THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78e)

All in all she (we) made out OK without making a mess. We woke up to a Winter wonderland with everything sparkling with the early morning sun shining on the ice. By mid afternoon the ice had melted and phone service had been restored. We called Millie and Alvin to find that power there had been restored even though it hadn’t at my parents. (We lived at the end of a private road and were always the last to get service.) We headed back and were shocked to see all the fallen limbs from trees that lined the road. At home I found a note from Jay saying he was over at the office and to call him when I got back.

Andre had fallen on the ice and broken his wrist. Jay was in with Jo and trying to get caught up and wanted to know if I could come in and help out. I knew Elle wouldn’t be happy but for some reason I felt compelled to go. Being a Saturday there was no one there but the three of us. It was a little stressful at first as we decided on priorities. After that we pretty much worked on our own projects until we decided to break for lunch. Jo, as she’d done before, had brought in sandwiches. The only soda machine in the building was in the cafeteria which was locked. Jay said he’d run down to the delicatessen at the five corners. As I’ve said before, I enjoyed working with Jo, primarily because of her up beat personality. That day was no different as she jumped up on a table and sat there, yoga style, asking about my kids. Jay had left one of the machines running and it was a bit annoying while trying to talk. I walked over to it and turned it off. As I walked back I saw a beautiful sight... a fantastic DP (down pants). I don’t remember the exact color of the slacks she was wearing, only that they were dark, thus making the white of her panties jump right out. As I saw it the first thought I had was what could I do to extend my “peek”. I couldn’t come up with a reason to stay behind Jo so, reluctantly, returned ot where I’d been sitting. It had been quite a while since I’d had even a glimpse of her panties and it ceratinly “stimulated” me.

We actually ended up doing more than we’d planned which only reinforced the fact that we were a good team. Even though I had to put up with some “grief” from Elle from time to time, I really liked my work. Even with Andre’s injury, we were able to keep up and to even get the new tape drive operational. It was just before the monthly County Supervisors meeting that the Controller walked in with Leo, the Deputy Controller and Irwin, the Chief Auditor trailing behind. He went right to Jay and asked for a tour with focus on the new piece of equipment. He was to give a report to the Supervisors on the status of the DP department. I was not in position to hear much of the conversation and as I now know, having part of the story is sometimes worse than not having any of it. (4)

What I had overheard was Leo talking to the Controller and telling him that since we (the DP department) had been physically removed from the Audit and Control area it had become a “rogue” department. In my mind, any words from Leo’s mouth were venomous and thought he was making a try at getting Jay fired. As soon a the Controller left I let Jay know what I’d heard. That started a domino effect leading to Jay contacting the Controller directly. Long story short... Jay was told that he was in no danger and that he, the Controller, was very pleased with the job we were doing. BUT... it got back to Leo who had another “hissy fit” and came down to face off with Jay. I got involved and started yelling at Leo which was not a very bright thing to do. Jay, although not officially a department head, carried that status. I was merely an employee and Leo let me know it. I went home that night very remorseful. The end result was that we were paid a “Leo visit” each and every day after that. That was my fault and was not fun!

With Rena out of the picture the Purchasing Director’s secretary, Corrine, (The busty blond) became the liaison between the two departments. The first thing anyone ever noticed about Corrine was her chest, even me. Although she wore tight skirts they were mostly dark and not good for showing VPLs. After a quick look “up top” I would immediately check her “bottom”. On this one day she came in to get the daily report for purchasing only to find Jay tied up on the phone. I’d continued to feel somewhat guilty for not getting in touch with Rena and knowing that Corrine had been in contact with her asked for an update. What I really wanted was to find out a little about her living conditions and family. Corrine was reluctant to discuss the subject until I told about the trip we made to see her and the result. I guess that was enough for her to open up.

I already knew about her grandfather and the glass business he was in. Rena’s father and mother had married right after high school and she came along a year later. When WWII started her father ended up in the Army, was wounded and captured by the German’s and spent almost a year in a Stalag. When he arrived home he was given a hero's welcome and then he went back to work for his father. What no one knew or realized he was traumatized by his experience and was very unstable, mentally. After a while Rena’s mother left. Rena wasn’t yet a teen. Her grandparents took her in but she felt she had the responsibility of looking after her father. Somewhere in her teen years he was placed in a mental institution and shortly thereafter her grandmother died. Her grandfather was physically crippled by then, not able to run the business, and sold the homestead for money to live on.

