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

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156x)

Back at the room we didn’t have much time before we had to vacate it. The maid’s cart was just outside the door when we approached. We’d laid out our clothes for the trip home as well as our bathing suits. The only thing(s) left were the panties Elle had washed out earlier. I still didn’t know how to wrap them to bring them home. It was Elle who suggested I put them inside the new plastic panties she’d worn at night. I got them from the suitcase and quickly rolled the panties up and into them. The carry case I’d used to bring the Polaroid camera was sitting right there so just stuffed them into it… and then we were off.

We were not that warmly greeted when I knocked on my parents door to leave our suitcase and the things for them to bring back home with them. The situation wasn’t helped when I told them we were going to the pool to meet another couple and to have lunch with them.  At that point my father pretty much told me I was on my own as far as finding transportation to the airport. I pretty much knew the source of that was my mother and it was because she was being upstaged by these new people.  As we left I told them we’d be back later. I’m sure my mother had some sort of comment but I never heard it.

At breakfast I’d not paid much attention to what the woman (Jane) wore other than it was a dress because most of my conversation had been with her husband. I fully expected to see them in bathing suits when we arrived but saw her lying on a chaise and still wearing a dress… a short dress. I couldn’t believe I’d not noticed it at breakfast. She was somewhat attractive but, even with the dress, looked a little ‘puffy’. Elle asked if she was going to go in the pool and she said she needed a new bathing suit. The guy (Doug) was ready to dive in. When he saw us he approached and challenged me to a race. I’ve always been competitive but swimming wasn’t something I’d  done in a competitive manner. But, he goaded me into it. When I returned from the locker room he said we’d do it in the big pool. That gave me an indication I was in trouble. I did get one concession and that was we’d do it by starting while in the pool… no diving to start.

I’d pretty much adjusted to the slight pain in my ankle while walking but wasn’t expecting it while swimming. I gave it my best shot but by the time I was halfway to the end I had to stop. I didn’t realize just how much movement a foot makes when swimming and all of it goes through the ankle ligaments. Elle and Jane had come over from the small pool to observe. When I dog paddled to the side of the pool and looked up, there was Jane… and I had a nice view up her dress. It wasn’t for long as she moved over to greet her husband. I was happy about the peek but not so happy about the ankle. I remember thinking I should’ve left the brace on.

We made our way back to the heated pool and watched Doug swim laps. It was while this was happening that Jane told us that he’d been a competitive swimmer in college and still swam on weekends. That news didn’t make me all that happy as I then knew I’d been ‘suckered”. Jane was quite the talker and we found out that Doug was an engineer with General Motors and they lived in a suburb of Detroit. They were both from Massachusetts… he from the Boston area and she from a little village on Cape Cod. They met when he was a teen and his family Summered on the Cape. They, like Elle and I, dated for four years through college and married after he graduated. They also had three kids… ironically, all boys with the oldest being ten. When Doug joined us I mentioned to him that my grandfather had been a General Motors car dealer, “way back when”.  He told me his first position with the company had been working on the first V8 motor for the Chevrolet model. That little tidbit got me started on car racing and before we knew it the time was after 1pm… and we hadn’t eaten.

At lunch I mentioned that I’d just become a part owner of what was called a ‘modified’ stock car. That really got his attention as he told me his uncle had raced modifieds. He then asked if I’d ever heard of Norwood Arena… and I had as it was one of the fastest short tracks on the East coast. Some of the best drivers of the day had started their careers there. He told me he went to the races there up until he got married. I asked for his uncle's name but I’d never heard of him. While the two of us were in deep conversation the ladies were in one of their own. Jane finally interrupted us to remind Doug he’d promised to take her shopping. That led to him asking what time our flight left and that brought me back to reality. I still had to find a ride to the airport. When I told him it was around 9pm he made a comment that it was too bad it was so late as they were headed in that direction.

I have no recollection as to who made the suggestion but basically it was if we were willing to sit around the airport for a while they’d be happy to drop us off. My initial reaction was to decline the offer. A quick calculation was that we’d be there for four to five hours, time we could be enjoying ourselves. But… and I do remember this quite vividly… Jane suggested that we could all go shopping and then they’d take us to the airport. Evidently, she’d done some research about this new enclosed mall not far from the airport and had gotten Elle’s interest way up. I made an initial attempt at resisting but it dawned on me that if I agreed I’d have some ‘chits in the bank’ for the future.

They drove us back to change into our travel clothes and to get our bags. My parents weren’t there and I didn’t have a key. Thankfully, Thea was at the desk and gave a spare to me. I ended up leaving a note for my parents apologizing for leaving without saying our ‘good byes'. As we headed for Doug’s car Jane wanted a picture for their trip scrapbook with a promise to send a copy... and they did.

To be continued…

Note the buildings behind us... those were the apartments and the owners were going to duplicate them where the present facility was located.