WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52f)

As August came to a close most trainers were making plans as to where they would race when the track closed. Even though it was open until the end of September some trainers wanted to move on to tracks that would be open later into the season to guarantee stall space. Andy was one of them. Tentatively, he had targeted leaving right after Labor Day. I knew AJ was planning on moving on to New Hampshire to appease a few of his owners who were from New England but not until the latter part of September. I was sad to hear Andy’s plans for any number of reasons. He was more of a mentor to me than AJ was and I’d learned a lot from him. One thing I was happy about though was that he (and Carol) would still be there for the track picnic on the Sunday right before Labor Day. I’d missed the last one when I had gone home and raced the sailboat. I was really looking forward to going again.

On the morning of the picnic I was at the barn overseeing the morning chores when I recognized Harry’s pick up truck parked in front of my trailer. I knew that Harry and Vi were planning on attending the picnic but it was way too early to go. I quickly ran over and saw Levi struggling to get a fairly large box out of the bed of the truck. As soon as I got to the truck I knew just what it was... the washing machine. The timing couldn’t have been better as the diaper service ended the day before. But there was another big cardboard box in the truck. While I was cutting the cardboard off the washer, Levi brought the other box in. Since I had no idea what it was I started opening it. It was a portable crib/play pen. I remember Elle letting out a muffled sound of excitement. You didn’t have to know much about furniture to know it was a quality piece. It was made of solid maple and had fully adjustable legs. I asked Levi about it and he said all he knew was that Harry told him to deliver it to us. All I could do was wonder what it was going to cost. My "piggy bank" was empty.

Elle was looking forward to the picnic if for no other reason than to get away from the trailer and the track. I told her that conditions were pretty primitive so that it might be a good idea to wear a ”package“, just to be safe. She’d been doing all the things that the Doctor had suggested and was pleased with her results. I remember her not really wanting to put one on. I finally persuaded her to do it and as she did I also remember her complaining. To me it was sort of funny because she’d worn one almost constantly during most of her pregnancy and without complaining (at least to me). I’ve mentioned before that she had lost all the weight from the pregnancy and about 10 pounds more. All her old clothes were now baggy and one day she was complaining to Gert, the neighbor to the South of us about it. Gert offered to loan her her sewing machine so she could make some alterations and Elle had chosen to wear a pair of bermuda shorts that she worked on. As she pulled them up I was pleased to see that they were tight enough to see a VPL. Because she wore a sanitary panty over the others it was higher than one would normally see. It was something that always gave me thrill to see with any female but when it was Elle it was even better.

Our neighbor to the North, Jackson, had not been the problem like I’d expected. As the Summer wore on, on my way to the barn first thing in the morning, I’d noticed the red Studebaker that belonged to the clubhouse manager parked in front of his trailer more and more. I’d never seen her but Elle said that she’d usually leave late in the morning. But, on this day, I saw her getting into her car as I was loading the carriage into ours. I’d never formally met her but had seen her up in the clubhouse many times. I didn’t think she was especially pretty but she had a nice body. On this day she was wearing short shorts that matched the color of her car. Short shorts were just coming into vogue at the time and this was a closest I’d ever been to someone wearing them. I remember thinking that I’d sure like to see her bend over.

As we drove down the road we had to pass Andy’s trailer and I saw that Carol’s car was still there. I remember hoping that they hadn’t changed their minds and would still be coming. I thought we were on time but there were so many cars in the designated parking field that I was afraid there wouldn’t be a place. It was a long walk pushing the carriage through the rough cut rye grass. The first people we recognized were Clyde and Jane and she was very obviously pregnant. They made space for us and, immediately, the baby became the center of attraction for the ladies. The guys made a quick exit and headed for the beer. I hadn’t had even one the whole Summer and after just two I could really feel it.

To be continued...

WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52e)

Rain around a race track is most unwelcome... especially on a Sunday. It makes it difficult to get the horses out of their stalls to give them a walk and ruins any outdoor plans you have for your family. When I got up it was pouring. I checked out the barn and did what I could. When the rain let up a bit I headed for Andy’s trailer. Carol’s car wasn’t there and as it was around 9am I knew she should’ve been home from her shift at the hospital. Andy had a small awning over his door so it was open. I called to him and was invited right in. It was obvious that he was prepared for my visit as the table had a couple of scrapbooks laid out on it. His trailer was older than mine and was only 8 feet wide. Two feet doesn’t sound like much but in a trailer it makes a BIG difference. Because it had pretty much been his home for quite a few years there was a collection of furniture that made the room very crowded, at least to me. He offered me coffee, something I rarely drank anymore, but, to be hospitable, said ”yes”. I asked where Carol was and he said she was visiting with a friend. I was somewhat disappointed that she wasn’t there.

The scrapbooks were very interesting and proved that he had been very successful as a younger man. I had actually heard of his best horse although I’d not seen him race. One of the reasons I’d stopped drinking coffee was that it went right through me although not in the way you would think. I asked if I could use the bathroom and he pointed me down the hall. Compared to mine it was very dark and cramped... which was the way my stomach felt. As I sat on the toilet I looked around and saw a laundry basket in the shower stall (They didn’t have a bathtub) and right on top was a white nurse’s dress. I gave some thought to rummaging through the basket but decided against it. After finishing my “business” as I turned around to flush the toilet I felt something soft under one of my feet. I backed up a step and looked down. It looked like a roll of cloth. After fastening my belt I was about to leave but decided to see just what it was that I’d felt. As soon as I touched it I knew exactly what it was.

Evidently, when she took off her panties she sort of rolled them down from her waist. I’d seen Elle do this any number of times. When I had them out in front of me I could clearly see the crotch... and it had discoloration. When I felt it it was damp. My pants had a definite bulge to them. I immediately put them up to my nose and got the now familiar musty smell of stale pee. My heart rate was very accelerated and, as warm as it was out and in, I was definitely perspiring. I had to force myself to put them back on the floor and after I did it took a minute or two for me to calm down.

Because I’d taken so long I felt I had to explain my situation to Andy. He chastised me for not coming out and declining the offer of the coffee. We finished up with the scrapbooks just as Carol returned. When I saw her I sure was glad that she hadn’t been there. At the same time I knew I’d definitely be taking some peeks at the clothesline out back.

I think it might’ve been the same day that Elle and I got some visitors... Harry and his wife Vi. She always tried to spend time with Harry during one of the county fair weeks. Since she was there she got Harry to drive her over to see Elle and the baby. But, there was a big surprise for me. He asked if there was possibly a way for me to race one of his colts at the fair with him. I was all excited but knew I’d have to get AJ’s OK before saying “yes“. What had happened was that there weren’t enough entries to hold two races for the same class of horse (2 year old colts) as had been done in all the fairs held to that time. While Harry and I discussed that Elle and Vi were talking about the fact the baby was using the carriage as a bed. She didn’t approve but I knew that our next purchase would be a portable washing machine as the diaper service was due to end as of Labor Day. And that fact led us all to talk about just that subject. Vi volunteered that they had a source for just such a product. I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went but when I asked how much one would cost Vi said something along the lines of ”Don’t worry about it.“ When I heard that I said I wanted to pay for it and that they had done so much for us already that it wasn’t right. I went into the bedroom and brought out some money and gave it to Harry. Vi was upset with him for taking it but I wouldn’t take it back.

I must’ve caught AJ in a weak moment because when I asked if I could go with Harry to drive one of his horses he said yes. It turned out to be one of the most bizarre experiences I had while working with the horses. The track, 1/2 mile in length, had a soft spot about 10 feet out from the rail right at the head of the stretch heading for the finish line. Since 99% of all harness races were one mile in length it meant possibly having to go over it (or avoid it) twice. It was definitely dangerous. But the fair officials came up with a unique solution... put a couple of saw horses over the spot and paint them yellow. It was truly weird and should never have been allowed to happen... but it did. Harry won the race by staying on the inside rail. I wasn’t as lucky and had to go wide around the saw horses and ended up fourth. Without the "detour" I probably would’ve ended up second. But at least I got to drive in another race.

To be continued...

WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52d)

One night, in talking with Levi, I asked him if he thought Harry would consider me to drive one of his horses. Levi was a really nice kid and we got along well. He told me to go ahead and ask and to do it when he was present. When I finally got the nerve to ask, Levi jumped right into the conversation, almost pleading with Harry to let me do it. Long story short... he said “yes” as long as AJ approved. I think I’d mentioned earlier that AJ didn’t think much of Harry and his training methods so there was a bit of doubt when I approached him. But I was pleasantly surprised and Harry put me down to drive. By that time I didn’t care how good or bad the horse was. All I wanted was to get into some races.

I should remember the name of the horse but all I can come up with is Grace something or other. On that night I still had to warm AJ horses up for him so Levi warmed Grace up. I only had one chance to drive her before the actual race and I found that she was a handful, pulling hard on the bit. As we headed for the starting gate I took a look at the odds board and found that we were 40 to 1. I got lucky and found a place along the rail in second place. When we hit the 3/4 pole I could feel her letting go of the bit, not a good sign. But no one was coming up from behind us and ended up second. My best finish so far. Levi was more excited than I was. As we walked up the ramp back into the paddock Andy walked up and congratulated me. I really appreciated that.

Two horses had been shipped to AJ from the city but both needed to be qualified. (All horses needed to be able to trot or pace a mile in 2 minutes, 12 seconds, without going off stride. Also, horses that went off stride in two consecutive betting races had to be re-qualified and prove that they could go a mile in a race without breaking stride) Right after my second place finish AJ put me down to try and qualify one of those two horses. Both of them were royally bred but had not performed up to expectations. This track was of a different configuration and the owner thought it might help them. I was shocked when AJ told me. The one I was to drive was called Wonnerful. It was stupid name and he was anything but. As opposed to the horse I’d driven for Harry, who was really “on the bit”, he had a “soft mouth“ and was hard to drive because you couldn’t ”feel“ him. But, it was another chance to drive.