When Rena’s father came back from the war his father wanted to build him a house right behind the business and they dug a hole and put in the foundation. When it became obvious that her father wasn’t “right” construction stopped. Eventually, it was covered and and Rena and her parents moved in. That was where she grew up until she moved in with her grandparents. When the homestead was sold there was no place to go but back to “the hole in the ground” where she and her grandfather lived.

To be continued...

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78d)

Alice had never given Elle a firm date for her to leave but one morning as I was leaving for work I found a small cardboard box on the top step. Elle’s name was written in crayon across the top. I took it inside and headed off. That night, after eating, Elle asked if I’d like a fashion show. Just about every time Elle put on a fashion show it meant I’d get to see her in her panties so I was all for it. She retrieved the box and dropped the slacks she was wearing to the floor. She could’ve stopped right there. But, she reached into the box and pulled out a short, pleated skirt. As she pulled it up I could see some very vivid colors (blue, red, green and yellow) under the pleats. It was obviously a tennis skirt... and short. I told her I approved. Then she pulled a pair of panties out of the box and she held them up for me to see. There was lace around the leg openings and ruffles across the seat. When she pulled them on it was really a sight to see. As she paraded across the floor I could see the leg opening lace of the panties. It actually made me think there might be something to playing tennis.

There were two other tennis outfits in the box. They had been Alice’s from before she’d been pregnant, She’d hoped to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight and size but it hadn’t happened. As she packed her things she thought of Elle. I was glad she did.

When it was Lucy’s turn for training she brought in a change of clothes so she could just drive from work right to the training site. I’d been impressed that one day she’d come in to help out and was dressed in a pair of slacks and a sweater. I’d also noticed that I saw a rather strange VPL. When she stepped out of the storage room after changing I was looking for a a similar line around mid buttocks. I remember that her slacks were a light camel color, light enough for me to see any “indentations”. What I had to do was hope that she’d do something requiring her to bend over. She hung around, chatting, for maybe five minutes. As she grabbed her coat her pocketbook fell off the table, spilling some of the contents. She squatted down to pick the stuff up and I was sure that I wasn’t going to get my wish. But, just as she stuffed the items into the bag she noticed something else that had skittered under a chair. For this she just bent over to get it. Bingo! There it was again. I also got a small crotch line VPL which was what I’d initially looked for the first time I saw her in slacks. I didn’t really like it but it was the same as the first time.

At work I often thought about Reba. As I mentioned earlier she had almost become a fixture in the DP area. I’d been to where she lived that one time and wondered how anybody could live in a basement and without windows. In Rena’s case I wondered how she got down the steps and into it what with her injuries. I knew her home circumstances weren’t all that good and also wondered how she would be cared for. I convinced Jay and Jo to go over with me one day at lunch. I went down the steps first and knocked on the door a couple of times. I was almost ready to go back up to where Jay and Jo were waiting when I heard the door open. The first thing I saw was that her eyes were no longer blackened which certainly made her look better that the last time I’d seen her. I was greeted with a big smile but it was quickly erased. I could see her eyes looking up the steps. She then turned them back to me and asked if I could come back at another time. I said I could but as I went back up to where the others were waiting I wondered why her mood had changed so quickly. I told them she wasn’t prepared to have visitors and said that we probably should’ve called first. I made a note to myself to call her in a few days.

Judy and her baby left on the first of February. I remember the date because we had a real beaut of a storm that day. We lost electricity and couldn’t process the month end reports. By the time I got home the trailer had cooled off to the point that Elle had the kids in their snow suits and she was wearing her heavy coat. It was one of those combo storms... snow, sleet and freezing rain. I hadn’t had a problem driving and suggested that we might be better off going to my parents house as they had a generator for lights and the big fireplace for heat. We packed up the stuff for the kids and headed out. It was a little slick but I took my time. We really surprised my parents as the phone lines were down as well and they had no idea we were coming. For some reason we were surprised that Elle’s parents were there. It turned out to be a fun night until it was time to go to bed. Elle had packed all the kids things but didn’t pack her “supplies”. I guess it was my fixation with panties that made me think that, possibly, Elle still had some of her “ratty” panties over at her house. The last time I was there I’d looked into her room and it was still the same as when she last lived there.

I got Elle aside and asked her. She said she wasn’t sure if her mother had thrown them out but she thought there just might be the pair of plastic “bloomers” I’d bought her that she wouldn’t wear. I told her I’d go over and check. When I stepped outside everything was coated with ice. I don’t know how many times I fell but it was worth it as there was a whole pile of the Spanky pants that she’d worn with her period in the top drawer. I had to go through all her drawers to find the plastic panties. She’d stuffed them in with a bunch of old sweaters. Typical Elle.

