MORE SUMMER HEAT... so much of it (Part 162p)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162p)

I was still faced with cleaning up the yard. The storm hadn’t done any real damage (…other than the limb from the neighbors tree) but had left a lot of twigs and leaves strewn all around the property. It had to be cleaned up before I could mow the lawn which should’ve been done on Saturday. I was on my way to start when Elle pleaded with me to take the car to see if Barbara had a problem with her bike while on her way from work. The tone of her voice told me she was really concerned so, somewhat reluctantly, I got in my car. There were two ways she could take from town and my plan was to go one way and return the other way. Riding through town I saw the son of the owners of the store where Barbara worked so stopped and asked him if he’d seen her that evening. He said he knew she’d been at the store in the afternoon and he’d seen her talking with the girl (Edna) who worked at the drug store. That bit of information gave me the idea to go to Edna’s house to see if she knew anything.

Ed, Edna’s father, was doing what I should’ve been doing… raking up the debris. He stopped and with a big smile told me that my ears must be ringing. I had no idea what he meant by that and I’m sure the expression on my face spoke for me. He went on to say that he and his wife had just finished discussing inviting Elle and I over some evening for dessert as a thank you for feeding their daughter that one night and also for helping him work on his boat. I was surprised but thanked him and suggested that his wife call Elle to set a date. In a rush, I told him I’d actually stopped by to ask his daughter a question about one of her friends. He called her name and almost instantly she appeared. I could see she recognized me. I asked if she knew where Barbara might be as we’d expected her for supper and she hadn’t showed up. I remember the puzzled look on her face followed by her saying she was at her new house. The way she said it made it sound like I was supposed to know that. I briefly explained what her father had told Elle and that was she’d stay with us through the current night. She shrugged as she told me that, as of lunch time, she’d be staying in her new house that night.

My next stop was to Barbara’s house. It only took a couple of minutes to get there and approaching it I could see two vehicles in the driveway. One of the compromises they’d made was to cut back to a one car garage and I could see it was filled with cardboard boxes. I had to park in the empty lot across the street and in walking over to the house could see considerable erosion caused by the heavy rain of the weekend. Without grass there was nothing to stop the topsoil from being washed away. Seeing it made me wonder how much creek water had gotten into the basement due to the abnormally high tides. The front door was open so I walked up and called out a general greeting. I had to repeat it again before I saw Phyllis, Barbara’s mother, walk up. She, rather brusquely, asked what I wanted… not what I expected having just housed and fed her daughter for the previous three weeks. I was too shocked to have time to think of a reason for her attitude. I had to say something and as stupid as it sounds I told her I was concerned that she hadn’t shown up for supper. Phyllis, now looking perturbed, stated that there had been a change in plans and Barbara was helping to get things in order so they could sleep in the house. I stood there, somewhat in disbelief, over what I’d just heard. I was reminded of the Phyllis that I’d first met when she and her family moved in next door to us about a year earlier… blunt and demanding. I don’t remember if any more was said before she disappeared down the hall. Walking back to the car the only thing that made any sense for her attitude was that Barbara had said something to her about the incident I’d been involved in with her over the weekend. However, based upon her reaction when I asked what he mother would say or do if she knew what she’d been doing, I immediately dismissed that thought. I was at a loss for what had triggered her attitude.

I’ll tell you that on my way home I found myself getting madder and madder. I’d used all my restraint to keep from telling her off knowing that her husband was the principal at the school and had the power not to call Elle for substitute teaching once school started. Back at home I found Elle and the kids in the back yard making an attempt to clear the area around their playhouse. I waved her over to the car so I could tell her about my meeting with Phyllis without the kids hearing me. She, like me, was shocked and immediately came up with the same thought I initially had. All in all, she was relieved that Barbara was OK. The hard part for her was in telling the kids there would be no party and that Barbara wouldn’t be sleeping there that night. In my emotional state I wanted no part of that so grabbed a rake and started in with the clearing of the yard.

I worked off my anger that way and by the time I came inside it was almost 10pm. The kids were asleep and Elle was waiting in the den for me. I don’t know and I never asked how she resolved it with the kids but one thing she did say was that all the things Barbara had brought with her were still up in Anne’s room. I’d forgotten about that but, not wanting to revisit the situation, just told her to keep the stuff until Phyllis (or Barbara) made an effort to retrieve them. Elle thought that was being a little harsh but I, emphatically, told her that was the way I wanted it.

Elle finally got a call from Phyllis on Friday. As I remember it Elle told me it came in the form of a demand for the return of Barbara’s clothes and accessories. There was no recognition of the effort Elle had put forth on looking after Barbara but just the insinuation that we’d taken Barbara’s things. Elle, somewhat taken aback by the ‘attack’ told her she could pick them up at any time and they would be on our patio. Phyllis, still on the ‘attack’, wanted Elle to deliver the things to her. I remember when being told of this of wanting to go over and to demand an apology from her but Elle stood her ground and told me it was over… that Phyllis had come and retrieved the things while she and the girls were at sailing lessons. Elle, very clearly, insisted that we be ‘above her’ and to let the matter die. I didn’t agree with her but stayed at home in a very agitated state.
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At this point I’m going to deviate from the ‘time line’ that I’ve pretty much stuck to since the beginning of writing this blog because I want to bring this ‘thread’ to an end. This part is being written in a somewhat disjointed manner because it, from a timed perspective, will jump around a bit. Here’s hoping you can follow it…
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MOVING FORWARD… I, personally, didn’t see Barbara again until the high school basketball season. With Barbara a cheerleader there was no way to avoid us seeing her or her seeing us. I found excuses not to go to some of the early games but eventually gave in. I stayed in the back while Elle and the kids got seats down front. Barbara did acknowledge the kids and Elle but didn’t spend much time with them. On the way home from that first game they talked enthusiastically about her and I was sorry we’d gone. Over the Winter I’d see her in the village but just as I was driving through. Elle would see her in the halls at school during the course of the school year but we never got into discussing her. After graduation Elle found she’d been accepted at Temple University in Philadelphia and done the same as her sister, Mo, signing up for Summer school to get a head start. I never saw her again.

When it came to Elle and her teaching at the school there didn’t seem to be any problem as Elle got many calls to fill in. For me and Phyllis, with the completion of the new house she moved her day care from the church to the house thereby eliminating any need for me to be involved with her in any way. To some degree it became like she didn’t even exist.

Bill, her father and the principal at the school, stayed for three more years and then left to take an assistant superintendent’s position in a suburb of Philadelphia. They sold the house (ironically, to the new principal) and as they disappeared from sight so did the talk about them. The legacy of Bill’s tenure at the school was a much elevated curriculum and the introduction to the modern ways of education so that was a good thing.
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I do want to explain how I was able to put so much detail into what I call “The Barbara Story” and will do so in the next post.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162o)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162o)

The hardest part was in pinning Hobie down. As our immediate boss, for the idea to go forward it had to go through him. I was positive he’d go along with it. He’d hired Trish, Cara and Lorie all within a week of each other and had chosen Trish to be his secretary over the others. I knew, first hand, about his feeling towards Lorie since he chose her (with no teller experience) over Gina to fill the newly created position of Chief Clerk. But Trish was his clear cut favorite. By the time we were able to meet with him I’d decided to let Bret be the one to present the idea. I’d stepped the whole scene out anticipating what he’d throw back at us as negatives so was actually cocky when we sat down at his desk.

I would’ve started a bit differently but Bret managed to get all the important points across to him. When Bret was finished with his ‘pitch’ Hobie just sat back in his chair but didn’t look at either of us. After maybe a minute he, very slowly, asked who would fill her position as receptionist/secretary. Hearing these words I couldn’t help but smile as I said but one word… “Joanie”. He smiled too. If you’ve been reading this for any length of time you might remember it was Hobie who had arranged for Joanie to be interviewed by me. Her parents were friends with Hobie and his wife so it had been pretty much a set up. But, I was impressed by her right from the start. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a vacancy in the operations section of the bank. The only one was in the mortgage department and I really didn’t want to have her under J J’s control but that’s where she ended up. I’d managed to ‘borrow’ her when Trish had been on vacation but J J was really upset when I did it. So… when I spoke her name Hobie was right there with the next question… “Do you have someone to replace her?” I did… one of the kids that had been part of the new account/gift campaign. I’d made sure I had Trish put a note on her application because I felt she had potential. What was looming as the ‘fly in the ointment’ was J J… and I made sure I reminded Hobie of the fact. He was well aware of the ’noise’ he’d made when Joanie was working with the three of us. I hoped Hobie would volunteer to be the ‘go between’ and, after some questions concerning training, he said he’d talk with J J. Aside from that there were two open items that Hobie would have to have Board approval. Bret had indicated that Trish be given a totally new title… Administrative Assistant and Hobie liked it. It wasn’t an officer’s title but still was indicative of some authority. The second had to do with salary.

Right from when Trish and Lorie had started they pretty much had matching salaries until Lorie was promoted to Chief Clerk. I immediately spoke up and suggested that Trish get the same money as Lorie. Again, Hobie didn’t immediately react but eventually nodded his head in agreement. I was told to give him the salary history of both and Bret and I were dismissed at that point. As I walked away I looked back at him and made the point that in the hierarchy of positions within the bank it would make sense to have both titles at the same level. He didn’t say anything but a weak smile crossed his face. Now Bret and I had to wait for the ‘wheels’ to mull the idea over and to approve the title and salary increase. I knew it was going to be hard to keep it a secret from Trish.

