A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67k)

Meeting my family was a bit ”trying“ for her. It was four new people for her to ”digest“. My mother was at her charming best and immediately sent all the males off to the hospital. When we returned she had both Judy and Elle helping out in the kitchen. The kids were occupied with the presents my parents had bought them. We’d gotten back a little earlier than expected so the turkey wasn’t ready. There was time for presents and as soon as my mother mentioned it I felt bad for Judy. Here she was, among a group of people who she didn’t really know and was now going to watch them open their presents. But, my mother came through again. The first present she handed out was to Judy. She was really surprised and tried her best to turn it down. It was a beautiful light blue cardigan sweater. The next gift was to Elle and it was a beautiful negligee robe. Even though she didn’t try it on I was excited because it was definitely see through and something I wanted to see her in. (I’d like to explain something here... My mother, who could sometimes be a royal pain, had an amazing ability to make things work out when she wanted to. The sweater had originally been meant for Elle and the robe was something she’d bought for herself as a present from my father) I got a book that I’d casually mentioned I'd like to read. Elle and I bought an oversized magnifying glass for my grandfather to help him read his newspaper and he was really pleased with it. All in all, everybody was happy.

Dinner went very well. My mother was an excellent cook and, as is usual at holiday feasts, we all ate too much. The problem for Elle and I was that we still had to go visit Elle’s parents and eat another meal. Judy, although very quiet, seemed happy just to be around people. We had to take her back to the trailer park before heading for Elle's parents. When we stopped in front of her trailer is when the tears started... again. Elle got out with her and walked her into the trailer. I just couldn’t imagine how she felt.

There were more presents for the kids at Elle’s parent’s house. Her brother was supposed to be home on leave but for some reason wasn’t there. I was somewhat surprised that there was no present(s) for Elle. They’d always come through in the past and this was our fourth Christmas together. We had to stuff ourselves again even though it was after 7pm. The girls had fallen asleep which was a nice respite for Elle and I. When we were gathering the kids up to take them home Elle’s mother came up to her and handed her an envelope and told her not to open it until we were back home. One constant thing about her mother was that she was never secretive, about anything. It was very puzzling, especially to Elle. She wanted to open it while driving home but I told her not to.

We carried the kids into the trailer and put them right down on the sofa. With our coats still on Elle ripped it open. It was a letter but I recognized the name on the letterhead. It was from the appliance store where I’d gotten the TV. Elle scanned down the letter and then let out a shriek. Then she started jumping up and down screaming ”A washing machine! A real washing machine!“

Elle’s mother had heard her complain about not having a ”real“ washing machine since we’d moved back. Doing something that she’d never, ever, done before, she approached my mother about doing something about it for Elle. They got our fathers involved and together bought a new Maytag washer. It all came together once they found out we were getting the new trailer. All Elle’s bouncing around and screams didn’t disturb the kids one bit. With our coats still on we went down to the bathroom and just stood there hugging each other and staring at the space that the new machine would occupy. It was a VERY good Christmas!

We went to bed feeling wonderful. Other than the tears shed by Judy when we took her home everything had gone perfectly. Neither of us had any problem sleeping that night.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67j)

The main project for Sunday was to replace the temporary ”fencing“ I’d put up to try to keep people from getting into the mud that was our yard. As I mentioned before, the pad was created too late in the season for grass to grow so all I had was a yard made up of wet topsoil. I knew that not having a yard for the kids to play in would be somewhat of a problem but really had no choice. I had enough material left over from when I fenced in the yard for the old trailer to keep people from stepping off the path to the patio and door. I also knew that the picket fencing that had been damaged when the ”boys“ placed the first of the 60 foot trailers was still out by the work shed. My plan was to put that across the front and hope for the best. When I went out the door everybody was still asleep. I’d hoped to get another ”peek“ at Judy’s bottom but she had the blanket over it as I walked past.

By late morning I had the posts in place so took a break. Judy was about to leave as Lance was due back before 1pm. I hadn’t yet told her that she was invited to go with us to my grandfather’s for Christmas dinner. I decided to wait until Christmas morning to do it. Lance had to be back on base at midnight and wouldn’t be back until around 7pm Christmas day. I wanted to make it a surprise for Judy and really didn’t want Lance’s input involved with her decision making.

I got what I wanted done a far as the fencing was concerned before dark. One of the family traditions that I was able to convince Elle to adopt was to hold off putting the Christmas tree up until Christmas eve and leaving it for ”Santa“ to decorate. As soon as supper was over I got that done. We read ”The Night Before Christmas“ to the girls before putting them to bed. The oldest was too wound up to sleep which meant we couldn’t do much in the way of decorating until it was quite late. And, I still had to put the jumping horse we’d bought for Jean together as well as find a way to bring the new TV in without Elle seeing it. Elle finally gave up around 11pm and took Jean into our bed and lay down with her. That left me to do all the decorating. It was after 1am when I had everything about done. I knew Elle needed to be woken up for a bathroom visit, especially since she wasn’t wearing a ”package“. I put Jean in her own bed and waited until Elle went back into our bedroom before I made my last trip outside to fetch the TV and the stand for it.

I was really tired. But, I woke up completely when I realized that there was no antenna to connect the TV to. The whole deal about leaving the old TV for Lance and Judy had come up so quickly that I hadn’t thought the whole thing out and completely forgot about an antenna for the new TV. I felt so stupid but there was nothing I could do until Tuesday. Even though it was close to 3am when I fell into bed I was wide awake. I heard Elle get up for her bathroom visit and then a little later heard Jean crying. One rule we enforced was that she was not to get out of bed without one of us there so, being half awake, I got up but so did Elle. We went down to Jean’s room and sat on her bed with her. It was becoming obvious that she didn’t like sleeping alone. When I determined it was almost 6am we decided to let her go out in the living room to see what Santa had brought. Her diaper was soaked but Elle let her go anyway. When she saw that horse it was all over. She was on it right away... and wouldn’t get off of it. When a small puddle appeared underneath it Elle had to pull her off, crying, to get her cleaned up. By that time the baby was awake. At fifteen months she didn’t understand Christmas so was happy just sitting there ripping up some of the wrapping paper. I’m going to say that Elle had been in the room for over an hour before she ever noticed the TV. I felt dumber after I told her that we couldn’t turn it on because I hadn’t thought of an antenna but she looked at it and discovered that there was a built in antenna, something that our old TV didn't have. We were so far from the city that it didn’t work except to give us a snowy picture from a station about 40 miles away across the Sound. It was enough to say we had TV though. I fully expected to be ”quizzed“ about where I got the money but she spared me that.

While Elle was feeding the girls breakfast I went to invite Judy. I thought I’d have to do some persuading but she readily accepted. We were supposed to get to my grandfather’s house around 11am so that I’d have time to take my father, brother and grandfather to see my grandmother at the hospital and still be back for dinner at 1pm. Elle was finishing up getting the girls dressed when I decided to go get Judy. I knocked on the door and when she opened it I was a bit shocked at what I saw. She had on the maternity outfit that my mother had given Elle to be her ”good“ outfit. A few things went spinning through my mind. First was that she wasn’t showing enough yet to have to wear maternity clothes. Next was the fact that she actually looked pretty wearing it. But third, and most important, was that I knew my mother would have a hissy fit if she saw her gift to Elle on a stranger. Originally I had no intention of going inside the trailer but I bounded up the steps to try and explain the situation. Judy was all apologetic. Since she really didn’t get any presents she thought of Elle’s maternity clothes as a substitute. Thinking that this would be a somewhat formal affair she chose the obvious. In that vein I had to laugh. Other than my grandfather who always wore a suit and tie on Sundays and holidays we were all dressed ”nice casual“. I encouraged her to quickly pick something else out. She immediately stripped the jacket off and then, just like the night when she'd tried the clothes on, dropped the skirt right there on the floor. She had on a slip and just as she picked up a pair of gray slacks proceeded to pull that down as well. It was like deja-vu only this time Elle wasn’t there to give me that "look". I only had a few seconds to take this all in as she was very efficient with her dressing. But I had enough of a view to create a bit of a problem in my pants.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67i)

She’d told me back when I'd picked her up that it was her first time flying and was really scared. In the diary she went into great detail. It was in Chicago that she got into a real panic when she got lost trying to find the connecting flight. She never got a chance to eat or to go to a restroom and barely made the flight. Then, right after it took off the plane started “bouncing” and she started to cry. When the plane “fell” she remembered screaming and then then holding her breath. When it finally stopped falling and she started breathing again she realized something was wrong because her seat felt warm. That was when she’d wet herself. There were a lot of her thoughts but the next “good” part for me was after I’d met up with her. I was really surprised to read that she’d also wet herself right after realizing that her suitcase was lost. I’d been standing right there but I had no idea at all. All I could remember was her standing there next to me, crying. Then, I read further on and found that she’d wet herself a third time when I almost rear ended a car on our way to the trailer. The bulge in my pants was huge. In a way I was mad that I hadn’t picked up on her distress but, as I thought about it, I was pretty stressed myself. I hadn’t wanted to pick her up in the first place, the plane was late and I was worried about when the new trailer would arrive. When I put the diary down I wondered how long it would take my bulge to “deflate”.