To be continued...

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78c)

Saturday, I helped my neighbor finish erecting his new patio room. He had never been one for chatting but this day was a bit different. In fact he was quite "chatty". He told me that he'd hoped to have had the room finished by Christmas as he'd bought Millie a dryer for Christmas. I was surprised as my observation of Alvin was that he was a "cheapskate". My first thought on that was it would mean the end of being able to view Janelle's panties on their wash line.

He also voiced a fear that the company he was working for was going to transfer him and a number of fellow long term employees to their Texas facility. He said the reason for it was to discourage employees from staying with the company hoping that they would refuse and resign. That way they wouldn't have to fund their retirements. Elle had told me that Millie, his wife, had mentioned this possibility a time or two but had dismissed it as she viewed her as a bit of a "worry wart". As I worked with him I wondered what he would actually do if he really was told to report to Texas.

That night Elle got a call from Alice, her tennis playing friend from up the street. I heard Elle ”gasp" and then saw her take one of the dining room chairs to sit in by the phone. I couldn’t see her face and wondered what was up. I knew it was serious as Elle was not a “talker” and yet she sat there for quite a while. When she finally hung the phone up she said that Alice (and her daughter) were leaving and going back to Texas. They had ended up in this location because her husband had been (supposedly) transferred. However, he’d ended up spending almost half his time back in Texas. Alice had just found out that when he was back in Texas he had a “playmate” to keep him company. There was a lot more but I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time and certainly don’t remember it now. In any case, Elle was saddened by the news for not only herself but also for our older daughter.

I went to Rena’s hospital on Sunday room filled with trepidation. Even though I’d been told it wasn’t all that bad it was hard to tell by looking at her. Both her eyes were blackened and she had a bandage from the top of her head to down under her left ear. Her left arm had a cast on it all the way down to her fingers and there was some sort of contraption holding it up. There was a blanket covering her lower extremities so I couldn’t see anything in that area. I remember her trying to smile when she saw me peeking into the room. Even though her jaw was OK, it was hard for her to talk as it, too, had been bruised. I was really uncomfortable so only stayed for a short time using my having to get back to my grandfather as an excuse. I was really saddened by her plight.

There was some good news at work the following week. The new tape drive was delivered. It was really a case of “good news/bad news”. Jay had been hoping and praying that it would’ve gotten there in December so that we could’ve started the new year using it without having to do a lot of re-entry work. The bad news was that we had to send people to be trained on how to use it. There was a choice of going into the city for basically two days of training or going to the manufacturer's corporate headquarters (about 45 minutes away) for four nights of training. Doing it that way would mean the county would have to pay overtime, something that Leo, the deputy Controller was dead set against. The January schedule was already crowded because all the year end reports had to be run as well as the normal work. Normally, it would’ve been Linda and Lucy, the keypunch operators, to go but, as I’ve mentioned, Linda was a nine to fiver and not a moment more. Jo, still classified as a keypunch operator, was the next choice. Jay, naturally would have to go and it was finally decided that he and Jo would go to the city, together, for their training. When that was announced there were some discrete smiles around the room, especially Andre and I. Lucy had agreed to do night training even if she didn’t get the overtime she would be due. All that had to be done was to find out when.

It was about mid month when they received word that there were openings for them. Jay was absolutely salivating about how much more productive we would be once the new machine was up and running. In thinking about it while writing this I’d say he was a “cheerleader”, getting us all amped up. Maybe I was too much of a realist in that I was looking ahead and knowing everything that we were currently producing would have to be re-entered. I knew it would be a while before the benefits would trickle down to us.

It was about the same time that I found out that Lance (and Judy) would be leaving. I seldom drove down the road our old trailer was located on but on this day I’d decided to come home for lunch. The ”boys” were moving a trailer on the back road so I had no choice. As I drove by I saw a FOR SALE sign in the front window. I stopped and found he was being sent to Greenland for his next tour and Judy wouldn’t be able to join him. They were actually packing up their belongings when I knocked on the door. Judy was taking the baby and headed home to her parents. Lance told me that the “boys” said they would buy their trailer if it wasn’t sold by the time Lance shipped out. I wondered how much of a “haircut” Lance would have to take if that’s what played out. On top of Alice’s plan to leave this was another “downer” for Elle.

To be continued...