In looking back on that experience the only way to describe it is to say it was like driving a car with a loose steering wheel. It was the first time I’d ever been afraid while on the racetrack. Every time I’d try to ”steer“ him he’d lift and shake his head and change direction. He didn’t break stride but didn’t qualify either, missing by a fifth of a second. In a way I was glad. If he had qualified I was sure AJ would’ve put me down to drive him in a betting race. Even now I still feel the same way.

What was really important was that the horse that AJ had driven qualified easily. We had both been in the same race and as we crossed the finish line I could see AJ holding his horse back. There was no need for him to go any faster than he had to to get qualified. Andy had been watching while we were racing and the first night AJ went to race the other horse, Rod Mite, he asked if I thought he could win. Based on what I’d seen and overhearing AJ talk to the groom who was taking care of him I told him that he ”had a chance“. Andy reciprocated by telling me he ”had a chance“ with his horse as well. It was another Daily Double combination and I felt good enough about his chances that I bet both the Daily Double and Rod Mite. I remember it being a Monday or a Tuesday and that if I lost both bets I was down to just a few dollars until Saturday.

There was no need to worry. Rod Mite won and because his past record while racing in the city was so poor he went off at around 15 to 1 odds. I saw the payoff light up on the infield tote board and was giddy. Rod Mite had just won me more than half of my weekly net pay. But the best was yet to come. Andy won his race and the daily double paid $60 something. I was walking on air the rest of the night.

It was standard procedure for a horse to be moved up in class after they won. Rod Mite was racing with better horses on his next start. AJ and I were back on better (but not good) terms and he volunteered that he thought he could win again. I looked Andy up and passed the word to him. I still had some of my winnings in my pocket and for the first time since I was married I bet $5. Rod Mite won again and I had around $40 to put in my pocket. I knew Andy, who had told me he never made a bet for less than $20, was a happy man as well.

The next week, even with the horse moved up in class again, AJ volunteered that he didn’t know how good the horse really was and that it was possible to win again. I went right to Andy. I bet another $5 and walked away with another $30+. It was too easy. In a little over a two week period I’d made more than twice my weekly pay. Naturally, Andy was very grateful for the ”tips“ and we continued to spend quite a bit of time chatting in the paddock each night. I ended up asking him what was the best horse he’d ever trained and driven. His eyes lit up and said that he’d dig out his scrapbook and show me the pictures. I was really interested because I’d heard that when he was younger and racing in Canada he was considered to be one of their best. The problem was in trying to find the time to get together. Finally, on a Saturday night, we agreed that I’d come down to his trailer the next morning after chores were done.

To be continued...

WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52c)

Later that day (actually it was night and she was headed off for work) Carol stopped by our trailer to check on how the baby was doing. Elle had been asleep and when she got up to feed the baby was only wearing a T shirt and her panties. She was sitting in the living room and because it was very warm and humid all the doors and windows were open. When Carol knocked the only light was from the kitchen and for Elle to get to the bedroom from where she was sitting she had to go past the open door and into the lighted kitchen. There was no way for Carol not to know Elle was there as the windows were open. Elle told me that she didn’t know what to do but to invite her in. She was hoping that by having the baby across her lap Carol wouldn’t be able to see how she was dressed. They chatted for a few minutes but just before Carol was about to leave Elle felt herself ”leaking“. She was sitting in an upholstered chair and, in spite of Carol being there, got up. As she did she felt herself continuing to pee. Carrying the baby she rushed into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. (I would’ve loved to have seen the look on Carol’s face.) Carol called in to Elle asking if she was OK. It was about then that the baby decided to start crying. Again, Carol called in to Elle and this time she asked if she could help by coming in to get the baby. When Elle, who told me she was embarrassed beyond belief, didn’t answer and when she didn’t Carol came to the door. There was Elle, sitting on the toilet in her panties, holding a crying baby. I really would’ve like to have known what was going through Carol’s mind at that moment.

Carol ended up getting the baby and Elle got washed up and changed. When Elle reappeared, dressed, Carol was all apologetic for dropping by without letting her know she was coming. Elle told me that Carol seemed to be as embarrassed as she was. But then, in an effort to make Elle feel better, she admitted that, even at her age, was still wetting her bed and after she did Elle thought she was now more embarrassed. Elle said that she felt she should tell Carol her about her wetting situation to make her feel better. At this point I was hard as a rock and trying not to smile. It was like listening to a perverted game of "Can you Top This?" At the end Carol ended up admitting that she also had a ”dribble“ problem. When Elle told me all about Carol’s visit she told me she didn’t know whether to believe her or not. I will tell you that I had a hard time hiding my bulge from Elle as she recounted Carol's visit. When I got into bed I tried to get Elle "interested" but it was to no avail.

So, in bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Carol had told Elle. As I thought about it I came up with possible scenarios for a couple of the questions that I’d had about Carol. The ”dribble“ problem would certainly explain the stains in her panties. As someone who still wet the bed at night it was certainly possible that she had wet herself while asleep on the trip back from the other track. And, in spite of the hour, it was certainly reasonable for to her have rinsed out her wet clothes upon returning home that night. Whether it was true or not didn’t matter. I had answers that satisfied me. One thing I do remember about that night was that I knew I’d have to make some more clandestine visits to her clothes line.

By August I had a completely different perspective as to my ”work“. Even though I was employed by AJ, I had been getting more and more frustrated with some of the decisions that he’d been making. Granted, he had 20+ years of experience in the business and, cumulatively, I had about 9 months. But, he didn’t seem to be using common sense in making some of those decisions. In an effort to be helpful I questioned him about a couple and got a verbal blast back for my good intentions. After that things got fairly ”cool” between us. I’d driven in only a few races and that was part of my frustration.

My friend Clyde, who had been working for Harry, had gotten frustrated and quit, moving his four horses from the Fairgrounds area up to the main barn area. For Harry, it was poor timing as he was about to racing his two and three year old colts on the County Fair circuit. (It would take too long to fully explain that whole process. In essence, over a six week time period there were six county fairs that sponsored harness racing and featured horses bred in State. The purses [the $ paid out to the winners] were for more money than those same horses would race for at the track we were at.) For Harry it meant a lot of traveling and the potential of not being back in time for the night races as the the Fair races were held in the afternoon. Harry had expected Clyde to fill in for him when there were conflicts but that was no longer possible. If you remember back to when I was working for Harry on Saturdays during the Winter I had mentioned his nephew, Levi. When Clyde left him, Harry had no real choice but to accelerate Levi’s learning curve. Basically, he was doing what I had done that first Summer I worked for AJ. In any case, Harry had been asking a variety of different drivers to race his horses when he couldn’t make it back in time.

To be continued...

WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52b)

When it was time to go to the track Carol went back to the car. We were close enough to the track to walk and I wondered why she did. When she rejoined us she had on a skirt. I remember wishing that I’d been able to watch her change. We all went into the paddock and met the man who was training the horse. Andy got permission to warm him up and put his driving colors on. (Rules required that once the track opened to the public anyone on the racetrack had to have on their race colors) We all waited to hear his opinion and it was positive. From there we all went to the clubhouse to meet the man who still owned the horse. The deal was that even if Andy’s owner did want to buy the horse it wouldn’t be until after the race. The prospective owner was really excited and, as it worked out, the horse won and he agreed to buy the horse. We were all excited, especially Andy but soon after the race was over Andy, Carol and I left.

Carol got in the back seat and, as she had a small pillow, proceeded to lay out on it. I was the driver and had hoped that Andy would be able to help me stay awake. I figured that we’d be back around 1am which wasn’t all that bad. If I had a horse racing in the last race that would be the time I’d arrive home anyway. The first hour wasn’t bad but Andy fell asleep soon after. The highway was straight and boring which wasn’t helping me. I wasn’t used to the dashboard and when I finally located the gas gauge what it read woke me up, for sure. I hadn’t been paying attention for the the exit signs which, quite conveniently, told how many miles until the next one. I was in a panic because the needle was on empty. There were very few cars on the road and I could envision being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Our luck held out because an exit appeared within minutes. As I pulled into the gas station I looked back at Carol. What I saw almost made me hit the gas pumps. Carol was lying on her side with her back to the front seat. Somehow she had managed to roll over with her skirt caught up under her. What I saw was a white pantied bottom. There wasn’t much light but I knew what I had seen. After stopping the car I turned around to take a good look. Fortunately Andy and Carol stayed asleep. The light from the gas pump island let me get a real good look and I couldn’t believe what I saw. There was no mistaking the fact that I saw two very distinct crotch lines... she was wearing two pair of panties. The attendant (they still pumped your gas in those days!) startled me and also woke Andy and Carol up. She, immediately, rolled over and pulled her skirt back into place. Andy and I decided to visit the rest room and I asked Andy if Carol wanted to go. He shook his head and said it would be better to let her sleep.

When we returned to the car Carol had turned over and was now facing the front of the car. No more ”free show“. I had no trouble staying awake on the last part of the trip thinking of the wonderful sight I’d just witnessed. Of course my main thought was on why Carol was wearing two panties. It wasn’t that I’d never seen it before as Elle was now into wearing two pair but I wondered why Carol was. I knew there was no way for me to find the answer but I still couldn’t help wondering why.

Back at the track I parked in front of Andy’s and walked home Elle (and the baby) were asleep which meant no ”snuggling“. But I was really tired and didn’t hear her get up to feed the baby so missed out again. When I got up I remembered that I’d left the racing program in Carol’s car. On my way over to the barn I decided to go check the car and sure enough it was lying on the front seat. The windows were still down so all I had to do was reach in to get it. As I backed my head back out I took a quick peek to the back of the trailer. I could see part of the clothes line and I saw what appeared to be the skirt that Carol had been wearing the night before. Started towards the back and after on a few steps I saw two pair of white panties hanging right next to the skirt. I was puzzled. Why would she, at 1am, wash out the clothes she’d just been wearing? I headed off to work scratching my head.

One thing that Carol had told both Elle and I was that anytime that we had a question about the baby or she seemed to be ill to come down and get her. She had two years working in the pediatric section of a large Toronto hospital. It was shortly after my trip with Andy and Carol that Elle found the baby to be very fussy and not interested in her usual feeding. After I’d gone off to work she carried the baby down to Carol’s trailer. She told Elle that it wasn’t that uncommon for a baby to reject an occasional feeding and that, absent a fever, just carry on as she had been doing.

