PAVING THE ROAD TO MY FUTURE (Part 9d)

At the post office we were told to get an early start on our route and to try and finish up in the early afternoon. As it was Christmas eve they wanted to give some extra time off. It worked perfectly for me as I still had to buy Elle's present. I'd decided, on my own, to buy her a sweater. There were three stores in this town that sold women's clothes. Other than the panties I'd bought at the big department stores in the city I'd never purchased anything for a female. I chose the first one I came to which was the Bon Marche. I'd hardly made it through the front door when this matronly woman as good as "attacked" me. It was almost as if I was tresspassing. She asked what I was looking for and when I said a sweater she asked what type. Type? A sweater was a sweater, at least in my mind. So, almost reluctantly, she led me to where the sweaters were located. As we did I saw a sign on the back wall; Lingerie. Immediately my mind thought of BJ's panties from the night before and my thoughts afterwards. I started to wonder if they had fancy panties there but before I got too far into it the lady was asking if the sweater she was holding was what I wanted. It looked good to me so I said it was. Then she asked what size I wanted. Size? All of a sudden this was getting very difficult. She could see from the look on my face that I didn't have a clue. Then she suggested that I go and find out and come back. By then all I wanted to do was get away from her.

I left and went to the diner across the street and called my mother. She suggested that I get a cardigan as it was the most versitile and that a medium would be the safest choice for size. If it was a little big then she could wear it over a blouse and if it fit perfectly she could just wear it by itself. As I walked out of the diner I knew I didn't want to face that woman again. From where I was standing I could see Myer's department store. Even though this was a small town this store served the whole area and I remembered my Grandfather saying they sold just about everything. I was surprised at just how big it was inside. There was a large staircase leading to the second floor that was located right in the middle of the floor. Not wanting to go through the same sort of humiliation again I decided to go up to the landing and look all around to try and locate where the sweaters might be. I didn't but I did see where the lingerie department was and decided to take a walk through that area. My memories from the stores in the city was that the panties were laid out, very neatly, on tables. I made a quick pass down the aisle and other than seeing some stockings, gloves and what I eventually learned was a garter belt under a glass topped counter, there was nothing else there. I made a return trip back the other way. On this pass I did notice that there were all theses wooden drawers on shelves along the wall. I did see some numbers placed on the front of them but was in such a hurry that I couldn't decipher them. As much as I wanted to I decided against another trip down that aisle.

I found where the sweaters were and bought Elle a powder blue, size medium, cardigan sweater. I was very proud of myself. Armed with a bag with the store's name on it I felt that I now had some legitimacy when I chose to walk down the aisle in the lingerie department again. This time there was a customer there and as I approached, the sales lady was pulling one of the drawers off of the shelves. I slowed, pretending to look at what was in my bag. When I looked up the customer was holding a pair of fancy panties up in front of her. They looked huge. When I passed by I saw a number on the drawer and it was a 7. I also looked at the other drawers and saw numbers from 4 to 10 and also a number of drawers marked Small, Medium and Large. As I walked out onto the street I was happy to know that there were fancy panties that could be purchased in this town.

I had to go get my clothes and things from my Grandparents before heading for home (and Elle). My Grandfather wasn't there but my Grandmother was. I couldn't believe it when she asked me to do her a favor and to run back to the part of town I'd just left. She'd ordered a new hat for the Christmas service at their church and had just recieved a call that it was in. NOT what I wanted to do right about then. She gave me the money and I litterally ran back down to the shopping area. I'd been by that store many times and really never paid any attention to it. It was called "The Rose Shop" or "The Little Hat Store", depending on which sign you looked at. It was really small and very dark inside. There were glass top counters on both sides of the store and hats were displayed on one of them. There was nothing on top of the other counter but kiddy clothes were displayed under the glass. As I waited for someone to wait on me I noticed a display card on top of the glass and the lettering looked vaguely familiar. "Carter's" Then I looked on the wall behind the counter and saw dozens of boxes stacked on top of each other. They all had the same name and lettering on them. I had (and still have) very good vision and in scanning them saw something else that was familiar... "Spanky Pants" was printed on a lot of them.

I stood there feeling that I'd just struck gold. I was trying to remember all the girls I'd known who wore Carters's Spanky Pants when the saleslady finally appeared. I told her why I was there and got the hat box for my Grandmother and headed back. Now I was happy that my Grandmother had wanted me to run that errand. I stored what I'd observed in both stores in the recesses of my mind, not knowing if I'd ever use the information or not.

Arriving home I was greeted with a surprise from my Mother. She'd invited friends from church over to have Christmas eve dinner with us. I'd been counting on having some time alone with Elle but was told I'd have to wait until Christmas day. As it turned out I had to wait until Christmas night to see her. Even though her parents were there, at least her Brother wasn't. We were allowed some privacy to exchange our gifts to each other. Elle also wanted to show me her gifts so we ended up on the floor. Knowing how careful she was about keeping herself covered I was surprised when she gave me a "free show" when reaching under the tree to retrieve one of her presents. It took a few seconds for it to register and I almost missed it. I wasn't sure but it sure looked like her panties were cotton. I was immediately puzzled. During the Summer I'd probably seen all of her panties hanging on the washline at one time or another and never once saw any cotton. But, as I said, I wasn't sure.

I gave her the sweater and she seemed sincerely suprised and aprreciative. The box she handed me was tiny in size and I had no idea what it could be. It was a silver ID bracelet that was in vogue at the time. My name was engraved on the face but what made it so special was that on the back was engraved "Love always, Elle". That was the most definitive expression of how she felt about me that I'd received in any form. I was moved!. Even with her parents in the next room we ended up in a very loving embrace. I was as happy as I could be.

That night I lay in bed puzzling over that glimpse of white that I'd seen under her Christmas tree. Did I really see cotton? Was I seeing things? I was mad at myself for missing such a great opportunity. All I could do was hope that I'd get another chance before returning to school. Alas, it wasn't to be. A few DP's was the best I got and they were, for sure, nylon panties that she was wearing. At least I went back with somthing to think about.

To be continued...