It was a cool and breezy day as I entered the large department store by its large revolving door, inwardly I sighed at the thought of yet another laborious working day ahead I wearily made my way to the electrical department. The usual monotony of stocking shelves and the thought of marking them up for coming sales events did not enthrall me at all.
Each day seemed to drag by with nothing to look forward to, as the days went by I knew that I was close to handing in my notice and having already applied for a few other jobs I was hoping that I would hear something very soon.
Today would be nothing special, despite it being my thirtieth birthday I had no expectations of it being any different to any other day.
I expected that I would have a different evening than most but aside from the usual dinner with my husband Lewis at my parent's home on the other side of town I had nothing out of the ordinary to look forward to.
My mother had called this morning to notify me that Della my beautiful and totally career orientated attorney sister and a male colleague would be joining us, the fact that Della was bringing home a man excited my mother more than the fact that it was my birthday.
The fact that Della's new man would be the focus of attention on my thirtieth birthday was a typical scenario which she almost always seemed to create especially if I might be getting some attention.
I was not looking forward to the evening neither was I relishing the fact that I would have to spend time with my pretentious sister.
When I had voiced some thoughts about that my mother had told me it was nonsense and I had been reprimanded for my selfish thoughts, well I guess I should have known that even after thirty years Della was always seen as the golden child.
Despite Della's presence I knew the fact that there would be a guest I dress a little more formal than I had planned and would clearly warrant some specialty to the occasion, I had already decided to make more effort with my outfit more so to appease my mother than Della. I could hear my mother's voice "Alicia dress appropriately for our guests," I knew that my usual jeans and shirt would not suffice and had considered wearing my little black Christmas number but decided it was just too formal.
Now as I walked through the department store I mentally made plans to visit the ladies clothes department in my lunch hour and purchase myself something a little more special than jeans and a blouse.
As I walked through the different departments on my way to my own section I also considered purchasing some new lingerie that would maybe put my husband in the mood for something that would make my birthday a little more memorable.
I thought about how predictable the evening would be, the evening's events casually played through in my mind throughout the morning I considered the fact that having a stranger present may make things a little tense. Of course there would be the usual obligatory chit chat, the presentation of yet another birthday cake as my mother still expected me to love blowing out of candles which may I add was becoming increasingly irritating.
The evening would no doubt be the same as any other year and end in yet another failed attempt to arouse Lewis into wanting a night of unbridled passion and lust. Somehow I had already resigned myself to the fact that it would be more likely to be a few minutes of unstimulating groping and frustration from the lack of satisfaction on my part.
The morning passed by uneventfully and I was surprised to find that lunchtime came around quickly, Jennifer my colleague left her sale station and walked over to me, I looked in her direction as I cleared the isle of surplus stock into boxes for the sales, Jennifer smiled and notified me that it was my lunch hour.
I told Jennifer that I had arranged with the manager to take the last lunch slot today and explained that I would be taking a little longer than usual in order to eat lunch and find an outfit for later, she nodded and called after me wishing me happy birthday as I hastily grabbed my purse and headed for the elevator.
Pressing the elevator button for the third floor I considered whether to do lunch first or shopping, making my decision I stepped off the elevator into the ladies department and headed to the clothes section.
As I entered the ladies department I spotted the perfect outfit and detached my size from the rail, now heading to the lingerie section intent on choosing something more feminine to match the outfit I noticed the unfamiliar sight of a man perusing the silk panties.
I considered his presence there briefly and decided that he was probably there buying a gift for his wife or girlfriend, however as I passed by him otherwise intent on my own task I could not help myself I took a quick look down into his hand basket.
Realizing that he already had several pairs of ladies panties stashed in there and was now intently fingering and eyeing a pair of red silky laced panties in his hand, I became somewhat intrigued that he seemed to be taking his time rather than hastily purchasing a few items as most men did .
It was not a task that most men wanted to advertise so I was surprised when he turned toward my direction and spoke to me as I looked at my own options on the rail "excuse me Ma'am, could you possibly offer some assistance, " "I am having some trouble deciding, "as I turned to face him with the intention of explaining that I didn't work in this department he smiled and looked relieved.
Not wanting to appear unhelpful I stepped around him and quickly made the decision to answer the question the best way I could, since I was in my store uniform it would only seem polite and professional to assist, "How may I help you Sir?" I enquired.
