CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102d)

It was basically a ”Princess“ Christmas as far as the girls were concerned. Jean was totally taken with being a princess so we obliged with play clothes and things associated with princesses. Because Anne was so close in age (16 months) and in size we decided that what was good for one would be best for both. There were books about princesses and as I remember it, a board game as well. Elle already had her sewing machine but I did wrap up the striped shirt so the girls would see their mommy opening a present. I got an insulated jacket to wear for working outside and that was about it at home.

When we packed up to go to my grandfather’s for the Christmas dinner I completely forgot about the transmission in the station wagon. We always used the wagon when we went anywhere with the baby because there just wasn’t enough room in my car for the five of us and all the baby’s stuff as well. It didn’t come to me until after I’d pulled into my grandfather’s driveway. There was no way to turn a vehicle around at the end of it without backing it up. It was too late to do anything about it so, with me mad at myself, we went inside.

My mother had bought presents for Elle and I to give to both my father and grandfather and we’d bought his favorite butterscotch candy for the girls to give to him. There were some new dresses for the girls plus Elle and I had a photo album for my mother. That pretty much did it as far as the gift exchange was concerned. I knew my grandfather would have his little envelopes to give out after the meal but there was something missing. There were no presents from my parents for Elle and I.

As usual, my mother had prepared a scrumptious meal for us. Elle and I had to hold back though knowing that we'd soon be facing another full meal at her parent’s house. My grandfather handed out his envelopes when we’d finished eating. I really wanted to see what he’d put inside mine but was in the process of clearing the table so had to wait. Elle was peeking into hers when I walked in. She had a smile from ear to ear... and held up a new $50 bill. That was the amount I’d gotten the previous Christmas so I put the dishes down and ripped open my envelope. Inside was a new $100 bill. Santa had come in the form of my grandfather!

As the time approached to leave I told my father about the problem with my station wagon. Of course he had to go see it for himself but could offer no help at all. There was no way we could get out of going to Elle’s parents so I asked him if he’d drive me back to our place so I could get my car. He outdid himself when he offered me the keys to his car, a big Buick 4 door.

After we got our envelopes from my grandfather I loaded the car with all the baby stuff and the presents the girls had received. When I was getting into it my father handed me a set of keys and told me to go into his garage when we got there. I asked him why and just shook his head, smiled and said to just go and do it. Driving there I wondered if he wanted me to check up on his water system which periodically went on the fritz.Other than that I couldn’t really come up with anything that seemed logical. Even though Elle was anxious to get to her house she was almost as eager as I was to go into the garage. Opening the door to the shed area everything looked as I remembered it from the Summer. When I walked into the real garage area I couldn’t help but see two aluminum poles with what had to be a sail attached. I walked over and lying on the floor where I’d stored my boat for the past ten years was a Sailfish (a type of sailboat). That had to be what he wanted me/us to see but it didn’t make any sense since I’d not expressed any desire to own one. We were both puzzled but had to get over to Elle’s parents with the kids.

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For background, go to Part 98g and read the last few paragraphs. What had happened was that the man who owned it had pressured my father to buy it. My father who was a strong advocate of sailing and, not pleased with my selling my boat, felt that if he bought it and gave it to me that I’d still be able to sail.
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Christmas at Elle’s parents house was always a bit strained. Elle, I and the kids were all tired by the time we arrived and definitely didn’t need or want another full meal. I remember my mother-in-law asking why the kids weren’t excited about their gifts and not being able to give a satisfactory answer. It was the baby who, inadvertently, came to our rescue, by having used up all the diapers we’d brought. I drove Elle and the girls home and then took my father’s car back to him. He wanted to know what I thought of our present and I had to do a good job of acting to answer. I told him I certainly appreciated the thought but also told him that my mind was on the broken down station wagon that was down by the carriage house. He suggested that a distant relative who ran a local service garage look at the wagon. He knew that the guy had a tow truck and offered to contact him the next morning. All I could do was say ”Thanks“.

Long about dark the next day I got a call from ”Alec“. I didn’t have the foggiest idea who ”Alec’ was but it turned out to be the distant relative. He told me the wagon was ready to be picked up. I was so happy to hear the news that I didn’t ask what he’d found was wrong or how much it cost to repair it. Mistake!

We got the kids all bundled up and drove to his place. It was right on the edge of town and must've driven past it a thousand times and never knew I was somehow related to the guy who owned it. I introduced myself and then heard him list off at least a dozen names that we were supposedly related to. Elle wasn’t interested and wanted to get home and started with supper preparation so I asked how much it was going to cost. I literally choked when he told me it was $90+. That meant the $100 my grandfather had given me was just about gone. I was too upset with the price to be thankful that I’d received it. I asked “Alec” just what he’d done and, not having any knowledge of the workings of an automatic transmission, didn’t understand any of what he said. I pulled out the $100 and gave it to him but was still very upset. After receiving my change I don’t think I said another word but just got in the wagon and drove away. 2nd mistake!

To be continued...

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102c)

The phone rang early Monday morning and it turned out to be an early Christmas present. One of the schools called and wanted Elle to come in for the next 2 1/2 days. Schools were to let out for the holidays after a half day on Wednesday but Elle was to be paid for the whole day. Even though we had to hustle to get everything done so we could all be out the door in time it was good news. It meant Elle was finally moving up on the list to be called and in time to help cover some of the cost of Christmas.

Christmas was on Friday which meant it would be a long weekend and that was good. I’d heard a rumor that the bank might give to give a Christmas bonus but nothing had been announced. As I drove to work that day I was hoping that it wasn’t just a rumor. The employees seemed to be a bit more upbeat and I attributed that to waiting for the news about the bonus. As I left for home Wednesday night there still wasn’t any confirmation. When I got home the station wagon wasn’t there but the lights were on inside. Elle was waiting for me with the news that the car wouldn’t go into reverse and was still at the school. I didn’t drive it that much and when I did the only things that I’d noticed was that was sometimes hard to start and was burning oil. After we all ate we bundled the kids up and headed for the school. I tried to put it into reverse but nothing happened. The wagon was up against a curb but I put it into a forward gear anyway and felt it try to move. I knew nothing about automatic transmissions so my initial thought was there wasn’t anything I could do. As I got in my car to head home I remembered I had chain in the trunk of my car. I got it out and connected the two vehicles and pulled the wagon out. One problem solved.

Thursday was Christmas eve. Just before the doors opened to the public at the bank, Monte, the chairman, called all the employees together in the lobby. The first thing he said was that we’d find a little ”extra“ in out pay envelopes when they were handed out. I wanted to yell out something but all the others just stood there with the best expression I could see being a few half smiles. Weird group for sure! The second was a similar announcement to the one on Thanksgiving eve about the end of the day. As soon as the tellers were ”in proof“ we’d be free to go. After that he turned and headed for his office... no Merry Christmas or anything. As the others walked away I just shook my head.

Pay envelopes were handed out just before noon. I remember ripping mine open to see how much ”extra“ I’d gotten. Since what we received was the net after taxes it was actually a guess as to how much it really was. As best as I could figure I had about $35 more than the previous week. I looked around and no one seemed elated or excited so I asked my boss, Alvin, about it. He said that in the past it was 2% of salary. It only took a few seconds for me to calculate that I’d not gotten anywhere near that much. He then reminded me that I’d only been there a few months. It made sense but didn’t make me happy... but it still was something.

We got the word that we were free to leave just before 3:30pm. That was perfect for me as it meant I wouldn’t have to rush to eat and then get to church. Like most churches, there was a midnight service on Christmas eve. However, the church Elle and I attended added a ”children friendly“ service at 7pm so kids and their parents could attend. Karen, the girl who ran the nursery and helped out in the Sunday school had persuaded the minister to allow the kids to participate in the service. In place of the sermon the younger kids were to act out the nativity scene while the older ones read passages. Jean had been tapped (by Karen) to play Mary. All the kids were to be in costumes and Jean was in her glory when fitted for hers.