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78b)

We were in bed ten minutes after the kids were. If there was one thing that annoyed me in our love making it was the interruption for Elle to put her diaphragm in. We were both so “wound up” that she didn’t do it and it wasn’t until a bit later that I realized it. We had both fallen asleep right after and it was Elle that woke up first. She hadn’t wet the bed so it meant we hadn’t been asleep all that long. Normally she’d get washed up and put a “package” on to sleep in but all she did was to put on a pair of heavy cotton panties. When she climbed back in bed she wanted to talk. That was definitely not a normal thing for Elle after sex.

After Lance and Judy had visited on Christmas with their baby, Elle had started thinking about adding to our family but hadn’t said anything. Then, a few days later, she got a call from Carol (of Buddy and Carol) telling her that she’d just had her baby, a son. It wasn’t like she brought the subject up “out of the blue” on me but I’d kind of sloughed her off in the past. Financially we were holding our own but I really wanted to have some money in the bank before an “addition”. Elle’s point was that our “baby” was now over two years old and there would be a three year gap in age if she got pregnant right now. She really didn’t want to have too much of an age difference if we were going to have another child. When I finally agreed with her, and even with all this time to reflect back to that period of time, I don’t think I put a lot of thought into it. What I remember thinking, though, was that our love making would be a lot better without the dreaded “interruption” and that was going to be a good thing.

We spent New Year’s afternoon with Elle’s parents and had a big dinner with them. They wanted us to leave the kids for the night since they hadn’t seen much of them since the Summer. We agreed even though we hadn’t brought their sleep things with us. I knew it was going to be another good night at home as soon as we got in the car. Elle, as usual, used the bathroom right before we left the house. When I got into the car Elle had her skirt up around her waist. With an “invitation” like that I couldn’t pass up a good “feel“ and was very happy to find very wet and warm panties. Needless to say we pretty much reprised the previous evening when we got home (and without the ”interruption“). Then, without the kids in the morning, we enjoyed a a little ”morning delight“ which led to me being to work a little late.

Upon arriving I was greeted with the news that Rena had been seriously injured in an auto accident. No one had any ”real“ information but we were all pretty subdued as we went about out work. Just before 5pm her boss, the Director of Purchasing, came in to tell us that she had arm, shoulder and hip injuries but was not in any real danger but that it would be a long recovery for her. He promised to keep us posted on her progress. I remember us all feeling really sad at the news as we’d accepted her into our work area even though she wasn’t an actual employee of our department.

At home, Elle was waiting for me with what she thought would be a surprise. However, it didn’t ”move“ me. Even though I’d known people who had been hurt in auto accidents none were as close as Rena was. I didn’t go into detail with Elle and just left it that someone I worked with had been seriously hurt. By the time we went to bed, though, I was a bit more responsive to her advances and was somewhat able to please her.

It was Friday before we were able to get the details on what had happened. She had worked the New Years eve party at the restaurant where she worked on weekends. She was leaving the parking lot on her way home and was waiting to pull out onto the road. A woman (who was later determined to be drunk) sideswiped a car going in the opposite direction and careened off it and right into the drivers side door of Rena’s car. Jay and I had tracked down where her wrecked car had been towed and we were both shocked to see the damage. The door had been pushed all the way in so that the window ledge was against the steering wheel. Even though seat belts were now being installed in new cars hers was an older model so she wasn’t wearing one. Jay made the comment that if she had she might’ve been killed. Without the belts she was actually thrown over towards the passenger side of the car upon impact thus avoiding being crushed.

Her injuries were all on her left side. Initially they thought her shoulder was broken but it was just severely dislocated. Her left arm and wrist were broken and she had some broken ribs. Her hip had a deep bruise but there were no broken bones. Her left ankle was also severely bruised. Her head had hit the door window which left her with a concussion and facial bruising from the blow. It appeared that it wasn’t as bad as the first reports had indicated. Her boss, when giving us the report of her condition, said that she would be able to have visitors that night and would be going home on Monday. My first thought was that I could see her when I took my grandfather to the hospital to see my grandmother on Sunday. However, even though I knew it was something I should do I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the ”damaged“ Rena.

To be continued...