To be continued...

WORKING... and the reality of it (Part 52a)

As well as my private life was going it certainly wasn’t the same for my work. It was a bit of a shock to realize that it was a lot different now than when I was working during the Summers because now I had to. A lot of the annoying things that I’d had to do when working with AJ during the previous Summers I was able to handle because, on the whole, working with the horses was “fun”. I was rapidly coming to the realization that all those things would be around as long as I chose this life as my profession.

As I’d mentioned before I was disappointed that I wasn’t getting to drive in more races. I told you that a couple of the owners now fancied themselves as “drivers” and were driving their horses in the races thereby cutting AJ out of money that he counted on to help pay me. That, in turn, was forcing AJ to drive horses that I might’ve had the opportunity to race.

Because the stable was so large there weren’t any free nights except for Sundays when the horses weren’t racing. There were nights when what I wanted more than anything was to stay home with Elle and the baby but I had to work. There were very few nights that Elle was up when I finally got home. Yes, I did get “some”, but it was a lot more fun to go to bed at the same time as she did.

In an earlier post I had told of wanting to get to know Carol’s (she of the 59 Chevy Impala) father Andy and it came about in a rather unique way. AJ had decided to let me drive a horse that he hadn’t had any success with. I ended up finishing third and was pretty proud of myself being that it was the longest shot in the race. After dismounting I was walking back up the chute into the paddock when I felt something tapping me on my shoulder. I turned to see it was Andy tapping me with his whip. He also had a horse in the same race. I stopped and as he walked up to me he said with a definite French Canadian accent, “You coulda won that race.” It was a bit of a comedown for me after thinking I’d done so well. Remembering that I wanted to become a friend I let my hurt feelings slide. What he ended up telling me was really good advice and I was sincere with my thanks.

The next night he walked up to me and asked if the horse AJ had in the second race “had a chance”. That was a code for asking a driver if he thought he could win. I told Andy that AJ (and I) thought he would. As he walked away he said that his horse in the first race also ”had a chance“. I quickly looked up old Mose, the paddock worker who would take our bets and place them over at the grandstand, to bet the Daily Double ($2 bet on the winner of both the 1st and 2nd race) As I remember it I got back around $20. More important was that Andy and I now were on the same page.

Over the next week I spent more time chatting with Andy than I did with AJ. One night he told me that an owner he had trained for in years past was interested in getting back into the business. He was looking at a horse that was racing at a track about 2 1/2 hours away. Out of the blue he asked if there was any chance that I could join him when he went to look at the horse. Of course I was flattered... but pretty much knew AJ wouldn’t let me. I told him to let me know when he was going and I’d let him know. For once luck was with me as the day he chose we only had one horse racing. I picked my spot and asked AJ if I could have the night off. I didn’t tell him why and he didn’t ask and he said ”yes“.

Andy had worked it out that we would go on a night that the horse was racing. He wanted to have a chance to sit behind him during the early warm ups as well as to see him actually race. Andy said he’d pick me up around one pm and when the car pulled up I saw his daughter, Carol, driving. I’d assumed that it would be just Andy and I and that I would share the driving with him. I went around to the passenger side and got in the back seat. Andy introduced me to Carol and then, sort of embarrassed, explained that he couldn’t drive as his license had been suspended. Carol, who worked as a nurse, worked the midnight to 8am shift didn’t want to take a chance in driving back that night so I was to be the ”relief driver“. That was fine by me.

I found Carol to be a really nice person. The time that I’d seen her at the laundromat her hair was down to her shoulders but today it was tied back in a pony tail. She had a pretty face and, from where I sat, a pretty fair body. She was wearing a blouse and shorts and even from the back seat I could see that she was, indeed, very well endowed. Most of the conversation was about me and my background. When we arrived at the track we went right to the barn where the horse Andy was to look at was stabled. The groom was getting the horse ready to take to the paddock which gave Andy the time to go over the horse to see if any of his critical areas were sore. While he was doing that the man who was intending to buy the horse arrived and he and Andy went into ”conference mode“ leaving Carol and I to chat.

She was very candid and told me that Andy had taken a liking to me. She also told me that Andy had always been a ”drinker“ but when her mother died he pretty much fell into the bottle. He wrecked his car and got hurt and that was when she decided to step in. They’d been together for about 9 months and even though he hadn’t had a drink in that whole time she still worried about him. She chose the midnight shift so that if he did fall off the wagon she would be able to keep him from trying to race while drunk and possibly lose his trainer/driver license. It was obvious that she cared deeply about him.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD ... Learning to cope (Part 51 g)

One thing that I needed to address as far as my becoming a knowledgeble trainer concerned the importance of having the right shoes (horseshoes) for each and every horse. AJ encouraged me to take horses to the blacksmith and to ”pick his brains“ as part of my education process. Even though I’d done this right from the time I’d started working for him he still felt it was important for me to continue. It was often the practice for a horse to be shod the day before he (or she) raced. There were two ways to get to the blacksmith’s shop and one was to walk the horse down the road in front of the trailers. I remember leading this horse and noticing a new 1959 Chevy Impala parked beside one of the trailers. I couldn’t see the color of the car the other night at the laundromat but just seeing that Impala and remembering the stains in the panties made me excited. That, and the fact that the car was in the general vicinity of the trailer where I’d grabbed the panties the previous night. What were the chances of the two actually being the same? I know I didn’t learn much from the blacksmith that day as all I wanted to know was who owned the car.

That group of trailers was about 7 or 8 to the North of ours. I knew one of the people who lived in that group and made a point of looking him up that night up at the track. I had to be careful of how I asked about the other residents because the panties could’ve possibly belonged to his wife. I decided the best way to go about it was to ask what he thought of the new Chevy. After a bit I asked just who owned it. It turned out that it belonged to the daughter of a trainer/driver who I didn’t know except to recognize him. The next step was to get to know him.

It was somewhere around that time that something happened that I never, ever thought I’d be happy about... Elle started her period. We both hated it but for different reasons. She, because they were long, messy and painful. Me, because I had to put up with a very moody female and, usually, it meant putting off anything sexual for 7 to 8 days. But, in this case, it meant that once it was over I would finally be able to make love to her after almost a 4 month wait.

The trainer’s name was Andy and he was a transplanted Canadian. He was about AJ’s age and I asked him what he knew about Andy. I didn’t get very much information but one important thing was that his wife had died. I didn’t want to ”push“ him because I didn’t want him to ask why I wanted know. I felt like a detective but, as it turned out, if I’d waited I could’ve gotten all I wanted from Elle. On one of Elle’s walks with the baby in the carriage she had run into his daughter.

Her name was Carol and she was divorced. Elle guessed she was somewhere around 30 years old. Her father (Andy) had a tough time when her mother had died and she decided to spend the Summer with her father with the thinking that they could help each other get through it. Elle said that she really liked her and felt comfortable with her. At that time I didn’t know if that was good or bad news.

As I remember it the first time we actually made love it wasn’t planned. Elle’s period was much shorter than usual. I’d been asking her, each day, how she was doing and she’d usually answer by pointing to a pad in her panties. She’d been doing well as far as her wetting was going and wasn’t wearing her ”package“ any more. So, when I walked into the trailer she had just put the baby down for a nap. I walked up to her, kissed her and, as usual, put one hand between her legs. There was no pad. It was probably the fastest hard on I’d ever achieved. I started rubbing her panties and was trying to get my finger inside. She was sort of responding but my lips were locked on hers. She was trying, but not very hard, to get away. She managed to get her lips free and told me she should go to the bathroom. I wouldn’t let her go and after a few seconds she stopped struggling... and I felt my hand get wet and warm. We were ”at it“ within a few more seconds. It was great!

My sex life after that afternoon was unlike anything I’d ever experienced or even dreamed about. Maybe it was the spontaneity of it but it seemed that so many inhibitions that Elle had exhibited throughout the time we’d dated and been married went away. About the only time she wasn’t interested was when she was feeding (breast) the baby. If she got up during the night to feed the baby there was a very good chance that she’d be ”willing“. A ”quickie“ at lunch was sometimes possible. One afternoon, just before I was leaving to drive in a race, she suggested ”one for luck“. It was wonderful! If there was one bad part over those few weeks it was that I lost about 5 pounds.

One thing that I remember (and loved) was that inside our trailer Elle basically walked around in a blouse and her panties. She’d gotten somewhat used to it after the doctor (and I) had encouraged her to work on holding her pee. I’d let her know how much I appreciated the ”view“ so after she had convinced herself that she had some semblance of control she continued to appease me. She’d had a few small ”leaks“ so still wore a pair of cotton panties with a pair of nylon ones over them but that was fine with me. On the other hand, she also knew how her being wet turned me on so she would humor me (when I was around) by not wiping when she used the toilet and sometimes when I would walk in and grab and kiss her and put my hand between her legs, give me a ”squirt“. If I’d ever had a fantasy I don’t think I could’ve come up with a situation that matched what I had for real.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part51 f)

The one thing I do remember was that the first couple of panties I got my hands on had me with a bulge, big time. I think what excited me was that the crotches had a fair amount of staining in them and yet they were clean. The panties were all white nylon and didn’t have anything to make them special like lace or appliques. It was just the color of the crotch that intrigued me. Usually the first thing I’d do when looking at panties was to see who the maker was. I think I was so excited about the staining that I went looking for more before looking at the labels. That was when I heard the tires on the gravel. I stuffed the panties into the middle of the basket and put the whole thing up on the sorting table. I grabbed a seat and then pretended I was asleep. Sneaking a peek I saw a woman who appeared to be in her 30’s at the table. I didn’t recognize her but she had auburn hair down to her shoulder blades. As she walked out the back door I wanted to know more about those panties. I waited until I heard the gravel under the tires before I went to the back door to look at the car. I couldn’t tell the color but I knew it was a new 59 Chevy Impala from the tail lights.

