----- Chapter 4 ------

      Elaine Bailey was probably 6’4”, or at least pretty close to Jodi’s height. She had feathered cinnamon colored hair and hazel eyes that hid behind her stereotypical “librarian” type glasses. Today she was wearing a flowery V-cut yellow blouse and tight cream colored capris that hugged her curvy feminine form very well. On her feet she was wearing some taupe open toed work clogs that did a good job of lifting her posterior parts. Her long nails and cute toes were painted a classic deep metallic red. But what I couldn’t wrap my mind around was how absolutely busty she was. That bust was something of awe, a glory to behold. Her chest, accented by her V top, ballooned outward dramatically. Her tight bra did its best to contain her basketball sized tits, but she simply couldn’t avoid bouncing them around, no matter how conservatively she moved. All in all, she was an impressive female specimen.

      “Hello Elaine. I’m here to assist you.” I announced.

      Elaine turned and was surprised to see me. “Hey Hank. Why don’t you help me shelve the materials on this cart.”

      I grabbed a few books and began putting them away before making small talk.

      “How long have you worked here Mrs. Bailey?” I asked.

      “For ten years now. You can just call me Elaine, you don’t need to be so formal.”

      I sensed a hint of sadness in her voice. I watched as she grabbed another book. Her hands were large, like Shari’s or Jodi’s. But I suddenly figured out why she had seemed sad before- she didn’t have a wedding ring. I remembered that I had called her “Mrs.” Bailey. Taking note of that I decided I should make an effort to cheer her up.

      “You still like it right? I mean, working here and all.”

      “Of course. It’s nice to have men working here again. We’re glad to have you.”

       “On that note, am I the only man who works here?” I gazed up at her as I handed her a book.

      “Yes, it’s been all women the whole time I’ve been here.” As she shelved the book her breasts wobbled slightly.

      “I have to admit, that makes me a little nervous.” I confessed.

      Elaine paused for a bit, thinking. “Why is that dear?” she asked genuinely as she leaned against the bookshelf. Her womanly figure opened up to me as she leaned, and I caught a glimpse of her expansive cleavage. Not wanting to be piggish, I forced myself to make eye contact with her.

      “I dunno, how would you like being the only woman in a workforce of men?”

      “I guess that would be rather unusual.”

      “Besides, think about it. It seems like everyone who works here is over six feet tall. You ladies are a whole head taller than me.”

      “I’ve noticed this too.”

      “Exactly how tall are you Elaine?”

      She paused, then blurted, “I’m six foot four. I was always very tall.”

      “Yeah. I’m five six. That’s what… ten inches you have on me?” I shelved a book.

      “I suppose it would be.”

      “Look, all I’m saying is that you ladies should totally start a basketball team.”

      Elaine laughed at my lame joke. At least I was getting her to open up a bit more.

      “So Elaine, why are the women here so tall? Does Ms. Beauchene have something against hiring shorter women?”

      “I don’t think so. It must be something in the water. Hank, you shouldn’t worry about it. Nobody here will think less of you.”

      The conversation went well after that. Elaine was a wonderful woman, even if she was a bit anachronistic in her style. I noticed she definitely retained a bit of the 70s in her, especially in her choice of clothes and her feathered “Farrah Fawcett” hair. Her opinion on things was definitely a bit different, and that made her intriguing. I learned that she had been married at one point, but it hadn’t worked out when she was unable to have kids. As a result her body still looked great, in my opinion, and I told her so.

      She blushed, “Thank you Hank, you’re a sweet kid.”

      We had almost finished, and the last couple books belonged on the top shelf. I grabbed one and tried to place it up there, but I was too short. I went on my tip toes and still couldn’t reach. I was looking around for a stool when Elaine grabbed the book out of my hands and easily shelved it, her long giraffe-like arms lifting the tome effortlessly through the air. She smiled down at me with her hands on her hips. Her expressive and pretty face betrayed her intentions- she was definitely feeling a bit triumphant that a tall woman had assisted a helpless small man.

      I could have made a stink, but I decided to let it slide. “You’re good at being tall, Elaine.” I mentioned with a hint of sarcasm.

      She threw her head back and laughed as her breasts bounced.  “I suppose you’re right dear,” she said as she tousled my hair. Her long red nails scraped my scalp, and it felt good.

      As it was getting close to five, I asked Elaine if it would be ok if I clocked out for the day. She affirmed that is it was time to leave and we both went to clock out together. On our way to the work computers we passed Jodi at the front desk. She was busy checking out books for patrons.