While standing there I remembered the drawer with her panties. All the lights were still on in the trailer and wanting to turn them was my "excuse" for heading for our old bedroom. I pulled the drawer that I'd noted open and saw the pile of panties. Taking close note of how they were folded I pulled one out at a time. They were all the Lollipop cotton band leg panties but, unlike the wet pair I’d seen in the bathroom with double material in the back, they were like normal panties with only a single rear panel. Then I discovered that the size wasn’t a teen size like the wet ones were but were a women's size 5, the same as Elle wore. I looked at the crotches of all of them and saw there was only slight discoloration in them. In thinking about taking one, because there were so few I knew if I took one Judy would surely know that it was me. I put them all back.

“Playing” with the panties did nothing to help my bulge so I decided to take a round about way back to my trailer. With the cold weather it went down fairly quickly and I could feel the wetness of the pre cum. It felt like there was quite a bit and I worried that it might show. However, it was well worth the discomfort. I’d learned a lot.

When I walked back in I saw Judy sitting on one end of the sofa and Elle on the other. I could see that she was or had been crying and the wash cloth in her hands confirmed it. She immediately got up and went down the hall. Elle said that almost as soon as I left she broke down. Elle explained that not only was Judy homesick but that things had not been going well with Lance. Except for when they were in bed he’d been “distant”, not listening to her. I listened to what Elle told me but when I’d talked with Lance he seemed like he was sincere about his concerns for her. I wondered which story was the right one. Elle proceeded to remind me that she was only 18 and this was her first time away from home. On top of that it was Christmas. She also reminded me that she had felt the same way her first Christmas away from home. At this point I was too tired to even try to think and decided to "go with the flow"..

Judy looked much better when she reappeared. Most of the redness was gone from around her eyes and as she walked into the room apologized for being a “baby“. Because of all the things going on Elle never had a chance to bake cookies. Her original plan had been to do it with Jean, our oldest, to expose her to the process. In the course of Judy’s ”breakdown“ she had mentioned that one of the things she missed the most was not making cookies with her mother. Before Judy got a chance to sit down Elle got up and suggested that they go bake some cookies. It was probably past 10pm when she made the suggestion but Judy’s enthusiastic response left Elle no choice but to go through with it.

It had been an incredibly long day for all of us and there was a lot of things I had to do on Sunday so I wished them well and headed for bed. I love cookies fresh out of the oven but I decided I needed sleep more than cookies at that time. I heard Elle come to bed but didn’t talk with her. She was pretty much ”out cold“ when I heard Jean, the older one crying. I got up immediately and headed down the hall to her room. Just as I got there I saw Judy duck in into her room, the first one after the living room. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and when she bent over to pick Jean up I got a good view of her panties. We'd not had time to think of or to buy curtains for the bedrooms and the light from the street lamps was enough for me to see the crotch line of her panties. She carried Jean into the living room and stroking her hair got her to tell her what was wrong. She'd woken up and realized she was all alone, something entirely new for her. I was surprised that she'd accepted Judy so quickly, having only see her for a couple of days. We all sat there in the dark for maybe five minutes and then Judy got up and carried her back to her bed. As she did and covered her up I got another nice view of of her pantied butt cheeks. I think I might’ve said ”thanks“ as we parted and headed in different directions down the hall.

I was still awake when Elle’s next alarm went off. I truly wasn’t all that attracted to Judy but her innocence was intriguing to me. At times she was ”cute“ and at other times rather ”plain“. But what I couldn’t get over was the fact that she seemed to be comfortable in what, for most females, would be considered compromising situations. It was like an unexpected Christmas present for me.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67h)

Lance got back just before 7am and, hearing him, I got right up. I wanted to tell him the status of the move and indicated that, hopefully, we’d be out by noon. He had to be back on base at 6pm and wouldn’t be back until noon on Sunday. We were talking in the kitchen as Judy was still asleep. He told me that he was concerned about Judy because she wasn’t all that happy that she’d be all alone on her first night in the trailer. I told him that it was her third night but my attempt at humor didn’t “fly”.

The move went way better than anything else had gone with this whole exercise. The “boys” were there on time and all the things that needed to be done went without a hitch. Being a Saturday (and Winter time) both Jim and Andy were there to help out. Judy took care of the kids and Elle supervised where the things coming from the old trailer were to go. When it came time to move the TV I told Lance that it was his "Christmas present". With all the things that had to be put away in the new trailer I was sure Elle wouldn’t miss it. The last of our things left the old trailer before noon. Elise, Mac’s wife had made up sandwiches for lunch and Jim’s wife promised us a supper which took a lot of pressure off Elle.

For my part, I was truly amazed at just how much more storage space we now had. The trailer was only 19 feet longer but it seemed like we doubled the space. With Ann, the younger one at around 15 months, Elle felt that she was too young to be sleeping in a bed so we put the crib in the third bedroom. That meant that Jean, the older one would be sleeping alone for the first time. By the time that Jim knocked on the door with our supper, we’d managed to get almost everything put away. The only complaint we had was that everything in the trailer was cold since it had been without heat since it left the factory. The heat worked fine but when you touched anything that had been in the trailer it was cold.

We were putting the girls to bed when it came to me that Judy was alone. Lance had told me that she was not all that happy about it and, after thinking about it a bit, mentioned it to Elle. I’d been looking forward to being in our new home and that first night in it but I couldn’t get my image of Judy at the airport out of my mind. She was scared out of her mind. She’d “warmed up” being around us and the kids but now she was alone again... and it was the Christmas season. I hesitated for a while before asking Elle if we shouldn't go ask her to join us. If I were to describe the look on her face it would have been one of resignation. She knew it was the right thing to do even if she didn’t want to. Our phone wasn’t going to be changed and connected until after Christmas so I had to go down to the trailer to see if she wanted to come over. It took three separate times knocking on the door to get her to answer and then she only spoke through the closed door. When she finally recognized my voice she opened the door. She had every light on that she could and there was no doubt that the look on her face was one of fear. If I was one of those “huggy” types I would have gone up and wrapped my arms around her. But I didn’t. I invited her to come on over to our trailer. Nothing more than to just come over. I didn’t have to plead.

Elle showed Judy through the whole trailer with everything pretty much in place and when done we sat in our new living room. We all seemed so far apart what with the extra eight feet. By then she was fairly comfortable and suddenly blurted out that my mother had called and she’d forgotten to tell me when I was at the trailer. She dug the key to the trailer out of her pocket and handed it over to me. I couldn’t imagine why my mother would call but headed out to find what was up.

It wasn’t anything important. As I’ve written before, Sundays were the designated day I’d drive my grandfather to the hospital to see my grandmother. With Christmas on Monday he wanted to wait until then to go to see her so I didn’t have to go over to see him. While chatting with her I remembered that Lance would be on duty on Christmas day until 6pm, meaning that Judy would be alone all day. Impulsively, I asked if it would be OK to bring Judy for Christmas dinner. There was silence on the other end of the line and then, the soft side of my mother came out and she answered, “Sure. Why not?”

