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…