The service was well attended. Towards the end I noticed that Jean seemed distracted and even close to tears. When it was over the kids went down to the undercroft by way of the stairs behind the altar. Elle and I had to go down the main staircase just off the lobby. We saw Anne but there was no sign of Jean. Elle had Anne’s coat so she went over to her while I went looking for Jean. I found her crying in the kitchen area with Karen squatting down next to her. I asked if everything was OK and Karen indicated that it was nothing serious, that it was just a minor problem. Jean had stopped crying and was whimpering by then. As I stood there Karen started whispering in her ear however it was loud enough for me to hear. I heard her say that the same thing had happened to her the first time she had to get up on stage. It didn’t make any sense to me at the time but it did get Jean's attention. Karen then stood up and reached for Jean’s coat that was over my arm and helped her on with it. Then she came up next to me and whispered in my ear that Jean had had ”an accident“ during the service while the readings were going on. It took a few more seconds for that to connect with what I’d overheard her whisper to Jean about her experience on stage while in school. Instant soft bulge.

When I was a youngster my brother and I had been told that Santa would not only bring the tree and presents but would also decorate the tree. For Elle and I that was way too much. We created our own tradition and that was we’d put up the tree on Christmas eve so Santa could decorate it. Once back home that’s what we did. Elle then read "The Night Before Christmas" and we put the girls to bed. They were so wound up that it was after 11pm before we were sure they were asleep. Normally we would turn the heat off in the patio room when it got dark but since this was where the tree was we’d left it on. It was actually too warm and I was able to persuade Elle to get out of her regular clothes and just wear her pajama top and panties. As you can well imagine I was able to convince her to ”lubricate“ the crotch of her panties a few times as we decorated the tree. That probably added a half hour to the process but well worth it, at least in my mind.

To be continued... 
 

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102b)


My parents weren't able to find someone to fill Jan's night time duties and made the decision to stay with my grandfather at night at least until the holidays were over. Edith and "Jaa" would still be there during the day. To get to the house we had to go by the church that Jan and Buddah had been married and they had a Nativity scene out front. Elle felt that it was a good teaching opportunity so we spent a little time there. The girls were more interested in getting to my grandfather’s to see the revolving Christmas tree. They'd seen it when we'd gone to his house for Christmas dinner in past years but it was always in daylight and it was no where near as spectacular as when it was after dark and the lights were all on. We stood on the street up against the iron railing that kept passers by from falling into the sunken formal gardens. There were colored lights outlining each of the shapes that made up the garden and as we looked at them the girls noticed that some of the lights were out. When my brother and I would spend a good portion of our Christmas vacation at my grandparents we would take turns replacing the burned out lights. It was quite a treat for us and with the girls noticing I suggested that we could go down into the garden and put in some new bulbs. That really excited them. Elle took umbrage with that reminding me that we’d agreed not to go in and visit. I told her we didn’t have to go inside as I knew the spare bulbs were under the back porch steps. She gave me one of those looks and told me that it was getting late and the baby was fussing and needed to be fed.

We all walked down the driveway and up behind the tree. There was a bit of wind blowing and by standing there the tree blocked some of the air. I got the new bulbs and the girls followed me up and down the aisles between the different shapes that made up the garden. I’d loosen the burned out ones and Jean would take them out and then give them to Anne while I put the new one in. We hadn’t gotten very far when Elle called me over to where she was standing. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet and holding the baby out for me to take. It only took a second or two for me to realize what her problem was. As I took the baby I told her that if she went inside it would be an hour before we’d “escape”. Still bouncing she snapped back at me something along the lines of “Well... what do you want me to do... wet myself?”

I swear that I hadn’t given any thought to what I was about to say but I quickly said “Yes!” After saying it I was then going to argue that she’d probably be wet by the time she got to the porch steps and would definitely be by the time she climbed the steps and had someone answer the door... but I didn’t. When I’d said “Yes” it surprised her and she had a shocked looked on her face and she just stared at me as if to say "You've got to be kidding! I have no idea where the next words came from but I told her that if she did I’d buy her the striped shirt that she wanted. I saw her peek around from behind the tree to see if she could be seen from the street and then she spread her feet. The girls were calling for me to come back and finish with the bulbs but I stood there and watched as a small puddle appeared between her shoes. There was also a huge bulge in my pants that, thankfully, was partially hidden by my coat. I took a few steps towards her but she put her hand up and said that all I’d asked for was for her to “go” and that’s all I was getting. I stood there for a short time with a big smile on my face. The look on hers was more of disgust... but it quickly changed to a bit of a smirk. In her mind she’d "won“ as she was going to get what she wanted... the striped shirt.

It didn’t take long to finish with the bulb changing. The girls were pleased to have been my helpers which also pleased me. It only took a few minutes to get back to the store. The one thing Elle and I hadn’t paid any attention to was the time. Back in those days (the mid 60’s) the stores had not gotten into extended hours and on Saturdays they closed at 5:30pm. We arrived right before that and there was a sales clerk already stationed at the door. She told us the store was closing but Elle spoke up firmly and told her that she knew exactly what she wanted. That was enough for the lady to let us enter. We headed right for the sportswear area and as we approached I could see there were only a few hanging on the rack. Elle quickly checked for size and found they were all large or extra large. By that time another saleslady appeared and asked if Elle had found what she was looking for. Elle was super disappointed and was kind of sulking. I explained that the shirts on the rack were too large and asked if there were any in the store room. She said no and apologized but then suddenly bolted away from us telling us to wait for a second. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing a big smile and with a shirt on her arm. She said if Elle wore a medium that she was in luck. That was her size so we were all in luck.

I knew Elle had to be somewhat uncomfortable walking the ten minutes or so back to the car in her wet panties but she never had a word of complaint. After the kids were all in I walked up behind her and made a quick pass up under her skirt. The parking lot was empty so she didn’t resist. She actually turned around and gave me a big kiss. My hand had moved around to the front and was now firmly nestled into her damp crotch. I never said a word and almost immediately I felt some warmth running over my fingers... and I didn’t have to plead or even ask for it. I knew I was in for a very good evening.

To be continued...

CHRISTMASTIME... Ho Ho Ho? (Part 102a)

Elle got a call to teach in the middle of the week. Because the calls were so few and far between Elle wasn’t as judicious about being prepared for when a call did come in. As I described in an earlier post it was panic time as so much had to be accomplished in a very short period of time. Elle’s call to her mother was usually short and sweet and then she’d rush down the hall to take her shower so her hair would be dry by the time she left for school. However, on this morning she was still on the phone when I went looking for her. I didn’t get the gist of the conversation and when she hung up I tried to ask who she’d been talking to but she just blew by me down the hall. What followed was chaos but we all survived and weren’t too late in leaving.

That night I asked Elle who she’d been talking to and when she said it was Karen my heart dropped and I had to ask why. I’d vowed to myself not to bring her name up for fear that my ogling of her fanny on Sunday would come up. You have to know that I was relieved when she told me that the call had to do with school. Karen was writing a paper for a school project and, because she liked working with little kids and knew Elle was a teacher, had asked Elle to allow her to observe her for a day. That’s what had taken Elle so long when she went to deliver Karen home on Sunday. The relief on my face was so obvious that Elle asked me if I was OK. I was!