I was just about to leave when I saw Judy’s diary lying on the sofa. I knew it was wrong but I went over and started to read it. There were some very flattering things written about both Elle and I but it was when I flipped back to the day she arrived that I got excited. In detail was everything that had happened that day. I was skimming through it knowing that if I took too long Elle would wonder what was wrong but I ended up reading and then re-reading what she'd written that day.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67g)

The “plan“ for the move of our things to the new trailer was that we’d just take the drawers from the old trailer over to it and then empty the contents into the drawers of the new one. Seeing all Judy’s clothes piled on the floor Elle got the idea for us to take the things that were in the drawers in our bedroom and put them into Judy’s suitcase so that she could just move her things from the floor to the drawers. We all thought that was a good idea. I’ve always had a knack for packing so I got to empty out our drawers and to pack them in the suitcase. While we were doing that Elle came across her maternity panties, bras and slips. Remembering that Judy was pregnant and not seeing anything resembling maternity clothing, Elle asked if Judy might be interested in seeing and possibly trying on some of her things. Other than Judy being about two inches shorter than Elle the two were approximately the same size. Judy, embarrassed, I'm sure, because no mention had been made of her condition, initially said she wasn't interested. Elle, not knowing that it wasn't supposed to be public knowledge, pressed on telling her that we had no intention of another baby and that it would be just a waste of money to have to go out and buy clothes. Judy finally gave in under Elle's pressure and Elle went into our closet and brought out a garment bag. When Elle took the clothes out I could see the interest in Judy's eyes. Elle suggested that Judy could try the clothes on and if she wanted them she could just leave them in the closet and it would be one less thing for us to move.

The first item was a wool suit that my mother had brought for Elle so she'd have "something good to wear", a "dig" at us because we'd eloped. Judy took it into our bedroom and after a few minutes returned. I honestly don't remember the dialog between the two but Elle suggested that she take the hem up and asked Judy to let her have the skirt. Much to my disbelief (and great pleasure) she unbuttoned it and took it off right there in the living room. Elle immediately turned to me and told me not to look. There was a fat chance that was going to happen! But Judy then said that it was OK because she had three brothers and was used to it. (Thank you Judy!) In any case it was Elle who was uncomfortable and she suggested that Judy change into the other clothes in the bedroom. She proceeded to bend over to pick up a pair of slacks giving me an incredible crotch view and then stepped over the stuff on the floor and headed into the bedroom. I knew I'd have sweet dreams when we went to bed!

Once the "show" was over it was time to get back to packing our clothes into Judy's suitcase. Unfortunately, we had more stuff than could be put in the one suitcase. There was one drawer that I didn't bring out and that was the one with Elle’s panties. While Judy was in the process of changing Elle had told me not to so as not to embarrass her. I have no idea how many were in the drawer but it had to be almost three dozen by that time. In any case I did what I was asked.

Since it was going to be Judy’s and Lance’s home we deferred to Judy to pack her things away. We picked them up from the floor and brought them in to her. When It came time for the panties and bras I made sure I saw just which drawer they went into. With one more night to sleep in that room I hoped I’d be able to get a close look at her ”goodies“.

When Elle and I went to bed, Judy, who’d found her diary in her suitcase, stayed up to bring it up to date. Because she did we shut the door into our bedroom to keep out the light. Elle wasn’t too happy about that from the standpoint of not being able to hear the girls if they woke up during the night. I was still keyed up about getting into the new trailer so had a hard time getting to sleep but kept going over in my mind the beautiful ”view“ that Judy had given me. But sleep finally came and it was Elle who heard the knock on our bedroom door. It was Judy with our youngest in her arms, whimpering. Elle told her to come in and turned on the light. It took a minute or so for me to wake up and for my eyes to get used to the light but when they did I they saw Judy standing in the doorway with nothing on her lower body but her panties. The baby had hooked her footed sleeper under the bottom of her pajama tops and pulled it up so that from where I was I could see the waist elastic. Elle jumped out of bed to take the baby and for a few seconds I had ”double vision”, looking at two young women standing in my bedroom with their panties showing, only Elle’s were plastic. Oh for a camera!. The two of them went out into the living room and I waited for a minute or so. When I finally stuck my head out into the living room I saw the two of them sitting on the edge of the sofabed cooing at the baby, totally oblivious to the fact they they were only partially dressed. Elle saw me and instead of chastising me for “peeking” asked if I’d warm a bottle for the baby. I was in a T shirt and boxers but I came out into the room anyway. As I put the water on to warm the bottle I heard Elle apologize for me for not putting my pants on first. Then I heard something I liked as Judy said it didn’t matter because with three brothers she was used to it.

When the bottle was warm I walked back in with it and found Judy sitting on the bed yoga style right behind Elle. I didn’t get a good view but I was impressed with the fact that she seemed to be comfortable as she was. Her pajama bottoms were lying there right on the other side of the bed. I wasn’t going to ask why she’d taken them off but since we kept the heat up for the kids I assumed it was because she’d gotten too warm. It was about 2am when we finally went back to bed.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67f)

I certainly wasn’t in the Christmas spirit after hearing all of that so when Elle called me into the girls bedroom to tell me that I had to go downtown to get the present we had on layaway for the oldest I was definitely not happy. Elle, when shopping for clothes for the kids for Christmas (basically, they were to be their presents especially for the younger one) the older daughter had seen this horse that was suspended on a stand with four springs. She had climbed on it and when Elle was ready to leave she wouldn’t get off, causing a bit of a scene. Elle persuaded me that, even with our tight finances, at the age of 2 1/2 she was entitled to at least one toy, especially if it was something that she really wanted.

I ate my dinner in silence with Judy occupying the kids. Concerned about the weather for the weekend and how it might affect our move I turned on the TV. It was while I stood up to turn it on that I realized that in all the planning we’d done concerning the move we’d forgotten about the TV. This was the same one that I bought at an auction right after we’d bought the trailer. It was what was then called a table top model complete with a wood case but designed to sit on a table. Like all the TV’s from the 50’s it was quite large and quite heavy. It had been perfect for us because whoever designed the trailer they made a built in place for it and that’s pretty much how we’d forgotten about it. Out of sight; out of mind. What concerned me the most was that there absolutely was no place for it in the new trailer. It was just another aggravation to add to the list.

Stores were open late on Friday’s and with it being the next to last shopping day before Christmas I didn’t have to rush. At the toy store I paid off the last money due and loaded the box into the station wagon. I’d parked behind the store and as I was headed home had to go past the appliance store. When I was doing the maintenance at the park I’d become friends with the son of the owner as he did the repairs for the store. I actually drove on past before I got the idea to go in and to see if he might have a reasonably priced used ”portable“ TV. I think I told you that his father and mine were good boyhood friends and that my grandfather did a lot of business with them. In any case, when I walked in the back door I saw John working at the bench with a relatively small TV playing along side him. After the usual, ”how are yas“ I asked. Almost without blinking he pointed to the TV on the bench. I knew from seeing ads that this was a very new TV with a feature called ”Instant On“. Instead of tubes printed circuits were used which didn’t need minutes to warm up before the TV would actually go on. Initially I told him I couldn’t afford it but he told me that he’d sell it to me for $50. I couldn’t believe the price. I knew from the ads that they went for something like $140 or even more. The he explained that this was actually the first one they’d sold and the person who bought it had problems with it. Long story short, the manufacturer came though with a brand new one and John ended up keeping the defective one. He told me he played and played with it and as far as he could see there was nothing wrong with it at all. It had been playing on the bench all week long. I didn’t have $50 and told him so. he smiled and said he knew where I lived and unplugged the set.

As a ”portable” it could sit on a table but even with our expanded living room (or soon to be) there was no room for another table, especially with the toy horse I had out in the back of the station wagon. Just then John’s father walked in from the front of the store. He spoke to John and I overheard him mention his wife, John’s mother. I then asked where she was because I knew she worked at the store both as a salesperson but also did the billing. Between the two they explained that she had some health problems and that if everything went well she would be back in April. I expressed my concern and best wishes. That whole exchange only took a minute and then it was back to business. John then asked his father to get a TV stand that would hold the TV on the bench. At that point all I was thinking about was how was I going to pay for all of it. When the father showed up with the stand we went back into the shop and John and the TV were gone. The back door was open and when we got there I could see that the TV was already in the back of the station wagon. I thanked them both profusely and wished them as merry a Christmas as they could have under the circumstances.

