Wednesday, January 30, 2019

LIFE GOES ON... and on... (Part 171y)

LIFE GOES ON… and on… (Part 171y)

Neither C J or Freddy had any luck, both getting caught up in minor skirmishes that had them finish in the middle of the pack of cars. Freddy’s crew elected to drive back after the race but C J decided to join us by going back by ferry in the morning. One thing I failed to mention was that Beth, Cliffy’s wife hadn’t come with us, one of the few times since they’d been married. But she’d used up all her sick time when she had the baby and couldn’t get off from work. C J didn’t have his fan club with him so there weren’t any females with his group either. There was minimal partying as there wasn’t anything to celebrate. After C J collected his winnings we were both off. We arrived at the ferry slip around 1am and made the best of sleeping… me not so much. The ferry started the boarding process around 6:30am and we were back at the garage around 9:30am or so. Cliffy’s father was there when we arrived and he told me to call home right away. That was not a good thing. Elle answered and without a hint of the ‘coolness’ she’d shown as I left the house the day before, calmly told me to head for the hospital. My first thought was something had happened to one of the kids. It was my mother who was there. The initial diagnosis was food poisoning. While I was on the phone Cliffy’s father had asked the others “What now?”.

It had been over twelve hours since the motor exploded and none of us, Cliffy included, had dared to address that subject. As I’ve stressed since getting involved with this group that we had no business being in the racing business. I think the reason there had been no discussion on what we were going to do next among us was that we were all smart enough to know the end had come. I told the others about my mother and told them I’d catch up with them later. I don’t remember anything that anyone offered up as an answer to the ‘what now’ question before I left.

It was about a twenty minute trip to the hospital. She was resting comfortably and my father told me to go home and to come back later as she was in no danger. The ‘culprit’ as to her food poisoning was believed to have been chicken salad that had been unrefrigerated for too long. On my way home I stopped back at the garage just to see if anyone had come up with an idea of just what we should do. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the guys pulling the blown motor out of the car. I knew I wasn’t going to stay but I had to ask what was going on. Back a few years, when Cliffy was just starting out, his father tried different brands of motors trying to come up with a cheap alternative to the very expensive Ford motor. He still had a Pontiac motor lying on the floor of the bus garage and offered it up to the guys. Hearing that and watching them work on getting it into the car I thought they were crazy. I told them I had to get home, cleaned up and back to the hospital. No one complained as I walked away. Driving home I still couldn’t believe they were trying to go racing that night.

I spent the afternoon with my mother so my father could take care of some things. I got back home in time for supper and Elle was acting like nothing had happened to upset her. She did make one comment that I picked up on though and it had to do with the play. As we finished up she said she was going to call Paula to tell her not to come over. I didn’t know how to read it at first but soon got the gist of it… I was taking the girls to see the play. I kept my mouth shut and went along with it hoping that was all the ‘punishment’ that she’d dole out. When she was getting dressed to leave I observed that she had on a ‘full package’ and asked how it had worked the night before. When all I got was the short answer of “The same…” I wished I’d kept quiet.

To be truthful, the play was much better when seeing it in sequence. One thing I noticed was that the lighting was much better than it had been after it was determined the borrowed spot lights couldn’t be used. The fire department loaned some of their battery operated portable ones and it seemed to work. All in all, the play had been a success with both nights being sold out. When the cast was mingling with the audience after it was over I’d overheard some people talking about an after show party. Not entirely happy about having to be with the kids for the show I became immediately thankful they were there when the party talk came up. Elle, who I’d surmised as being soaked after four hours, really shocked me when she said she’d get a ride home later.

I got home around 10pm and got the girls right to bed. After that I allowed my mind to wander back to the race car and what had happened with the old Pontiac motor that night. From there my mind went to the obvious… our racing days were over. Being a banker my thoughts went to wondering how much we could get by selling just the car. This was the fourth season for it and I’d heard many of the good, competitive teams would build a new car every year. We’d paid $1,000 for it, with a motor, and Cliffy had been told it was probably worth $3,000 at that time. Sitting there thinking I came up with an arbitrary figure of $1,500 because of the relatively new rear end we’d installed the previous year. If we got that much we’d all pretty much get our investment back. Coming up with that was enough for me to shut thoughts about racing down for the night.

Elle got home just at midnight. I’d been worried about how she was handling her incontinence and that was heightened when I saw her. When wearing a ‘full package’ out in public she always wore a dress or skirt. When we left for the show it was a little before 7pm and now it was midnight and she was wearing slacks. I didn’t want to be outwardly concerned so casually observed that she’d changed clothes. I remember the sheepish smile I got with that but she didn’t say anything. When we got upstairs she offered that the party had been at the house of the lady who I’d watched struggle to get part of her costume on during rehearsals and given me the big peek. I’d felt pretty confident that none of the three women in the changing area that night had been aware of me so, upon hearing that, asked if that’s where she got her change of clothes. By that time she’d started to undress and I was anxiously awaiting to see what panties she was wearing. It was a first for me. I was completely dumbstruck. Looking at her front side I didn’t think I saw a crotch line but I only had a quick glance. When she turned to walk down the hall to the bathroom I didn’t see one on the back of the panties either. I really wanted to know who made them. When she returned she’d put on her night time ‘package’ and was carrying the panties in her hand and laid them on the chair with the borrowed clothes she’d been wearing. She climbed into bed without saying anything and turned out the light by her side of the bed. I quickly made a decision to grab the panties and head for the bathroom myself.  As I did I tried to remember the lady and remembered her as being a little ‘round’. Once in the bathroom I found that I hadn’t imagined the lack of a crotch line. The crotch ran from the waist elastic in the front in an inverted “V” and continued uninterrupted all the way to the waist elastic in the back with the “V” reversing itself. If that wasn’t enough to contemplate, the inside of the crotch was brushed nylon. However, there was no label to identify the maker. That was a disappointment. As you can imagine I wanted them for my “stash” but knew there was no way. I returned them to where I found them but Elle was awake and waiting for me. As I walked in I heard her say  “Did you find them interesting?”

To be continued...

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