There wasn’t much lobby traffic that day which gave me the opportunity to get caught up on some neglected projects. I called the branch to get the tally for the new accounts for the previous week and the numbers weren’t good. In spite of continuing the advertising of the gift campaign the results were very disappointing. Betsy said that they had less than a dozen customers walk into the bank that day with only three new accounts. My first thought went right to the staffing… five people to wait on but  ten or so customers. Not good!

When five o’clock came I saw J J walk across the lobby towards the door. I started smiling as soon as I saw him. I couldn’t wait until the news broke about the upcoming changes and to see (hear) his reaction to losing Joanie. It made me try to think of a way to accelerate the process. It would be almost five weeks until the next full Board meeting and that was a long time to keep a secret. From what I’d taken away from the meeting with Hobie the crucial decision about the whole thing had to come from the salary committee. “Gee”, the Trustee/attorney, was the chairman and I knew he was on the current month’s mortgage committee. That committee had seven members and four of them changed each month. All the other committees had five standing members appointed to fill a term of a year. I dug out my list of all committee members and checked to see who on the salary committee was on the mortgage committee for the month. I was surprised to find that, including “Gee”, four of them were on the current list. That gave me an idea to pursue with Hobie, given the chance.

The trip home was a quick one as I conjured up ways to approach Hobie about having “Gee” call a special salary committee meeting either before or after the mortgage committee meeting on Wednesday to discuss and possibly act on promoting Trish and adjusting her salary. In my mind, there would be four out of five members already there and they would constitute a quorum. Arriving home I was quite pleased with myself and couldn’t wait to approach Hobie with my idea.

I’d completely forgotten my own suggestion about a party for Barbara so when I walked into the kitchen it was me who was surprised. I’d gotten home before 6pm  and Barbara wasn’t yet there. In the back of my mind was how Barbara would take it what with the events of the previous day. Elle pretty much put my concerns to rest by saying that she and I would stay in the background and would let the kids ‘run the show’, at least in the beginning. Her reasoning being that the ‘incident’ was exclusive of the kids and that they and Barbara had a wonderful relationship for the whole time she’d lived next door. I hoped she was right.

From my sign painting I had a pile of scrap of poster board that Elle got out and had the kids make up signs. Elle had baked a cake and, knowing Barbara’s penchant for pink, had the kids decorate it with various shades of that color. I took a look at it and was pretty sure I’d take a ‘pass’ on eating it but was pleased with their effort. Elle was sure Barbara would be oblivious to anything but the kids efforts on her behalf. Now, all we had to do was to wait for her arrival. When 6:30pm came and went it became a concern. The kids had eaten earlier but Elle had waited for both Barbara and I to arrive before eating herself. She waited for a little longer and then the two of us sat down to eat. The kids were really ‘hyper’ wanting to know when Barbara would arrive. Elle tried to explain that Barbara didn’t know about the party and very probably something had come up to prevent her from coming. In watching their reaction to that suggestion I was sorry I’d even suggested the idea. Elle did her best to mitigate the disappointment by saying that Barbara would be there to sleep and that they could say up until she arrived. She didn’t.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162n)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162n)

By the time I got home Elle had fed the kids and Barbara as well. I was curious as to the interaction between the two of them but Elle told me to wait until later. I’d been in wet clothes for over six hours by then even though the rain had stopped around mid afternoon. While Elle warmed up my dinner I jumped into the shower. I don’t know why but my thoughts were not on Barbara but on the lady at the sailing club. The sight of her panties showing though her wet dress was almost intoxicating and I found it started an erection. That didn’t last long as Elle knocked on the door to say she was ready to serve me my dinner.

I could see the kids were playing out on the screened in porch but there was no sign of Barbara so I asked. Elle just shrugged her shoulders and pointed up to indicate she was upstairs. That wasn’t a good sign so I pressed Elle about what the two of them had talked about. Still reluctant to say anything she whispered that Barbara had broken down crying shortly after I left but wouldn’t go any further. After finishing up eating I went outside to take a close up view of the yard. I was physically exhausted and just couldn’t bring myself to start cleaning up the mess strewn about the yard. It troubled me though knowing I’d have to tackle it the next evening. While walking around I saw someone in the yard next door. I took a peek through the hedge and saw a balding man about my father’s age standing behind the house and sort of staring at it. The only person I’d seen since the house was sold was a much younger man so the bald man’s presence puzzled me. What I was really looking forward to was getting in my reclining chair and relaxing but I pushed my way though the hedge and hailed the man.

When, after hailing him a few times, he finally acknowledged me but he seemed disinterested as I identified myself. Not having any idea who he might be I just went ahead and boldly asked him. In my mind’s eye he really didn’t give an answer. That made me mad at myself for even making the effort so I turned to go back through the hedge. He called out asking me to stop and started walking towards me. He said his name was Donald (I didn’t get the last name) and the house supposedly belonged to his son. Without explanation, he went on to say the house would be put up for sale before the end of the month. That was a shock. I was guessing that the younger man I’d met that one time was his son and without being nosy could only imagine something had happened to him. Not knowing what to say I mealy mouthed the fact I wasn’t sure if I’d ever met his son but I thought I had. I remember his answer… “If you had you would’ve remembered it…” I stood there struggling to try and remember that meeting and it came to me that my impression of him was that he was a bit strange. The man, Donald, went on to say that he was actually estranged from his son. That had me wondering why he was at the house if that was the case. As tired as I was it was difficult for me to follow what I was hearing and in no mood to ‘pry’ by asking questions. The conversation ended when he handed me a business card with his name and the name of a printing company in New Jersey. He asked if I could call with the name(s) of some realtors so he could have the house listed for sale. Then he turned and walked away. I followed him with my eyes and wondered where his car was eventually walking over to the driveway where I saw a new big black Cadillac sedan. If nothing else was gained from the encounter it was that the man had money.

I returned home with the news about the house next door being put up for sale once again. I tried to get Elle to talk about Barbara but she would have nothing to do with it. I suggested she might want to go upstairs to tell her about the house but she declined saying that it she didn’t think it was appropriate at the moment. I went to my recliner and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up all the lights were out except the light over the stove in the kitchen. I made my way upstairs and took a peek in at everyone. All were sleeping in the bare minimum… kids in their panties and Barbara in her t shirt and ‘package’. I took the last part as being a bit of defiance on Barbara’s part even though it had been made pretty clear that it wasn’t necessary. Walking into our bedroom it came to me that she’d only be there one more night. That gave me an idea but I needed Elle to pursue it.

Even though we’d been the ones doing Barbara and her family a favor by letting her stay with us I thought it would be appropriate to have a little farewell party for her. I had a few private minutes with Elle before I left for the bank and told her about it. With Barbara working all day it gave Elle and the girls a lot of time to come up with something. In driving to work I just hoped that Barbara would be accepting of it in light of the situation the day before. I was still on that thought when I turned in to the bank parking lot and the first thing I saw was sand bags around the Bilco door to the bank’s cellar. Even though no one could see me I was totally embarrassed. Even being totally involved with things having to do with the extraordinary high tides the days before I had completely overlooked the vulnerability of the bank to that condition. The bank had actually been built into the bed of the river that ran right behind it. In the three years I’d been with the bank we’d had four instances where it was necessary to put sandbags out to keep the river water from entering the cellar and I’d completely overlooked that fact. Once inside I found that Bret had taken it upon himself to take care of it. That was a revelation in itself and, even though still somewhat embarrassed, I wanted to let him know that he’d done a good job. It was taking some time but I was seeing a definite maturity in his thinking.

I called him over to my desk in order to give him the recognition only to have him tell me he needed to talk with me. That was also something relatively new from him. Usually reticent, he spoke up quite clearly and emphatically. He told me that the ‘busy ‘period’ had been quite difficult in that, for the most part, he’d been the only one on the platform what with me involved with the branch. I was cognizant of some periods of time where customers had to wait a little longer than usual but didn’t think it was that bad. But, I let him go on. He went back to the previous ‘busy period’ (March into April) and reminded me that there had been three officers on the platform… himself, Jerry and me… and there had been no back-ups. I agreed but didn’t know where he was taking the subject so just leaned back in my chair. “Why don’t we put Trish on as an associate and get someone else to do her job?” I remember sitting there, somewhat dumbfounded, thinking what a great idea. Trish knew everything that Bret and I did just by her presence there in her secretarial/receptionist position and was certainly capable of handling customers. I looked at him, square in the eyes, and told him it was great idea and we’d start to work on getting it done that day. I was really pleased with the progress Bret had made. When I looked over at Trish I couldn’t wait until we got it approved and could tell her.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162m)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162m)

To get rid of the kids I suggested that they go down to the cellar and help Barbara with the wash. I wanted to be as brief and concise as I could when talking to Elle and didn’t want to have to couch my words to keep them from hearing what I had to say. Elle, of course, was shocked about me walking in on Barbara. But that was nothing compared to her reaction when I told her about the conversation I had with her. She jumped all over me reminding me about our conversation on us not being Barbara’s parents. My only defense was to ask what would she have done (or said) if she had been the one to discover what she was doing. I didn’t give her a chance to answer before I added that I couldn’t just ignore the situation. That calmed her down… a bit. She told me that she just didn’t think it was right for me, a male, to do it. Not trying to be a smart ass I told it was over and done with and she needed to be aware of it in her dealings with Barbara.

