Eli bumped into Bridget.
"Hello Sister."
"Oh, hello Brother," she replied and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
It was their inside joke. He had been around her and her family often enough to know that her nickname when growing up was Sister or Sis. She called him brother, her shorthand for brother-in-law.
"Congratulations. It is a wonderful day and it was a lovely ceremony," Eli said sincerely.
"Yes, it was. Steven was so handsome and Jennifer looked like an angel. Carrie..." Bridget paused and added in lower tone, "Carrie would have been so proud and happy."
Bridget's eyes showed that she was sorry to have mentioned his dead wife.
"Its okay, Bridget. Carrie would have loved the day, the service. She loved Steven and Jennifer." Eli smiled letting her know that he was surviving her loss.
Bridget was pleased. She knew he had loved Carrie dearly. She sensed that he had moved past the anger and depression to an appreciation for the time they had had and he was moving forward with his life.
As they continued to talk, Bridget noticed that one then two bridesmaids passed by and tried to get Eli's attention. He was oblivious to this. She wondered what it was all about, they were half his age. "Well, he is handsome in a rugged sort of way," she told herself.
Bridget grabbed him by the arm and said,
"Let's get out of here! I need a break. Between all the tension of planning the wedding and playing the part of the "Mother of the Groom', I could use a stiff drink. I've got a bottle of Jameson in the car."
"Sure, thing Sis. Where shall we go?"
"Some place where there is peace and quiet and no relatives and... a hamburger and fries," Bridget said with a laugh.
"I'm with you. We'll hit the drive through and head back to my place. We can have a picnic on the back deck with only the birds and squirrels for company.
"Great."
They snuck away unnoticed, got their meal and soon were at the house.
"I've got to get out of these pantyhose," Bridget said.
"You can use the bathroom down the hall. I'm going to change real quick and I'll meet you on the deck."
Bridget used the bathroom, balled up her pantyhose and stuck them in her purse. Eli ducked into his bedroom, lost the suit and emerged in shorts and a polo shirt. He grabbed plates and glasses from the kitchen and met Sis out on the deck. The sun was shining bright; it was a warm and humid 80 degrees.
"Oh, now I'm so jealous. Look at you so cool and comfortable in your casual clothes and I'm stuck in this formal dress."
"Uh, sorry. I can get you a pair of my shorts..."
Sis interrupted him and good naturedly said, "Fat lot of good that would do me, I'd be swimming in them."
"You know, I can do better than that. I've boxed up Carrie's clothes. On Monday I'm taking them to the Salvation Army. Go get something."
"I couldn't."
"No really. It's okay," Eli said and when he saw her hesitating, thinking about it, he added, "They're in the bedroom. If you don't, some stranger will be wearing them next week."
Sis felt the heat of the sun on her back and changed her mind. Bridget went through the clothes sure she would find something. Carrie was a little bigger through the hips and Sis was a littler bigger through the bust, but they were about the same size. She found a skirt and cotton shirt that would do.
Bridget had a problem. She didn't have a bra or underwear. Her mother-of-the-bride dress was a knee length backless dress. It was a dress you couldn't wear a bra with so the designer built the needed support into the dress and since Bridget had worn pantyhose, she didn't have any panties. She didn't see a box with underwear so she called out to Eli,
"Do you have any of her under garments?"
"No. I couldn't imagine anyone wanting used underwear. I threw all that stuff out."
"Okay," Sis said to herself, "The skirt goes. I'll wear these shorts."
Eli had the umbrella in place, their drinks poured and the paper plates and napkins out when Bridget walked barefoot onto the deck. His eyes immediately went to the tight cotton top. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he could make out her areolas and hard nipples through the thin fabric or that she obviously wasn't wearing a bra that drew his attention. Either way, his dick stirred in his pants. Eli forced himself to look away from her chest; he hoped it was before she caught him staring at her boobs. They sat, ate and chatted about inconsequential things. Afterwards they took their second glass of whiskey and walked in the garden. That gave Eli a chance to look Sis over.
She was a good looking woman, tall with dark red hair and lively hazel eyes. For a woman who was 38 years old and had three kids she was in fantastic shape. She wasn't some stick figured "Twiggy" super model; she had a real woman's figure. She was fit and she had curves. She had slender, shapely legs and hips, a nice round butt and boobs. Not gigantic block out the sun boobs, but not 'I don't need a bra, band-aids will do' tits either. She was blessed with a little more than a nice handful, probably 36 B's.
Bridget was also taking stock of Eli. For a man in his late forties, he was a fit 200 pounds on a 6 foot frame. His gray hair made him looked distinguished and he was funny. Obviously, he had been hurt by the untimely passing of his wife, but he had not been crushed and destroyed by it.
"You know, I always envy you and Carrie. It was so obvious that you two were so in love."
"We were. But what about you and Rob? I thought you two were a good match."