I really didn’t know how to explain the TV (and stand) to Elle so decided against it, parking the wagon in front of the new trailer. By the time I got back to Elle and Judy it was well after 9pm. Lance was back on base until 6am so there wasn’t much for us to do. One thing I had noticed was that Judys’ blue coat and her skirt was no longer in the bathroom. Elle had mentioned that she’d taken Judy all around town showing her where important things were located. I figured that they had taken the things to the cleaners while out. We turned on the TV and shortly thereafter there was a knock on the door. When I opened it I saw this black man with a cap with an airline logo on it asking if he had the right location while reading off my address. When I told him "yes" he handed me a suitcase. I asked Judy if it was hers and by the look on her face I knew it was. I think I had maybe a dollars worth of change in my pocket so I gave it to the man and shut the door.

No sooner had I done that when I saw Judy undoing the straps on the suitcase. I didn’t say anything but took a seat at the table and proceeded to watch as she took everything out and made neat piles of the different things. It was obvious that this bag contained her “everyday” clothes. I, of course, was wondering if she’d actually pull out her panties and bras what with me there. It didn’t take long for the answer as I saw a stack of panties, maybe six or so, stacked next to the bag. I don’t think I took my eyes of them until she’d found what she was looking for. She’d put her Christmas present for Lance in the bag, carefully burying it among her sweaters. It was an engraved ID bracelet. Once she found it she seemed to relax again.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67e)

Elle had proceeded to give Judy a ”tour“ of the front end of the trailer and had been headed to the back with her. The ”bulge“ was still there but no longer a major problem as I slid past them and into the living room. It appeared that Judy was still somewhat uncomfortable but decidedly more relaxed by the time they returned. They’d decided that it would be a good idea to open up the sofa bed so that when Lance arrived he could just slip into bed when he arrived. We had to rearrange the furniture so that Elle would still have a clear path to get to the bathroom on her nightly visits. As we were doing it I asked Elle if she’d told Judy about her ”problem“ and she made a face that told me to ”shut up“.

Once that was done Judy asked if Elle had a nightgown or pajamas she could borrow. Elle had worn one or the other right up until we got married. I convinced her that she was only making work for herself because if she had an ”accident“ while asleep it was only more wash for her to do. She’d changed to wearing one of my T shirts along with her "package". When told that Elle didn’t, Judy said she’d just wear the clothes she had on. I was disappointed to hear that. I was already fantasizing seeing her in panties, even if they were Elle’s.

After we’d decided to go to bed it took some prodding on my part but Elle finally went out to tell Judy about the alarm clocks and the reason for them. I didn’t think Elle would be gone all that long but she was. I actually fell asleep waiting for her to return. Even though I was somewhat groggy I asked Elle what they had talked about but she just gave me a ”Sshhhh“ and turned away from me. I’d grown used to the alarms in the middle of the night but other noises like sounds from the kids or any other noises always woke me up. I heard the outside door and immediately sat up in bed. It took a few seconds before I realized it was Lance. I lay there in bed listening to Judy and Lance whispering to each other and I definitely heard Judy say, emphatically, ”No!“ and couldn’t help but smile.

Normally Elle would hear her alarm and just climb out of bed and head for the bathroom. With ”company“, she had dug out her bathrobe and when she got up I saw her struggle to put it on. I decided to take a peek at our visitors while she was gone so got up and looked in on them. Judy was closest to me and I could see that she was snuggled up to Lance’s back. What I noticed was that she was no longer wearing the blouse and was bare shouldered. I saw enough to have the start of a bulge so jumped back into bed before Elle returned. I lay awake for quite a while wondering just what clothes she was still wearing. (7)

In the forefront of my mind was the delivery of the trailer even more so than getting a voyeuristic peek at Judy. Even though the kids were still asleep I got up as soon as I woke up. Depending on their route, oversized trailers were often required to go through the city at night and I was hoping and praying that this was the case with mine. I slipped on my clothes without getting washed up wanting to get out to the display lot to see if, indeed, it had arrived. As I tiptoed out into the living room I saw Judy, naked from the waist up, lying on her back with Lance’s arm draped over her midsection. It was amazing how fast my focus changed! There was noting special about her breasts but the sight of a nubile young thing lying there like that was certainly attention getting. There was very little light but enough to see her nipples. I didn’t dwell there long not wanting to be caught, especially by Lance.

My prayers had been answered. The trailer was there, covered with a film of road salt. The blue color was almost completely gone making the trailer look like it was all white. The ”boys“ and the park maintenance man didn’t arrive until 8am but I stayed and waited for them. I wanted to know just when they would place the unit on the pad. Ben was the first one there and he, being the dour one, wasn’t too forthcoming. When Dick showed up he explained that they would have to wash down the unit a couple of times to rid it of salt, otherwise I’d have problems in the future. Somewhat elated but also disappointed I headed back to the trailer.

Everybody was up and as far as Judy was concerned, dressed. I knew work would be a ”bear“ not only because I’d taken the previous afternoon off but also because Monday was Christmas and the office would be closed. Since it was the full County payroll all the changes had to be on Thursday so that we could get a head start. The keypunchers were almost done by lunchtime and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have taken a lunch break but I had to go see what was going on with the trailer. When I got there they had just started trying to get it into the pad. The one thing I noticed was that it sparkled without the salt covering it. I could see that it was slow going and wished I could’ve stayed to help get it blocked up but I had to get back.

Elle called at about 3;30 to say it was finally in place and they were blocking the main part of it as she spoke. I envisioned that they would have it all done and ready for us by the time I got home. However, I’d committed to completing phase one of the payroll process before I left. Talk about time dragging! It was almost 6pm when I left and I drove right to the trailer. I fully expected to see the lights on but the unit was dark. On top of that there wasn’t a soul around it. At home Elle told me they had run into two problems with the first being that when they went to hook up the water they found it would only run at a trickle. They had to dig up the line and found a kink in it. By the time they got it fixed it was too late to crank out the pop out, block it up and to connect it. They had to do that before turning on the electricity and the electricity had to be on before they could turn on the heat. I stood there listening to her while trying to figure out if we could still be in it for Christmas.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67d)

I stepped back and introduced Elle to Judy and if Judy responded I don’t remember. What I do remember was that Jean, my oldest all of a sudden let go of Elle’s leg and took a few steps forward. Then, much to the shock of both Elle and I, looked up at Judy and said something close to “Why are you in our house?" I remember thinking ”Where did that come from?“ Elle started to apologize for her but Judy stepped forward and bent down towards my daughter and very calmly said that she was going to visit for a while. My daughter said something back and I sensed that some of the ”edge“ of the situation was off. I chose that moment to go move the cars and to get Judy’s suitcase. While out I also went to look at the pad where the new trailer would be going. I remember praying that the unit would arrive during the night.

I was gone for maybe five minutes but when I returned there was no Judy in sight. I asked Elle where she was and she pointed towards the bathroom. When she did it came to me that neither Judy or I had visited a toilet since I’d first laid eyes on her. I don’t know why it hadn’t come up but for some reason I felt badly for not asking if she needed to visit a ladies room. Elle volunteered that the kids had, surprisingly, quickly taken to Judy. Elle had dished out supper for me and it was on the table. I asked about food for Judy and Elle said she’d be out a few minutes. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was famished. When Judy finally walked out of the bathroom I almost didn’t recognize her. She'd combed her hair and the color had come back into her face. I thought the blouse she was wearing looked familiar but didn’t say anything before I remembered the missing suitcase. In fact, I’d just brought the one case she did have into the house and had put it under the baby’s crib so knew she hadn't gotten anything from it. As Judy sat down I remember Elle asking her if she ”felt better“ and getting a positive response.