We’d been very careful with the kids as far as exposure to the Christmas hype and toys were concerned. They didn’t watch much TV and, back in those days, there wasn’t the endless “push” towards marketing toys to them even when they did. Up until Jean started kindergarten they’d been insulated from wanting a ton of toys. Once she started getting invites to visit her classmates we started hearing some requests for the same toys they had. Santa Claus was someone they only read about in books as we’d not yet taken them for a visit to see him. This year Jean came home one day with the exciting news that some of her classmates had actually seen Santa. That meant we had to let her make a visit to see him or she’d be out of step with her more worldly classmates.

Our town had three small local banks and one large regional one. Of course the regional bank, because of it’s size, dominated the “landscape” in just about everything. The building that housed them was quite impressive and when you went inside you were in a small rotunda highlighted by an immense chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling. I had our checking account there because it had been the most convenient when I worked for the county. I’d observed their Christmas display a number of times in the past and the center of it was a very ornamental throne for Santa to sit on. Elle had never seen it so I suggested that we take the girls there to meet Santa. Saturday was the best time for the two of us so that became the “plan”.

Backing up a bit, my Christmas experience at work only added to what was becoming a joke as far as a meaningful job went. Most of the villages put up their seasonal decorations right after Thanksgiving and so did the retail stores. Not so at the bank. When there was no outward signs of the season being displayed inside our out by the end of the first week in December I made the mistake of asking why. All I can clearly remember was that I got more than one answer and that none of them made much sense. Basically, it went back to WWII when a lot a sacrifices were being made for the war effort and the bank decided not to observe Christmas in the typical way with lights and decorations. From that time on they made donations to various local charitable organizations in the amount of what would’ve been expended for the decorations. What made absolutely no sense at all was that the Board wouldn’t even let the employees, using their own money and/or decorations, do any decorating. With bright colors and bright lights all around except in and around the bank, it’s innate dullness was only exacerbated. I overheard one customer tell Inez that walking into the building was like walking into a mausoleum. I could only smile.

Banks were not open on Saturdays back in those days but the bank with the Santa did on the last Saturday before Christmas. They were open from noon until 5pm just for kids to see Santa and, as you can imagine, the place was packed. Elle couldn’t get Karen (or anyone she trusted) to care for the baby so we all showed up. I have to admit that the Santa was the most realistic one I’d ever seen. It took almost an hour for our older kids to finally get to sit on his lap. Anne, our four year old, was so shy she wouldn’t look at him let alone tell him what she wanted for Christmas. I remember Jean being in total awe of him but don’t really know if she spoke to him.

It was fairly warm for the middle of December and Elle suggested that we walk around downtown and look at the decorations and in the store windows. We both agreed that we weren’t going to go as far as the toy store as we’d already purchased the girls gifts but we would go look at the garden in front of my grandfather’s house. One of the stores we walked past was the one with nice ladies clothing.  In the window was a brightly colored ladies long sleeve knit shirt. Elle’s eyes locked in on it and she wanted it... badly. However, there was a little tent card next to it with the price. It was over $20 and way out of line as far as I was concerned. Elle made a plea for it but I reminded her that she already had her present; the new sewing machine. There wasn’t anything she could say but it was obvious she wasn’t happy.

To be continued...

THE HOME LIFE... & other stuff (Part 101f)


I didn’t get a chance to check out the panties I’d put into my pocket until I got in the car. I was somewhat disappointed to find that the pair I had in my hand was a special pair (Gotham Gold Stripe) that I really wanted Elle to wear. I had to make a quick decision and started the car. When I got to Buddah’s house he wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. He was afraid that Jan would think he was a “pervert”. I thrust the panties into his hand and drove off.

As of that evening my parents hadn’t found a replacement for Jan as far as staying overnight with my grandfather. “Jaa”, the lady who would come in after Edith would leave, agreed to stay both that night (Jan was staying with her sister that night) and on Sunday so that was an overhanging problem for the family. Elle had made arrangements for her mother to babysit the kids during the wedding and reception. We were getting dressed for church when the phone rang. It was Elle’s mother saying that she was sick and wouldn’t be coming. We discussed the situation on the way to church and I told her that she should go, at least to the wedding, since she’d had such a large part in the remaking of Jan’s wedding dress.

After the service when we went downstairs to fetch the kids from the nursery and Sunday school Elle saw Karen, the teenager who ran the nursery and who had, from time to time, babysat for us in the past. I was putting the kids coats on when Elle came up and said that Karen would do the babysitting. In a way Elle had bribed her telling her that we’d pay her starting when we left church to go home. It meant paying her for two hours where we’d still be home. I hadn’t planned on spending any money at all but Elle had promised her so there wasn’t anything I could say or do at that point. The wedding was at 2pm and, based upon what Buddah had told me about the reception, I fully expected to be home around 4:30 to 5pm. It would cost me at least $5 but I guessed it would be worth it. At least I hoped so.

The wedding service was short and sweet. With her hair done up professionally Jan looked the best I’d ever seen her. The dress, although not traditional, certainly fit the occasion and I could see Elle was pleased with how it turned out. Actually, I was more interested in what she was wearing underneath it. I’d brought my grandfather down from his house in his wheelchair and after the service my father took him back so that Elle and I could get to the reception. It wasn’t much, more of a buffet with a cash bar. I did recognize Rick and his crew members as well as Bags even though they were wearing jackets and ties. With all those guys around I had to wait to talk with Buddah. I wanted to know if he’d had the nerve to give the panties to Jan and when I finally asked him he just smiled. So did I.

It was still daylight when we got home. As we pulled in, Dora, Jim’s wife saw us and wanted to talk with Elle. I headed in and could see the older girls plating in the patio room. I expected to see Karen and the baby when I walked in but they were nowhere in sight. Thinking that the baby might be asleep in her crib I tip toed down the hall but saw the crib empty. I continued on down to our bedroom and saw Karen lying on on her side in a semi fetal position with the baby nestled in one of her arms. What I also saw was an incredible view of her pantied covered butt cheeks. Her skirt, short to begin with, seemed to be tucked under her side. I was less than 4 feet from her and I could clearly see the crotch line. I’m not sure how long I stood there but all of a sudden I heard “DADDY!” from behind me. It was Ann, the middle daughter who had seen me from the patio room. As soon as she called out Karen awoke and looked up and over her shoulder at me. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she was “exposed“. I just stood there, frozen in place. As she tried to pull her skirt out from under her she had to roll over to her right and when she did I got a full view of her crotch. She kept on rolling over to the edge of the bed and sat up. She was clearly embarrassed and, actually, so was I. I didn’t know what to say so didn’t say anything.

Elle appeared soon after and questioned Karen about her afternoon. I hoped she wouldn’t say anything about what had just happened and she didn’t but she did ask if Elle could drive her home. I didn’t like hearing that knowing Elle would ask why but there was nothing I could say. Fortunately the baby was still asleep on our bed so Elle said she’d do it. As they left I could only wonder what Karen would say to Elle.

A round trip to Karen’s house and back normally took about 20 to 25 minutes. Elle was gone for almost an hour. I was literally sweating waiting for her return. The older girls were complaining about being hungry which took my mind off the situation while I made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I fully expected to get ”blasted“ when Elle walked in but, much to my relief, she seemed calm and just as she’d been when she walked out with Karen. As tempted as I was to ask what took her so long I didn’t. After getting all the girls to bed for the night we ended up doing the same thing that we knew Jan and Buddah were probably doing at the same time. It certainly helped reduce my anxiety about Karen but not enough for me to go to sleep. I continued to wonder what she and Elle had talked about earlier.

To be continued... 