While we were conversing the phone rang. With the kids and Barbara in the basement I had to run to get it. It turned out to be Rex, the property manager at the sailing club, who needed help. The high tides had gotten to some of the Sunfish sailboats stored on the racks we’d built back in June. I stood there wanting to kick myself. I realized that as soon as I saw the creek water around Barbara’s house I should’ve thought of the boats at the club and their exposure. Rex didn’t go into detail but he said he needed “manpower”. It was making the day worse than it already was.

The area where the club was located was reclaimed marshland (a major No-No today) and subject to flooding. The town had made it into a park and the club property was adjacent to it but used their parking lot. When I was almost there I saw saw horses blocking the road and I knew, from past experience, what that meant. I backed the car up to the nearest empty driveway and then proceeded to slog my way to the club sometimes in water mid calf deep. Approaching the building I could see a few people around one of the Sunfish racks and recognized Rex and his wife. I didn’t know the other couple. What struck me was they were all dressed in what I’d describes “good clothes”. I could see a couple of the Sunfish propped up onto the stairs leading to the porch of the clubhouse and was puzzled by the sight. Rex, upon seeing me, waved me over to where he and the other man were wrestling with one of the boats that had floated over to the concrete piers used to hold the building up. The wind, still out of the Southeast, was still quite strong and it along with the waves were beating the boat against the concrete. The two women were standing there in water almost to their knees, watching. It was a sight to see with both of them wearing dresses. I grabbed hold of the bow (front) of the boat and was able to yank it off the post. Rex and the other man then pushed it out from under the building. The idea was to get it up onto the stairs and out of harms way. To do it the women were needed. I ended up right by the woman I hadn’t recognized. As we urged the boat up the steps I was at eye level to her butt and it was then that I realized I could almost see right through the dress material to her panties (and a VPL). The material, a shade of purple, was some sort of synthetic and it was like it was plastered to her body. I’m not exaggerating when I say I could see through the material, right from the waist elastic to the leg elastic.

Once we got the boat to the height Rex felt was safe he told the others to take a break and explained what had happened to me. He introduced the people as friends from when they had lived near the city. They had come for a visit over the weekend in spite of the weather. Rex told me he’d been checking on the club and the boats on a regular basis and, when he’d been there at daybreak he thought the water had stopped rising. He said it was up and around the boats even though they were on the racks but not high enough to float them. He went on that it was his intention to check before going to church that morning but they ended up running late. After the service was over they’d gone to eat and on the way back had stopped and discovered the “mess”.

When the members built the new racks in June the idea had been to make them lower so the kids could get them on and off easier. At a normal high tide it was at least 100 feet to the water’s edge. But this was the first flood tide since they were built and as it turned out the water got high enough to float some of the boats off the racks. There were still a few boats that needed attention. The boats now resting on the stairs had not been tied down in any way and that’s why they drifted away. The others still on the racks were tied with one of them being mine. The problem with them was that they were floating but were yanking the racks apart with the waves pounding them. As Rex said, if we didn’t get them free we’d have a bigger problem when the racks collapsed putting the boats stored on top at risk. I took a look at at least a dozen boat on the higher level and if they ended up in the water there would really be a problem.

The women were complaining about being cold even though the temperature was probably in the low 80’s. But, being wet (and female) they felt it more than the men so Rex told his wife to head on home with the other woman and the rest of us would wrestle with what was left to be done. I noticed that there were two boats on the lower level that when stored and been turned up side down. They weren’t floating like the others. I suggested that we attempt to do the same with the boats that were floating… turn them over and slide them onto the racks. It was the easiest way out of the situation and by then all of us were ready for something easier. It wasn’t easy but it was still better than trying to push boats up a flight of stairs.

By the time we were finished the rain had stopped and the wind was in the process of shifting and blowing off shore. That was a very good sign because, at the least, the waves would stop. Walking though the still flooded parking lot we saw some of the other members of the club walking towards us. The one thing I remember was the look on their faces in seeing Rex and the other man dressed in “good clothes”. All Rex could do was laugh and say they should’ve seen their wives. That reminded me of the up close and personal view I’d had of the other woman and made me wish I could’ve had another chance. Even with her hair wet and straggly she appeared to be attractive… especially as compared to Rex’s wife. When we got to the road and Rex headed in the opposite direction I asked them if I’d see the couple again. The answer was “Probably.” as the man said they were looking at property. Rex added that they had a Comet class sailboat (like the one I used to have) and that was one of the reasons they were visiting. I liked that idea because in my mind the club needed some ‘new blood’ that were serious racers. With that thought I, reluctantly, headed for Big B’s boat.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162l)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162l)

It was obvious she was embarrassed. She got to the bottom step but wouldn’t turn to look at me. I told her I’d meet her in the den and took the long way around to get there. She was standing in the middle of the room and looking down at her feet. Still walking into the room I suggested she take a seat on the sofa. I remember her shuffling her feet and inching back until the back of her legs touched it and then she sort of flopped down. I went over and sat on my recliner and can remember sitting back in it before speaking trying to put her somewhat at ease. I still didn’t have a plan but, first of all, knew I had to do what I’d preached to Elle… not be a parent to her.

It took a few seconds before I got some words out and I’m not sure what the exact ones were. However, I asked a somewhat rhetorical question wanting to know what her mother would’ve thought if it had been she who walked into the bathroom. That got her to look up. Her eyes were wide open and she almost spit out the words “She’d ground me!” There was a look of panic on her face and I, picking up on it, stated that I would not say anything about it to either of her parents. However, the look of panic didn’t disappear. I really did feel sorry for her because I’d seen her mother go off on her sister, Mo, a couple of times. I repeated that neither I nor Elle would say anything and that simple statement brought forth another mini panic attack. I’m not sure what her words were but it was along the lines of questioning the fact that I’d even speak to Elle about it.

I remember trying to calm her down by telling her that we both thought very highly of her and assuring her that I didn’t think any less of her after seeing what I’d seen. Sometimes I don’t know when to shut up and after going on some more thought it might have been one of those times. I told her that she hadn’t done anything wrong… hadn’t hurt anyone or anything, but that her mother had had a conversation with Elle in which she’d indicated that she thought Barbara might be wetting on purpose. Talk about panic!

Barbara had been sitting on the sofa but not so far back on the seat that her back touched the cushions. When she heard me tell about the conversation she shot forward enough to make me think she’d fall off. She wanted to know when it had taken place and if anything else had been said. All I had to go on was what Elle had passed on to me and she hadn’t mentioned anything else Phyllis had said. I told her it had been before they moved out of the house and that I didn’t know if anything more had ever been mentioned. Barbara was beside herself and I didn’t know what to say or do to calm her down other than to repeat that she’d really done nothing wrong. I tried to assure her that if her mother had been really concerned she would’ve taken it up with her and encouraged her to try and calm down. I remember her sort of sitting back a bit and then watching some of the tension drain from her face. I was not prepared for her to ask if I really meant it when I said I’d not say anything. I could see she was vulnerable at that point and I could’ve taken advantage of the situation but didn’t. I sat there looking straight into her eyes and could see from the look in them that she was pleading with me to reinforce what I’d told her earlier. I don’t know how long I sat looking at her without speaking but finally told her it was a promise. (I probably made a cross over my heart to validate it.) I was about to tell her that I wanted to take her to show her the creek water around her new house and as we both stood up there was one thing that came to mind before we left.

Elle and I had discussed our thoughts on her night time wetting and wondering if it was truly a ‘condition’ or if Barbara was using it to have an excuse to be wet for ‘playing’. I quickly debated the thought of asking her about it… wondering that if I did would it be considered taking advantage of her. We got to the kitchen and I stopped, turned to her and asked if she’d answer one very personal question for me. I think she was still in a bit of shock that I’d promised not to say anything and, because of it, quickly said “Yes.” The exact words I used are long gone but, simply put, wanted to know if her bedwetting was real. As before, I promised not to say anything to anybody but Elle. Her faced was flushed again but not anywhere near as much as it had been earlier. Standing in front of the open kitchen door she proceeded to give me her wetting history.

Not to belabor a point but I found it interesting because I had no personal knowledge of bedwetting. She stood there telling me that she’d suffered with it as far back as she could remember. She told me her mother punished and shamed her until she was about eight years old. She then went to a specialist who, according to Barbara, was a waste of time.  Approaching her teen years it seemed to get better but that was when she pretty much stopped talking. I know I should’ve let the subject go at that point but didn’t. After a bit of hesitation and a ‘prod’ from me she went on to say, and I remember these exact words, “… something happened…”. I could clearly see she was now uncomfortable but I poked a little more by asking “to you?”. She looked at me and with a sheepish look on her face said something like “you could say that…” and then added “I found something…”. I never got a specific answer to my original question but got enough to feel comfortable that Elle’s and my thoughts on the matter had been right. With that it was time to go. Walking to the station wagon and sitting beside me she didn’t say a word. Now I was wondering what she was thinking.

She was really surprised to see the water almost all the way around her new house. I was almost positive that water had gotten into the basement through the sliding glass doors that faced the creek but I didn’t say anything to Barbara though. If there was water inside they were lucky that the movers hadn’t delivered their furniture when they were supposed to. We continued on to Elle’s mother’s only to find the electricity was back on. I could see the sump pump was now running as the basement water gushed from the discharge pipe. It reminded me I still had Big B’s boat to pump out. The rain had almost stopped but the wind was still 10 to 15 miles an hour. Elle wanted to get back to our house to try and get things somewhat back to normal. On the way I slowed to show her the water around Barbara’s house which served to remind me I would have some trouble getting to Big B’s boat when I came back.