Other than the blouse the thing I noticed was that she didn’t appear to be noticeably pregnant. The blouse was tucked into the pants she was wearing and there didn’t seem to be a real tummy bulge. My first thought was that maybe she wasn’t pregnant after all and had tricked Lance into marrying her. That had happened to one of my fraternity brothers in college. We were both quiet while she picked away at her food while Elle put the girls to bed. It was now after 9pm and they were usually asleep by 8pm. When Elle returned she said the girls wanted to say good night to me. By the time I got to their room the older one was asleep but no so for the baby. Getting up from the table made me realize that I needed to go to the bathroom. I walked in from the kids room and as I did I smelled stale urine. Lying on top of the ever present drying rack in the tub was the oversized blue coat that Judy had been wearing. Next to it was a gray piece of material that I quickly realized was a skirt. Reaching down to feel it I could feel that it was wool. Elle didn’t have a skirt like it so it had to be Judy’s. As I reached the end of the tub and the toilet I saw what appeared to be a light blue blouse draped over the corner of the rack. I turned on the lights over the sink and could see what appeared to be a difference in the color of the blouse in the lower region. I was going to pick it up to get a better look when I saw something white lying on the bottom of the tub. All of a sudden it hit me. The reason Judy was wearing Elle’s blouse was that she’d wet herself. I reached down and picked up a ball of damp material. I shook it out and saw another ball fall into the tub as I opened up a cotton slip. Looking at it hanging from my fingers it was obvious that the one side was definitely wet while the other was basically spotted from having been in contact with the other side. I quickly reached for the object still in the tub and, not surprisingly, found it was her panties. Needless to say I had a very hard bulge pushing to get out of my pants. I opened the balled up panties and even though the light was not all that good I could see a definite discoloration in the crotch as well as the fact that they were totally damp. My first thought was to see who made them. They were cotton band leg panties, not unlike what Elle wore but the material was different. It was a much softer cotton more like the T shirts I wore. I slid my fingers inside the panties but noticed the label was on the waistband. ”Lollipop“ with the Number 14 printed below was what it read. I’d seen them before way back when my friend Fred and his girlfriend and her sister used to spend time in our area when we were still in school. But there was something else that I noticed. We all know that the crotch area is made from two layers of material. But I discovered that the whole back panel was two layered. It was something I’d never seen before.

I don’t know how long my investigation took but I realized that I better get back to Elle and Judy. With a hard on like I had I also knew I couldn’t go out there like that. The baby was still standing up in the crib so I put her down and started rubbing her back. The timing was perfect as Elle walked in right after I started. I dodged a bullet there! Once in the living room all I could think of was that I’d driven all that way with Judy while she sat in wet clothes. I wanted to know when and where it had happened and hoped that she and Elle had discussed it. With those thoughts on my mind it was impossible for the bulge to dissipate.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67c)

Being dark there really wasn’t much to see except the head and tail lights of the cars around us. It was rush hour for sure as we just crept along. For me the silence made the situation even more uncomfortable but I just didn’t know what to say to start a conversation. We’d been driving for a while when all of a sudden the cars ahead stopped suddenly. I jammed on the brakes and, without seat belts, Judy slid forward just barely getting her hands on the dash before she hit it. When I looked over at her I couldn’t see her face at all but asked if she was OK. It took a few seconds for her to answer and she said that she wasn’t but also offered that there was nothing I could do to help. The answer made me curious and as I’d just heard her speak more words in just those few seconds that I’d heard since I set eyes on her I decided to pursue it.

Slowly she warmed up and began to tell me about her day. She’d flown out of DesMoines Iowa which was about 70 miles from where she (and Lance) lived and had grown up. She’d gotten up at 5am to catch a plane to Chicago. She told me that not only was this the first time she’d ever flown, it was only the third time she’d ever even been to DesMoines. In Chicago she had to change planes. She told me she was scared to start with but the airport in Chicago frightened her even more because it was so large and there were so many people. And, because of that, she got lost in trying to find where the next plane she was to be on. She finally got someone to help her and she barely got on the plane before it left. Then they sat on the runway for a long time. When they finally got airborne the plane started “bouncing” (her word). Then, all of a sudden, the plane “felt like it was falling out of the sky”. She said everybody started screaming. When the plane stopped falling it did it so suddenly that she said she felt like she was being “pushed through the seat“. The the plane continued bouncing until it landed.

I let her go on without interrupting and tried to see her face as she talked. The whole time she just looked straight ahead. I think I made a comment along the lines of ”It sure didn’t sound like fun“ and when I did she turned to me and she blurted out that it wasn’t and she even ”threw up“. After some silence I asked about what it was like living where she did. She said that other than school all she did was work on the family farm or at her uncle’s business. I asked her what she did there and she said that after graduation she was a bookeeper there. And then she added something like ”Thank God for my uncle“. I asked her what she meant and, in all seriousness, said she hated working on the farm and her uncle hired her to help get her away from doing that.

Thankfully we were almost back home by then. But, I’d managed not to bring up the fact that she (and Lance) were going to have to live with Elle, I and the kids for at least one night. With all that she’d been through I didn’t have the heart (or nerve) to tell her about the situation. When we reached the trailer park I made a pass through the display lot hoping to see my new unit but there was nothing there. Now I HAD to tell her.

It was obvious to me that she was very emotional and I really didn’t know what to expect from her when I did. I remember wishing that Lance was there. As I summoned up the courage it dawned on me that she’d not mentioned the trailer even once the whole time we’d been together. I really don’t remember what I said to start with but I remember being pretty blunt. I know she turned towards me and I’m not sure if she uttered something like ”Oh no!“ but it was some sort of plaintive uttering. I sped through the whole story of our new trailer and how it was ”stuck” somewhere and how I’d hoped that it had arrived while I was picking her up. I don’t think she heard a word of it. I did hear her say that she “just couldn’t do it” and had her hands in front of her face. I told her that it would all be just fine and that Elle was waiting for us. She wanted to know if Lance knew about the situation and I had to tell her that he did. She then uttered something that I didn’t understand and put her head down on her chest and started shaking her head from side to side. I didn’t know what to say so started driving to the trailer.

Once there I saw that I'd have to move the cars so Lance would have a place to park when he arrived. I got out and the dome light came on. I looked back in at her and she was crying again. I went around and opened her door but she said she couldn't go in and was quite adamant about it. Through her sobs she asked if I knew what time Lance was getting off duty. I told her I thought it was midnight. She looked up and I heard her curse. I knew I couldn’t leave her in the car so I told her, quite forcefully, she had to come in. After a few seconds she slowly got out. I led the way to the door and went up the stairs and as I walked in Elle gave me one of those “where have you been?” looks that was somewhere between being mad and worried. I didn’t answer but turned to see where Judy was and saw her standing at the bottom of the steps. I stepped back out and gave her my hand which she, reluctantly, took. Once inside, as soon as the kids saw a stranger they went right for Elle. The older one grabbed Elle around one of her legs and the baby screamed to be picked up.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67b)

I didn’t have to call Lance because he called me. When he set up the flight for his wife he forgot that the airbase was going on holiday schedule as of that day. Because of it he subsequently found that he was on duty at the same time he was supposed to pick her up at the airport. Because half the base was on leave there wasn’t anybody for Lance to switch with. Naturally, he wanted me to go get her. If the trailer was still being delivered on time there was no way I would’ve gone... but, old softie me, I said I would. I did remind him of the missing money and he promised I’d get it... sometime. He said that he had to spend more money on the ‘49 Ford to get it on the road than expected. But, the big problem that neither of us realized at the time was that he and his wife would need a place to stay that night.

It was Elle who did. We’d arranged for our friends Mac, Jim, Tom and Andy to help us move. Basically, it was just our foodstuffs and clothes since the new trailer would come fully furnished. Things were hectic enough what with Christmas only a few days away and when she called to tell me I didn’t know what to say or do. Her first thought was the motel just down the road but I knew from Lance when he’d called me that he barely had enough cash to buy basic food to live on.

I don’t remember which one of us spoke first but the idea was that we could “squeeze them in” for the night. All we could do was to hope that the new trailer would arrive sometime that same day and that the "boys" could get it set up on Friday. That would still give us time to get everything organized and ready for Christmas and to let Lance take over the old trailer. That was our prayer as we tried to go to sleep.