The track provided a lot of amenities for the horsemen that lived on the track. We didn’t have to pay rent or for water and electricity. Behind the trailers they had put up 4 line T-pole clothes lines; one for every four trailers. The one that we used was directly behind our trailer. I could look out our bedroom window and see it. When the lady next door hung out her wash she very carefully hid her bras and panties so that I never saw them. Jackson, on the other side of us, never had any wash on the line and the next trailer down was a single man so there really wasn’t any ”action“ for me that way. Because of the lights from the race track I was able to hang our wash out before going to bed. There was an advantage because there was seldom any other wash on the lines at that time. On that night I was upset with myself for not getting the information on the panties that I’d actually had in my hands. As I was hanging up the last of the wash the track lights went out. Being somewhat horny because of thinking about the panties that I’d seen earlier I got the idea to take a quick walk down behind the trailers to see if there was anything "interesting".

The field behind the trailers was owned by the track and had common rye grass planted. They mowed about a 20 foot wide area closest to them and around the wash lines about every 10 days. It made a nice area for the residents to spend time and many had rigged small awnings off the back of their trailers. Some had even set up picnic tables. All of that was done in the space between the trailers and the wash lines. So as not to walk into anything unexpected in the dark, I took a path on the field side of the wash lines. My memory is very clear about what I found.

As I mentioned, there wasn’t much to see on our own line nor on the next one down. But on the third one I could clearly see panties and bras on the line facing the field. I remember standing there, my heart beating so hard and fast that I could feel it. What I remember the most was that in the ambient light the white color of the items made them look somewhat blue. As I got up close to them I remember trying to decide what to do... take a pair or to just look. As I said I was quite horny and also upset with myself for not looking closely at the panties back at the laundromat. There were six pair and they all looked about the same size. As I reached up to touch one of them I heard a sound. I stood there frozen in place. I listened for I don’t remember how long and when I didn’t hear anything else I quickly grabbed the pair closest to me and turned and headed back. At the steps into the trailer I was finally able to take a deep breath. The damp panties were balled up in my hand and the clothes pins were in my pocket. I didn’t have the keys to the trunk of the car (where I continued to hide my ”stash“) and didn’t know what to do with them. Finally I decided to go hang them on the wash line along with our clothes thinking that I’d be up and outside long before Elle was up. With that done I headed inside. I was still awake when Elle woke up to feed the baby. I remember being still somewhat horny and tried to persuade Elle to come over and to straddle me but she deferred.

I went right to the wash line as soon as I walked out of the trailer in the morning. The panties were still damp as we usually had heavy dew overnight. I had them balled up in my hand as I walked over to the barn. I really didn’t have anywhere to go to inspect them and ended up stuffing them, still damp, into my pants pocket. Even though I went through my early morning duties I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Finally I ducked into the stall of a horse that was out on the track. As I flipped them open the first thing I saw was discoloration in the crotch. I immediately thought of the panties that I’d seen the night before at the laundromat but dismissed it. The label was next and I saw a name that I didn’t recognize... Grenco Maid. They were size 6, a size larger than Elle wore. I then stuffed them back into my pocket wondering just how to get them dry and into the ”stash“.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51e)

Once my parents left everything seemed to calm down and our life was able to get into somewhat of a routine. A second visit to the doctor told us that the baby was doing well. At the same time he addressed Elle’s ”problem“. He suggested that Elle had ”given up“ trying to hold her pee during the later stages of her pregnancy and got ”comfortable“ wearing ”protection“. Even though the condition had improved since the baby’s birth he felt that she could do much better and told her some things she could do to help it. One of the things he specifically told her was to go without ”protection“ whenever possible. His reasoning was that she would be more conscious of using the toilet and not the ”protection“. He made me promise to work with Elle on this and I said I would.

Elle seemed to be comfortable in her role as a mother and a housewife. However, her fear of wetting had kept her in and around the trailer. Being Summer, wearing plastic panties was very uncomfortable since they didn’t ”breath“. After the last visit to the doctor she’d started wearing just panties around the trailer feeling that if she did ”leak“ she could make it to the toilet without making a big mess. Usually it was a couple of her heavy cotton ones. I loved seeing her that way but I also wanted to see her in the fancy panties. She compromised by wearing a pair of them over the cotton ones. As I had mentioned she had it in her mind that there would be no sex until after she had her first period. So, on nights where I was home before she went to bed I would persuade her to straddle me and then pee a little through her panties. She would then lay on top of me and let me ”plug in“. That way I could satisfy my "need" while still holding her. It wasn’t great but at it was better than nothing.

Money was tight and whenever I was able to put a few dollars aside it seemed that we needed to buy something new for the baby. The first thing was a collapsible baby carriage. Once we got it I convinced Elle that she’d be able to go visit her new friends and have an easy way to take the baby. The trouble was that she was reluctant to do it without her ”protection“. I, like the doctor, had the idea it had become more in her mind than physical. I was finally able to get her to do a few trial runs where she wasn’t wearing ”protection“ and it went well. She hadn’t seen much of Jane, Clyde’s wife, whose trailer was down at the fairgrounds part of the track where Clyde’s and Harry’s horses were stabled. It was about a mile away and after a few days where she hadn’t had a problem when out walking with the baby in the carriage I convinced Elle to go visit her. It went well until she got back and when trying to get into the trailer couldn’t find the key. I saw her headed my way and was glad to see her as it was the first time she’d actually been over to the barn. She told me what was wrong and as I went to get my keys from the car I heard her cry out an ”Oh no!“. I looked back and saw her trying to hide behind the carriage with her hands in front of her crotch. On the one hand it excited me but on the other it upset me. As much as I enjoyed some parts of her wetting I didn’t like seeing her be embarrassed. When I got back to her I could see the puddle beneath her feet. I remember asking her how long it had been since she’d used a toilet and her answer was ”too long“.

I’d mentioned that my parents had given us three months of diaper service since we didn’t have a washing machine. That fact hadn’t been a problem when we lived at the trailer park where there was a washing machine within just a few steps. But at the track we had to go into town and then, usually, had to wait to get a free machine. Elle had been reluctant to do it because of the baby and also her ”problem“ so it became one of my chores. It was difficult for me to find the time but after few trips I decided that the best time was after 9pm. There didn’t seem to be much business then but even that was difficult for me. There was usually one night a week that my work at the races would be done by that time. It meant missing watching some of the races but it had to be done. I’m pretty sure it was still in July when I thought I’d hit the jackpot. I remember not being too happy about having to miss the last races of the night. Elle had separated the white clothes from the colored and I needed to put them into two separate machines. There were six machines and two had ”out of order“ signs on them. I only found one empty machine. Two were running but no one was there watching them. The other machine wasn’t running but there were clothes in it. There was an empty wash basket there and I started taking the clothes out. I’d only taken a few handfuls out when I realized there were panties mixed in. I wanted to stop to take a close look but knew that the owner of the clothes could walk in at any moment so kept unloading the machine. After I got my clothes in and the machine started I kept looking around trying to figure a way to get a look at those damp clothes without being seen. Because it was Summer and hot, both the front and rear doors were open. Even though it was possible to park on the street most people parked in the back. The lot was gravel and when someone pulled into the lot I could hear the sound of the wheels on the gravel. With that knowledge I took a deep breath and dug into that wash basket with a purpose.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51d)

The fancy panties (Gotham Gold Stripe... see avatar for the blog) that I’d bought way back in the Winter and had hidden away were still there. I’d wanted Elle to get back to the weight (and shape) that she was in the previous Summer before giving them to her. I decided that a good time would be on the anniversary of the baby’s first month. Elle’s daily routine was to wait to get showered and dressed until after the baby had been fed and bathed. I tried to time a visit back to the trailer to catch her before she did. When I walked in she had just stepped out of the shower. When she saw me she thought something was wrong. I assured her that it was OK. I had retrieved the panties from their hiding place and had a pair balled up in my hand as I walked towards her naked body. It was hard for me to believe how big she’d been just a month earlier. Talking about “big”, I sure was and as soon as I put my arms around her she knew it. She immediately pushed me back but it was something I expected. I then unballed the panties and held them up to show her. I won’t try to embellish the moment and say she jumped for joy but she was surprised. She certainly knew of my love of nice panties and over the past six or seven months had been forced to wear very unglamorous maternity panties along with padding and plastic panties. She’d started wearing just a couple of pairs of heavy cotton panties around the trailer and seeing the fancy panties it was like some sort of liberation from them. I bent down so she could step into them and then I stepped back and loved what I saw. They were prettier on than just by themselves. I took her by the hand and showed her the other four pair I’d bought. It wasn’t much of a gift but she took it in a positive way.

As far as work was going I was bit disappointed. Over the month I’d only driven in one more race with only a slight improvement. I wasn't in position to “push” for more action so I just went about my day with a positive attitude. AJ had taken on a few more horses so we had both sides of the barn full. A couple of the owners had decided that they wanted to get licenses to drive in races which did not really please either AJ or me. For AJ it meant less money as he was entitled to a percentage of whatever the horses he drove earned. It annoyed me in that the owners, armed with their license, strutted about like banty roosters. They knew nothing about how to train a horse or what went into it and it showed in their poor performance on the track. Not that mine had been much better but at least I looked like I knew what I was doing. I actually caught a couple of other drivers laughing at them as they went by on the track.

My parents decided to deliver my new car over the fourth of July weekend. They planned to visit friends both on the way up as well as on the way home. The plan was for them to drive my old car home and to sell it privately rather than trade it in. My father felt he could get more money for it that way. I was really excited about getting the car although, at that time, I would’ve much rather had the money that it cost. We didn’t have to worry about putting my parents up while they were there. One of the friends they were planning on visiting were the “B’s”, the people who had the clothing store in my college town and who I would visit on many nights after I’d gotten done warming horses up for the races. Knowing that we didn’t have to entertain them made it a LOT easier. The big question was how would my mother treat Elle based on how she was treated the last time she saw her.