THE HOME LIFE... & other stuff (Part 101e)

The final fitting took place on Friday night and according to Elle it went well. Jan was pleased with the results. Buddah was to come over to my grandfather’s house on Saturday and to collect most of Jan’s thing to take over to his house. I didn’t need to be there but took it as an opportunity to chat with him alone and to visit with my grandfather. Jan had boxed most of her clothes and marked each one as to the content. They were stacked just inside the dining room and as I walked past saw a fairly small unmarked box on top of the pile. It was different from the others in that it had a removable top. Curious, before entering the living room, I stopped and lifted the top. Lo and behold the box contained her ”unmentionables“. The lady who was there for my grandfather was sitting with him in the living room and reading him the headlines from the newspaper. With them occupied I took a quick peek out to the driveway to see if Buddah had arrived and saw no one. I then proceeded to do a survey of the box. Naturally, panties were my focus. Having been involved with obtaining most of them (the Lollipop panties) I was curious to see if she’d added any to her inventory. As I did I remembered that when I’d first peeked into her drawer after she’d moved in there had been some plain nylon ones. I found a few of them at the bottom but other than those didn’t see anything but cotton band leg briefs with almost all being the Lollipop ones. It only took a minute or so and after I’d put the top back on got to thinking that Jan should have something special to wear on her wedding day. The problem was how could I pull it off.

When Buddah arrived I helped him load Jan’s things into his car and took the opportunity to talk a little racing with him. Even though it had only been two months since the season ended it seemed like it had been much longer than that. The big news was that his good friend, Rick, wasn’t going to race anymore. It was a shock to me. After the bad wreck on the next to the last night of the season Rick and his crew had built a new car in one week so that he could still try for the championship. After putting forth all that effort it didn’t make sense to me for him to just up and quit. Buddah didn’t offer any reason for his decision which made it harder to accept. It was still five months until the track opened so there was plenty of time for him to change his mind and I hoped he would.

With racing out of the way I was able to get more of the ”scoop“ on what was happening with the wedding and reception. He told me the first thing up was the bachelor party for that night. In the time I’d known him I could see he didn’t drink all that much. In telling me about the party I got the distinct impression he wasn’t looking forward to it. As far as the reception after the wedding it was mostly his relatives, a few of hers, a few of his close friends, a few nurse friends of hers and, of course, Elle, I and my parents. My grandfather was going to the wedding as all I had to do was wheel him down the street in his wheelchair just a short ways to the church. Buddah assured me that it wasn’t going to be a wild affair and he hoped it wouldn’t last all that long. He also mentioned that they couldn’t afford a honeymoon so were going into the city after the wedding and staying overnight.

Since I’d first met him, Buddah had seemed quite reserved, especially considering how rowdy some of his racing friends were. All the time he was telling me about the plans for after the wedding I kept trying to think of a way to get a pair of fancy panties to Jan for her to wear to the wedding. I’ve tried to remember what led up to my asking him if he’d gotten anything ”sexy“ for her for the wedding or their wedding night, but I did. I remember him hesitating and then kind of sheepishly asking ”Should I?“ I had my opening!

It took a bit for him to ask me for suggestions. I think I was actually perspiring while this was taking place. I remember telling him that a sexy night gown was certainly appropriate but, lying through my teeth, I told him I’d bought a pair of fancy, sexy panties for Elle for our wedding. The look on his face turned to one of sheer panic and he responded that he couldn’t go buy either of them for fear of being recognized by someone he knew. I know I didn’t come right back at him but after a short break in the conversation I said that I thought I had a couple of brand new panties hidden away at home. He didn’t ”bite“ and I thought I’d blown the small chance I had.

He couldn’t leave as I was blocking the driveway in front of him. I drove to the end and had pulled up out of his way. I wasn’t expecting a knock on the window and it scared me. It was Buddah. He wanted to know if I really thought something like a pair of panties would really be appropriate. Naturally, I said "yes". The next part was for me to get home, find a pair and get them to him. He actually lived less than 5 minutes away from me so that part was relatively easy. The hard part was getting into Elle’s lingerie drawer without her seeing me, pulling out a pair a new fancy panties and getting them into my pocket.

As I’ve written in earlier posts I’d persuaded Elle to wear two pair of the nylon satin panties on pretty much a daily basis. I knew there were still a bunch of unworn fancy panties that I’d bought her over a period of time that she wouldn’t wear because she’d ”ruin them”. I pretty much knew she’d pushed them to the back of the drawer so that was going to be helpful. The obstacle to my plan was getting to the drawer. Elle had been energized to get back into sewing now that she had her own sewing machine and had laid out a whole bunch of material on our bed. I had to find a way to get her out of the room and it wasn’t easy. I’d told Buddah I’d be at his house within the hour and the minutes were ticking away. I sort of busied myself in the living room while waiting for her to come out of the room on her own. When she finally did I made a mad dash down the hall and into the bedroom. The drawer I wanted was in the far part of the room so, once there, I just put my hand in it and pulled out a couple of pair and stuffed them into my pocket. I must’ve had a guilty look on my face when she walked in. She wanted to know what I was doing and since I really didn’t have a prepared answer just stood there looking foolish.

It took a few seconds for my mind to concoct a reason and I knew for it to be plausible it had to do with my fascination with panties. I told her I was planning on a sexy evening after the kids were in bed and wanted to pick out a pair of fancy panties for her to wear. I’m sure she didn’t fully believe me but when I pulled a pair out of my pocket there wasn’t much she could say. I was somewhat afraid that I’d pull both pair out but got lucky.

To be continued...

THE HOME LIFE... & other stuff (Part 101d)

With my mother involved I knew it best to just step back and let the situation evolve. I knew Elle or I would be getting more phone calls as the week progressed. It was at the end of the week and by then I was looking forward to a few days of normalcy. Work was becoming more and more of chore and any day I had away from there was a good day. I answered the phone and it was Edith. The first reaction was that something had happened to my grandfather. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was around 8pm, long after she would have left for home. She wanted to talk with Elle and although I was curious as to the reason kept my mouth shut. I went back to watching TV but kept an eye on Elle. I could see she was more animated than usual which got my attention. When she finally got off the phone she was almost laughing.

Edith found out that Jan wasn’t going to get married in a wedding dress. Jan’s mother had told her that ”under the circumstances“ it wasn't proper. Her parents would put some money up for a reception but wouldn’t buy a dress. That bothered Edith and she’d made some calls to her friends and had come up with a prom dress that could be altered. The call to Elle was to enlist her help in doing the alterations. In a conversation Elle had mentioned that she had made some of her own clothes and Edith thought of her to help out.

I’m sure that if Elle had been getting calls to teach she would’ve begged off. However, she wasn't and the four walls were ”closing in“ on her and this was something different. She actually was excited. She told me that I was going to have to step up because she and Edith would be doing the work over at my grandfather’s house. They would meet at around 7pm and work for a couple of hours and I'd have to put the kids to bed. I didn’t mind that but had to ask what they were going to use for a sewing machine. When needed Elle had used the machine of one of our first neighbors but the lady had recently moved.

Not too long ago I mentioned that I’d seen Elle going through the mail order catalogs and it turned out that sewing machines was one of the things that she was looking at. A machine had been on her ”want/need“ list but hadn’t moved off the “want’ column since it was entered. While she was telling me about the plan for the dress she sidled up to me and spread her legs just a bit. An invitation for sure. Let’s just say what followed was pleasing to me. With a little verbal cajoling on top of that she had me saying that if she could have a new machine it would be her Christmas present. As it turned out there was still time to get down town to the Sears store. They told me it would be there on Monday which was still enough time to get the dress done. BTW: I had a very enjoyable rest of the evening upon my return from the store.

