SEPTEMBER... On into the Fall... (Part 27b)

I was pretty excited by the time I pulled up in front of the sorority. It’d been almost two weeks since I’d seen her and had only talked to her for a few minutes during that time. The sorority house had originally been the home of a wealthy businessman in the town. With the depression followed by World War II, most of the manufacturing that had driven the town’s economy had closed. The majority of the homes that had housed the wealthy families had been converted into fraternities and sororities as the college became the prime focus for the town. As I walked up the steps I was impressed with the grounds that surrounded the house. The front door was massive. I can still picture it. After ringing the bell the door was opened by a plain looking girl in a bathrobe. I told her I was looking for Elle. The next thing I knew there were a dozen girls in the foyer gawking at me. Talk about being uncomfortable! I don’t know how long it was before I saw Elle coming down the stairs. It was a memorable sight as it was a circular staircase and Elle looked really good... not like she did when I’d last seen her. It was obvious that she was surprised (and happy) to see me as she ran up and threw her arms around me. It didn’t last long as a couple of the girls who were watching us started scolding her about doing something like that in the sorority house. That seemed a little harsh to me but that’s the way it was. Elle grabbed my hand and led me outside to the front porch. There wasn’t any privacy there either as the main living room was right there and the windows were all open. But it wasn’t considered to be ”in the sorority“ so we reconnected. I don’t think we said more than a few words for at least five minutes.

She, of course, wanted to know how I’d gotten permission to drive over. When I told her I didn’t have permission she gave me one of those ”looks“ but then gave me another big hug and kiss. I, on the other hand, had a lot of questions for her. The problem was that we had no privacy there. I suggested that we go down town to the restaurant that we’d spent a lot of time at in her freshman year but she said that she couldn’t. All the pledges had been confined to the house for the weekend because some of them had broken some rule. That and they had to eat all their meals at the house until they became full members (sisters). So, instead of finding out the details of just how she was doing with regards to the operation I had to pretty much limit my questions as to her roommates and the sorority itself. When it came time for lunch, Elle smuggled some things out to me when she finished up. Even though it wasn’t much I was thankful for it.

One thing that stands out in my memory from that day was when she told me about her roommates. There were eight of them in the room. She said she felt like a sardine in there. There were 4 bunk beds and barely enough room for desks and dressers. I knew she was worried about her condition and how it would be accepted by her roommates but I also knew she did not expect to have seven other girls with her. Once I heard that I really wanted to know how that part was working out. Without saying much she indicated that it was OK... so far. One thing she did offer was that one of the girls (Maggie) was even more shy about her body than she was. (Remember, even though we’d had sex I still hadn’t seen her completely naked.) I didn’t know how that played into the situation but for her to tell me about the girl it must’ve had some meaning.

Nancy, one of her roommates from her Freshman year, came out on the porch and sat with us for a while and with her around I managed to find out a little more about the other girls in their room. They actually knew two of them as they had been in the same dorm the year before. Both Elle and Nancy volunteered that the other four seemed nice enough even if the one girl was a bit ”different“. That was about all I got by the time they had to go inside for some sort of function.

I’d made it over without any car problems but the trip took just about twice as much time. My problem had been with overheating which meant I had to wait for the engine to cool down before putting more water on the radiator. Since I had the problem all the way back from Ohio I pretty much knew how long I had to wait to add the water. By the time I got back to the farm I was already late for the meal at the fraternity. The lateness wasn’t all the fault of the car as I arrived at the farm just as they were herding the cows in from the pasture. I had to wait until the last one crossed the road to be able to pull into the driveway. But, as I waited I saw something that I had hoped to see... the daughter, Joanne.

She, like both her mother and father, was wearing coveralls and rubber boots. She kind of lagged behind her parents as they hustled the animals into the milking barn. As I rehitched the boat to the car I kept my eyes on the girl. She walked across in front of the car and even though I said ”hello“ to her she didn’t even acknowledge me. I thought it strange but continued to follow her with my eyes as she approached the house. At the base of the steps up to the porch she stopped and took off her boots and then climbed up to the porch. My guess is that I was about 100 yards away at this point. Then, standing right in front of the door, she took her coveralls off and lay them over a chair that was right there. I couldn’t believe my eyes as she was now standing there in just a sleeveless blouse and her panties. She was only there for a few seconds before disappearing inside but the visage was burned into my brain. I couldn’t understand it as she knew I was there and could see her... but I wasn’t complaining.

To be continued..