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part78a)

Man, was I in for a surprise when Lucy showed up on Saturday. As I mentioned she liked to dress ”fashionably“ and we’d had a hard time getting her to ”dress down“ a bit from when she started with us. However, she always looked like she was either going out on a date or to an interview. Not this day. She was wearing a pair of pale blue slacks and a white cardigan sweater. The sweater was enough to get my attention because, opposed to the loose silky blouses she usually wore that were far from ”form fitting“, this sweater surely was. But for me, the ”piece de resistance“ were the slacks. As a keypuncher one of the things she had to do was to empty the ”chip“ drawer before starting. It entailed bending over the machine to reach it and then pull the drawer out. I immediately envisioned not only a VPL but also a good chance for a DP (down pants) as the sweater barely covered the waistband of her slacks. I made sure I was positioned for the best view. It took a few minutes and I’m sure I looked somewhat out of place as I moved about. Well... I got the VPL (not much of a crotch line though) but saw nothing but flesh on the DP. I truly was puzzled. As she walked over to the ”chip“ bin I noted that the slacks were really form fitting and after a careful study saw a bit of a different panty line. It wasn’t the crotch line but the fact that half way down her hip there was a slight, but noticeable, indentation. I didn’t understand it.

Jo, who showed up about a half hour later, had the ”scoop” on what had taken place the day before. Jay, incensed by Leo not approving our overtime request, had tracked down the Controller even though he was on vacation and gotten him to intervene. This was in spite of Leo’s prior threat to Jay to “never go over my head”. Jo said Jay was positive there was going to be fallout for his action but it had to be done. The new year was certainly going to be interesting.

Lucy left when she was finished keypunching and I had one last look at her strange panty line. I could see the outline of the leg elastics and the indentation about half way to her natural waist. I truly was puzzled. Even though Jo was only supposed to stay until the all the cards had been verified but she liked running the peripheral machines so she stayed to help me. As I’ve said in prior posts, I enjoyed being with Jo because of her positive out look and bubbly personality. She finally left around mid afternoon and my goal before leaving was to have everything ready for the computer on Monday.

My next door neighbor had coerced me into giving him a hand putting up his patio awning and room so that took up all Sunday afternoon. I was somewhat upset because I got no credit from the “boys” for either showing him my room or from putting it up. Elle, more or less, pushed for me to do it as Millie, Alvin’s wife, had looked after our kids, for free, whenever Elle got called in to teach. Truthfully, I was peeved. The only redeeming thing about my efforts came when we went into his trailer to get warm. Janelle, his good looking teenage daughter, was working on a school project. She had things spread all over the living room floor and was on her hands and knees. The DP was fantastic showing two pair of panties... a special treat.

Jay, Jo and Andre had a productive day working on Sunday. The only thing was that they, like me, had prepared all their work for the computer. Payroll took precedence so Jo ended up helping me much as she’d done the week before. Because she and Jay were going out that night (New Years Eve) she had brought clothes to change into to work and hung them in the storage room. The goal for everybody was to be out of the office early and since I lived the closest and wasn’t doing anything that night I told her she could leave anytime she wanted. I remember seeing her duck into the storage room and, with Jay nowhere in sight, decided to try and take an “innocent” peek. All I really got to see was her in her slip but she caught me. Typical Jo, she just laughed and wagged her finger at me with a big smile covering her face.

Elle and I had turned down an invitation to go to Andy and Lil’s. Even though we liked them, we knew that the party would get wild. With Elle being pretty much a non drinker she just didn’t want to be involved. We had promised to visit Elle’s parents on New Years day so that was all that we had planned. When I walked in to door there was Elle in her filmy short robe, waiting for me. It was only 5:30pm or so and, as much as I liked the view, I wondered what was up. I remember her walking up to me and after a small kiss having her take my right hand and placing it between her legs. It was wet and warm. I could feel that she had on multiple panties but they both appeared to be nylon. If she wanted my full attention she surely had it. She let me play for a short time and then let me get my coat off. While I was doing that she pulled my dinner out of the oven. I asked about the kids and she said she’d fed them early and they were out in the new room playing with their Christmas toys. Elle never sat down and just sort of “hovered” over me. I asked what was going on and all she’d do was smile. I wolfed the food down and brought her over to my lap, wet panties and all. There was no way I was going to let whatever was happening escape me.

To be continued...

HEADING FOR WINTER... December (Part 77f)

I was never really close with my mother. My brother got most of her attention. Although she’d pretty much accepted Elle and dearly loved our kids there was always an ”edge“ when we were together. When Elle opened the envelope she let out a squeal. Elle loved to dance (I hated to dance!) and loved movies with dancing in them. She’d been to Radio City Music Hall and seen the Rockettes and secretly wanted to be able to emulate them. My mother, showing her soft side and knowing that we’d forgone Christmas presents to each other, had arranged a weekend in the city for us that included a Rockettes show. Even though I was still partially asleep I was able to appreciate the gift from my mother. Of course, Elle was beside herself. Now wide awake she started planning for the trip which wasn’t to take place until February during the President’s day holiday. I went back to sleep.