One thing became apparent almost as soon as my MIL left and that was that the lady next door was really friendly. Her name was Gert and she called on Elle and brought over a homemade chicken pot pie. She told Elle that she’d wanted to do it earlier but didn’t want to “interfere”. Elle was impressed with how easy to talk to she was and how “warm” she seemed to be. I guess I’d taken her husbands standoffishness and applied it to her without meeting her. She took it upon herself to introduce Elle to some other women whose husbands were also horsemen and who had children. I could see Elle starting to relax a bit and it was a good sign.

Our neighbor on the other side, Jackson, had not been the problem that I’d expected. No loud parties or other distractions. I’m not sure when Elle noticed a woman going into his trailer on a fairly regular basis. Knowing Jackson, it wasn’t unexpected but when I finally saw who it was it surprised me. Her name was Janelle and she was the manager of the clubhouse dining room. I’d never formally met her but had seen her in the clubhouse for the last two years. I didn’t think she was particularly pretty but I had noticed that she had a fairly nice looking body. Once I knew who she was I started paying more attention to Jackson’s trailer.

I was supposed to drive in a race while my parents were there but the horse turned up lame and was scratched. That disappointment along with the apprehension of how my mother would treat Elle dimmed the anticipation of the new car. In summary, when they arrived my mother treated Elle a bit on the “cool” side but her disdain for our living in “one of those things” was worse. The night they arrived they had arranged to have dinner in the clubhouse with their friends, the “B’s“ and I was to come over when I was finished with my work and to join them. I was upset enough that I didn’t join them. I had the keys to the car and my father had my old car so I wasn’t at risk for ignoring them. Elle thought I was wrong but I didn’t care.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51c)

Mrs AJ and Elle got along better than I would’ve expected since they were basically strangers to each other. Mrs AJ’s daughter had a baby about 15 months earlier and she was well versed in being a ”nana“. Elle was quite comfortable there and when the subject of her mother visiting came up it got a bit complicated. We’d promised her that as soon as the trailer was ready she could come. The boxes that Vi had packed still needed to be put away and the inside needed a good cleaning. In the latter stages of her pregnancy Elle had let a lot of things slip and I sure wasn’t into that sort of thing. We all decided that Friday would be a good day as it would give us a few days to get ready. I’d told Elle about the new bassinet from Harry and Vi but it wasn’t until Wednesday that she saw it. Mrs AJ wanted to see the trailer so she and Elle came out that afternoon. Mrs AJ basically took over and came up with a ”game plan“ as to getting everything ready for both Elle and the baby as well as for her mother. To put it mildly, she was a life saver!

I was a bit concerned about our neighbors on both sides. On the side where our door was located it was an older couple. He was a trainer/driver who had been somewhat successful and had a stable about as large as AJ’s. He’d pretty much given up driving in races turning the chore over to his son. He and his wife were probably in their late 50’s. It was hard to tell because he looked so ”weathered“. I honestly don’t remember ever speaking to him in the previous seasons. The wife looked younger and seemed a lot more friendly than the man. On the other side was a young trainer/driver whose first name was Jackson and that’s what he wanted to be called. He and I had talked many times over the course of the two seasons I’d spent at the track and he was someone who had encouraged me to ”chase my dream“ of racing harness horses. The problem was that he was unmarried and quite a ”free spirit“. I was concerned that his life style would be a problem for Elle and I.

I went to fetch Elle’s mother (she was now my MIL... mother-in-law) from the train station in the nearest city mid afternoon on Friday. Elle and Mrs AJ had done a nice job in having everything ready for both the baby and Elle’s mother. I remember wondering how long she would stay. I had enjoyed getting some time to be with Elle while with the AJ’s and I knew it would be different with my MIL there. She was born in Germany and had a definite stubborn streak. When she got an idea in her head it was totally impossible to get her to change her mind. She’d always been ”in charge“ and I was dreading the time we’d all be living together. At least I had an ”out“ in my work. Poor Elle was stuck with keeping her happy for who knew how long. I should, but I don’t, remember how long she was there. What I do remember was that any attempt that I made to get ”close“ to Elle she would push away reminding me that her mother was ”right outside“.

My parents had stepped up and given us diaper service for three months. I couldn’t believe it when the guy showed up with a the first delivery. Since we didn’t have a washing machine and would have to go into town to do the diapers it was a really appreciated gift. The car that my grandfather had promised for graduation was delivered (at home) and my father (and mother) were going to deliver it once my mother-in-law left. That was another reason I couldn’t wait fro her to leave.

It was impossible for Elle to go back to the doctor who delivered the baby so we ended up with an old GP (general practitioner). Elle was comfortable with him right from the start. Both the baby and Elle were doing very well. He was a bit concerned about Elle’s wetting problem but it had improved to the point that, at home, she no longer had to wear a ”package”. At their first meeting he told her he wanted to see her again to go over it with her.

I remember it being somewhere near the end of June when she left. The first night we were finally alone I wanted to make up for lost time. However, even though my MIL was no longer physically there she was there in spirit. We “snuggled” but, because Elle was breast feeding the baby I wasn’t allowed to touch her breasts. Even though the doctor had said we could resume having sex Elle’s mother had warned her not to do it until after she was “regular”. The best I could get was to go back to what we were doing in the late stages of her pregnancy and that was I would “plug in” to her wet panties. The big difference was that I would be facing her rather than coming in from the rear. I was frustrated but at least we were alone and it was better than nothing.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51b)

As if my list didn’t have enough on it, Elle was feeling so good that she created her own list. At least hers was filled with things I could do on my own. The main thing was to find her some clothes that would fit. Since we’d be going right to the track after she was released she also needed ”protection“. The ladies from the trailer park had decided to visit on Sunday so I took off for the track to touch base with AJ. I’d been so occupied with just about any and everything on Saturday I’d forgotten to call him. I figured it would be better to show up and talk to him in person rather than a phone call. I was right as I could see he was a bit upset that I hadn’t kept him up to date. After I explained he was very sympathetic and told me to stick around for a while. I watched him drive off wondering what was up. About a half hour later he came back. It was around noon time and being Sunday, there was nothing going on around the barn area. He grabbed a couple of folding chairs and we sat down under the awning. At that point I was a bit concerned. I don’t think I’d ever talked with AJ when I wasn’t standing.

I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear what he was saying. Simply put, he’d gone home and spoken with Mrs AJ and they had decided to invite Elle, the baby and I to stay with them until the trailer was in place and the electricity and water was hooked up. In the time that I’d worked for AJ I think I’d spoken to Mrs AJ maybe three times. AJ said that he remembered how it was when his daughter was born and how hard it was on Mrs AJ. He said that they had a spare room and Mrs AJ ”needed“ to have something to keep her busy. All I remember was that it took a tremendous load off my mind. With all that Harry had done for me (us) I didn’t want to bug him about moving the trailer and the not knowing about when it would be moved was driving me to distraction. This offer would solve that.

Elle wasn’t as excited as I was about it though. She’d only met AJ a few times and had never met Mrs AJ. She wasn’t happy but I put my foot down and told he that it was the way it was going to be. I also didn’t make her happy when I told her that I was going to work on Monday. It felt good to get back on the track. I had to concentrate on what I was doing instead of worrying about things I couldn’t control. When we finished up the morning’s work, AJ told me take off and to tie up all the ”loose ends“ and he’d see me in time for my race the next night. That was the first mention of that and I’d suppressed my nervousness about it until then. But, on the trip back that’s all I could think about.

I’d put off calling Harry not wanting to be a PITA (pain in the ass), but had to know when he was coming. Back in those days we didn’t have answering machines or cell phones and if someone wasn’t home when a call came in it went unanswered. Harry had been trying to reach me all day. He or someone was going to be there first thing in the morning.

Before I left to see Elle I picked out the clothes she’d asked for as well as some things for the baby. That was one thing we had plenty of. When her sorority sisters had a baby shower for her they had provided (thankfully) enough stuff that we had very little to buy. She was in a much better mood that night and was actually glad that she was going to have some help (with the baby) for a few days. I promised that as soon as the trailer was completely set up that I’d make arrangements for her mother to come up and visit. That put me back in her ”good graces“.

I was up and waiting for Harry when he arrived. I helped load all the cement blocks and other ”stuff“ and he was on his way by 10am. I had a chance to say my goodbyes to our friends in the trailer park before going to the hospital to pick Elle up. Since classes were over and graduation ceremonies were scheduled for the afternoon almost everybody was around. Elle had told me that Vince had driven her to the hospital but I’d not been able to catch up with him to say ”Thank you.“ When I got to the trailer he and Trish were just leaving. Trish was due that week and she thought she was starting contractions. I helped get her in the car and yelled my thanks as they drove away. Josh had passed everything and was graduating that afternoon. Beth, who was also due that week, wasn’t feeling all that well so I didn’t stay long. Of them all I was going to miss them the most.

The three of us left the hospital in the early afternoon. It was the first time I’d seen Elle on her feet since the baby was born and she really looked good. She’d only gained around 20 pounds. One thing I do remember was that I was famished. I’d not had anything to eat as I’d emptied the last of the things in the refrigerator the night before and hadn’t taken the time to find something to eat. Elle wanted to know why I was so quiet. My mind was now on my first race that was coming up that night. I was really getting nervous. (2)

When we got to AJ’s house it was Elle who was nervous. Mrs AJ was very gracious and showed us the room we’d be sleeping in. Their landlord’s daughter had had a baby about a year earlier and had loaned Mrs AJ their bassinet for the baby so we were just about set... except for letting Mrs AJ know about Elle’s wetting. I’d packed up the rubberized sheet and some of our towels and the first thing we did after Mrs AJ left was to remake the bed. I told Elle that she had to be the one to tell her and she wasn’t very happy about it. The baby was asleep and Elle was tired as this was the longest period of time she’d been awake since the baby was born. When she lay down I headed for the track. Even though I didn’t have to get ready for the race until around 5pm I was anxious to check on the trailer.