Back at home there was one important thing to cover before I left. It was to communicate with Elle just what had transpired after I left her mother’s house earlier. Barbara had been much quieter than usual and Elle had picked up on it.The only thing was how was I going to do it with Barbara around. I took a somewhat bold step and suggested that she could help Elle out by getting some wash started since, with all the rain, it hadn’t been done for a few days. When asked Barbara didn’t say anything and headed for the cellar. Having done her own laundry any number of times she knew just what to do so I knew I didn’t have much time to get my point across before she returned but I knew I had to.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162k)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162k)

Sitting there staring though the darkness at Barbara’s plastic pantied covered butt on the sofa in front of me had me wondering about the validity of her bed wetting. Was it a physical problem or was she doing it on purpose. What had me puzzled the most was that in thinking of Elle’s wetting it wasn’t voluntary except when she felt she wanted to cater to my wetting fetish. If Barbara was doing it on purpose to aid in self stimulation it was something totally foreign to me. As far as I knew Elle had never done anything like that. I have to admit the thought of doing it for that purpose was very stimulating and, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts I had to be careful that Barbara didn’t suddenly wake up and catch me in that condition.

I have no idea what time it was when I heard a long, loud noise coming through the Easterly facing den window. I tilted the recliner up to a sitting position and quietly got up to check it out. I’d left the kitchen door open to aid in moving air through the house so went right out onto the patio. My eyes were accustomed to the dark so when I looked out into the yard I did have some ability to see for about 20 or so feet. The only thing I thought I saw was a big branch from a tree in the yard next door lying across the hedge that separated the two properties. That made me think about the new owner and the fact that since the first of July when Bill, Phyllis and their kids had to move out I’d only seen one person and that was for only one time. I didn’t dwell on the tree branch or the new neighbor for long because I was getting wet from the continuing rain. Back inside, taking a page from Elle, I made a trip upstairs to check on the kids. They were all sound asleep so I returned to the den only to find Barbara had turned over to her other side and was now facing the back of the sofa with her butt sticking out. I carefully moved as close as I could to see if her ‘package’ was wet. I couldn’t really tell so sat back in my chair only to contemplate just what was going on in her mind.

It was a restless sleep until it started to get light. The power was still out. The wind had abated some but was still blowing hard enough that the rustling of the leaves could be heard inside the house. The rain was no longer beating against the windows but could be seen if I concentrated on it. Barbara and Elle were still asleep and Barbara had, again, changed her direction and now faced into the room. That position prevented me from being able to determine the condition of her ‘package’ and, after having spent so much time thinking about it, I was disappointed. I’d come to the conclusion that if she was wet the wetting was legitimate and if she was dry that there was a good chance her wetting was deliberate. My thinking being that since she was, basically, ‘out in public’ she wouldn’t wet on purpose and would wait for another night where she’d have privacy. But, at that time, I couldn’t tell.

I put on my shorts and a slicker and headed outside to asses any property damage. My sighting during the night had been right and a fairly substantial limb had broken off the neighbor’s tree and was now draped over the hedge and into the flower garden behind our garage. To me it was more work I just didn’t need. Back in the house I found Elle and the kids were up. The girls were still in just their panties and I was surprised to see that Elle was still in her ‘package’. I knew that it had to be soaked but didn’t ask why she hadn’t made a change. Barbara was upstairs putting on her clothes. My immediate thought was to, hopefully, time it right to check out the condition of her ‘package’. I just had to have the right reason to go upstairs. I didn’t have to wait long as Elle gave it to me when she asked if I’d go and get her clothes.

As far as water usage was concerned, I’d checked both toilets and they were getting rank so I flushed them. There was still sufficient water pressure to dampen a couple of wash cloths for both Barbara and Elle to clean themselves up (if needed). As soon as Barbara appeared Elle asked if she need to “clean up a bit” and, even though I didn’t hear an answer, I noted her nodding her head that she didn’t need to. That gave me a good hint as to what I’d find upstairs and, making my way to her room, I was smiling. I got to the doorway and saw what I was looking for right there at the end of the bed. I didn’t have to bend over and pick the whole thing up as it was obvious that everything was dry. I was still smiling as I gathered Elle’s clothes thinking that I’d been right about Barbara’s wetting.

All we had to eat for breakfast was dry cereal since Elle couldn’t cook anything. We decided that we’d all forego church as it was still too nasty to venture out. I made a point of mentioning that in all probability the churches didn’t have any electricity either. That meant another day for Elle to be cooped up, inside, with the kids. I knew I had a bit of an escape (although I didn’t really want it) in that I knew I’d have to go bail Big B’s boat out at some time. I also decided that I wasn’t going to race the Sunfish at the sailing club no matter what they decided to do.

We still had phone service which allowed Elle to call her mother. The report from her was the same… no electricity but, because the tide had been really high there was water in her basement. With electricity that usually wasn’t a problem because their sump pump would take care of it. Elle called me to the phone to talk with her mother because she wanted to know if I could come over and try to get some of the water out with a pail. I didn’t have a choice. However, Elle’s mother cooked with bottled gas and she invited the girls to come over and bake cookies. Elle invited Barbara to go but she said she wouldn’t feel comfortable and would just stay at our house. I wasn’t a party to that conversation as I was busy collecting things to bail out both the boat and cellar. By the time we headed off it was mid morning. To get to Elle’s parents house we had to drive past Barbara’s new house and as we did I could see the water from the creek had risen almost to the front yard… not good! I knew wanted Barbara to see it but needed to get the water out of the basement first.

There was about 6 inches of water in Elle’s mother’s basement, almost up to the oil burner gun. I worked for over and hour and got it down to about 4 inches but by then my arms were killing me. I decided to take a break and to go and get Barbara so she could see the situation at her house. Arriving back at my house everything appeared to be as we’d left it. The kitchen door was open so I just walked in. I needed to use the bathroom and headed for it not giving it much thought. The door was open and as I made the turn from the hallway I saw Barbara straddling the toilet. She was looking down towards her groin so didn’t see me for a second or two. I stopped and immediately started backing my way out of the room. As I did I could see she was peeing through her panties. Still backing away I remember apologizing. I didn’t think to close the door and the next thing I saw was an arm pop out to grab the door knob.

I’d been hot and sweaty from what I’d been doing at Elle’s mother’s house but as I stood there I found a new round of perspiration appearing on my brow. I could also feel my heart pounding. I  just stood there at the entry to the hall not knowing what to say or do. Then Barbara darted out of the bathroom, across the kitchen hall and on up the stairs. I think she had a towel wrapped around her middle but am not sure. I still didn’t know what to do but knew I had to say something to her before Elle saw her. I waited about ten minutes before calling up the stairs for to her to come back down. When I saw her feet start down the stairs I didn’t have any idea just what I’d say when she got to the bottom.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162j)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162j)

I realized this would probably be the last time I could get a look at a pair of Barbara’s worn panties before she left and even though I didn’t expect to find anything special about them I still wanted to do it. What surprised me was that as wet as she looked when she first came in the kitchen her panties were basically dry. I didn’t have to do anything to find the crotch because they were like she peeled them off with the crotch right there. As expected, there wasn’t much to see other than the permanent staining from wetting them at night (and other times?). When she and Elle returned she told us she’d talked with her father and with the weather being so bad he’d decided to go to Pennsylvania and see Phyllis. I questioned the wisdom of that knowing I’d not want to drive almost 200 miles in the conditions such as we had.

Elle was about to serve dinner when the lights went out. The timing was right as we had an electric stove and oven and everything was already cooked. However, I was immediately upset with myself for not thinking to have filled the bathtub with water. Right from the time I was small I remembered that any time a hurricane or “norEaster” was predicted my father would make sure we had what he called "emergency water". Being that we drew our water from a well we needed electricity to run the pump. There hadn’t been any dire warnings concerning this storm, not even from my father, so I’d not taken any precautions and now we were going to have to suffer the consequences.

When we’d finished eating I called for a family meeting to explain what we’d have to do to preserve what water we had. It was explained to them that there was to be no toilet flushing by anyone but Elle or I and that we’d have to forego washing up before bedtime unless the lights came back on. There was also a warning about opening the refrigerator and that only Elle would do it. As I remember it all the girls took it seriously, even Barbara. It was about 6pm when the power had gone off so we had about 3 plus hours of daylight to do whatever we were going to do. The other problem was that with the very warm temperature and high humidity we were all uncomfortable. It was exacerbated by the fact we could only have open windows on the side of the house opposite of where the wind was coming from so as to keep out the rain. When the girls started complaining about being hot Elle stripped off their clothes, all but their panties. I knew that if Barbara hadn’t been there both Elle and I would’ve joined them.

We attempted to play games for a while but it was just not that much fun. Elle went upstairs when it was getting dark just to see how uncomfortable it was up there and returned saying it would be a long night. She said she’d stripped off the top sheets on all the beds in an effort to make sleeping easier. We shipped the kids off to bed just before it became completely dark. On their way I heard Kaye ask if Barbara could come too. She was sitting on the floor right across from me when I heard the request and saw the somewhat pained look on her face. However, as I’ve mentioned more than once, Barbara was ‘special’ and jumped up to follow them upstairs. Elle whispered to her as she walked past for her to come back once they were asleep.