The storm that the trailer had been caught up in was in the process of passing through as I got up. As I looked out at the weather I wondered how I'd got myself into this airport shuttle mess. The plane was due in around 3pm which gave me time to get the payroll finished and the checks to the Treasurer's office in plenty of time. It was still snowing when I left for the airport but the roads were clear. This time I was on time. But the plane wasn’t. Her plane was over an hour late due to the snow storm. Lance had made a sign with her name on it so she could find me. I felt sort of stupid holding up a sign with “JUDY” printed on it in front of all those people. At first I thought I was in the wrong place because all these people filed past me and there wasn’t anyone that even came close to the girl who’s picture Lance had shown me. I was concerned that she’d missed the plane and I had no idea what to do if she had. I started looking for someone with a uniform on to ask and then I saw this waif like girl shuffling somewhat towards me. The first thing I noticed was that the overcoat she was wearing was way to big for her. It went almost all the way to her shoes. Looking at her face it was basically colorless except for redness around her eyes. When she saw the sign she did perk up a bit as we walked towards each other.

It was obvious that she was scared and upset but I was certainly not the guy to offer her comfort. I was uncomfortable enough without adding her state of mind to the equation. I think the first thing I asked was how many bags she had brought with her. She said it was two and I turned towards the baggage claim area. Now you have to remember that this was 1961 and airport terminals were still pretty basic. There were no baggage carousels. The bags were unloaded from the carts onto a raised platform and you had to roam from one end to the other trying to find your bag(s). By the time we got there most of the bags had been picked up. She picked out one and as I went over to grab it I had the feeling that I’d seen one like it before. As I set it down beside her I remembered that my grandfather had one very similar. I also remember him telling me that he’d bought it to go to my father’s college graduation, thirty plus years earlier.

We made a few more passes up and down the platform and she told me that none of the bags belonged to her. Then she started crying. Not knowing what to say or do I started looking around. I saw a group of suitcases at one end of the room and headed that way. About the time we got to the bags a round little man appeared with a clipboard. This was the lost baggage area and he took down the description of the missing bag and my address and phone number. Then he told us that when the bag showed up that they would deliver it. (Remember, this is 1961 when the airlines really did provide “service”.)

By that time it was dark outside. I’d told Elle that I’d be back around 6pm and to have supper ready. There were lines in front of each pay phone that I saw and I wasn’t sure that I had the right change anyway so headed right for the station wagon. When Judy went to get in I saw her lean in and feel the seat. I wondered what she was doing but she then got in and I forgot about it. When I got in I looked over at her and with her looking straight ahead I got a good profile look. She did appear to be somewhat cute as I noticed the tip of her nose had a slight rise to it.

To be continued...

A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67a)

Even though Jay and I got along very well, he was not very forthcoming about his personal life. Other than his interest in computers and cars I knew very little about him. I did know he was married and had a daughter who was around three years old and that they lived with his father. That was it. Whenever I asked him to help me he was always willing but he never reciprocated. That is until that Saturday morning. The phone rang right at 7am. Elle and I had become somewhat used to the phone ringing at that time of the morning with calls for Elle to come in to substitute teach at the local school. But it was Saturday and it was a call for me... Jay. He asked if I’d like to make some money over the weekend. Before I could ask “doing what?” he said I could possibly make $25 cash. It was perfect timing with Christmas only two weeks away. He told where we'd meet and said he’d pick me up. I was out the door without even eating.

Jay’s father had been a carpenter/builder until arthritis made it impossible to continue working. I found out that, on weekends, Jay did carpentry work to help pay the bills. He had two projects that needed to be done by Christmas and there was no way he could do them by himself. We had to go out to a barrier island and that’s when I found out why Jay’s pick up truck was a four wheel drive... we got to the site by driving on the ocean beach. A coastal storm had washed away the stairs up to the front door of this ocean front home and the owners were planning on spending Christmas in the house. Up to that day I’d done very little in the way of carpentry. As I said about Jay exposing me to the world of computers, he was a very good teacher.

It was a two day job and, as promised, I got $25. As we left on Sunday Jay drove down the beach a little further to the West. He pointed to another beach front home with a porch that had partially collapsed. We stopped and after he gave it a good look asked if I wanted to work on it after the first on the year. $25 a weekend was far better than a maybe $10 on a Saturday at the park so I said yes. It was still daylight and as we’d talked a little about Jay’s racing experiences he asked if I’d like to see the one car he still owned. Never one to turn down an opportunity to see a race car, I said yes.

It was located at the back of his father’s property. If Jay hadn’t slowed down to make the turn off the road I don’t think I would’ve even know there was a house there. It seemed like nothing but trees. No grass anywhere. As we wove our way to the back I saw the house and a garage and three vehicles. I knew Jay was working on a ‘38 Ford pickup truck but there was also a Chevy ElCamino and a pre World War II GMC panel truck. But I didn’t see a race car. As we got out of the truck this little girl came running out of the garage which appeared to be converted to living quarters. She was headed for Jay until she saw me and then she turned and headed back. Jay waved me to follow him further into the trees. Finally I saw the racecar. It was a wreck. There were no wheels on it and the windows had been cut out much larger than on any other racecar I’d ever seen. By then it was getting dark and there really wasn’t much to see. Jay told me some of the people who’d driven it and I did recognize some names. In that sense I was impressed but disappointed with the car. I fully expected him to take me inside to introduce me to his wife but he walked straight back to his truck and got in leaving me no choice but to do the same. He then drove me back to where we’d met up and said he’d see me at work.

When I got back to the trailer I was somewhat surprised to see the ‘55 Chevy parked out in front. When I went inside Elle told me that Lance had been there and had left an envelope... and the keys to the Chevy. She still wasn’t too keen on the car being a part of the trailer deal but, thankfully, didn’t say anything. When I opened the envelope there was the check for the $2,000 and $420. It should’ve been $600. I was a little upset but didn’t say anything, especially to Elle. At least I had the ‘55.

Even though the next week was a Police Department payroll and a lot less stressful I was still under a lot of pressure. Dick had arranged for the bank loan for Elle and I to cover the difference between the cash we had and the cost of the new trailer. We had to go sign all the papers and I remember Elle being very nervous. So much so that even with wearing a “package” she managed to leak into her slacks. I spent every night, after work, preparing the pad for the arrival of the trailer. Because it was the last one created it had been too cold for grass to start growing. I got some stakes and rope to try and keep anyone from walking out into the mud in the yard. I also set up a new kerosene tank and rack and made arrangements for a new electric meter so that all I had to do was connect it and we’d be good to go. The manufacturer had let Dick know that the unit went on the road from Indiana on the 18th which meant it would arrive on the 20th and could be set in place on the 21st. Lance had told me that his wife was arriving on the same date so it appeared everything was going well... that is until the early morning of the 20th. Dick got a call that the trailer was stuck on the Pennsylvania turnpike caught up in a snow storm.

To be continued...

A BUMP(us) IN THE ROAD... a pothole? (Part 66g)

Elle was waiting for me at the door wanting to know what was going on. She’d seen (or heard) the ‘55 Chevy and wanted to know just what was going on. I waved the check at her and told her it was a new trailer. She looked at me like I was crazy and that’s when I sat her down and told her about Lance wanting to buy our unit. (I carefully neglected to mention the car.) It really was too much for her to fathom in such a short time. Even though I’d previously taken her up to the display lot to show her the new style trailers I’d never really indicated that I was serious about buying one or that we even could afford it. The kids had already eaten so I suggested that we go up there again to take a good look. Since it was a Friday night I knew that one of the “boys” would be there until at least 7pm. We dressed the kids and headed on up.

There were two of the “pop out” units on display. We went into the first one which was similar to the one I’d shown her before. The first time she’d just looked without visualizing actually living in it. This time was different. We were inside for about 10 minutes or so before Dick showed up. I gave him the “thumbs up” signal and he picked up on it right away. He pointed out some features that even I didn’t know about and then mentioned that there were options that were available if we wanted to order one from the factory. Of course we had to at least listen to them.