I picked the machine up on my way home Monday night. Although stores back then typically closed no later than 6pm, the hours for the Sears store were extended (for some unknown reason) on Monday nights. It worked for me (and Elle). She spent the time after supper getting familiar with the operation of the machine and, when satisfied, called Edith and Jan and set up their first meeting. The kids, especially Jean, the oldest, were really interested in hearing that Elle was going to be working on a real wedding dress. One of the books that they liked was about a princess that got married and were hung up on the dress. For a birthday or Christmas my mother had bought some doll clothes for the girls that included a wedding dress which they sometimes fought over.

When Elle left to go meet with Jan and Edith Jean wanted to go too. I had an upset 5 year old to handle as she drove away. To calm her down I promised that we’d go over to see the dress after it was finished. That helped but she still wasn’t very happy. When Elle got home she seemed very pleased with herself. Between the three women they had decided to make some major modifications. Elle told me the dress was an off white long gown and they were shortening it. It wasn’t Jan’s size so they were working on that as well. The target was to have it done on Thursday night. I told Elle about the hissy fit that Jean had thrown and about my promise to take her over to see it. She didn’t seem too receptive to the idea but didn’t say ”No.“

On Wednesday night Elle had told me the plan was to do most of the sewing. Edith had family plans and Jan was spending time with Buddah so she was going to be alone with my grandfather and ”Jaa“, the lady who followed Edith and looked after him until Jan would get there. I asked if she wanted me to join her but she really didn’t want the kids to be a distraction. I’d gotten the older girls into their pajamas and had herded them down to the bathroom to brush their teeth when the phone rang. It was Elle. She’d broken the two needles that had come with the machine and needed the extra package that was on the kitchen counter. I wasn’t all that happy about it because it meant waking the baby and bundling her all up. The other two were happy, especially Jean because now she’d see the dress.

I thought I saw Jan’s car parked down at the carriage house when I pulled into the driveway. Elle had told me that she would be working alone so that was obviously a change in plans. I told the girls to follow me into the house and to be very quiet in case my grandfather was asleep. Carrying the baby I sort of tip toed to the dining room door. The lights were all on but I didn’t see either Elle or Jan. As I stepped into the room I got a sight that I could’ve only dreamed about. Over in a corner was Jan in just her bra and panties and stepping out of the gown. Elle was on her knees helping her. Neither of them saw me so I got a pretty good eye full. I think it was Jean who called out to Elle and that broke the ”spell“. It was good while it lasted!

Elle wasn’t happy about me seeing Jan in that state but didn’t say anything. However, I could read her eyes and knew she disapproved. Jan immediately squatted down behind the dining room table and I saw Elle throw her clothes to her. I could see her sort of wiggling as she tried to get her legs into her pants. If she was embarrassed it wasn’t evident when she stood up. Elle held up the dress so that the kids could see it and I remember their wide eyes as they stared at it. As they were looking Jan commented that it looked a lot better when she was wearing it. That told me that she was in good spirits and the ”funk“ of Thanksgiving was long past.

Elle soon sent us off back home telling the girls, focusing on Jean, that they were late for bed. After getting them all settled in I had a few minutes to reflect on my good fortune. After having only seen little snippets of Jan in her panties (mostly VPL’s) this was definitely the ”jackpot".

To be continued...

THE HOME LIFE... and other stuff (Part 101c)

Elle, I and the kids were trapped by tradition for Thanksgiving. It had been celebrated at my grandparents house since ”forever“, as stated by my father. As far back as I could remember (with the exception of the few years I was training horses) the whole family would gather there for a big, traditional turkey dinner with ALL the fixings. My mother had taken over the cooking chores even before Elle and I had returned. My grandfather preferred to have his main meal in the middle of the day and, up to this year it was served at 1pm (or close to it). However, he had grown quite fond of Jan, the nurse who lived in the house to make sure he had no problems during the night, and wanted her to be included. Because her schedule at the hospital couldn’t be altered meal time had to be changed to 5pm. Reluctantly, he accepted the change. It didn’t please my mother very much either but it sure made Elle and I happy. We didn’t have to show up until 3pm which gave us most of our day back. In prior years we’d spend the morning getting the kids ready and then arrive and sit around waiting until the meal was served. By the time we’d get home it would be dark.

The change actually worked well for my mother. She was able to organize things without rushing about. With the baby taking her afternoon nap Elle was able to help her as well. When my brother showed up my grandfather showed he still had a sense of humor. It had been months since my brother had stopped by to see him and when he went over to my grandfather he looked up and said something along the lines of "Do I know you?" When my brother, not knowing he was having his chain yanked, gave him his name, my grandfather said something along the lines of "That name sounds familiar... are you a neighbor?" I took particular pleasure in hearing it knowing that my grandfather was hurt by the lack of attention my brother showed him.

Jan showed up around 4:30pm. I hadn’t seen her since the closing night at the racetrack. She had a bag with her and as soon as she took off her coat she set in down on the floor and called the kids over. Then she bent over and reached into the bag and as she did my eyes almost popped out of my head (and something else also started to pop). I could readily see the band leg of her panties though her white uniform dress almost as if she didn’t have a slip on. It was only for a few seconds but it sure got my attention, She had a couple of hand knit turkeys for the girls. One of the nurses had made them and she thought the kids would get a kick out of them. She didn’t know it but I got one too.

The meal went well although I felt that Jan was preoccupied. When we finished eating both Jan and Elle helped my mother clean up the left overs and wash the dishes. By the time they were almost through the kids started to get restless. Elle suggested that I start gathering up all the things that went with the baby while she finished up. I had one load of things to go to the car and when I walked through the kitchen to take them to the car I saw my mother with her arms around Jan. I couldn’t see her face but I could see Elle was concerned. I continued on to the car and when I returned I found all of them sitting around the dining room table. My mother told me to go get my father. Jan had obviously been crying although she wasn’t at that time.

Both my father and I sat down with the three women. All the attention was focused on Jan. It took a while before she opened her mouth and when she did we could barely hear her. What she said really shocked both my father and I. She told us that she would be getting married and leaving. I know I didn’t say a word and I don’t think my father did for a while. When he did he asked when she’d be leaving. She hesitated and finally told us the wedding was December 13. I remember thinking who would want to get married on the 13th of any month. My mother interjected that Jan would still be there for a little over two weeks and that she’d be getting married at the church just down a ways on Main Street. That kept the attention off of what we’d have to do to replace her. By then I realized that her husband to be was more than likely Buddah. I vaguely remembered me teasing her about getting married right after they became an ”item“. I also remembered her response was that she wasn’t getting married until he had a ”real job“. As she sat there I’d never seen Jan look so vulnerable. Not that she had ever been assertive in any way but she always seemed to be in quiet control. As I looked at her across the table I saw a frightened young woman. My mother was the one that broke the gathering up by suggesting that it would be best to not say anything to my grandfather until everyone had a chance to ”catch their breath“ and that it could be better addressed in a day or two.

Over the next few days there were many phone calls and it wasn’t until Sunday that a sketchy plan had emerged... subject to change. My parents met with Jan and, together, they told my grandfather. They weren’t sure he fully understood the whole situation. When my mother called to tell me I found out for sure that it was Buddah that Jan was marrying and that they would live with his parents. Their decision to get married locally as opposed to having it in Jan’s hometown was made by her parents. I had some thoughts on that (see the previous post concerning Stasia and her pregnancy) but kept them to myself. The wedding was to be held following the regular Sunday church service and a small reception was to be scheduled at the old hotel on the edge of town. Of course Elle, I, my parents and grandfather were invited. As far as a replacement for Jan was concerned there had been little progress. In reality, having Jan show up when she did was a fluke. In my mind the family had been lucky in finding people to do the ”babysitting“ of my grandfather. I didn’t have a good feeling that anyone could be found to replace Jan especially within the next two weeks.


