WARMER DAYS... on to Florida (Part 156d)

WARMER DAYS … on to Florida (Part 156d)

Her name was Thea and she was the wife of the owner. She and my mother had become good friends over the years so much so that almost every Summer she and her husband would spend a few days visiting with my parents. Elle’s reaction to the question was not, initially, favorable. I could see the look of shock on Elle’s face but the woman apologized immediately. She told us that it would take a little time to get used to her ways but that she really meant no harm. My mother interjected that Thea didn’t like to “beat around the bush”, or something like that, to indicate that when there was a problem to solve she wanted to fix it as quickly as possible.

With that little hurdle jumped, Thea proceeded to suggest two possibilities… with each being the same distance and time away. The first was a brand new enclosed shopping mall (with air conditioning) in Jacksonville which was North of us. The other was to head for St. Augustine which was due South. Not giving Elle or I a chance to comment or to question her, she interjected that we surely didn’t come all the way to Florida to go shopping in a mall even if it was one of the most modern in the country. She went on to assure us that we’d find what we needed by heading South where we could take in the sights of the old city while accomplishing our task. When Elle and I’d talked about what we wanted to do while in Florida I’d told her that one place I really wanted to take her was Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine. I mentioned that to Thea and she agreed that it was a “must” and that we should have plenty of time to take it in as well as to do our shopping.

My mother was to meet friends at the Pool and Cabana area for lunch so it was decided that we’d drive her there and then head for St Augustine. My father was happy to just relax at the pool and when it was time to return to their room they’d just take the little shuttle run by the resort. By 12:30pm we were on our way. On the way one thing that caught me a bit by surprise was in how much the 25 or so miles had been built up. The last time I’d been on that road there were probably no more than a dozen houses and now both sides were developed. Thea had given us a brochure with a map of St. Augustine so I had no problem finding my way into the city. I’d mentioned to her about wanting to show Elle the historic part and the street with the park down the middle of it. Thea told us there was a good chance we’d find what Elle needed in one of the stores in that section of town.

When we turned onto that street it was a relief to see something that hadn’t changed all that much. The palm trees in the center of the park area created an umbrella like setting for both the park and the cars parked next to it. I found a place and we crossed over to the retail side. I definitely remember being ’taken’ by the store signs that hung out over the sidewalks. It was a real step back in time. Before long Elle spied a women’s clothing store and we headed inside. As soon as we walked in I didn’t have a good feeling about having success for our search. To me it looked like a store for older women as most of the clothes I saw were pretty basic and drab. However, when the salesperson approached and asked what we were interested in Elle surprised me and said she’d like to see some panties. Why this was a surprise is that I was almost positive Elle had never bought any panties herself, at least since we’d been going together. When the lady asked what size she wanted it was pretty funny because Elle immediately turned to me to ask her size. I didn’t see the look on the face of the woman but I’m sure she was smiling when I answered “Size 5.”

After a few minutes she returned with a handful of panties. As she spread them out on the counter she mumbled something about the owner needing to place an order. She apologized for only having a few from which to choose. Right away I spied a couple with tunnel waist elastic. I knew of three with that type… VanRaalte, Kayser and Lollipop and told Elle to take a look at them. As soon as she held them up I knew they were made by VanRaalte. The extra large crotch was the give-away. I nudged Elle and she picked up on it and told the clerk she’d take them. Elle also needed a slip. The one she’d worn on the flight was drying back at our room. The sun dress she was wearing was a bit sheer and she was uncomfortable without a slip. But, when she asked about one short enough to wear under the dress she had on the lady said she was sure they didn’t have any that short. The store’s loss and my gain!

We walked a bit further before crossing over the the North side of the street. We couldn’t have picked a better place to cross. There were benches placed intermittently throughout the park like space between the two streets. As we walked past one I saw a woman, asleep, on a bench and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Lying on her back she had one leg down with her foot on the ground and the other leg was up and lying against the back of the bench… with her skirt up on her stomach. We were close enough for me to see some kind of lace on the edge of the panties around the leg elastic. I must have had a good ten seconds to observe before Elle caught me. A pretty good shot to my bicep changed that though.

Back on the sidewalk again we only had a short walk before we both saw a store that definitely looked more promising. In those times a number of lingerie companies provided small plastic signs with their name or logo on them to place on the floor of window displays. Just as we were about to open the door I saw a familiar name… Evette.

To be continued...