. Fast asleep and innocent looking, I knew I had to get a picture. I hoped that I wouldn’t wake her and also hoped my arm and hand with little to no feeling in it would let me. It did and I got one of my favorite pictures of all time and I didn't have to plead or offer anything in return

Note the two beds shoved together...

To be continued...

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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156q)

As the saying goes… the best laid plans oft times go astray… and that’s what happened as far as our trip to Marineland. My father didn’t get back until after twelve o’clock. That left us but two hours before the afternoon show. If we’d left around 11am or shortly thereafter my idea was to stop at The Fountain of Youth first.  I figured it’d be a short stop just to please Elle as I had no desire to see it. When I’d spent the three Winters in Florida my father said it wasn’t worth the effort so the family never went there and that was my thinking at the time. But, I knew it would take over an hour to get to Marineland and we’d have to rush. She wasn’t very happy but, to appease her, I told her we could come back the next day. We’d planned on tennis each morning but that wasn’t happening due to my ankle. That meant we had free time. We were to return home late Friday afternoon so we had options. That seemed to calm her down.

We did eat lunch before leaving. Elle chose to wear shorts even though I thought she was taking a chance. Wearing a dress, if she had an ‘accident’, she had some chance of hiding it. With shorts… no way! However, I did get her to bring spare panties and shorts. The trip took just about an hour and by the time I took a couple of pictures outside the place, got our tickets, bought more film for my mother’s Kodak Brownie camera and were seated, we had about ten minutes to spare. I’d borrowed the camera because my Polaroid was too big to lug around and because the process of developing  the pictures was cumbersome, especially in a public place.
         

The show was fantastic. It was the first dolphin show I’d ever seen and we were both ’taken’ by them. The whales put on a good show as well. Neither of us knew that much about either dolphins or whales and after the show we found the handlers were giving lessons about them. They had a mini aquarium that I hadn’t remembered and Elle wanted to take that in as well. We ended buying some books about them that Elle felt that, as a teacher, she could use in class. I’d briefly thought about stopping at the fort (Castillo de San Marcos) on the way back to get a few pictures.  However, the added time we took after the show made that impossible. We ended up being among the last to leave. We were to meet up with my parents back at the bar at 7:30pm and then go to dinner. With an hour to get back we still had about an hour and a half to kill.
           

Going back to when I was a teenager I’d wanted to ride on the sand but my father wouldn’t do it. On the trip back I got the idea of trying to find a way to get on the beach. I knew it was possible back at the site of the now gone “Barney’s” next to where we were staying. However, I didn’t want my father to know and to do it there it was more risk than I wanted to take. So, since there was a 20 mile stretch of road that paralleled the beach I made a special effort to search for some kind of a path through the dunes that would lead to it. We found a couple of places where cars had parked along side the road but could only see a small path just wide enough for people to walk. After the third stop Elle said she wanted to see what was on the other side of the dunes. I knew there wasn’t anything special so I wondered why. Dumb me!

As soon as the car stopped Elle was out and on her way up the path. I was probably fifteen steps behind her and it was obvious she wasn’t waiting for me. At the crest of the dune I saw her squatting down and I knew why she wanted to. Her pee was still escaping from her shorts when I caught up to her. She had a sheepish grin as she looked up at me and then I heard her say “Well?” With a questioning tone. My hand went right to there crotch and the wetness was really warm. That caused an immediate and uncomfortable bulge. I managed to get my fingers inside one of the leg openings. I knew she had the Evette panties as the second pair from observing the VPL’s back at Mainland. The Evette panties were especially sensuous as the nylon satin was somewhat smoother than that of the VanRaalte panties. I tried to get inside the leg elastic but being in a squatting position kept it too tight to accomplish that. I really don’t know how long we stayed in that position but when we stood up I was certainly smiling.

Even though Elle knew she was wet up her backside she asked me to “inspect” which I was more than willing to do. The VPL under her wet white shorts was beautiful. I really wanted a picture but she was still smiling and I pretty much knew she’d let me continue to ‘play’ so didn’t ask. I managed to get up inside the shorts and panties and had a minute or two of fun before she cut it off. If we were just about anywhere else I know where it would’ve ended but she was too practical for that. The question was what to do next.

I’d persuaded her to bring more panties and another pair of shorts so that wasn’t a problem. The question was where to make the change. I suggested that I could go back to the car and get her things since we were shielded from the road by the sand dune. I told her that at the car there would be cars passing constantly. She agreed and I headed back to the car. At the crest of the dune I was shocked to see two other cars pulled up behind our car. If that wasn’t bad enough it appeared that the occupants of one of them were headed up the dune. I stood and observed the other car for a few seconds. Both car doors were open and there were a bunch of young kids running around with two adults leaning against the car. Another change in plans!

To be continued....