      As we walked I took the time to admire her. She was good at what she did, charming and personable. Everyone that left her desk had expressions that they felt like their day had brightened. Just watching her made you want to smile.
 Elaine nudged me as we walked past the desk. “What ya lookin at?” The older woman said, with a flirty tone that suggested that she knew exactly what I was looking at.

      “Uh, I was just noticing how good with the patrons Jodi was.” I said, which was partly truthful.

      “Sure you were.” Elaine was not convinced.

      Jodi was a total fox- that I could not deny. Regardless, I couldn’t allow myself to be blinded by attraction right now, especially when I was attracted to a coworker. This was still my first day on the job, and I wanted to keep a professional attitude. However, to deny that I liked her would be an obvious red flag to Elaine, who was honed in on me like a hawk at the moment. I needed to throw something out that would satiate her suspicions yet make my intentions clear.

      “She is very pretty, but I can learn a lot more about how to be a good librarian by watching her, I think.”

      Elaine half bought it, raising an eyebrow as we entered the workroom. “She’s recently been proposed to anyways.” She replied in an offhand tone.

       “Who is her fiancé?”

      Elaine sat at her computer across from me. “I met him one time, and he seemed like kind of an ass. Pardon my language.”

      I punched in my work code to clock out. “That’s weird that someone as nice as Jodi would want to be with someone who was a jerk.”

      Elaine chuckled, her bosom wobbling. “Trust me, she doesn’t. She just doesn’t know that yet. Her man reminds me of my ex husband; I know the type. They’re only after one thing, and after they get that they’re done!”

      We both stood to leave. Suddenly, Shari came up to us in an aggressive manner. She stood in front of Elaine with her hands on her hips. She had a look of contempt on her face.

      “Elaine! Did you finish shelving the holds?” She pointed to a series of carts filled with “held” books.

      “I didn’t quite get to it, no.” Elaine said, feeling the heat. I felt bad for her. She had been working all day. This wasn’t right.

      Shari was pretty angry. “You need to stay more on task. Now I’m going to have to shelve them, and I don’t have time for this. What were you doing all day?” she asked expectantly.

      I couldn’t let this go on. Seeing a nice lady like Elaine get her butt chewed broke my heart. Without thinking about the consequences, I spoke.

      “She was busy helping me get used to shelving. I was asking a lot of questions and Elaine really helped me. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I was distracting her. It’s my fault.”

      Shari narrowed her eyes at me. Elaine had a look of shock and disbelief. I was beginning to think that maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.

       “Is that so? Well I don’t have time for this. Go home, both of you, and come back tomorrow ready to work. I’ll be watching you.” Shari looked directly at me, her eyes throwing lightning bolts. I gulped.

      She spun and stalked off, leaving the two of us standing there bewildered. Elaine grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me.

      “What did you say that for? Now she’ll just be on your case too!”

      “Uh… I… don’t know?” I stammered as Elaine ushered me out the door.

      We passed the checkout desk and walked briskly into the parking lot before she stopped me and asked me again.

      “Why did you do that?”

      “You can’t let her yell at you like that. You work really hard.” I said solemnly.

      Elaine placed a hand on her forehead and spun around in disbelief. “That’s not the point Hank! Clearly you don’t understand Shari.”

      I didn’t, so I just stood there, staring blankly. Elaine’s expression softened as she realized that I had just stuck my neck out for her. She smiled and gave me a hug, smothering me in those glorious jugs of hers.

      “You want to go get something to eat? I’ll tell you all about working here, you stupid man.” She laughed.

      I agree, and we both hopped into her large car. She drove me to a nice deli nearby, in the busy downtown part of town. We ordered and sat on the stools near the window. It was perfect for people watching.

      As we ate Elaine explained the gravity of what I’d just done. Apparently, Shari was a woman who wielded her authority without opposition. Once, Elaine had questioned her a while back, and was now bearing the brunt of Shari’s wrath. Elaine explained that whenever things didn’t go right Shari would take it out on her specifically, finding things to critique or nag about. Because the library was so short staffed, things regularly didn’t go right. But Elaine said that as long as Shari was directing her frustration at her and not anyone else, it was ok. I disagreed.

      “You can’t just go around being a martyr for everyone else Elaine.”

      Elaine sighed. “You don’t understand. I’ll retire soon, so it doesn’t bother me. But now she’s going to focus in on you. You don’t know what she can be like!”

      I just sat and chewed on my sandwich. I think I understood where this was going now.

      “You just made yourself her new punching bag Hank.”