Friday, November 23, 2018

"SPRING"ING AHEAD... Better days? (Part 170r)

“SPRING”ING AHEAD… Better days? (Part 170r)

CeeCee’s friend showed up just before 6pm. He was a fellow auditor but was assigned to a different area and had never been “out East”. I was looking forward to having an easy weekend with nothing special on the calendar. When I walked into the kitchen I was greeted by Elle and the kids all with their coats on and ready to head out to the school and the basketball game. It was senior night where all the soon to be graduating senior players and cheerleaders were being honored. I’d not been to but a few games all season and as I write this can’t remember why. The reason they were leaving without me was the recognition part of the evening was to precede the games. Even though we had no real contact with Barbara (the principal’s daughter who’d stayed with us for a few weeks back in the Spring) the older girls were constantly running in to her at school and she’d asked them to come. Elle told me my dinner was in the oven and she’d see me later. While eating I got to thinking about the game and decided I’d go even though I’d miss the recognition part of the night. The season had started out poorly for the varsity but, according to the paper, they’d been playing well. The game that night was with a school that had a really good player and who was supposedly going to a fairly big college in the Fall and I thought it would be fun to see how good he really was.

The junior varsity game was still in progress when I got there. The seats were full and it was standing room only. I saw where Elle and the girls were seated but decided not to go down to where they were. I quickly realized it had been a mistake to show up. As I’d written in some earlier posts I’d been asked to run for the school board in June. I had no desire to be a candidate what with all the things I had going both at work and on a personal level. However, the arguments for me running did make sense so I’d deferred making a decision. It seemed like just about everybody that saw me was asking if I’d made my decision. I chatted with a couple of the ‘good’ board members while the first game was in progress but when the varsity teams came onto the floor I shut it down. There was no question as to who the other team’s star was. After watching him for a few minutes I could see his skills were way far above any of his teammates or, for that matter, any of our kids. But, there was something really different about him. It took me a few minutes to see it… his head was too small for the rest of his body. When the introductions were made and he was standing next to his teammates it was obvious.

What was also obvious right after the tip off was he was a really gifted athlete. The population of the school was supposedly 40+% colored (remember, this was the 60’s) and of the starting five on his team there was only one white. He was not only the tallest player on the the court but he could jump really, really high. On the tip off his hand, reaching for the ball, was easily a foot higher than our kid’s hand. Then, he broke for the basket and the kid who’d garnered the ball passed it to him just outside the ‘key’. I stood there and saw something I’d never seen before… he took the ball in stride, put one foot down, leaped towards the basket and had the ball roll off his fingers into the basket. The game was but about 10 seconds old and they were ahead without the ball ever touching the floor. That turned out to be the ‘opening act’ as by the end of the game he’d scored over 40 points. Why this stands out in my mind is that back in those days many of the winning scores were less than that. For our area he was truly a ‘freak’. (Note: he went on to East Carolina and played for four years; then returned to teach in the high school and become the varsity basketball coach.)

Kaye, our youngest, had a birthday coming up in just a week. Turning five and not yet in school she really didn’t have many friends to invite for a party. With the two older girls in school they had the opportunity to make many friends. Elle had hoped that the house next door would end up being sold to a family with kids and that hadn’t happened. So, with time running out before Kaye's ‘big day’ Elle had to decide what to do. It wasn’t that Kaye didn’t know any kids her age because she’d met some at the Sunday school class she was in but they didn’t live near so she was only with them just once a week for about 30 or so minutes. Our old ‘group’ (from back when trying to change the school board) had a lot of children but were almost all older and around Jean and Anne’s age. Elle was working on a list when I saw a car pull up in the driveway. I didn’t recognize it and when I saw the person get out and start towards the house I still didn’t know who it was. I went to the door and it took a few seconds for me to recognize Paula, the new teacher. She was wearing a cap and even when she pulled it off while waiting for the door to open I still wasn’t sure because her hair was pulled back exposing her ears. When she’d stayed with us it had covered her ears and rested on her shoulders. I called to Elle after greeting her. She was as surprised as I was.

She’d come to pay Elle back for the part for her car. She explained that when she’d told her father he insisted that she pay for it now and gave her check. Then Paula explained that when she’d come out that day she’d made a deposit on the room she’d be renting but the people had changed their minds for some reason. So, with time running out her father insisted she come back and find a new place and also pay for the part. I broke in and asked about the car in the driveway upon which she laughed. It belonged to her father and he made her take his car because he didn’t trust her car. Elle insisted she take off her coat and come in to say hello to the girls. When she did I saw a whole different Paula. When she’d stayed with us she was wearing what she ended up calling “school attire”… white blouse and grey wool skirt. On this day she had on a pair of khaki slacks that weren’t tight but were definitely ‘form fitting’ along with a  light blue cardigan sweater that showed she had something on the top. To put it another way… a nice package. As she walked into the living room where the girls were playing I walked behind her searching for a VPL. The girls were playing a board game on the floor and Paula walked over to where they were and as she asked the name of the game she bent over.

When Paula had stayed overnight I had the opportunity when she was showering to see and handle the panties she’d been wearing. So, when the opportunity presented itself right in front of me I had a good idea that she was in bikini panties. One of the things I’d learned about bikinis was that their crotch was usually much smaller than the crotch of a pair of full brief panties. When I looked at the outline of the crotch showing through her pants I was a bit confused. It was large enough to possibly be from a pair of full panties. As I was standing there focused on her backside I’d not seen or heard Elle walk in behind me. But I knew when my bicep took a good smack.

To be continued…

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