To be continued...

THE HOME LIFE... & other stuff (Part 101b)

At noon on the day before Thanksgiving John, the president, made an announcement that once the tellers were in proof (all debits equaled all credits) after 3pm that we were free to go home. I don’t know if it was just me but it seemed strange that there was no positive reaction to the news. I, for one, was very happy about it. Of course Alvin put in his ”two cents“ by reminding me that I needed to have my current project completed before I left. It was a bit before 3:30pm when I (we) heard Rich call out that the tellers were in proof. I still had some work to do to finish up and by the time I did it was around 4pm. Stasia, as usual, was still at her desk and as I put my coat on I debated with myself as to weather I should offer her a ride home. I was tired of my efforts at being friendly being rebuffed but caved in and walked up and made the offer. I got a quick glance of a smile when she looked up. By the time she accepted her look was back to her usual semi blank stare.

Once in the car I decided to take a calculated risk. After starting the engine I turned and looked right at her and said that we weren’t going to move until she told me why she had such a ”wall“ around her. That got her attention as she looked right at me. Her look was more of fear than surprise. Point blank, I told her I was tired of trying to be nice to her and getting nothing in return. I asked her what it was that I’d done to deserve that kind of treatment. There was more but I don’t remember exactly what I said. She continued to look right at me and as she did I could see tears welling up in her eyes. The first time she looked away was to fetch a handkerchief. When she did I finally shut up.

I won’t bore you with all the things that were covered but will try to capsulize the important things. Between the tears and sobs she basically went over most of the ”dirt“ that Inez and Alvin had fed me although in this iteration I was getting it right from the source without the editorial. Her grandparents had arrived in the USA from Poland in the early 1900’s and started farming. I gathered that her grandfather was successful because she quickly got to her father and mother and how they ended up running one of his farms. Because so many of the townspeople were descendants of the first settlers the family was looked down upon because they were both new and foreign. In talking about this I could see that the subject was a little ”raw“. Her mother and father tried their best to get accepted and she had been constantly reminded ”to be on her best behavior“. Her family was very religious (Catholic) and very strict. She was limited in her activities at school and wasn’t allowed to have a boy friend or go on dates. About the only outside activity she had was with the church. Unfortunately, it was at a church activity and with the son of another church based family that she got pregnant. The news devastated her mother and father. She said her mother beat her severely. She was 16 at the time and neither family considered marriage. To negate the negative aspect of the pregnancy to the townspeople her grandfather told her family to send her to live with her aunt (her father’s sister) and uncle who ran another one of his farms. It was located about ten miles East of where she lived. She did and actually had her baby (a boy) in their house and not a hospital. After that she continued to live there, took care of the baby, did the housework and some of the cooking. I remember thinking at the time that, in essence, she was a prisoner. During this whole time she said her parents pretty much ignored her. Her grandfather sort of came to her rescue about five years ago and got her the job at the bank. However, she had to give all her pay to her aunt for ”room and board“ and her aunt gave her a small allowance to cover her bus fare and necessary supplies.

I sat there, the motor continuing to run and the windows starting to steam up, in amazement. I made a half hearted attempt to ask why she stayed now that she was an adult but was rebuffed. The part about giving her pay over to her aunt struck a nerve with me and even though I tried to ”push“ her on why, was again stonewalled. I don’t know why I asked about her clothes but I did. You can imagine my reaction when she laughed. In spite of all that she had to endure the one thing that really upset her was that she was pretty much limited to her aunt’s clothes. Seeing her with a wisp of a smile made me smile as well.

There was more but when I saw that it was getting dark I put the car in gear and we were off. As we approached her driveway I asked why she didn’t want me to drive in and let her off at the door. By then she was back to just staring straight ahead. I stopped across from it on the other side of the road and basically pleaded with her to give me the reason. As she turned to look at me her facial expression was one of resignation. I won’t say she was mad but it was close to it. It was the most emotion (other than crying) that she’d expressed when she almost spit out that she’d been told by her aunt and uncle not to trust anybody at the bank. Basically, she was told to go there and do what she was told to do and then come home. No friends! After telling me that she opened the door and got out. I stayed there as I watched her walk down the driveway. In looking back on (as I’ve done many times through the years) I felt somewhat helpless. If a person fell I could go help pick them up. If someone needed a loan of a few dollars I could do it. But, in her case I couldn’t think of anything I could do. That thought made for a long trip home.

To be continued...

THE HOME LIFE... & other stuff (Part 101a)

Life at home was pretty good... considering. I certainly wasn’t happy with work but I tried my best not to bring it home. At least I was making enough money to buy food and pay the bills. Elle’s name was on the bottom of the call list for substitute teachers so she hadn’t been helping out monetarily but, on the other hand, had plenty of time to spend with the kids and was happy about that. As you can imagine, a happy Elle made for a fairly happy me. She was also happy about the state of her incontinence which had improved just as her doctor(s) had predicted. She’d improved enough that she only had to set the alarm once to get up and empty her bladder during the night and was no longer sleeping with a full “package”. A dry bed in the morning was now more the norm which meant less work for Elle as far as wash was concerned. However, I’d come to enjoy “wet play” whenever I was around and she had an accident. As long as it was in private and/or the kids weren’t in sight she seemed to like the attention as much as I like giving her the attention. Wet foreplay was still the norm so one of my fears prior to her last procedure was allayed as well.

The only thing that was a bit of an annoyance to her was that after she’d use the toilet to void her bladder she would “dribble” as she called it. It seemed to happen a few seconds after she would stand up. That was OK when I was around but when I wasn’t she’d taken to folding toilet paper and using it as a pad to hold what she leaked. When I’d "go exploring" and find the paper it had, for lack of a better description, melted and her panties were still damp... and she (and sometimes me) had this “mess” to deal with. I (we) had to come up with something better.

Using a sanitary pad in a sanitary pad would’ve made sense if the amount she “dribbled’ was more than it was. As we both knew, pads weren’t cheap and she felt she was wasting them. So, for a while I got her to wear two pair of cotton panties and found they held the ”dribbles“ without a problem but the panties didn’t dry all that well. Quite a while back I’d gotten her to wear a pair of the Plymouth nylon satin tricot panties over her heavy Carter’s cotton panties for our ”wet play“ and she was amenable to that. We still did the same but now did it with the Lollipop cotton panties. One night I got the idea of having her wear two pair of the nylon satin panties and I found it to be just as sensual as the other combination had been. After that, with persuasion, I got her to try that combination daily to hold her ”dribbling” and, much to our delight, she accepted it. The nylon dried quickly and she was much more comfortable. When she “dribbled” and I happened to be around she was able to enjoy my “play” more than she had wearing the cotton panties. So, as I said when I opened this part... life was pretty good at home.

To get home from work I had to drive right past my grandfather’s house. I’d told Elle that I’d be home by 6pm unless I called. On a few nights when I was early I stopped by to visit with him. He always seemed glad to see me which made me feel good. Since the end of Summer there had been more than a few changes with the nurses who looked after him and their hours.Once school started in September Edith had asked that she only work Monday through Friday and from the hours of 8am to 4pm so she could be home for her kids. That meant my father had to find someone to be with my grandfather from 4 pm to 10pm at which time Jan would arrive for the night. It turned out to be this little old German lady. I honestly can’t remember her first name (but I do remember her last name) because my father and I gave her a nickname almost immediately. It was Jaa. She had a very pronounced accent and every time she opened her mouth to say anything the first sound from her lips was “Jaa”. It didn’t matter if she were making a simple statement of fact or asking/answering a question you were going to hear a “Jaa” first. She was a piece of work! As far as Jan was concerned I hadn’t seen her since the last night of racing. I had been able to peek into her lingerie drawer on a few occasions and as far as I could see there had been no new additions. The bulk of them were the Lollipop cotton panties and on one occasion I did see a pair of nylon ones.