I don’t think I’d even given a thought to actually ordering a unit up to that point. After listening to what Dick had to say Elle picked up on a few of the options. The unit we were looking at was a three bedroom model. We’d toyed with the idea of having a third child, wanting to add a boy to the two girls. One option was to have bunk beds built into one of the bedrooms and that made sense rather than to try and “stuff” a store bought one into the existing space like we’d done. Another option was for different styles of kitchen cabinets. A third option was to have the bathroom laid out in such a way as to be able to put a full sized washing machine in there. THAT was something that really resonated with Elle. I asked how long it would take to get a custom made unit and Dick said it usually took about three weeks. That would make it right before Christmas. I remember looking around at the expanded living room and wanting to be able to celebrate Christmas with all that space.

In spite of the kids getting bored and tired we sat there and placed our order. The options added a few hundred dollars more to the total but there was nothing I could do about it. When we got back to our trailer I was amazed at how small it looked and felt in comparison. I’d never really felt cramped in it until that night. After putting the kids to bed we spent the next few hours planning/dreaming about what it would be like in our new home. I told Elle about how I’d more or less “reserved“ the last South side lot and the advantages we’d have with it. It was hard for both of us to get to sleep that night.

It was frustrating not being able to get in contact with Lance. All I had was a barracks number and he was never there when I called. I had to use Mac as a messenger. It was Tuesday before I saw him. I know he was disappointed when I told him that it wouldn’t be until right before Christmas that we would be able to move. I gave him the projected date and he said he’d arrange to get his wife here at that time so they could celebrate Christmas together. Now all either of us could do was wait.

Things, for me, at work went well over the next few weeks. Nina ignored me as did Leo, which was fine by me. The ”excitement“ was in the arrival of the two transferred employees. One was an older lady named Hilda. The ”buzz“ concerned the reason why she was transferred. She’d been a Treasurer’s department employee for a long time. The other was a young girl who had started during the Summer named Lenora. She was a very attractive girl with shoulder length dark hair. Since we were somewhat removed (physically) from the general work area we didn’t get to interact with either of them. All we could do was look through the partition windows as the office dynamic played out in front of us.

One issue that did involve the whole Audit and Control Department was the upcoming Christmas party. A vote was taken and it was decided it would be for the employees only; no spouses or boy/girl friends. Leo, through his potato chip route, knew of a local restaurant that would give us a break on price since we would have to pay most of our own way. The Controller threw in some money but the rest was pay as you go. It was decided to hold it in the middle of the month so as to not interfere with everything else that was going on. Jay insisted that it be on a Thursday evening so as to not to deprive the DP department from participating due payroll processing. I was looking forward to it as a way to get to know some of the people that I could only see but not interact with.

The County Board of Supervisors monthly meetings were always held on the second Thursday. The payroll was delivered to the Treasurer’s office on time and Leo had given the Audit and Control department permission to leave for the party at 4pm. They didn’t call it ”Happy Hour“ back in those days but the restaurant did provide cheaper drinks when we arrived. I hadn’t done much, if any, drinking since leaving college so after just two I was pretty blitzed. I remember Leo arriving well after the rest of us and the first thing he did was to call us all together. Then he announced that the Supervisors had authorized a 7.5%, across the board, pay increase. The place went wild and there were more (and more) drinks all around.

I don’t remember a thing after that until I found myself at the trailer. A couple of the non drinking women had ”poured“ Jay and I into his truck and drove it to the trailer. The next thing I remember was waking up the next morning with one of the worst headaches I’ve ever had. As I stumbled to the bathroom I saw Jay all crumpled up on the sofa, his 6’4” frame all twisted around. By the time we were both showered and dressed it was close to 10am. The last place I wanted to go was to work to have to face the people who’d seen me so messed up but I did go. Other than a few smirky smiles nothing was said about our behavior. The “talk” that I do remember concerned the new, older lady to the department, Hilda. Supposedly she’d been cut off by the bartender and than proceeded to curse him out. The important thing was that I survived the day at work. However, I got an earful of grief from Elle when I got home.

To be continued...

A BUMP(us) IN THE ROAD... a pothole? (Part 66f)

I did not get a good night’s sleep what with the potential sale of the trailer and the almost sure fall out at work concerning Nina and my involvement with the last payroll. Since I was sort of “vague” with my answers to Elle’s questions I also had to put up with a barrage of nagging that continued right up to the time I left for work. I wasn’t looking forward to facing the Controller but it was almost better than listening to Elle.

As expected, Irwin, Jay and I were called in to the Controllers office soon after 9am. Irwin took the “heat” for the decision to let me go ahead and to run the payroll. I had envisioned Leo being there but, thankfully, he wasn’t. The long and short of the meeting was that Irwin used up a few of his “chips” with the Controller. He “sold” him on the fact that Nina was NOT the person for the job and that, at least for the time being, I was. Even though I didn’t know exactly what “for the time being” meant, I left the meeting feeling good and knowing that I had a job that I really enjoyed and couldn’t wait to get back to.

Monday’s were used for “catch up”, running reports and doing file maintenance so I let my mind wander a bit and to think through the sale of my trailer and the purchase of the new one. Lance was on duty until midnight and I knew the earliest I could catch up with him would, hopefully, be sometime the next day. On my way home I stopped at the park office and told Dick of what was going through my mInd. I trusted him enough to tell him the asking price I’d given to Lance. The only thing he said was that he would’ve given me more if I’d traded it in with him. My immediate thought was that since Lance hadn’t signed any papers maybe I should back out and trade the trailer in. That was when I remembered the '55 Chevy. I told Dick I’d think about it knowing that if I told Elle that the car was part of the sale price she wouldn’t have a problem with it. By the time I arrived home I’d pretty much decided to let the deal stand with Lance.

Surprisingly, Leo was there on Tuesday morning. He called a meeting of the staff but didn’t include the four of us in the DP department. It didn’t take long to find out what it covered as Linda and Allie were so close so Jay sent Linda in as soon as the meeting broke up. The main purpose was to explain that Nina was going back to her old position and that there would be two new additions coming from the Treasurer’s office. The only one affected by Nina’s return was Lynn who had been doing Nina’s job. The “buzz” was more about just what the “new” people would be doing. There was one vacancy that had been left vacant in anticipation of such a transfer. What would the other person be doing was the question. As Linda was spilling the “goods” I noticed Leo leaving with his coat and hat on. So much for a full day at work!

The news about the impending additions from the Treasurer’s office elicited a snide comment from Donna (the primary keypuncher). I don’t remember exactly what it was but it was a typical negative remark from her. I wondered how one person could be so sour. I was just about to start the payroll process for the week when we saw all the women in the main office gather around Nina’s desk. Linda was sent out to find out what was happening. It wasn’t good news. Nina had just received a phone call from Dora’s son that she’d been seriously injured in a car accident on the way to work and was in critical condition at the local hospital. For some strange reason I can still remember that she drove an early ‘50’s big, black DeSoto 4 door.

From a work standpoint she was a Senior Clerk and her responsibilities were something that Lynn could slide right into. Dora’s accident pretty much answered the question as to the need for another person but it still left the question as to just what she would do and how that would affect all the others. It didn’t mean anything to us in the DP department or so we thought.

Payroll for the week went very well. I employed more multi tasking and was able to shorten the run time by twenty minutes. I was unable to contact Lance and even went to see Mac to have him contact me as soon as possible. By Friday night I was really concerned but when I got home there was the ‘55 Chevy parked in front of the trailer. I pulled in behind it and Lance jumped out and got to the door before I even got it open. He handed me a piece of paper and in the dim glow of the dome light I could see it was a check. Before I could read the amount he told me it was for $1,000 and the rest would be coming in the next week. Before I could say anything he was running back to the ‘55 and I watched him drive off. I sat there and looked at the check and realized that the "deal“ was, indeed, on. It was time to tell Elle.

To be continued...