The reason for congregating in the den was it was the only room where we could get cross ventilation of air without having rain get into the house. The window on the East side was under the patio roof and one of the windows on the West side was protected by the overhang of the screened in porch. We had the door to that porch open and we’d found some relief from that combination. I suggested that the three of us might want to think about sleeping there to take advantage of the moving air even though it was warm. Elle agreed.

While Barbara was still upstairs Elle got out beach towels and spread them on the chairs and sofa in the den to protect the upholstery from our perspiration. When I saw that I stripped off my t-shirt and thought about taking off my shorts. As I was doing it I saw Elle taking off her top and bra. I was a bit shocked knowing that Barbara was due to come back downstairs. But there was a method to her madness… her shortie nightie was lying on the back of her chair. It wasn’t long after that when I got a real shock. Though the darkness I saw Elle go into the bathroom and could hear the sound of her pee in the toilet. When she reappeared I thought I recognized a pair of plastic panties right under the hem of her nightie. I asked if I’d been right and she acknowledged that, indeed, she had put on her "package" and that she was ready to go to sleep. I’m guessing but it was probably around 10pm. I asked about Barbara and was told, very calmly, that Barbara had seen her wearing her package plus it was pretty dark. My first thought was that she was getting pretty ‘brave’ and the second thought was that I could probably get away with being in just my boxers. The third thought was what would Barbara wear to sleep in.

When Elle saw Barbara approaching she went over to her and I saw them disappear into the darkness of the kitchen. I had almost fallen asleep by then but was curious as to what Elle was doing with her so woke myself up a bit. Before they both returned Elle came over to me and whispered for me to pretend I was asleep. I asked why and she then told me that Barbara was putting on her full "package" and would be joining us. She didn’t want me to see her dressed that way. I knew I could ’pretend’ to be asleep and with it being so dark Barbara would never know I was peeking. My problem was going to be in hiding the hard-on that was already growing unencumbered in my boxers.

I was in my reclining chair and Elle was in her swivel rocker which left the sofa for Barbara. There were two ways for her to lay down on it… her head nearest me or her feet nearest me. When she came into the room I heard Elle call her over to her chair. I tried to listen and only got a portion of it but what I know I heard was that Elle said she wouldn’t be waking Barbara up during the night. Digesting that I got the idea that what she was telling her was that it would be OK to use her ‘package’. That was a reinforcement to my hard-on. Barbara usually wore one of her father’s t-shirts to sleep in but I could see she had on one of Elle's sleeveless shortie nighties. I could also see over half her plastic panties sticking out from under it as she turned and walked to the sofa. I remember hoping she’d sleep with her feet towards me so I’d get a good look at her plastic pantied butt.

I’ll admit that even with my eyes used to the ambient light, there really wasn’t all that much to see. I don’t know how long it took to fall asleep. One thing I do remember during the night was Elle returning to her chair. Barbara appeared not to have moved all that much so I got Elle’s attention to ask where she’d been. Concerned about the heat upstairs she’d checked on the kids and found them all asleep. It took a while for me to fall back to sleep and I took that time to think about Barbara and her night time wetting.

To be continued...

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162i)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162i)

The voice was her son telling her there was a phone call. Not sure just how long it would be until Ed returned I made a snap decision to head for the back area of the barn and the clothes lines. I discovered the barn was really an old carriage house and there were two horse stalls, one on each side, back there. The clothes line was strung in a zig zag fashion from one side to the other. Unlike one would expect when hanging clothes these were just draped over the line and without clothes pins. The ones closest to me as I approached were mens (and boys) pants and shirts. The way they were hanging made it difficult to get to the back as I had to duck under each line. As I did I could feel the dampness of the clothes as they brushed my arms. After I ducked under a couple of them I began to get worried about Ed’s return. I hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to press on. The further back I went the darker it was. After a couple more lines I stopped again and peered into the darkness. What actually caught my attention was seeing some bras draped over the line. That was enough for me to make a couple more passes under the damp clothes where I found what I hoped I would find… panties. Not a lot but maybe a half dozen. As I ducked under the last line before reaching my goal I noticed a couple of light colored items on the hard dirt floor and immediately went for them. Picking them up I could feel they were nylon or rayon even though they, like everything else, were cool and damp. I had them in my hand when I heard a car door slam. I was in an instant panic. I’m guessing but I had to have ducked under at least eight, if not more, of the lines strung from side to side on my way back towards the boat. Finally under the last one with the pants on it I found myself at the transom (back) of the boat. Ed called and I, still in panic mode, called out to him telling him where I was. I still had the damp items in my hand and as I saw him approaching I was able to get them stuffed into my pocket. He asked what I was doing and out of no where I came up with a question about the rudder for the boat.

I’d have to give lessons for you to understand but accept it when I tell you the design of his boat was a bit unique. I was somewhat familiar with that class of boat as my brother had sold them when they were first imported to the USA. But, my question was legitimate and I proceeded to query Ed about it without raising questions about why I wasn’t still inside the boat attaching the new fittings. With the high humidity due to the rain I was already pretty wet from perspiration but with Ed’s return it made me even wetter. Ed had purchased the missing screws and gotten the epoxy we needed and after about a half hour we were finished. By then the dampness of the things in my pocket had worked its way out and was now showing on my shorts. Ed invited me in but I declined thinking it safer to leave. Plus, I really wasn’t sure exactly what I had in my pocket.

The post office closed at noon on Saturdays and I’d heard the noon siren a while back so there was no real reason to stop in the village… except I wanted to explore the contents of my pocket. I pulled into the post office parking lot and got the items out and was pleasantly surprised. In the brief few seconds I’d seen a DP when Ed’s daughter was visiting with Barbara I’d observed two different panties… one light blue and the other white. I didn’t have the time to do a real study of the waist elastics but I felt confident that the white pair had a ’tunnel’ elastic. That’s where the elastic is encased by the same material as the panty. I was now holding a pair of white panties with a tunnel elastic and, they were truly ‘fancy panties’ with lace inserts at the front leg openings. I was ecstatic as I looked at the label. They were made by Kayser, one of the two lingerie manufacturers that used that type of construction, but the size listed on the label was 6… and there was no way Edna was a size 6. I was a bit disappointed with that discovery but took a look at the other ‘treasure’. It was a pair of bikinis and, at first glance, looked about the same size as the full brief panties. A peek inside to find that label told me they were made by Formfit Rogers and were also a size 6. I was confused. Now thinking that they, indeed, belonged to the mother and not Edna I wished I’d paid more attention to her looks. Her head had been covered by a rain slicker but even with the short time we’d chatted I knew she was taller than Edna and definitely ‘fuller’ through her hips so the probability was that they were hers. I sat there staring at the panties and realized that they were both really fancy, especially the bikinis. Lace across the top half of the body made them appear to be really sexy when on a woman. It made me wonder if the woman didn’t use those to arouse her husband.
    

Kayser size 6

Formfit Rogers size 6

When I turned the car around to leave I realized that the rain and wind had really picked up. At home, the short dash to the shelter of the patio left me quite damp. Once inside I was taken by how quiet it was. I found Elle lying on the sofa, reading, and asked about the kids. She made a face and told me they were in their bedrooms. She’d gotten tired of the petty bickering between them and banished them from her sight. This being the second straight day of being house bound Elle had reached her limit. This had happened before and on those occasions we’d contacted Elle’s mother to take the kids overnight and we’d go to a movie. But, with the bad weather, no one was going anywhere.

Because this was the weekend Barbara and her family were to move in to their new house Barbara had packed up her things in anticipation of it. Now, with the change in plans we didn’t know what was happening other than Barbara would be staying for a few more nights. Elle didn’t know if she was feeding her that night or weather she was eating with her father so that had Elle ‘on edge’ as well. Normally, on rainy days, Elle or I would go pick her up after she was finished working but didn’t know if we should. Calling the store was a ‘hit or miss’ type thing as the old couple who owned the store were hard of hearing and sometimes missed the calls. That was the case that afternoon as the phone just rang and rang. I really didn’t want to go out again so sat and hoped that if a ride was needed Barbara would call. She didn’t…

A car I’d never seen before pulled up the driveway and I watched as Barbara, like me earlier, made a running dash to the patio. Even though we’d not seen any sun for a few days it was still quite warm out so the back screen door was open and unlatched. I went to greet her and had to laugh when I saw her. Her hair looked like she’d just stepped out of the shower it was so wet. Her clothes, at least her blouse, was also very wet which prominently showed off her bra. She apologized for not calling but because of the weather the owners had decided to close early and she was offered a ride by the last customer in the store. They had to walk a fair distance to get to the car and by the time they reached it they were both soaking wet. By the time she’d told me this Elle had appeared and, seeing Barbara’s condition, grabbed a towel for her and told her to go in the bathroom and strip off her wet clothes and she’d get some dry clothes. Barbara did and Elle ran right upstairs only to find Barbara had packed all her things.  She must’ve realized that because the next thing I saw was Barbara headed up the stairs with the towel wrapped around her. As soon as she did I made my way into the bathroom...