Wednesday, at work, was quite strange. Everybody showed up but Andre was still not the cheerful fellow that we’d all come to know and like. Jo and I had put in our hours for the work we’d done on Sunday and almost immediately we received a call from Leo’s (the Deputy Controller) secretary telling us that it was not going to be approved. Leo, for a change, was in before noon and upon seeing our time sheets immediately disapproved them. True, we hadn’t gotten prior approval but it was Christmas and, supposedly, people were in a charitable mood. Not Leo!. In writing this and thinking back on what Leo looked like, he could’ve been a model for the Grinch. Tall, thin, long necked and with strange looking eyes he sure fit the role. Neither Jo nor I had come in for the money. It was the right thing to do to make sure that the payroll was completed on time. For both of us it just served to make us HATE (not dislike) the man more.

The reason for Andre’s less than cheerful mood became apparent when Rena came in the office to work with Jay on the Purchasing office program. They stayed about as far apart as they could. It turns out that they had ”split“. When I became aware of it I had to wonder if Rena was going to turn her attention back to me. I hoped not. With all that was going on within the office I had completely forgotten about getting Elle’s clothes back from Jo. We were on our way out when she handed me a paper bag and I really had to ask what it was. When she told me I got really excited. I couldn’t wait to get to my car to see exactly which panties Elle had loaned her. I was really pleased with what I found. They were a pair of the Gotham Gold stripe that I’d bought her quite a while back. As I drove home I hoped that she might start to wear them. They really were ”fancy panties“.

I had the checks for the Police payroll to the Treasurer’s office way ahead of time which allowed me to start to prepare for the year end reports. The following week was another short week what with New Year’s day falling on Tuesday. The same thing was done as with the Police payroll requiring all changes to be in on Friday. The big difference was that I was going to have to come in over the weekend because doing the full County payroll took over twice as long to run as the Police payroll. In fact, because it was year end Jay had pretty much determined that we would all (except Linda who NEVER worked overtime) have to spend either Saturday or Sunday in the office to make up for the lost day. He filled out the request sheet for the overtime and hand carried it down to the Controller’s office. Doing it that way he (we) felt there would be no problem. To optimize the computer and the peripheral equipment we all filled out sheets spelling out just how much time we needed for each piece of equipment. For once we seemed to be doing it with a clear plan and purpose.

It was Friday when Jay was called to the Controller’s office. Leo had not approved all of the time requested. As mad as Jay was when he returned I was surprised that he hadn’t taken a swing at Leo. (He swore he didn’t.) Basically he was told to cut the request in half. Jo, who ran the appropriations accounting immediately pulled up the budget for the department and found there was a nice surplus available to pay overtime. I, upon hearing that, remembered that the County payroll for this next period would be charged to the 2003 budget so it didn’t really matter. It took a lot for Jay to ”take a stand“ but this was enough for him.

Never one for a lot of words he went into his office (which he seldom, if ever, used.) and shut the door. Because it had half glass partitions we could all see him on the phone. He liked to ”talk with his hands“ and we could see him waving his free arm and pacing as far as the the phone cord would allow him. It was hard for us to get much real work done while watching him. I think it was around lunch time when he finally came out and disappeared down the hall. We were all ”holding our breaths“. When he returned all he said was we were back on his original schedule and nothing more.

The County payroll took precedence which meant I was ”on“ for Saturday. Lucy was going to be there to do keypunching and Jo would (legitimately) verify it. Once done she would leave and then join Jay and Andre on Sunday with Lucy staying to assist me. I’d really enjoyed working with Jo the previous weekend and was somewhat disappointed that she’d only be there for part of the day but I really didn’t have any say in the matter.

To be continued...

HEADING FOR WINTER... December (Part 77e)

After Jo had closed the door to the bathroom I headed down the hall. I found Elle at her closet holding one of those blouse hangers that holds four or five at a time. I asked what she was doing as school was close for the holiday. She said she was getting a blouse for Jo. Then she headed for her panty drawer. Oh my heart! I didn’t dare say anything but the thought of Jo wearing a pair of Elle’s panties had me started on a mild bulge. I knew everything about that drawer so I watched carefully which area she was working from. I hoped that she would pick out a pair of her fancy panties for two reasons. The first was that they had very little staining as Elle seldom wore them for fear of “ruining” them. The second was that the picture of Jo that I had showed her wearing a pair with an applique on them and I wanted to be able to visualize her wearing the same kind.