A BUMP(us) IN THE ROAD... a pothole? (part 66e)

His new wife’s name was Judy and she was the youngest of four kids and the only girl. Her family had been involved in farming ”forever“ in Iowa. Lance’s family were also into farming and the families had known each other. Lance had, more or less, grown up with her and had been best friends with one of her brothers. Even though there was was a year difference between them they dated in high school. Upon graduation Lance joined the Air Force and she finished school. They weren’t ”together“ but continued to write. When Lance went home on leave they got back together and... well, the pregnancy and wedding were the result. Lance didn’t seem too upset but the tone of his voice told me he wasn’t overly thrilled with the situation. In any case, he’d received the the ”threat“ from her father and knew what he had to do. When he showed up at home to get married her father was really happy as she was a ”daddy’s girl“ and always got what she wanted. Her uncle (her father’s brother) also had four kids and they were all boys and he’d taken kindly to the only female in the immediate family. He owned a farm machinery company and had done quite well with it. According to Lance, at the wedding they had collected around $500 cash from his family and her relatives (Not bad for 1961!).

It had been the next day when Judy’s uncle approached Lance wanting to know what plans he had since everybody knew she wasn’t returning to the base with him. Lance explained that housing was hard to come by and that when he could make arrangements she’d join him. One thing led to another and Lance mentioned the possibility of a trailer. The Uncle said he’d loan them $2,000. Before Lance knew it Judy’s father said he’d loan them another $1,000. That’s when Lance called me.

We were almost back by the time we got to that part of the story and I was sitting there doing all kinds of calculations in my mind. I quickly figured that if I could get around $3,500 for the trailer from Lance along with the $1,000 I had on deposit with the ”boys” I’d need roughly a $2,500 loan to get the new trailer. Dick had let me know that his father was on the Board of Directors of a regional bank and that he could get loans for people he recommended. I certainly felt like he liked me so I was pretty excited about that possibility. I took a deep breath and told Lance that because I liked him I’d sell him the trailer for $3,600 but I was going to keep the car. He’d been slouched down in the seat but that brought up upright in a hurry. The first thing he said was he was interested but disappointed that I wouldn’t sell him the car back. By then we were back at the park and I pulled into the lot where the trailers that were for sale were displayed. I stopped in front of the used unit that I’d told him was probably going to sell for around $3,600. We got out and walked around it with me describing the layout as we did. The thing that had made the biggest impression on me when choosing my trailer was the efficient use of space. It had a unique layout. The trailer we were looking at had a “traditional” layout and was two years older than mine. I made sure to point those facts out to Lance as we walked around it. I don’t remember him saying much so I offered to drive back to the other unit that I knew was for sale. We stopped in the road in front of it but he said to drive on by. When we pulled up in front of my trailer he got out and looked down both sides of it commenting about what good shape it was in. That comment lifted my spirits which were lifted even higher when he asked that if he bought the trailer would I loan him the car until he got the ‘49 Ford he was working on up and running. I immediately said “yes” but he wasn’t done yet. He pointed to the metal shed behind the trailer and said he wanted it as well. I’d bought it used and it wasn’t in good shape so that was a “yes” as well.Then he saw the laundry rack. In making up the pad that I wanted to put my new trailer on I’d laid it out in my mind to put up two “T” poles so that wasn’t an issue either. By them I was so anxious that I could hardly breathe. Finally, he stuck out his hand and I grabbed it.(4)

I wanted to get some details from him but it was after 5pm and he had to be back on the base and on duty at 6pm. I gave him the keys to the car and watched him drive off wondering if it the right thing to do. Once in the trailer Elle was all over me for not letting her know where I was. I’d been gone for almost six hours. I had a lot to tell her, not the least of which was that we were going to get a new, bigger trailer. But something told me to suppress my excitement until I had something more definite from Lance than a handshake.

To be continued...

A BUMP(us) IN THE ROAD... a pothole? (Part 66d)

I drove the Chevy to work on Friday and it was my first time behind the wheel. It was such a short distance that I didn’t really get a “feel” for the car but I did notice a bit of a “jump” when I pulled away from a stop sign. I couldn't wait to take it for a ride during lunch. Nina never showed up and I went about running all the reports as I’d done previously. About half the women in the office were out including both the keypunchers. It was like a morgue. Leo never showed up so it was a real quiet day but I pretty much knew that Monday would be “interesting”, for sure.

At home I expected a nice quiet weekend. My main job at the park on Saturday was to help place a new trailer in one of the new West side pads and that was about it. We were almost finished when Mac showed up. He told me that Lance had called and needed to talk with me. I was to call him when I could get to a phone. When Mac handed me the number I asked if he had any idea what it was about. He shrugged his shoulders as he walked away. I had no immediate idea why he would want to talk with me. He had said that he had a ride both to and from the airport so it was a puzzlement to me. As I finished up I got the thought that he might’ve changed his mind about the car. I still hadn’t resolved, in my mind, how to tell Elle that the car was mine. Walking home I was mulling the thought that if he really wanted the car back and actually had the money that it might be best to do it. At least that way there would be no problem with Elle. I was just about to the door when I decided I didn’t want to talk with him where Elle could hear the conversation.

I walked in the trailer and saw a note posted on the refrigerator that she was over at Alice’s. After a big sigh of relief I dialed up the number on the piece of paper Mac had given me. A dainty voice answered the phone and I thought I’d dialed wrong. I asked for Lance and after a few seconds I heard his voice.

I’d been right. He wanted to get the car back. In thinking back on it now I think I was more relieved than upset. I didn’t give him an answer right away but let him talk. When he didn’t get a quick answer he changed the subject. His next question was asking if I knew of any used trailers for sale. I immediately thought of the weekend before when he’d been in my trailer and had asked what a trailer like mine would sell for and how I’d just sloughed him off. I hesitated and sort of stammered out that there were always used trailers for sale. Then I sort of laughed and told him that he could buy mine. I swear there wasn’t but a second went past before he asked what I wanted for it.

When I’d come up with the grandiose idea of buying one of the new “pop out” living room trailers I’d roughly figured (hoped) that I could get as much as I’d paid for it ($4,100) so I threw that number out. There was a definite silence on the other end of the line. It had lasted for maybe 10 seconds when I heard Lance ask if I could pick him up at the airport the next day. This really caught me by surprise as he’d told me he'd made arrangements before he left. I hesitated because Jim had invited me, Andy, Mac and his next door neighbor over to watch the Giants football game on his new color TV. It was a tough call but I knew I had to resolve the issue with the car so said I would. It wasn’t the way I wanted to spend my Sunday.

Because it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving the traffic was horrible. Everybody was on the road. I’d given myself two hours but it took almost three. Then it took me a while to find him in the terminal because it was way crowded. Once in the car I started the conversation asking how the wedding had gone. He didn’t offer much in the way of information and because I’d used the station wagon to pick him up he wanted to know if the Chevy was OK. Then he told me he had the money to buy it back. I really don’t remember the words I used but I know I kind of “danced” around with my answer. I was really torn. I “wanted” the car but I knew I didn’t really “need“ it. I took a chance and changed the subject and brought up his question about the availability of used trailers. There were two that I knew of. One had been traded in for one of the new, longer trailers. It was around 5 years old and in decent shape. I knew the ”boys“ (Dick and Ben) usually put an inflated price on the used units so they had some ”wiggle room“ when it came time for bargaining. I didn’t know what they were asking for the unit but I told Lance it would probably sell for $3,500. I caught him shaking his head out of the corner of my eye but he didn’t say anything. Then I told him the other unit would be cheaper because it was older. I told him that I knew that it needed a new heating unit and that the hot water heater had been a problem (I’d worked on it a couple of times). It was being sold by the owners and I had no idea what they were asking. Lance sat there without commenting for a few miles and then, finally, he asked about mine.

Basically he had a promise of loans from his new father in law, his father in law's brother (his new wife’s uncle) and his family, plus money he and his wife got at the wedding. Without telling me how much the loans would be for he asked if the price I’d quoted him was negotiable. As I previously said I had the thought in my mind that I could possibly get what I’d paid for it. I’d only thrown that out as a starting point. I knew the unit was three years old but I’d put a lot into it (additional shelves, bunk beds for the kids, bigger hot water heater) and, like any normal person, I wanted to get as much as I could squeeze out of it. I told him that he should throw out a number and that we could work from there. He just shrugged his shoulders and stayed silent. Once we’d started talking about my trailer I'd got all excited again about the possibility of getting a new one. His unwillingness to offer a counter price wasn’t very helpful. I asked again and then he started opening up.

To be continued...