I’d requested a space where I could see the trailer from the barn. Since I wasn’t there to observe when it arrived I was somewhat concerned although I knew there was little I could do about it. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw where it was. Harry had blocked it and hooked up the water, sewer and electric (I hadn't known that the track paid for the power) so there was nothing major I really had to do. I went inside to open the windows since it was about 85 degrees out and there, right in the middle of the living room was a brand new white wicker bassinet. There was a big pink bow on it and I knew right away that it had come from Harry and Vi.

Mrs AJ had told me that she’d have something for AJ and I to eat before we left for the track so I went back to the house. There was a patio with an awning in the back of the house and when I pulled into the driveway it seemed like a small party was going on. Elle had brought the baby down and AJ and his wife, the landlords and one of their kids were there. Of course, the baby was getting all the attention. I didn’t say anything about the new bassinet so as not to hurt the feeling of the landlord who had retrieved their daughter’s for us to use. Mrs AJ brought down some sandwiches and iced tea for AJ and I and we did make it into somewhat of a party.

From the time we left for the track until the race was over is just a blur in my mind. Unlike an O. Henry story, I did not win the race. I finished a poor sixth. AJ told me that I’d allowed myself to get ”boxed in“ at the rail and really had no chance. All I knew was that I was glad that it was over.

To be continued...

FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51a)

Truthfully, I have no memory of driving from the track to the hospital. Once there I got a big shock. I had expected to get to see Elle right away and wasn’t prepared to wait. But, at that period in time some hospitals had very strict rules on visiting hours with no exceptions for new fathers. I was told I had to wait until 2pm. There was nothing I could do to change it.

I would guess that I had to wait over an hour. It was during this time that some sort of reality about what the birth of the baby, at that time, meant. It almost overwhelmed me. I suddenly realized that I would have to get the trailer moved to the track a whole week earlier than planned. I’d pretty much taken the delivery date as a given (I had a LOT to learn!) and had Harry all set to move it to the track on the Monday after the upcoming one. Elle had told me that it had to be in place when she was released from the hospital and that day had been the due date. Moving it while she was in the hospital was a must. In a panic I called Harry but got (thankfully) his wife. She was really excited and happy for Elle and I and after she calmed me down told me that she’d “work on Harry” and not to go on worrying. After hanging up I started thinking of all the things that moving the trailer would entail. I remember writing things on the back page of a magazine in the waiting room and as I watched the list get longer and longer was when I started to feel overwhelmed.

I never gave a thought to calling our parents or to my grandparents. I just kept adding things to the list. Finally, visiting hours began and Elle was asleep when I walked in. I found a nurse to show me where the nursery was and when I got there I couldn’t really see much. The sides of the bins the babies were in were too high to see inside them. I waited until I saw a nurse in the back of the room and when I got her attention got her to hold the baby up for me to see. I’d not really paid much, if any, attention to babies, especially newborns, up to that time. All I saw was a chubby cheeked, red faced baby with a shock of dark hair. The nurse held up one of her arms that had a bracelet that identified it as ours. As excited as I should’ve been at that moment I’m ashamed to say I really don’t remember any of my inner feelings.

I had to leave at 4pm and it was just about that time when Elle woke up and this part I do remember. The first words out of her mouth were to tell me that she had missed her last final exam because of the birth and she was scared that she wouldn’t graduate. To me that was just another thing to add to my “list“ of things that had to be addressed... and soon. I won’t go so far as to say Elle was in a panic but it wasn’t far from it. I didn’t have any idea where to start on my list so when I left I headed for the Administration building. Thankfully, it was still open. I explained the situation about the baby and Elle’s concern about her status. Even though the lady at the desk couldn’t tell me exactly what would happen, after checking Elle’s records she did assure me that there was no doubt that she would graduate. That was all I needed to hear.

I did call home and talked with Elle’s and my mother as well as my grandfather. Of all of them it was my grandfather that sounded the most excited. The baby meant that he and my grandmother were now great grandparents. Elle’s mother was ready to get on a train and to come right up. I had a hard time explaining that until I got the trailer moved there was no place for any of us to stay. On top of everything else I didn't need her under my feet until the trailer was situated. My mother was sort of ”ho-hum“ although she was concerned about how Elle had come through the birthing process.

By the time I got to see Elle that night I had ”the wheels in motion“ for some of the items on my list. As soon as I told Elle about what the lady at the Ad building said I could see her relax. It was just about that time that a nurse brought the baby in for Elle to feed her. Even though I was the husband I was asked to leave while she did and I did as I was told. All in all, I actually got to talk with Elle less than an hour that day. I’m sure that I never even got to tell her that I was going to be in my first race the following Tuesday.

I was also able to talk with Harry and he said that, one way or another, he’d get the trailer to the track by the time Elle was released from the hospital. One thing that Harry wanted me to do was to get the trailer ready to be moved. That meant removing the cement blocks that were used to make it level and stable. I’d done it any number of times while working for him so, other than my time, it wasn’t a problem. I also had to pack up everything in the cabinets and refrigerator. I didn’t go to work on Saturday, using most of the time to address the items on my ”list“. One of them was to get my deposit back from the trailer park owner. That gave me some much needed cash.

Late Saturday morning I was surprised to have Harry’s wife, Vi and her sister show up. They told me they had come down to help me pack everything up for the move. But it didn’t take long to find out that what they really wanted was to see Elle and especially, the baby. Vi had brought boxes and knew exactly how to pack things. I watched closely as I knew that I’d have to do it again at the end of the Summer. The ladies took me out for lunch and then we went to the hospital. Only two people at a time were allowed in the room and when we got there the lobby had at least six of Elle’s sorority sisters there. I ended up getting to see her for about 10 minutes just before visiting hours were up. That night it was more of the same but this time I was there first and wouldn’t give up my space making the girls come up one at a time. Elle was exhausted by the time we all left and I had a good idea why they had limited visiting hours.

On Sunday it was projected that Elle would be released around mid day on Tuesday. I couldn’t believe it. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Not that it was important to me (or Elle) at that time but Tuesday was the day for both our graduation ceremonies... and also my first race. At the time I found out about Elle’s release date Harry hadn’t told me when he was going to move the trailer. All of these things just seemed to be piling up on me. I’d thought that once I got word that I’d graduated all the pressure would be off. WRONG!

To be continued...

MARRIED... Spring(ing) into he future (Part 50h)

I’d forgotten about the clothes until the next morning when I left for Harry’s. I reminded Elle where they were and headed for work. When I got home they were hanging on our clothes line. That was the first time I thought about the panties but I couldn’t miss them, blowing in the breeze. Inside the trailer I asked Elle if she wanted me to get them off the line and, of course, she said yes. As i looked at the pants I could see that the wine stain had not come out. It was the same for the blouse. The panties were a very pale pink on the front but still mostly white on the back. When I saw the back I knew I’d never seen panties like this before. I’d bought Elle panties that were somewhat like them in that the crotch wasn’t rounded but had a diamond shape to them Mary Elizabeth’s had a diamond shape in the back that went all the way to the waistband. It was double material all the way up. I was really excited to see something so different. I didn’t want Elle to see me looking at the panties so ducked behind the trailer so i could see the maker. The label read “Be Free”. They were a size six, a size larger than what Elle wore before the pregnancy. I immediately started thinking of some way to be able to hold onto these panties.

After we ate Elle called Mary Elizabeth to find out how she made out getting into the sorority and to tell her we had her clothes. She told Elle that Mrs M, the housemother, knew something was up but hadn’t said anything yet. As far as the clothes she told Elle to just throw them away; that she didn’t want to explain how they got stained to her mother when she got home. Elle proceeded to put them into the trash and I made a special note to myself to remove them when I put the trash outside. I was smiling with that decision. The panties made it into my “stash” the next day.

There was just a little over two weeks of classes left and only a week until some of AJ’s horses shipped into the racetrack. I wanted to see just what the caliber of the horses in the stable was even though I wouldn’t be able to really work with them until classes were over. I was also anxious to get started on my career with them.

I managed to finish my paper for my seminar early and turned it in. The professor was so impressed that he decided to grade it right away. That was when I got one of the biggest surprises of my college career. I got an A+ on it and was told I didn’t need to attend the last two classes or take the final exam... and that I had an A for the course. That news took some of the pressure off me as far as my GPA in both my major as well as the overall average was concerned. At that point I was almost positive that I had a B in the “Hook’s” contemporary literature course due to my “discovery” of the plagiarism in An American Tragedy. I also felt confident that I would achieve a B with Dr F more because of my help with the educable program than my classwork or test scores. I had a solid C in one of the other Economics courses I was taking but it was the other one that was the key to me graduating or not.

Due to the efforts of the guy who really was the best student in the whole Economics program the head of the department convened a meeting with the whole class and the instructor. Our biggest complaint was that we really couldn’t understand what our Chinese instructor was saying in class and when he created tests using that material we were at a big disadvantage. He was quite upset, especially when the head of the department told him that the final exam had to only come from material in the text book. It gave me some “breathing room” but nothing was mentioned about the class averages we were all carrying. All I could do was hope.

Elle’s and my exam schedule covered the same days but my last exam, the dreaded one, was on Wednesday, May 27th and hers was on that Friday. With my schedule I had been able to “steal” some time at the track. Elle didn’t really like it other than the fact that I was making some money. I had to leave earlier in the morning and, depending on what races AJ’s horses were in, getting home later at night. Even though the baby wasn’t due until the end of the first week in June and she wasn’t having any problems she just wanted me to be around.

The promise had been that once I graduated I could drive in a race. AJ was holding to it and wouldn’t put my name down until it was known that I would. The pressure was on me from all sides. I walked out of that exam feeling less than confident. AJ had horses racing that night so I headed for the track. He asked how I did and I told him I really didn’t know. He reminded me that my driving career wouldn’t start until I had my diploma. We had all been told that the results would be posted that Friday morning so I was really sweating it by then!

Since the baby was due the weekend after exams were over our plan had been to not move the trailer to the track until after the birth. We’d prepaid the doctor through the birth so it made sense. The move was going to be rough no matter what but I felt we had no choice but to wait even though it made it rough on me commuting about one hour and a half each way. On that fateful Friday morning I left the trailer around 7am. Elle was studying for her last exam when I left. I got to school around 8am and saw the Chinese instructor posting something on his office door. I ran up to it, literally holding my breath. I scanned down to my name and saw “Exam score 72. Class grade D. Even though the office was on the second floor people on the first floor could’ve heard my scream. I was going to graduate!