On teaching, by the middle of November Elle had only been called four times and each was a last minute call early in the morning. The call would set off a mini panic to get everything that had to be done, done. I was the one who had to “pick up the pieces”  and fixing a lunch for myself was not a priority. As with the first time Elle had gotten called I ended up eating lunch at the drugstore and was “entertained” by Judith. I enjoyed listening to her discourse on certain things but on this occasion I chose to ask about Stasia. I told her I wasn’t getting anywhere with her and was really curious as to Judith’s “take” on the reason why. When I told Judith about the seeming standoff I was experiencing she seemed very surprised. She offered that other than for her appearance she seemed to be a normal young person. She went on and, laughingly, said she’d like to take her to the city for the day and “dress her properly“. I couldn’t disagree as Stasia was almost hopelessly out of style.

I'd gotten the ”dirt“ on Stasia from both Alvin and Inez but didn’t feel comfortable to bring that up with Judith. Instead I chose to ”go fishing“ to get an idea of just what she knew about her. I ended up using most of my lunch hour but, in retrospect, felt I knew more of the ”nitty gritty“ about Stasia than Judith did. That was disappointing.

To be continued...

THE NEW JOB... & other things (Part 100f)

I’d called Elle to tell her I’d be late but I hadn’t expected it to be that late. It was after 8pm and I fully expected to get a dose of “hot tongue and cold shoulder” but she was somewhat civil. Our anniversary was coming up and I’d seen her act this way when there was something she wanted and both the Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs were along side her chair. Now I had to wait to see just what it was and what it was going to cost me.

Even with doing Stasia the favor the previous evening all I got from her the next morning was a casual “Morning.” I remember thinking how very strange she was and what it would take to break down the barrier she'd built up. The next day, Friday, the phone rang at just after 7am. It was a call for Elle to come in and teach. It was the first call she’d received since school had started three weeks earlier. When she had to stop teaching to have her first operation back during the Winter she was at the top of the calling list for three schools. Now she was at the bottom. She’d learned not to say “No” early on as it was like a big black mark against her. Within seconds our place was in chaos. She had to call her mother to come and care for the kids, figure out what to wear, take a shower, do her hair and eat all within about 40 minutes... and that was without any thought of me or the kids. I was left to get Jean, our oldest, up, fed and dressed and ready for school while also tending to the baby.

Elle left at 7:45am with Jean. She was teaching at the same school she attended. That made it a little easier for me as I didn't have to take her to the school bus stop. After they left I still had to eat, get myself ready and, when Elle’s mother arrived, go over where all the things for the baby were stored. I was hustling. I was pulling into the bank parking lot when I realized that I didn’t have my lunch bag. Neither Elle nor I thought of it or even had the time. Since most of the employees went home for lunch and I was still very much an “outsider” I didn’t know who to ask where I might get a bite to eat. I knew nothing about the town other than it was very small.

Every day Alvin would leave as soon as the noon siren on the firehouse went off and would go to his car to eat (drink) his lunch and I had to wait for his return. I’d noticed that Stasia didn’t have a set time for going to lunch. I had no idea where she went when she left the building. On this day she’d left around noon time and was back in way less than an hour. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if she knew any place that I could get a sandwich. When I did I was surprised at her response. She actually looked up at me and gave an animated response. She told me to go to the drug store and to ask for Judith. She reinforced the name “Judith” by saying not to call her Judy. I thanked her and as I walked away she called out for me to tell Judith that she’d sent me.

For some reason I was very hungry when it was my turn for lunch. It took less than  five minutes to walk to the drug store. It was sort of deja-vu as I walked in. It very much reminded me of the drug store that Elle had worked at while we were dating. There was a counter immediately to the right as I walked in that mirrored the one where I’d sit while waiting for Elle to clean up at the end of her shift. There were six stools and the first two were occupied. As I approached the other end of the counter I saw a large but friendly looking woman walking towards me. Before I could take a seat she bellowed out “You’re new! Welcome!” It took a few seconds for me to stammer back something like “You must be Judith.” Her smile was incredible. I liked this woman immediately. The first question she asked wasn’t what I’d like but it was to ask if I was just passing through. I remember thinking that the bank needed someone who showed a love of people like she did. I told her I was new at the bank and she responded by asking if I knew Stasia. It was obvious that the two had become friends

I ordered a BLT and by the time she made it and I had eaten she'd told me that she’d spent Summers in the area as a girl. Her parents owned a cottage and she'd always loved spending time there. When they died she inherited it and afterwards she and her husband spent weekends there. They both had worked in the city after college and when, by chance, they found the drug store was for sale they bought it and moved. Believe me, there wasn’t any chance of me asking any questions but yet she didn’t come across in a negative way. By the time I headed back to work I felt closer to her than anybody at the bank. I knew I’d be back for another lunch time break before too long.

For the next few weeks things got into a routine for me. It was because of Alvin’s neuroses... certain days for certain jobs and it did make it somewhat easier. However, it didn’t make me like the job any better. I’d stay late on specific days and when I did Stasia was usually there as well. I’d made a couple of tries to engage her in conversation but with little success. When she did speak it was without looking at me which was quite disconcerting. It was one night into my second month when I noticed Stasia fighting with a drawer at her desk. On a couple of occasions I’d seen Artie or John go over to help her with it but I was the only one there at that time. Even though I was a bit annoyed with her for her actions (or lack thereof) knew I should get up and help her. As I approached the desk I saw that she was now squatting with both her hands on the top of the partially opened drawer and tugging mightily. I called for her to stop and that I’d help. I was at the corner of the desk when the drawer popped out and sent her sprawling on her back. The drawer ended up on her right leg. As it had come out and fallen the bottom edge had caught the hem of her skirt and pushed it up into her groin. I looked down and saw a bit of her panties including a bit of crotch line. She was flat on her back with her arms up around her head and in no position to try to cover herself. I’m not sure she even knew that she was “exposed”. In any case, I stepped over her and picked the drawer up and off of her. As I did she rolled to her left and that became my “reward’ as I got to see a good bit more including a fair amount of her one cheek and the crotch line that encased it.

To be continued...

THE NEW JOB... & other things (Part 100e)

At 4pm on the third Wednesday of each month was the Board of Trustees meeting. Alvin had told me that the eight men that made up the Board would come in and, for all intents and purposes, "rubber stamp" all the loans that Artie had reviewed and approved. He told me that it was a farce and that they were so "old and decrepit" that some of them fell asleep during the meeting. When they arrived at about 3:45pm the only thing I could remember when seeing them was that they were ”old and decrepit“ and they were. The Board room was up a flight of stairs over the vault. Two of them had to be helped up the stairs. I already knew both Monty and John as they were at work each day but the other six were strangers to me. I had two questions in my mind as they walked by my desk... which one was Stasia’s grandfather and which one was John’s father in law?

I’d stopped running my numbers as they walked by and as soon as they disappeared from sight I went back to my task. At that point I knew it’d probably be around 6pm before I’d finish. Surprisingly, Alvin was still there. I guessed that he’d stayed around knowing the Board member were coming by. From where I was sitting I could see Stasia and I noticed that she kept looking at her watch. I knew she usually stayed late since the bus she rode every day didn’t come by until around 5:45pm so wondered why she was obsessed with the time. At about 4:45pm I saw her get up, put on her coat and head for the back door. It wasn’t any of my business so I continued to push numbered buttons. About 20 minutes later she reappeared and had a brown paper bag in her hands. As soon as she took off her coat I saw her head up the stairs to the Board room. Now I was really curious.

