DEALING WITH THE HEAT... & more (Part 174r)

DEALING WITH THE HEAT… & more (Part 174r)

This was something I really wanted to hear about but knew better than to ‘jump’ on it. I figured that if I did Elle would get, or be, suspicious of my interest. I almost blew it when I volunteered that I was sure I had more of my old sailing friend, Willy’s ‘samples’. When Elle asked where I had them I had to fake it. I knew exactly where they were but I told her I’d search for them the next chance I had. When I told her that I had to hold my breath hoping she wouldn’t ask “Where?” I had two ’stashes’… new panties and purloined panties. They were in different areas of the attic with some that needed to be added, like the pair I’d picked up from the lawn next door, in a secret space in the cedar closet in Anne’s room. As in the past I knew I’d have to wait until Elle wasn’t around and, being Summer, that was going to be difficult. But, those thoughts went quickly through my mind. What I wanted to know was why so I asked.

Basically it was because she’d never seen any like them. I really didn’t know where to go from there so changed the subject. I’d been pleasantly surprised to see Elle wearing a tennis dress and asked if she was going to get back to playing again. In a way I should’ve known by asking that question it would lead her to ask if she did would I play as well. The primary reason for me playing tennis, or even liking it that much, was the chance to get some really up close and personal panty peeks. With so many things already on my ‘platter’ I didn’t know how I’d be able to do it… but, in a moment of weakness told her I’d make an effort.

Saturdays were out with chores around the house and church and then it was off to the races. Sunday was racing the sailboat (after church, of course). There was a possibility of playing some that evening so that was one possibility. Monday nights were for unloading the race car and starting preparation for the following race(s). Tuesday evening was another possibility, unless there was some preparation necessary for Wednesday meetings at the bank. Because of bank meetings I never knew when I’d get home on Wednesdays but, if there were no problems with the race car it was a possibility. Thursday might work but… I wasn’t ready to commit to it. So, the best I could do was to say I’d make a point of playing once a week. That seemed to satisfy her and all I could do was hope I’d be able to keep my promise, especially with the Bermuda trip on the horizon.

I had nothing special on my calendar at work so decided to make a surprise visit to the branch. Gerry, the manager, had not created much in the way of problems and with Mae and Betsy actually running the office I’d been comfortable without making many visits. Business was still painfully slow. There was some hope as a housing development had been submitted for zoning approval. It was located less than a mile away and when built out there would be over 100 houses. It doesn’t sound like a lot but, in 1969, a 100 house development was substantial, especially in that area. The population creep was slowly making its way East and the developer was well know for successful projects. Even with that knowledge, the branch wasn’t worth the effort but I was saddled with it.

Every time I saw Mae I was reminded that she was underutilized. I was thankful she was there because I knew she’d be able to handle just about any off the wall thing Gerry might do. Betsy was ’steady’ and reliable so, other than showing up to give them visible support there was no reason to stay. Gerry was non committal when he saw me walk through the front door but the two women were glad to see me. I hoped to get back to the main office by noon so as not to disrupt lunch breaks for Bret and Trish. I stayed for about an hour. On the way back my thoughts were on the next branch and decided to give Morris a call that afternoon. I hated to be a PITA (pain in the ass) for him but I hadn’t heard anything about the current status of it in quite a while. Even though I’d been added to the branch committee as an ex-officio member I knew there had been discussions by various members of the committee that weren’t official. So, that was my plan for the afternoon.

Joanie had left a message on my desk to for me call Lynda at the stock brokerage office. I couldn’t imagine why as I had until Thursday to pay for the stock I’d just bought. I’d talked with “Gee”, the Trustee/attorney about the letter I needed to get access to the money my grandmother had left in trust for me and he said he’d have it when he arrived for the mortgage committee meeting the next day. Once I had that I’d be able to pay for the stock. So, I was curious why she’d called. She answered the phone and recognized my voice immediately. Then she said but one word… “Well?” I had absolutely no idea what she was alluding to. Taking a wild guess I blurted out that I had until Thursday to pay for the stock. Her answer was a half laugh and half an admonition. I was ‘lost” as far as what she wanted to know. If I’d been busy I would’ve gotten mad. Lynda like to ’toy’ with me, in numerous ways.  Not to drag this out… In the papers she’d left at the back door she’d added an invitation to a special open house at her father-in-laws Chevrolet dealership. It was to announce they were adding an Oldsmobile dealership and she thought that since I was a ‘car guy’  that I’d like to meet some people who could potentially become customers. I didn’t know what to say. The dealerships were over 25 miles away from the bank and my initial reaction (kept to myself) was it was too far away. But I didn’t want to slough off Lynda’s attempt at trying to help me. I was trying to find the invite in my briefcase while talking with her and when I did I saw the date and time. It was coming up on Friday and was from 3pm to 8pm. Lynda was trying to persuade me as I was reading the material. When I focused on what she was saying I really picked up on one statement… “I think it would be worth your while…” and that was because of the way she said it. Like I’ve said in the past about Lynda, she liked to tease me… in various ways. By the time I hung up I’d made a tentative commitment to go.

Elle was fairly used to me having to attend various affairs and events as a representative of the bank. But, they were almost always held in the town where the bank was located or very nearby (ie: the Chamber of Commerce/Rotary Club picnic). By the time I got home I decided to just say I was attending a Grand Opening affair and try to let it go at that. When I told her, I got lucky. She was preoccupied with a problem with some of the other mothers that had kids in the sailing program. Now it was my turn to be preoccupied…

To be continued…