By the time I got to a pay phone to call Elle it was 8:30am. Her exam was at 9am so when she didn’t answer I figured she’d already left. I headed straight for the track to tell AJ and caught him just as he was headed up to the track office with Tuesday’s entries. As soon as I told him he took one of the entry forms and inserted my name in as the driver. As excited as I was about knowing that I would get my diploma I was actually more excited about that... my first race.

I then took one of the horses out on the track to go a training trip with him and while on the track I could hear the loudspeaker call my name for a phone call. It was about 20 or so minutes before I could get to the office. I seldom got phone calls and had no idea who it might be. I didn’t recognize the number when I dialed it and was even more confused when I didn’t recognize the voice on the other end of the line. ”Congratulations Daddy!“ was what I heard. My immediate thought was that it was a mistake since it was over a week to go to Elle’s due date. But it wasn’t. At 10:05am Elle gave birth to an 8lb 8oz baby girl. and both mother and daughter were doing well.

To be continued...

MARRIED... Spring(ing) into the future (Part 50g)

I was in weekly contact with my grandfather. I remember getting a few brief letters from him and always a $20 bill enclosed. It was very much needed. Driving back and forth to school each day was adding to the gas bill and the fact that I now had to pay for my food seven days a week was really putting the ”hurt” on us. As we got into the early part of May Dr John would have me come over a few days a week to clean up his yard. I don’t remember how much I made but anything was better than nothing. I’d also been in contact with AJ and he was racing some of his horses in Delaware. The local track was going to open the stable area around the 1st of May and racing was to start in mid month. His plan was to ship the horses that weren’t ready to race the first week in May. He wanted to know when I’d be ready to work full time and even though I didn’t know my exam schedule I did know that all exams would be over on the 29th. I told him that I’d be willing to give him all my free time prior to that. He said he could work with that.

Harry shipped all the horses he planned to race to the track on May 1st. He was way behind in training due to the poor conditions at the fairgrounds track which he used. The only horses he wouldn’t ship were the 2 year olds. Clyde would be in charge and Harry would go up whenever he could. I was to continue to go to Harry’s on Saturdays to work with the two year olds. Once I knew AJ’s and Harry’s plans I became very anxious to get classes over with and to really start with my career.

April had actually finished up pretty calmly for us. Elle’s pregnancy continued without much in the way of problems. Actually, my life was boring. The first “excitement” for May came on a Friday night. Elle had gone to bed and I was finishing up the draft of my Public Finance term paper when the phone rang. It was around 10pm or so and it was one of Elle’s sorority sisters. There was a group of girls from the sorority who went by the nickname of the “PG’s” which stood for party girls. They were all seniors and, as such, had some privileges that the others didn’t. They were allowed to skip the Friday night dinner meal and were also allowed to stay out until midnight, even though it was still considered to be a weeknight. Their usual routine was to go to a little bar called the Old Tavern which had pizza. Usually, the girls would have some beers, eat and then go to the movies. Then, some might go back and have a few more beers before returning to the sorority house. On this particular night they changed their routine and made it a real party night. They skipped the movie and just stayed at the bar. Instead of beer they decided to make it a real Italian night and were drinking cheap red chiante wine. One of the girls got really drunk and ended up throwing up all over herself. The call was to see if they could bring her over to get her cleaned up and to get some dry clothes before they returned to the sorority. I wouldn’t say yes but did go get Elle up for her to make the decision since they were her friends. Of course she said “yes”.

A little while later there was a knock on the door. I thought it would probably be a group of the girls but there was only one, Maddie, at the door. She asked me to help her get the drunk girl, Mary Elizabeth, into the trailer. As soon as I opened the car door I could smell the vomit. I’ll tell you this... there is nothing I hate more than that smell. But, what could I do. Mary Elizabeth was semi conscious because she kept asking where she was. I dragged her out of the car and propped her up against the car. She had a long dark coat on but it was unbuttoned and I could see the “damage” all down the front of her blouse and basically what would be have been her lap. The smell was bad but there was some wind to help keep it down.

Once we got her in the trailer it was straight to the bathroom. The way the trailer was laid out the kitchen and bathroom were split right down the middle which meant the width of the bathroom was only 5 feet. Maddie had helped me get her to the bathroom door and then it was up to me. Mary Elizabeth wasn’t all that big but she, as drunk as she was, was a handful. I had to sit her down on the toilet. Elle had taken her coat when we came through the door and immediately started to take off her blouse. She told me to leave and to get Maddie. That was fine with me as the smell was getting to me. When I walked back into the living room Maddie was gone. When I told Elle she said she needed help.

By then she had the blouse off. The next step was to get her pants off. Elle undid the button and zipper but I had to pick Mary Elizabeth up so Elle could pull them down. Basically, I was front to front with her and her breath really reeked of vomit. I wondered just how I got into this situation. I had to turn her around so Elle could get behind her and pull her pants down. As soon as she did I heard her give off a big sigh. I asked what was wrong and she sort of laughed and told me that Mary Elizabeth had wet herself while sitting on the toilet. She said her pants were still warm. Now, as much as I liked wetting, I was in no mood for it on that night. I was fighting to keep myself from throwing up and even when I sat Mary Elizabeth back down on the toilet I had no interest in seeing her panties. I just walked back into the living room.

Somehow Elle got her to stand up so she could get her panties off and could wash her up. Elle called to me to come into the bathroom from our bedroom and to wash the soiled clothes out. I remember taking a deep breath before I did and held it as long as I could. I let the water run on them and would duck back into the bedroom to get some fresh air and do it again. I had no interest, at all, in looking at a naked Mary Elizabeth. I ended up wringing the clothes out by hand and then just opening the door and dropping everything outside the door. As I did a car pulled up and it was Maddie. She’d gone back to the sorority and gotten clean clothes for Mary Elizabeth.

By then it was around 11pm. Maddie thought it would help if we got some coffee into Mary Elizabeth. By then she was somewhat coherent. By the time they left to go back to the sorority I think we had three cups of coffee into her. She was wobbly on her feet and Maddie said that there would be some girls waiting to help get her into her room without getting caught as being drunk. I hoped so what with all the work we put into getting her cleaned up and somewhat sober.

To be continued...

MARRIED... Spring(ing) into the future (Part 50f)

Coming home to Elle every night was both good and bad. It was good in that I loved being with her and that she was totally focused on her studies. The latter part made me do the same. However, that part was boring. Living with the T’s there was always conversation with someone but after we ate supper and finished the chores then it was right to the books. What saved me was in reading An American Tragedy. I found myself so engrossed in it that I’d still be reading at 2am even though I had to be up at 6am and on the road by 6:30am. As promised I called Babs when I reached what I considered a critical point.

In my minds eye there were three critical parts to the book. The first was when the main character was introduced and then his assimilation into society. After I’d finished that part I called Babs and Elle and I were invited over to the house. Babs had told me to bring the book with me and after some chit chat she took the book and found a few passages that she read to us. The first was a description of a house that figured prominently in the book. After reading it she asked if it sounded familiar. It certainly didn’t to me but Elle’s face had one of those “maybe” looks to it. She then announced that it was now one of the prominent fraternities on campus. She flipped a few more pages and then read some more. The description was of one of the sororities. She did the same thing a third time and it was of another fraternity. I was amazed as was Elle. I vaguely remembered reading about the houses but now wanted to take Elle down town to see them and to see if we could find some more. When we left I could see that Babs was pleased.

After getting through the next critical part (a murder) I again contacted Babs. She was tied up at the time but gave me one very interesting tidbit... on my way both to and from school each day I would go right past the house where the murdered girl had been raised in.

We were baby sitting at Dr Johns when I was reading the third critical part. Before Dr John and Babs left she promised that when they returned that she’d have something really special for me. That third part was the murder trial itself. I remember Elle and I were eating lunch with the boys when Babs returned. She was carrying this approximately 2’x2’ scrapbook. We finished up and then she put the book on the kitchen table. She explained that her mother loved to clip and save things from the newspaper and that the trial had been the most sensational thing that had happened in this town in her life. The scrapbook held every article that had been written on subject from start to finish.

Babs then told us that after the book had been published that there had been some vague charges that some of the book had been plagiarized. She pointed to the scrapbook and told me that I could borrow it and that I should do some careful study of what was written in the newspaper and what was written in the book. I tried to press her for more but all she did was smile.

That night, back at the trailer, I stayed up until around 3am. I couldn’t believe what I found. There were pages and pages where the book had the exact same words as the newspaper. I couldn’t wait to get to class the next day.

The class was right after chapel break and I, as usual, skipped chapel but didn’t go to the “coop“ for coffee with my friends either. I headed right for the ”Hook’s“ office. He was one of those people who rarely smiled and often had the look of someone who was totally bored with what he was doing. I went in and was greeted with one word... ”What?“ I refused to be intimidated and walked over to his desk with the scrap book. I’d put markers in it to mark the passages that I wanted to show him in both the book as well as the scrapbook. I quickly flipped to them and stood back as he poured over the material. It didn’t take long for him to look up at me and ask where I’d gotten the newspaper clippings. I told him and he responded with a comment that I’d never expected from him. ”Good job!“

In class he had them turn to a page in the book and then he had me read from the scrap book. I only read for a few minutes when I could hear a ”buzz“ and the guys were shaking their heads when they realized what they were seeing. Long story short... Over the next week the class discussion took on a whole new direction and the ”Hook“ looked at me with a whole new perspective. I couldn’t wait to finish the book and to see if I could find any more examples of possible plagiarism. It was actually exciting.