She came back down after a while and went back to her desk. She appeared to be busy but then started looking at her watch again. I looked at mine and saw it was after 5:30pm. A few minutes later she got up and started pacing beside her desk. At this point I had to go ask if everything was OK. She shook her head negatively but wouldn’t look at me. It wasn’t but a few more minutes before the board members started down the stairs. As soon as the last one made it down she ran up the stairs. Now I was completely confused.

John and Monty surprised me and said ”Good night“ as they walked past my desk. I looked at my watch again and saw it was just 5:45pm and that was about the time Stasia had to meet her bus for home. I’d only been upstairs once, the day I started to meet the ladies who worked with the mortgage loans. I wanted to make sure that Stasia knew it was time for her to go. Once in the room I saw her collecting spoons, bowls and napkins. I scared her when I spoke. I could see she was upset but asked her what she was doing anyway. Her answer just added to my ever growing thoughts that I was working for a highly dysfunctional organization. The look she gave me was one of exasperation. Then she said she'd never make her bus and sat down in one of the fancy chairs. I was standing at the edge of the table and I don't think I moved as she explained.

The Board members wanted ice cream and cookies at the halfway point of their meeting and she would go down to the drug store and get the ice cream. She had to dish it out, serve them and after they left, clean up the mess they made and wash out the bowls. I didn't want to believe what she was telling me. I think I asked who told her do the clean up. At this point she looked like she was about to cry and, for me, that was not a good thing. Before she answered I volunteered to help her. I gathered up the stuff on the opposite side of the table as she made her way to the small bathroom out in the hall. I pressed her for an answer and she finally blurted out ”Mona“.

By the time she’d finished washing and drying the spoons and bowls I’d learned that this had been Mona’s job up until she’d been made an officer of the bank. Then it became "beneath her her position". It was another small indictment of just what a bitch she was. I held the spoons as she squatted down to put the bowls in the bottom of a cabinet.  I was watching her as she ”ooched“ her way over a bit to pull out a small box. As she did I got a couple of small glimpses of white. It was the first time that I’d seen or actually even thought of panties in conjunction with her.

It was only for a second or two and when she stood up I remembered that I still had the last of the savings ledger cards to finish up with. But, before I could head for the stairs she, in a plaintive tone of voice, asked if I could do her a very big favor. I was expecting a "Thank you” for helping her but, what could I say? Having missed her bus she needed a way home. I thought it unusual that she would ask me. We’d spoken more words to each other over the last few minutes than we had since I was introduced to her but we certainly weren’t to a place in our relationship that would warrant a request like that. That was when I told her that I had to finish up the project I was working on. I thought that would deter her and she’d look for another way home... but it didn’t.

It took until almost 7pm and she ended up helping me, although without any idle conversation. In the car she directed me to go a different way than I’d expected. I was so tempted to ask why she hadn’t called her aunt and uncle to come and get her but I didn’t. It took about 15 minutes to get to her destination and as I started to pull in the driveway she told me to stop and let her out. I told her it was no trouble to take her to the house but before I was finished speaking she was already out of the car. I sat there and watched her walk away thinking of how strange the day had been.

To be continued...

THE NEW JOB... & other things (Part 100d)

We both tried to stay calm so as not to upset my grandfather. I knew Buddah lived with his parents and was a local. However, I didn’t have any idea where. Bags lived only a few streets away from my grandfather’s house so headed there. By then it was approaching 1pm. I knocked on the door and his mother answered. He was still in bed which told me that it must’ve been quite a party after I left. I asked if she knew where Buddah lived and she gave me the directions. Actually, he lived within minutes of where I lived and it was my next stop.

When his mother told me that he was off visiting an Army buddy I’m sure the look on my face was one of shock. I’d seen him just about 12 hours earlier. I tried not to say something to get him in trouble with his mother and asked when he’d left. Her answer was that he left at noon and was due back for supper. There wasn’t much I could say but I left with some private thoughts.

We were eating our supper when the phone rang. It was Edith and she was calling from my grandfather’s house to tell me that Jan had shown up. She didn’t go into detail but said that Jan was OK and was apologetic. She said that Jan told her that she’d gotten “involved”. Putting that together with what Buddah’s mother had told me I couldn’t help but smile.

I wasn’t looking forward to work on Monday but on my way I got to wondering what Stasia looked like, hoping for the best. I’d calculated that she was about 25 years old based on the “dirt” that both Alvin and Inez had fed me the previous week. However, I couldn’t help but think that in spite of her young age, compared to just about everybody else, and how unremarkable they all were she’d be unremarkable too.

I won’t say I was shocked but was pleasantly surprised when I walked in. I was one of the first to arrive (Alvin was always the first) and as I made the turn into the work area I saw an unfamiliar face. The best way to describe her was “innocent” looking. She almost looked lost just sitting there at her desk. A little later, from my desk, I took a good, close look at her without her knowing. Depending on where the light was coming from her hair went from brown to auburn and was down to her shoulder blades. It was straight and down to her shoulders and with bangs. (For those of you who saw the movie "Grease" and remember the character played by Olivia Newton John... Sandy... at the beginning of the movie and how she acted and wore her hair... that was how  Stasia's hair looked. (See picture.)  Remember, the movie story took place in the 60's)

About 5’7“, she was wearing a dress and I don’t remember it at all except that it “hung“ on her so that it was basically impossible to see her ”form“. I had to wait quite a while to see even the faintest smile. When she did I got the impression that she could possibly be considered cute. One thing I was looking for was to see how she was treated by the others since she was classified as an ”outsider“. Since she worked on the side with the officers of the bank there was little interaction with staff so it was hard to judge. I did witness one exchange with Mona in which she was definitely talked down to but, armed with the ”dirt“ that Alvin had given me about Mona, I sort of expected it. In the week and a day that I’d been there, after the original introduction, Mona hadn’t even acknowledged my presence. A real bitch!

It was the end of the week before I had a reason to talk with her. I was auditing the mortgage files and two of them were missing. Artie, the mortgage officer, was away from his desk and since Stasia was shared by all the officers I went to her to leave a message for him. Aside from looking up from her typing when I walked up she never looked me in the eyes. I think what puzzled me was that she was also the receptionist and had to deal with the public. It seemed to me that in the five years she’d been there she should’ve been over being shy.

The following week was more of the same treatment by just about everybody. However, at least Alvin was explaining why I was doing what I was doing which gave me a reason for the effort. The reality of it was that I was doing all his ”grunt“ work allowing him to, more or less, goof off. One other characteristic of Alvin had, by then, emerged. On top of everything else... he was neurotic. Examples: everything I touched had to go back in the exact same place as when I picked it up; whenever I started a project it had to be finished before leaving and I wasn’t to ask him a question when he was on his lunch hour.

I’d written about how old most of the equipment was but the classic was the adding machine I had to use. They had no electric adding machines at all but most were 7 column, hand cranked machines. Mine, because I had to deal in big numbers when I totaled all the ledger cards up, was a 10 column machine. The keyboard had 100 buttons and to make an entry I had to depress a separate button in each column for each number that I wanted to enter and then pull a crank handle. I’d never operated one and, in fact, had never seen one before starting at the bank, so it was slow going. All the accounts Alvin had started me auditing were relatively small and I managed to complete them before quitting time. But, the big one, all the savings accounts, was still to be tackled. It was a Wednesday when Alvin gave me that assignment. When I looked at all the ledger cards that had to be run I almost choked. By lunch time I knew I was in trouble as I was less than a third of the way through. I was getting faster though and decided to skip lunch in hopes of getting them done close to 5pm.

To be continued...