I was promoted and transferred to western Oklahoma in January. My company was opening a new location and they had chosen me as the manager of the new location. My friend Steve helped me move into my new apartment.
We had built a brand new location. We needed to build a customer base to support the addition of new divisions of our company. This was very demanding and took a lot of time. Many days I worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later. There was no time for a "social" life. But I saw what wandered into our store.
Summer brought out the beauty of Western Oklahoma. I continued working diligently. My boss was happy during his visits and he began sending me to help in stores that were prepping for inventories or struggling in one area or another. I was glad to do it. It got me out of my rut, and I got to see some different people. Plus, the company covered the travel expenses. And I took advantage of it.
Turn the calendar forward and I was in my second spring there. Flowers were blooming, the bees were buzzing and all seemed right with the world. Things were running smoothly at work but I still went home alone at the end of the day.
I was single and hadn't found anyone to spend my time with. I've never been one to go to a bar very often and the girls at work were off limits since I was a manager. There was too much invested for me to risk an attraction at work. So I was attempting to embed myself into the community, church, fraternal lodge, and business club; I was in it all. Still, no one to share time with. Then one evening …
May, Wednesday evening
Laundry time came and I was using the laundromat in the complex. No one had ever been in there when I'd used it before. I was just sitting reading a book and in walked a beautiful blonde girl. I had never seen her before. Sandy blonde hair to her mid back, B or C cup breasts, 5'4ish" tall, and 100 to 110 pounds. The biggest brown eyes you've ever seen and a brilliant smile. She could have been in her late teens or her early twenties. I didn't know yet. But I would soon find out.
She said "Hi. I'm Stacey." You could tell from her voice she was a southern country girl.
"Jim," I said as I smiled back at her. I got up and crossed the room to extend my hand. "Good to meet you."
The laundry room had six washers and dryers. I was using three of them trying to get done. She used two of the remaining machines. As we continued our wash we struck up a conversation. She was twenty years old, and her apartment was literally just around the corner from mine. She worked in computer sales and had lived in the area all her life. Her Dad had a farm about fifteen miles south of the town where she grew up.
The dryer buzzer went off with my last load of clothes and before I could stand, she got up and began pulling my clothes out and folding them. I told her she didn't need to do that but she said she didn't mind and kept at it. I, of course, joined her. We were having a great conversation so I hung around til her laundry was done so I could return the favor.