LIFE GOES ON... and on... (Part 171d)

LIFE GOES ON… and on… (Part171d)

Much to my dismay, I lost track of the woman as she reached the upper platform before I did. I didn’t know which way she turned or if she’d gotten on the train on track nine which was there waiting. It was a few minutes before my train showed up and left me time to think about red panties. I'd just left one of the largest lingerie departments in the country and had been there walking up and down the aisles for at least twenty minutes without seeing even one red piece of lingerie. As I thought about it the only place I could remember seeing red panties (as well as black) was in either the Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog. It was, for a brief few minutes, a nice break in the day.

The train wasn’t all that crowded and I had a seat to myself. It gave me a chance to look at the printed materials that had been handed out at the meeting. It was deposit data (inflows & outflows) from the previous year sorted into a number of different categories… bank asset size and location (city, urban, or rural) were the primary ones. Also included was mortgage loan data. The narrative that accompanied it detailed how the decrease in deposits had a causal effect on the dollars that were available to be invested in mortgages… and directly, the profitability of each bank in the state… and indirectly, the State’s economy. I was amazed at just how it had been put together… and was able to see how we stood in comparison with the other three banks in our county. Very interesting, for sure. I was deeply into it when we arrived at the last stop and had to transfer to the bus. I was one of the last to board  and found limited seating. I had to make a choice and, unfortunately, didn’t do a good job of it as I ended up with a ‘talker’. I made an attempt at staying with the material but it was a lost cause. I hated to work at home but vowed to try and get back to it later on and resigned myself to being bored almost to tears listening to a stranger tell me about his travels.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the red Peugeot parked in my space in front of the garage. It wasn’t that I had anything against Paula/Polly, the new young teacher who’d taken Elle’s place. It was that I really wanted to have a real understanding of the material I’d been perusing while on the train. I knew that once I turned it over to Hobie and Bert at the bank I’d never see it again. As I walked up the path I could see the kids were playing a game with Paula on the floor in the den. That was a good thing because I could question Elle about what was going on without embarrassing Paula, Elle or myself.

Elle had chosen to go to her doctor to get a pregnancy test that afternoon. Coming back she chose to go past the school where Paula was teaching and decided to stop in to see how she was doing. It was a bit before school let out for the day so, with permission from the principal, went to her classroom to observe. Then, after the kids were gone, she chatted with her for a while. Elle was also interested in how Paula was making out living with Elle’s mother. It was when she got to that part that Paula appeared in the doorway. Looking at her standing there it came to me just how young she was. Elle had fed the kids and was waiting for me to arrive to eat. Paula spoke up and made some sort of apology for interfering with supper. Elle insisted that she hadn’t and told her to come in and have a seat at the table. It was obvious to me that she was uncomfortable and that surprised me because she’d fit right in when she’d been there before. I tried to make ‘small talk’ but Elle interrupted saying that Paula didn’t want to talk ‘shop'. That made things a bit awkward. So, trying to keep it simple I told them of my ‘flying’ trip to the city and back. Talk of the city got Paula somewhat involved and she told of her memories of visiting with relatives and being afraid of riding on the subways. Hearing that, I laughed and proceeded to tell of riding between the cars on the way to school in the mornings. I can still remember the unbelieving look she gave me. I swore that my friends and I did it almost every day. That seemed to loosen her up even more. I was still curious as to why Elle had invited her to dinner but that wasn’t forthcoming.

As I said I really wanted to spend more time on the banking material so I excused myself and headed for the den while Elle and Paula stayed in the kitchen. The older girls were working on homework by then and Kaye was coloring in one of the books she’d gotten for her birthday. Engrossed, I didn’t see Elle and Paula come into the living room. When I noticed them they were on the floor with Kaye. Paula was sitting yoga style with her legs crossed and under her skirt. Seeing that gave rise to the outside chance of catching a peek when she got up. I’ll admit I was distracted. It was only a short time until it was 8pm and definitely time for Kaye to go to bed. When Elle told her it was time to get ready Paula said it was time for her to go. I knew I had to be careful not to have Paula catch me watching as she started to get up. Now, over time, I’ve seen women get up from that position very gracefully. I believe she tried to do it the easy way by rocking forward and quickly sliding her feet from under her and then jumping up. All I know was that whatever she tried didn’t work. She rocked forward’s but her feet and legs didn’t make it out from under her and she fell back. As she did both legs had started to straighten out and her knees were cocked upwards. I was at least 20 feet away but I, for sure, knew she was wearing some kind of white panties. Maybe two or three seconds for an unobstructed view was all I had. But, as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosy. That was two for the day.

After Kaye was in bed and Paula had gone I finally got the rest of the story of why Paula was there. It had to do with Elle’s mother and the kitchen at her house. The arrangement Paula and Elle’s mother had was for $25 which covered a room and doing her wash and, breakfast for a dollar if Paula wanted it. Paula had gone into the kitchen the previous night wanting to boil some water for tea. What Paula didn’t know (or remember) was that she wasn’t to use the kitchen for anything other than to walk through from the door to the stairs to the second floor. Elle’s parents bedroom was right off the kitchen and they both went to bed around 9pm because they were both up at 5am. Paula had come downstairs at around 9:30pm and started looking for a pan to boil water. In doing it she woke Elle’s mother who came out and had a ‘hissy fit’. She was going to make Paula leave right then and there. It was Elle’s father who came out and calmed her down. Paula went back upstairs but didn’t sleep. So, when Elle showed up at school Paula was thankful for it and asked if she could help calm things down with her mother. When they left the school they went to Elle’s mother’s house and, as Elle put it, she moderated a “truce” and made sure both knew the “ground rules”. By that time it was almost supper time and Elle, feeling somewhat sorry for Paula, invited her home to eat.

To be continued…