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162h)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part162h)

Back at the bank the weather hadn’t improved by lunchtime when I headed over to the stock broker’s office. I was a bit damp by the time I got there. Seeing Lynda’s smile helped helped me overlook that and after I’d signed the paperwork to redeem the funds from the bond Lynda asked if I’d like to go across the street for a bite to eat. I didn’t expect it and didn’t respond right away, which, in retrospect, made me look kind of dumb. Lynda took my hesitation as shyness and sort of challenged me saying something like “It’s OK… I don’t bite…”. I was red faced, again, and to ‘save face’ said I would. We had to wait a few minutes until her counterpart, Ruthe, returned from her lunch break. As we did we made ’small talk’ during which I found out her husband’s father was a well known Chevrolet dealer and her husband worked for the dealership. Believe it or not, in hearing that my mind started thinking about racing because they sponsored a race car… but not for long.

The place we went to for lunch was right across the street called Michael’s Lounge. It was really nothing more than a bar but Michael’s wife loved to cook so they did serve food. Back when I worked in the data processing department for the County a group of us would sometimes go there to celebrate a department member’s birthday so I was familiar with not only the place but also with Michael. Right after we walked in he saw me and we went through the old routine of “How you been… watcha been up to?” and the like. Lynda kind of faded from attention for a bit… which was OK by me. After we ordered our lunch Lynda explained the reason for the invite. Her boss (and my broker) was on vacation and would be throughout the next week. She wanted to let me know that she could place any stock purchase order that I might want to make without him being there. That explanation put me more at ease but left me wondering why she couldn’t have done that back in the office. In any case, after she explained the procedure to my satisfaction it was time to go back to work.

A call to my father about what was expected for weather for the weekend confirmed (at least in my mind) that we wouldn’t be racing the car the next night. He also predicted that Sunday’s sailboat races might be cancelled as well as it was predicted we’d have winds over 20 miles per hour and possibly some gusts as high as 30. It was looking like a lost weekend as far as my competition 'fix' was concerned.

At home I came to find out it wasn’t just a lost weekend for me. Elle told me she’d heard from Bill, Barbara’s father, that they had canceled plans to move their stored furniture into their new home. With the rain that had been predicted Phyllis didn’t want to expose the things to getting wet. That, plus the ground around their house was too soft and would be muddy made him call it off. Phyllis and her two sons wouldn’t be coming which meant we had Barbara for a few more days. I called Cliffy to make sure the crew wasn’t going to be at the shop that night and he said he might go himself but there really wasn’t anything that needed to be done. Thinking about Saturday it was looking like it was going to be a very long day as all I had to do was my weekly trip to the landfill. I remember hoping (praying) that the weather wouldn’t be as bad as my father predicted for Sunday because that would make for two days with nothing much to do. I’d turned down some sign painting jobs for the Summer because I just couldn’t squeeze them in what with everything else I had going on. At that point I was wishing I hadn’t.

The only thing I can remember doing on Saturday other than the landfill trip was to check on “Big B’s” sailboat. He’d given me the sails and told me to use it as much as I wanted when he left for his temporary assignment for work but I’d not used it even once. In fact, since we hadn’t really had any rain since he left I hadn’t even checked on it. But, the little rain gauge we had in the garden showed over an inch of rain. I didn’t look forward to bailing the water out of it but I knew I should. At the marina I saw Edna’s (Barbara’s new friend that had come to dinner) father and commented on what a nice girl she was. I also asked what brought him to the marina on such a dreary, wet day. His answer kind of surprised me when he said he’d bought a sail boat. As I mentioned in an earlier post, he and his wife were friends with my parents so, even though I didn’t know him all that well, he, through my parents, knew me. He’d come to the marina to get some fittings for his boat and mentioned that he wasn’t sure they were the right ones. Looking for something to help fill up my day, I offered to follow him to his house and to check the situation out.

Even though it was raining and windy, the temperature was warm. With a rain slicker on I was perspiring. The boat, a 22 footer, was on a trailer in their barn so it allowed me to take the coat off. I was scanning the boat as I did and right behind the boat was a clothes line… with clothes strung over it. I draped my coat over a winch located on one side while all the while scanning the line hoping that I’d be lucky once again. Ed was the man’s name and just as I thought I saw something of interest he called me over to the bow of the boat. As I headed in his direction I remember thinking that all I’d needed was another 30 seconds. All I could do was hope I’d get another chance.

The problem with adding new fittings on a fiberglass boat was that you had to know how the hull was constructed before attempting to fasten them. With a wooden boat you could pretty much screw a fitting anywhere you wanted and knew it would hold. Not so with fiberglass. I spent a fair amount of time doing ’soundings’ on the hull to find where the wooden ribs had been placed so we'd know where to drill the holes. Even with that it was still a ‘hit or miss’ situation. The first ones we did were a ‘miss’ as we drilled a few holes that had no backing. We got a lot more ‘hits’ than misses as we finished up. Ed hadn’t bought enough screws and also needed some epoxy to fill the ‘misses’ we’d made so headed back to the marina. It was exactly what I had hoped for… for about one to two minutes, not enough time to even get started on checking out the contents of the clothes line.

Edna’s mother appeared in the open doorway with some cookies and milk. She was surprised not to see Ed so I explained the situation. I thanked her for the refreshments hoping she’d head back to the house but she stayed. She went into the details of how they had come to get a boat and, with agonizing detail, how they ended up with this one. I didn’t know how long it had been since Ed had left but I knew it took less than 10 minutes to get to the marina and he was probably due back at any second. I definitely remember looking towards the stern of the boat and at the various items of clothing on the line behind it that I could see and thinking there was no chance of ever ‘exploring’ them. Then I heard a young male’s voice calling from the house and right behind it the woman saying “Thank you for helping Ed" as she darted out into the rain running towards the house. A second chance!

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162g)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162g)

I was in a lot better frame of mind on my way home that night. I even thought I might ask Elle if she wanted to try the par three golf again. I’d promised the old geezer who owned the place that I’d pay him for the discount tickets and I thought it might be a good time to do it. However, plans made in a vacuum usually don’t pan out and this was one of those times. I’d figured on having Barbara watch the kids while we golfed but, upon my arrival home (early) I was informed that she was eating at her friend Edna’s house. That left us but two choices if I wanted to follow through with my plan… take them with us again or take them to Elle’s mother.

Elle welcomed the idea of the golf but didn’t like the choices for the kids. I didn’t either but wanted to do something so I asked if she had any other ideas. NEVER… ask a female for ‘other ideas!’ I swear it didn’t take but a second for her to spit out “Tennis!”. In reading earlier posts you might’ve gotten the idea that I had mixed emotions about tennis. I loved watching females playing tennis and you should know why. As far as playing the game… that was another story. I needed ‘incentive’ to go ahead and do it and, recognizing Elle’s immediate response, decided to see how far I could get with it.

The kids had the school playground to occupy themselves so that took care of that concern. The big question, at least for me, was would there be anybody else there. So, after eating, we went upstairs to change. As Elle started to step out of her shorts I quickly told her she could play dressed like she was. She gave me a puzzled look and said something about how I was usually ‘pushing’ her to wear a tennis dress. I made light of it and said something about the fact we really weren’t going to do much more than hit a few balls. She hesitated but then pulled the shorts back up. I did take notice that she was wearing ‘dribble’ panties and I knew they’d give off a nice VPL when she went to retrieve errant balls. But, it also told me I’d have a decent chance at getting her to give me a “squirt” and possible allow some rubbing. Back downstairs it took some time to find some new tennis balls and then we had to gather the kids up as well. In searching for the balls I saw the camera in the closet and dropped it into the gear bag. I had no idea how many pictures were left but could see there was at least one. The big question was would there be an opportunity to use it.

At the courts there were two men playing. That was a ‘wrench’ in my plan and I, at first, didn’t even want to go over to the courts. We killed some time playing with the kids on the various rides and soon saw the two guys headed for their car. It was the first time I’d been on a tennis court that Summer and it showed. Elle hadn’t played either but her natural athletic ability stood out as she hit ball after ball without many misses. I was actually biding my time and was keeping a close watch on how long we’d been there. Elle usually drank at least 12 ounces of milk with her meal and, with her small capacity bladder, her normal 2 to 2 1/2 hour window of time between visits to the bathroom was usually stretched a little thin after eating. From the time we started discussing playing tennis (and she used the toilet) to then it was approaching 2 hours. Even though it was July the sun was starting to get low on the horizon and I knew it wouldn’t be long until she would suggest leaving so I challenged one of her tennis skills. A very competitive person, she usually jumped at any thrown her way… and she did.

One of the drills we’d been exposed to by the pro when we were in Florida (for the few minutes he actually gave us) was in trying to lob the ball up in the air so it would land at the base line (back of the court) or just inside it. I’d hit some easy shots right to her and she’d try to loft them over my head. It wasn’t long before she walked off the court and squatted down holding her crotch. BINGO! I squatted down in front of her pretending to see if she was OK.  But what I wanted was to see if she’d leaked. As soon as my hand started in that direction she hit my wrist with her racket (hard enough for a bruise). After overcoming the shock of the blow I asked her if she hadn’t had a ‘warning’. That put a bit of a smile on her face as she told me she did but was so close to winning the challenge she thought she could make it. Needless to say, my bulge was very prominent down the leg of my shorts.

Still squatting, she told me to get the kids into the station wagon and drive over to pick her up. I was really smiling by then because I knew the minute she stood up the ‘dam’ would burst. By doing it her way gave me the opportunity to get the bellows of the camera open and ready to shoot without her seeing it. I pulled up as close to the courts as I could and opened the door for her. I knew she’d never make it so had the camera ready, hidden behind the open door, and waited for the opportune moment… and believe me it came… as did her pee.
                   