I couldn’t be sure from where I was standing but I thought that was what she’d chosen. She walked past me and took them into the bathroom. As she walked back towards the front of the trailer I heard her talking with Jean, the older of our two kids. She wanted to know if “Zia Jo” was still there. Jo had taught us all that Zia was Italian for Aunt and I was proud that Jean had remembered. When Jo walked down the hall Jean “attacked” her. If it hadn’t been obvious the night before that Jo was popular it was certainly there that morning. Jean cried when we left for work.

It appeared that over a foot of snow had fallen. We were at work by 8:30am and Jo’s car was like an island of snow in the parking lot. The lot had been plowed but there were very few cars there. I’d anticipated that Jo’s car would need to be shoveled out so sent her on up to the office while I cleared the snow from around her car. When I walked into the office Jo told me that neither Lucy or Linda would be in. It was almost 9:30am before Jay arrived and we still hadn’t heard from Andre. Jay was finishing up the tracking program for the Purchasing Department but needed Rena and it appeared that she was not in either. Without having to share the computer with Jay I was able to get everything done that was needed for payroll. I was way ahead of schedule. Having Jo working with me on Sunday had made a BIG difference.

Andre finally showed up around lunch time. It was definitely not the happy go lucky guy we’d become familiar with. As I’ve mentioned a time or two, I’m not the type to ask personal questions so didn’t. All in all it was a very quiet day. It suited me as I still had a lot of things to do to get ready for Christmas. We called it a day around 3pm.

I’d predicted that the snow would make a mess and it sure did. A lot melted and made slush. As the sun went down it started to freeze. We’d planned on going to church on Christmas eve but under those circumstances decided against it. We’d invited Lance and Judy to come for dinner, sort of reprising their first Christmas together. It had been just a year since I’d picked her up at the airport, a scared young, pregnant girl, away from home for the very first time. I have to admit there was also an ulterior motive in that they were going to baby sit our kids while we were at church. My family had a Christmas tradition for when my brother and I were young in that Santa Clause not only brought presents but also the tree and decorated it as well. Elle and I bought into the decorating part of it but we would pick out the tree (real) and then set it up inside for Santa to decorate. On that night both Lance and Judy ended up being surrogate Santas and helped us get everything ready for Christmas morning. It was the most time I’d spent with Judy in that whole year. It was interesting to see just how much she’d matured. She always was cute but with a modern hair style and current clothes she was really attractive. I have to admit that I was hoping for a DP especially when we were putting the presents under the tree and got a mini “present” when I saw a wisp of white across her back.

Our "want/need" list had been compromised in that we found we needed to heat the new patio room. My father had an industrial sized, oil filled, baseboard heater that we’d hoped would be sufficient. It wasn’t. We ended up buying two cheap heaters which further depleted Elle’s teacher earnings that we'd set aside for Christmas presents. We’d decided to skip exchanging gifts with each other so the kids would have enough toys with the one big present being a swing set. I’d had a silly notion that I’d be able to put it together on Christmas eve but the amount of snow we had killed that idea. It was lying in it’s cardboard box along side the trailer covered in snow. We wanted the kids to know about it but didn’t exactly know how to explain why Santa couldn’t put it up.

Like the previous year, Christmas was pure chaos. We started with Santa’s presents for the kids at our place and then went to my grandfather’s house to meet up with my parents and brother for the traditional Christmas dinner. My mother, knowing that Elle and I weren’t exchanging gifts, gave us an envelope and told us not to open it until we got back home later that night. From my grandfather’s house it was on to Elle’s parents for more presents and another meal. By the time we left there we could hardly move we were so full. The kids fell asleep even before we headed for home.

Elle and I were operating on maybe four hours sleep and actually forgot about my mother’s envelope before “crashing“. It was somewhat funny but when the alarm went off to wake Elle for a bathroom visit she remembered. I was barely conscious of the fact that she’d gotten up but when she turned on the lights I was wide awake. She had the envelope and was opening it as I opened my eyes.

To be continued...

HEADING FOR WINTER... December (Part 77d)

Because Christmas was on Tuesday, a very critical day for payroll, we’d put out a memo to the Police department that they had to have their time sheets and changes in by 5pm Friday. Jo said she was willing to come in for a few hours on Sunday and do key punching for me so that I could get a head start on Monday. We all wanted to get out early on Christmas eve and that would be the only way to make that happen. I figured I’d go in around noon and work until 6pm. The snow was still coming down hard when I left home.