I continued to work for Harry on Saturdays. His nephew, Levi, and I became good friends especially after Harry allowed him to work with the horses. His mother, Stephanie, was doing more and more work for Harry and Vi including being the one to pay me. I’d go to her trailer before I left to get my money. On one Saturday she’d stopped by the barn to tell me that my money was on the kitchen counter and if she wasn’t back by the time I was ready to leave I was to just walk in and take it. I really didn’t like the idea but she’d given me permission. I actually hoped that Levi would be at the trailer but he wasn’t. When I walked in I saw her laundry basket on the counter but didn’t see my money. I picked the basket up and saw the money right under it. As I manipulated the basket and tried to put it under my arm I managed to knock some of the laundry onto the floor. When I put the basket back and bent over to pick the stuff up I saw a pair of rosy pink panties. I can’t tell you how tempted I was to just stick them in my pocket but, because I respected her so much I didn’t. I'm pretty sure I felt that if she missed them that she'd know where they were. On my trip home, I was kicking myself for not checking the label. I actually couldn’t believe that I hadn’t done that as it was usually the first thing I did when I’d get my hands on a pair of panties.

To be continued...

MARRIED... Spring(ing) into the future (Part 50e)

When I arrived back at the trailer on Friday afternoon I found it empty. There was a note on the table telling me that Dr John’s wife, Babs, had picked Elle up in the early afternoon and for me to go over to their house. Dr John had been asked to fill in for a colleague at an equine disease conference on very short notice. In spite of that she had been able to have almost everything in order for us (read that as Elle) to make it as easy for us as possible. She had enough food in the refrigerator, with cooking instructions, to take us through to Sunday afternoon when they would be back. The only thing that didn’t get done before they left was to take the laundry out of the washing machine and to put most of it in the dryer. Elle had waited for me to do that as their laundry facilities were in the basement. Elle didn’t like going down a flight of stairs since she really couldn’t see the steps because of her protruding tummy. So, I was assigned the duty.

I’d say that by that time we’d been there to baby sit at least five times. On one of the first times there I’d given some thought to going “exploring”. The problem with that was the house was a ranch type with the master bedroom just off the living room. That, and their bathroom, were the only rooms at that end of the house. There was never a reason for me to go in that area and with the feeling that Elle was watching me every time I got up from a chair, decided it was best not to pursue any thought of “exploring”.

Babs was a tall, trim woman with somewhat wide hips. I didn’t find her particularly attractive but really liked her as a person. When I headed down into the cellar Elle told me that Babs had left a list of the things that shouldn’t go into the dryer. As I read the list I saw a word that made my heart start to pound... underwear. I reached into the machine and pulled out a wad of white cloth. It was a mix of sheets, pillow cases and underwear. I quickly rooted through it looking for the “prize” and it didn’t take long to find what I was looking for. I felt the soft nylon and guessed that it was a pair of panties. When I did I gently separated it from the rest of the pile of cloth. I spread them out on the top of the dryer and the first thing I noticed was how much larger they were than Elle’s. They were plain white with no embellishments. The next step was to look at the label. It read Munsingwear. The name was not foreign to me as I had, at one time, had some T shirts made by them. But this was the first time I’d ever seen the name in lingerie. What really had my attention though was the feel of the wet material. I knew that I’d felt something very similar to it but couldn’t come up with what or where it had been.

I knew I couldn’t take too much time as Elle would be calling down to me before long. As I finished sorting it all out and distributing it between the dryer and a drying rack that stood right next to it I found one other pair. It was exactly the same as the first. I did take the time to look at the size and found it was a 7. As a trudged back upstairs I was trying to remember where I was when I’d felt that almost sensuous material. I couldn’t.

I spent the rest of the weekend trying to figure a way to slip into the master bedroom but the only time I felt I had a chance was when Elle was taking a shower on Sunday morning. I made it out to the living room and was trying to summon the courage to make my foray into the bedroom when the kids came flying out of their room. It seemed like an omen that it just wasn’t going to happen.

For some reason Elle got along with the boys better than I did. Even though she wanted to spend time studying she did give attention to the kids. I had a ton of reading to do for my literature class and, surprisingly, found myself engrossed in the tale. I was reading when Babs walked into the house and, to make conversation, asked what I was reading. I told her it was Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. The look on her face was worth a picture. With her coat still on she rushed over to the chair I was in and sat on the ottoman in front of me. She was all excited. Of course I had no idea why. She started to talk, rapidly, and since I had no idea of where she was coming from, sat there and stared at her. She calmed down when Dr John walked in and when she started talking to him I got the drift of why she was so excited.

The “Hook” had told the class very little of the background on the book other than to say it was loosely based upon something that had actually happened. That was it. In class our discussions had focused on Dreiser’s writing style as compared to the other authors that we’d previously read. Listening to Babs was truly a fascinating experience. Not only had the story actually happened but a good bit of it had taken place in the town we were in. That excited me and I started asking questions. Initially, she answered them. But then she realized that it wasn’t a good idea to get ahead of where I was in the book. When that happened she made me promise to come over and to visit with her as I progressed through the book. I willingly said I would. That discovery gave me even more impetus to read the book.

To be continued...

MARRIED... Spring(ing) into the future (Part 50d)

The guy at the body shop had promised that he’d have my car finished so that I’d have it to drive back to school on Monday. After Dee and Art left I spent the afternoon reading the assignment that “The Hook” had given the Contemporary Literature course to read over the break. I was upset at the amount of reading but more upset that he’d threatened a quiz at Monday’s class. It was hard to concentrate on the material as I was worried about getting the car back. It was just before Elle was going to start cooking (it was her turn with Josh and Beth due over around 6pm) when the phone rang. The car was finished and I quickly ran over to ask Josh to give me a ride to go pick it up. When we pulled into the place there was the car right out in front looking all spic and span. The door looked perfect. It wasn’t until I got out of Josh's car that the realization came to me that I’d delivered the car to him without taking my tools and, almost more importantly, my panty “stash” including the new Gotham Gold Stripe ones I’d bought only a few weeks earlier. If Josh had been studying my face at that moment he would have seen it as red as a stop light. I couldn’t believe that I’d been that stupid. As much as I wanted to check the trunk of the car I didn’t want to do it in front of the body shop guy or Josh and, reluctantly, had to wait until I got home. The body shop guy opened the drivers door to show that it did work and that the window went up and down. I thanked him and took off, wondering what I’d find, if anything at all when I got to look in the trunk.

I was holding my breath when I put the key in the trunk lock. As the trunk lid opened I could see the tool box was not where it usually was. My heart dropped because the panties had been stuffed in the left rear corner and were hidden by the tool box. Josh, thankfully, had gone to get Beth for dinner as I almost dove into the trunk itself. I reached in and found both my “stash” box as well as the bag with the new panties. As I relaxed and started to breathe normally again I saw Josh and Beth headed my way. I shut the trunk and went inside with them, relieved.

With all that had been going on I had pretty much forgotten that it was my birthday. As we all walked into the trailer I could see that Elle had made some decorations and that I was in store for a party. I thought It was a nice end for the week and weekend. But, I had one more thing to deal with. Elle had been after me to start thinking about coming home each night. Even though she had a relatively easy pregnancy it had been a long lonely Winter with me gone four nights each week. She just wanted company as well as to have someone right there in case of a problem. She was quite persuasive and I told her that this would be my last week staying with the T’s. I wanted to give them some advance notice and not just walk out on them. She agreed and that made her quite happy. Happy enough that she let me have some “fun” that night.

I can’t say that Mrs T was all that surprised when I told her my plans. What it did do was put some added pressure on all of them as Joanne was spending all her free time getting her seedling plants started for her business. As much of a “greenhorn” as I’d been at the start I’d adapted fairly well even though I didn’t really like what I was doing. When I told Joanne it was a lot different. I don’t think she was ready to cry but she was obviously surprised. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t see her anymore because I’d still see her at the mentoring program I was involved in as part of Dr F’s educable program. That made her feel a bit better and I told Mrs T that I’d still drive her home after class and that way I’d be able to see her as well. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling bad as well. These people had taken me in and made me a part of their family and I was going to miss them... a lot!

The last night I stayed there they had a combination birthday/good bye party. I was the one who should have been giving them, especially Mrs T, a gift but I got a shirt that Joanne had picked out at the B’s store. (The B’s were the people who went to the races each and every night during the season and with whom I’d visit in the grandstands whenever I could) There was a cake and even ice cream (home made) but the best part was that after all the chores were done we all ended up in the living room and reminisced about the preceding months. Mr T conceded that even though it had taken a bit longer than it should’ve that I was now a competent “hand” and would be welcome at just about any dairy farm. From him that was glowing praise. It was way past the time that Mr and Mrs T would head for bed before they went upstairs. Joannne stayed with me but didn’t say much. She tried to say something but had trouble getting the words out. She soon followed them and I remained just wanting to relax before going to bed.

I could see the hall lights go out and figured that Joanne was now in her room. I turned out the table lamp beside me and just sat there telling myself to get up. My eyes had become accustomed to the almost darkness (there was always a low wattage light on in the kitchen that drifted into the living room) when I saw something in the opening at the foot of the stairs. There was no mistaking that it was Joanne with her long blond hair. She had on a long bathrobe and when I called to her she responded with a “Shhhhhsh” and started towards me. She made it about halfway from the foot of the stairs to where I was when she stopped. Of course I had no idea what she had on her mind so just sat there looking at her visage.

I was about to speak when she, ever so slowly, took hold of each side of the front of her bathrobe and, continuing to move her arms slowly, spread them out exposing her body clad in just a bra and panties. I didn’t know what to expect but I knew that it wasn’t right, especially with her parents upstairs. Again, I was about to speak when she quickly closed her arms across her chest covering her body with the robe and turning and headed back upstairs. The shock of what had just happened didn’t allow me to really enjoy the sight that I’d been allowed to see. In all honesty I was thinking of all the good things that the T’s had given to me and I didn’t want to do anything, in thought or deed, to go against the trust that they had shown in me. When I finally went upstairs I couldn’t sleep.

The next morning I was told by Mrs T that Joanne didn’t feel well and wouldn’t be going to school that day. I was relieved, to say the least. I still hadn’t come up with even the faintest idea of what Joanne had in mind the night before. As curious as I was I also knew that it wouldn’t be smart to pursue it with her. I chalked it up as another mystery of life.

To be continued...