Here we go again...

                 

All in all, it was a good night for both of us… she got some tennis in and I got to witness her peeing in her shorts (in public, to boot!) as well as a picture. Actually, at home I got more ‘action’ when she showered than I’d had since Barbara arrived. She left her panties on in the shower and I got to rub both outside and inside. It reminded me that it was only a few more days until Barbara would be moving in to her new house. I’ll admit I also thought of the ‘thrills’ that Barbara had provided and, in reality, was glad she’d stayed with us.

My father had warned me that there was a storm coming and, sure enough, it was there when I woke up Friday morning. It was raining and the wind was blowing out of the East at least 15 to 18 miles and hour. Just plain nasty. When we’d have those conditions it usually meant it would stick around for a few days. The rain would mean no car races on Saturday night and, now that we’d gotten things turned around, it was a disappointment. The nasty weather and the fact that the ‘busy period’ was over was a good indicator that lobby traffic would be slow that morning. I called Bret and told him I’d be in about an hour late and then headed for the first bank I’d worked at to get the “called” bond from my safe deposit box. That bank had been talking about needing more space going all the way back to when I worked there. I was surprised to see what they’d done. There was a whole other building out behind the original one as well as an addition to the West side of the original one. The addition was to accommodate a drive up window and when I went into the lobby I hardly recognized it. Talk about hardly recognizing something… I didn’t know any of the tellers. It had only been three years since I’d left. I thought our turnover was a lot but this appeared to be way more. I got into my safe deposit box and, this time, took all the contents so that I could close it. My old boss, Alvin, had retired as well as the Chairman of the Board. I’d hoped to avoid seeing the president because I knew he’d ask about how the new branch was doing and I was almost to the door when he hailed me. I certainly didn’t want to tell him how I felt so ‘hedged’ a bit when I said we were just putting the figures together but it looked like it was a success. I was glad he was on his way to a meeting.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162f)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162f)

After we’d won the opening night race we found any number of locals who had stopped by to congratulate Cliffy and to look at the car. With our spate of bad luck most of them stopped coming including Davo and his girlfriend, Leigh. I liked her. She was easy going and not bad to look at. They would stop by the car after the races but hadn’t been back to the shop… that is until that night. Davo was never without beer and he showed up with a six pack for the crew to share. He could drink two six packs and never show it but Leigh could only drink two beers and be wasted. When she was at the shop Davo would get her a chair and a beer, then go off to talk with the guys. I’ve written about the last time Leigh was there and I was hoping for a repeat so, although somewhat busy around the car, kept my eyes on her when I could. If you remember, Cliffy’s father kept the office locked when he wasn’t there and he usually wasn’t there at night. I remember Leslie calling to Davo saying they should leave and him responding to her by saying something like “just go piss in the weeds”. She was wearing loose fitting shorts and when she got up I was studying her to see if she’d leaked. She sort of stumbled to the door and disappeared into the darkness. In my perverse mind I was figuring on her not having anything to wipe herself with and being somewhat damp upon her return. When she did, Davo made a comment on her having the smallest bladder in the world. I remember her giving him the ‘finger’ but with a smile and retaking her seat on the chair.

There really wasn’t much to do on the car but to make sure all the nuts and bolts were tight. Robo and I did that while Cliffy ran a compression check on each cylinder. He’d done it before the motor was ever started and he’d written the numbers down so he could do a comparison. I think we all held our breath a bit as he did but they all checked out. I’d asked Alan about the difference it made between our old heads and C J’s and he just smiled. I didn’t need an answer. With the money we’d won we had enough for four new tires this week. However, we were all aware that we’d not be starting up front again and would have to work our way up to the front. It wasn’t even 11pm when we pulled down the overhead door and headed for our cars. I’d been talking engine stuff with Alan and had pretty much forgotten about Leslie… until she stumbled out the door. There was but one light and that was right over the door. When she passed by it I could see some discoloration on the seat of her shorts. I remember being a little upset that I’d lost my concentration on her and wondered what had happened and when. I also remember thinking that there should be more chances in the future. Alan was parked right beside me and before leaving I asked if he had any idea why Leigh put up with the verbal abuse from Davo. He just shrugged his shoulders.

I’d been right in thinking that Hobie would have little time for me Wednesday morning. However, I was able to get an indication that the ad agency was still on board. It was ‘killing’ me not knowing how the four of them from the bank had made out with Morris. On Thursday, the day after the Board meeting, it wasn’t until Hobie returned from lunch that I got any more information. When I asked his impression of Morris he gave me a thumbs up and promised that he’d meet with me later to discuss it. That was sort of good news because if there had been anything really bad I was sure I would have heard it by then. A call to Betsy while waiting didn’t provide me with any good news from the branch. The ads had been run again along with the direst mail piece and they’d only generated about a dozen new accounts. Lobby traffic was almost non existent and, after hearing that, I started thinking about laying someone off. I hated thinking that way because I really felt we had four quality employees. But, the reality of the situation was that we couldn’t afford to keep all of them.

By the time Hobie called and told me to meet him in the Board room it was well after 3pm. I walked in and he was seated at the head of the table with Bert next to him. That was a switch. But, no Board members were present and that was a good thing. I’ll try to do this part in capsule form. I think the word Hobie used to describe Morris was “interesting”. Hobie didn’t waste any time in saying that after Morris asked some pointed questions about how the Board had come up with the location that he proceeded to tell them all the mistakes they’d made… using heresay (a large shopping mall was to be built in the area) and no proven demographics (that word, again) were the biggest ones. I wanted to ask what their reaction to hearing it but didn’t have the nerve. Hobie went on to say that Morris told them that if they’d come to him before starting the whole project they wouldn’t be having the meeting. He told them he had surveys of at least three areas that would’ve been 100% better. There was a lot more but the bottom line was that by the end of the meeting they’d come to a handshake agreement with Morris to use his consulting company to find another location. On that subject it wasn’t clear to me if it was to replace the existing branch of for an entirely new one. In any case, that news just about blew my mind. I was trying not to smile thinking of the somewhat unkempt, unconventional man meeting with four staid, conservative thinking men and then convincing them to come over to his way of thinking. I don’t think I could’ve spoken if I’d tried.

The meeting with the three of us ended in less than a half hour. Before it did I was told that Morris would soon be making a visit to the branch and then would be meeting with the Branch committee with suggestions on what to do to salvage the bank’s investment in it. I wanted to ask if I’d be a part of that but didn’t, figuring on a one on one with Hobie to, hopefully, persuade him to have me included. As we walked down the stairs I told him of my thoughts on downsizing the number of branch employees. He didn’t reject the idea but I remember him saying that it would probably be best to wait until the end of the month. I couldn’t disagree but at least I was on record for having suggested it.

Once back at my desk Bret was all over me to find out what was going on. I’d kept him pretty much in the dark telling him I was on the ‘outside looking in’ on any decisions about the branch but that there could be some ’news’ in the near future. After telling him that I began to wonder just how long the ‘marriage’ of Morris to the bank would last. My hope was that with a ‘professional’ (self proclaimed) steering the Board that they would, at the least, have a better understanding of the process going forward weather he stayed on or not. I was totally convinced that to make an intelligent decision it had to be more that just the way a few self important, controlling, individuals felt about a location. I’m sure the word “demographics” was part of my thoughts at the time.

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162e)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162e)

My reason for concern about what had taken place at the meeting was that the next day was the full Board meeting and, for sure, a major topic of conversation would be the branch. As corporate secretary, Hobie would be ‘up to his eyeballs’ preparing for it which suggested to me that he’d not have much time for me. Even though my contact with Morris was limited it had been long enough for me to know he was very opinionated and pretty much said what was on his mind. In trying to guess what would be asked of him, and his response, was anybody’s guess and that concerned me. Most of the Board members were pretty ‘stiff’ and unfamiliar with ‘city folk’ and I felt there was a chance he’d ‘turn them off’ to what he had to say. That’s why I wanted to know, especially about his feelings on the advertising agency and the job they did in promoting the branch.

Before leaving for home I got another phone call from the stock broker’s office wanting to know when I was going to bring in the corporate bond that had been “called”. Being so busy I’d completely forgotten about it. The $5,000 that the bond represented wasn’t earning money any longer and Stan, the broker handling my account, had some material for me to look over as well. I didn’t have an answer as to when I’d be able to retrieve the bond from the safe deposit box still at the bank I’d first worked at. However, I figured I’d be able to get over to their office to get the research material on the selections Stan had made for me before heading home. Before the ‘busy period’  I’d tried to make it over to the office once or twice a month but it had been over a month since the last visit. I told Lynda, Stan’s secretary, I’d be there just before 5pm.

Lynda was one of those people you couldn’t help but like. As soon as I walked in the door I had her undivided attention. She made me (and others that I’d observed) feel like I was the most important person in her life. Seated at her desk she greeted me with a BIG smile and warm welcome. It made me feel good. She spun her chair around to hand me an envelope and as she did I got a look up her very short skirt and it wasn’t for just a split second. Not expecting it, the look on my face had to have been a reaction… and she picked up on it. All I can say is that it was ‘instant heat’ as I felt my face flush. I do not remember what she said or what I either said or did right after it. What I do remember was sort of backing away from the partition that separated the aisle from her work area. After catching my breath I tried to speak but it seemed like nothing came out. Looking at her (with her legs now back together) with probably a dumb look on my face I do remember her sort of laughing and asking why I was blushing. Of course I didn’t have an answer. Not one to enjoy being called out when embarrassed I just backed my way towards the door and thanked her for the material.