Jo was in the parking lot when I got there. The lot had not been plowed and there was about 4 to 5 inches of snow on the ground. She had just come from church and was way over dressed but had brought a small bag with a change of clothes. I was really thankful that we (the DP department) had a proprietary HVAC system as the halls were cold but our room was nice and toasty. Even though Jo and Jay were definitely an “item”, she and I got along really well. During the workweeks her upbeat personality had us constantly poking fun at each other. It was the same on that day. She started off by telling me that if I promised I wouldn’t look she’d change right there in the office. I said “I promise” and she laughed. She took a pair of slacks out of her bag and proceeded to pull them up under her skirt but didn’t make any effort to button them. Then she undid her skirt and pulled it and her slip down and off. As I looked at her there was at least two inches of her panties showing at the waist as she made an effort to tuck her blouse in. It wasn’t much but I’m sure she knew I was engrossed by her actions. It was a good way to start off.

It was probably because it was the end of the year but there really weren’t a lot of changes to be keypunched. It took Jo about two hours to keypunch and verify them all. The same person wasn’t supposed to do the keypunching as well as verification but I was willing to take a chance on Jo’s accuracy just to get on with the processing. I thanked her and told her she could go but she declined saying she didn’t really have anything planned for the afternoon. One thing about me was that I never asked personal questions. If someone wanted to tell me some personal things I’d listen. I was curious about Jay and Jo but never once asked. I would’ve thought that they would have had something planned. But, when she offered to stay and help, I welcomed it as well as the company she afforded.

With the two of us working in concert we really got a lot done. Six PM had been my target and by then we were almost ready for the computer. We decided to finish that part up and leave the computer work for Monday. Neither of us had paid much, if any, attention to the weather. It was dark out and when we went to open the door to the outside found the door hard to move. I gave it a couple of shoves and when it opened enough for us to leave found about a foot of snow on the ground. There was very little traffic on the highway and I, immediately, suggested that Jo stay the night with Elle and I. On clear roads it was at least a 45 minute trip to her house and we had no way of knowing the condition of the roads. Typical Jo, she declined saying it would be an inconvenience for Elle. I insisted and, reluctantly, she got in my car.

I’m sure the main roads were not as bad as what we had to traverse to get to the trailer. Normally a ten minute trip, it took about a half hour and we ended up having to walk from the show lot out in front of the park to the trailer. I’d called Elle to say that I’d be later than 6pm but she was surprised (shocked) to see Jo. It took a little explaining and Jo was probably more upset than Elle was. Things worked out and Elle made up something for Jo to eat. One thing I vividly remember was that my kids took to Jo right away. Normally shy and clinging to Elle when strangers were there, they were all over her. It turned out that she had a whole bunch of nieces and nephews and was used to very young children. It made it a whole lot easier on the whole situation and actually made me VERY happy. Playing with the kids on the floor gave me a number of very nice DP’s.

The kids were so wound up we let them stay up later than usual. Once Elle exhausted all the common things she could talk about she headed for bed. Before she did she brought out sheets and blankets for the sofa bed as well as a pillow. A few minutes later she brought Jo a sleep shirt and told her that she left towels in the bathroom. I immediately got the thought of seeing her wearing the shirt it but that didn’t happen.

Once in bed I spent some time worrying about the weather before falling asleep. It was just getting light out when I heard the scraping of a plow on the street. That was a signal for me to get up and to move my car from out by the sales trailer. Jo was sound asleep as I walked past her to the door. I ended up having to shovel out a parking place for my car in front of the trailer as well as clearing out around Elle’s station wagon. By the time I returned to the trailer I was exhausted and wringing wet from perspiration. Elle was up and Jo was sitting on the edge of the sofa bed. My spirits jumped as soon as I saw her. The sleep shirt was 2/3 of the way up her upper thighs but she had her hands folded in her lap blocking what I wanted a peek of. Because I was still perspiring I suggested that Jo take her shower first... that, and I hoped to see the outline of her panties as she walked down the hall. I actually got more than I bargained for because she had her clothes laid out on the opposite side of the bed and when she got up she had to reach across to get them. Elle had walked down to our bedroom so I didn’t have to worry about her disapproving look. It only lasted for a too quick second but even though I didn’t see her panties I did get to see a nice VPL.

To be continued...