Once in my car I was able to think back on what I’d just seen. I knew her panties were white and that I’d seen at least a good part of the whole crotch of them. As I thought about the situation it came to me that her reaction to my sighting was similar to that of Gina the first time I’d stumbled into a peek of her panties back at the bank… and wondered if Lynda would choose to tease me in the future much as Gina had done when she called me “panty man”. It was an intriguing thought, for sure, because it might just provide an opportunity in the future.

At home, I knew that it being a Wednesday night Elle would be heading for the sailing club to be a part of the racing lessons being given for the women. For me, Wednesday nights were a race car night at the garage. With no damage to the car on Saturday night the team agreed to by-pass the usual Monday night car unloading so it was a ‘must’ to go that night. If there was a positive to having Barbara staying with us this night was a good one. The older girls had spent the morning at the sailing club attending their lessons and didn’t want to return so it looked like it would work out for everybody.

There was a surprise waiting for me (and most of the race car crew) when I pulled up to the door. Right there on the apron was a blue car that looked like all the window glass had been removed. Up close I could see there were no seats or dash board. Standing around it were a bunch of teen aged boys. Dick and I had arrived at about the same time and neither of us knew what to make of the car. It didn’t take long to find out. One thing I’ve not spent any time in writing about has been Cliffy’s brother, Jim. There are any number of reasons for that. For now I’ll just interject that he was also a race car driver but when their father decided to get out of racing Jim and his friends couldn’t come up with the money to buy the car he’d been racing. It sat in a corner of the garage covered with a tarp. Jim and Cliffy didn’t get along even though they both worked for their father. Jim was given a portion of the shop that had been partitioned off to do his share of shop work. A one word description of his personality would be “prickly”. None of the original guys who worked on Cliffy’s car liked him so he was truly on his own. I knew from them that he’d been trying to find the money to buy the car from his father but up to that point had been unsuccessful. But, as we were to find out, that had changed.

One of the kids that had worked in the pit crew of Jim’s car had been a ‘wanna be” racer and had been able to talk his father into letting him try it. The track promoter where we raced had just announced a new class of racing… figure eight… where the race cars would cross in the middle of the infield. When I heard about it I thought the idea was crazy but there was a lot of interest being expressed in it… plus it was a cheap way to get started. An old car with a roll cage installed was all that it would take. That was what the blue car on the apron was there for… to have Jim install a roll cage and seat in it. I never did learn all the details but the kid’s father was paying to have Jim do it and the money was to be enough to get Jim back out on the race track. The kids Dick and I’d seen around the car were that kid’s friends.They were all in high school and were very loud. All I could think of was the chaos we’d have to endure with them around. One of them asked where Jim was and identified himself as Greg and the one to drive the car. One of our crew asked where he lived and I when I overheard him answer I wondered if I didn’t know his parents. I asked and was told I was right. I remember laughing out loud and the kid wanting to know what was so funny. When he was born I was working in the small grocery store in our town and his parents were customers. On the day he was born his father came into the store and shoved a cigar in my mouth. That made me ask how old he was and when he said he was 16 I couldn’t believe how time had flown by that fast. When Cliffy showed up he took charge and sent the kids and the car out behind the garage and into the part of it that was Jim’s bailiwick. Cliffy was not happy!

To be continued…

MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162d)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162d)

We had the motor in the car and ready to start it up just after midnight. We all wanted to fire it up, just for a few seconds, but Cliffy warned us that if we did his father would throw us out of the shop, no questions asked. Disappointed, but excited, we all headed out. With all the talk about C J’s cylinder heads I’d talked myself into believing they would not only fix our head gasket problem but would make a difference in our performance. I knew we’d be starting in the front, what with all our bad luck, and was actually thinking we’d have a good chance to win. It made for a quick trip home.

Having spent three consecutive nights at the garage I’d not done any of the yard chores… plus the lawn at the church needed to be done. I awoke early Saturday morning and decided to head for the landfill as my first project. Of course there was an ulterior motive behind  it. The garage was only a mile and a half away and I really wanted to be there when Cliffy started the motor for the first time. I wasn’t the only one with that thought as Alan and Joe were there as well. It took about thirty seconds for it to start up and when it did I think we all smiled. To me the motor sounded more powerful but that’s what I wanted to happen. It would take laps on the track to find out if it was so. Back in those times there was a theory that you needed to ‘break in’ a motor. That was to ‘seat in’ the bearings and get the piston rings worn into the cylinder walls. Cliffy told us he was going to let it run at different RPM’s for an hour so there wasn’t anything for us to do. The tools and necessary equipment we'd need had already been loaded so, other than to drive the car up onto the bed of the hauler we were set to go. I was even more excited than I was back waiting for opening night.

I had to ‘hustle’ to get everything done that I’d wanted to do. When the hauler stopped in front of the house I’d just slipped on my pants. Between the money Cliffy had gotten from the Snap-On tools guy and the cash the rest of us were able to scrounge up we still didn’t have enough for two  new tires. That was the only negative thing as we drove the hour to the track. Once there Cliffy went to the tire guy to see if he’d let us owe the twenty or so dollars we were short. His reaction was one that none of us expected. Not only did he say “Yes” to the request but he told us he’d give us a third tire… free. He’d been keeping ’tabs’ on Cliffy and from what he hold him, no one had had more bad luck than he did. So, with three new tires, a rebuilt motor with special heads we were all ‘flying high’.

We started on the ‘pole’ (first place) and won our qualifying heat with no problem. We also started there for the feature event. I wish I could report that we won but we ended up second… passed by C J on the last turn of the last lap. However, the disappointment was short lived. Just to be able to finish a race was almost as good as winning. The $1,000 money for first would’ve been nice but the $650 for second looked awfully good after not winning any money at all for six weeks. We were all gathered around Cliffy after he exited the car when C J walked up and stuck out his hand to congratulate Cliffy. To me it should’ve been the other way around because with out those heads we wouldn’t have even been at the track. C J, a man of few words, headed back to his pit area and, on the way, passed his father, 'Seeg' who was headed in our direction. Once there, he insisted the the whole crew come down to C J’s pit area and make it a joint celebration. At first, Cliffy declined but when he saw Dick, Alan and Joe headed there he followed along.

I’d witnessed some of the ‘celebrations’ after a C J win and knew it would be a raucous time. For me, personally, I was looking forward to observing Karen, C J’s girlfriend, up close and personal more than the food and drink. It proved to be a little more difficult than I would’ve liked because C J had so many fans. Patience paid off because as the crowd started to drift away I saw her sitting on a tool box bent over and tying her shoe. The lights in the pits were poor so many of the teams brought small portable spot lights that they could plug into the electric boxes placed in each pit stall. For me, the light was just what I needed. The gap between her t-shirt and her white pants showed panties with tube elastic… and there were only two manufacturers that I was aware of at that time… VanRaalte and Kayser both high quality that used that technique. While observing I got to wondering where she got them because the only place I could find VanRaalte was at my friend Judith’s boutique and that was 20+ miles in the wrong direction from where she was living. Just another ‘puzzle’ to contemplate while lying awake in bed.

Believe it or not I have no memory of the sailing races on Sunday. The only memory I have of that day was Barbara’s father called that night and asked if it would be OK for Barbara to stay for another week. There was some sort of problem in meeting the village building code. My only complaint had been that Elle wouldn’t let me get much ‘panty play’ and absolutely no lovemaking because she wouldn’t allow our bedroom door to be closed. One thing that helped in that vein was that Elle had her period for one week. There really wasn’t much I could say against her staying. She’d proven to be a help, especially with keeping the kids occupied. I’d had a few good peeks and with the added time she was to be there I hoped there might be some more. With the ‘busy period' at the bank behind me I was counting on getting back home by 6pm and eating with the kids (and Barbara).

As far as work was concerned my mind was on Morris and his upcoming visit with Bert, Hobie, Gee and the other Board member concerning the poor branch opening we’d experienced. I had no idea how it would go and, at least from what Hobie told me, he didn’t either. Morris had finally agreed to meet with them on Tuesday. Both sides compromised on the site and, ironically, they chose the restaurant where Jerry had done his interviewing. Geographically, it was about half the distance from the city to the main office plus Morris could take a train both coming and going. They were meeting for lunch and the train back to the city was around 2:30pm so they weren’t going to have a lot of time. All I knew for sure was that I wanted to be a fly on the wall while they talked.

With that time line I figured they would be back around 3:30pm. When my watch went past 4pm I began to wonder if they would come back at all… and they didn’t. I think I was more disappointed than anything else. Bret and I used the time to compare our notes on Jerry during his time at the main office. I’d kept pretty detailed ones and was surprised with what Bret had done. We joked that we should write a book about him. Bret wanted to name it “Working With The Pretender” since that’s what we called him from almost the time he’d started working with us. The frustration with him was clearly more with me than Bret but like the old saying… “Out of sight, out of mind”… was in play for both of us now with him at the branch. Unfortunately, I was the one to oversee him while he was there. In any case, our chat helped pass the time away.

To be continued…