SETTLED... at least I thought so (Part63a)

Labor Day was always considered the de-facto end of Summer. 90% of Summer rentals (which drove the economy in our area) were in the months of July and August. Those people who were affluent enough to have a Summer home would return to their Winter homes and might come for a few weekend visits during the Fall months. On the one hand I was sad to see it come but on the other was looking for some “down time” to just kick back and relax. That first week after Labor Day was a busy one though. At work we were scheduled to place one of the new 55 foot long trailers into one of the new pads I'd been working on. It was supposed to be done that Wednesday but the electricians hadn’t finished their work. I’d been working full time on building and preparing the new pads for a few weeks and had been rewarded with a 10 cent an hour raise. Ben and Dick had hired a new guy to take over my other duties which I knew I would miss. No longer would I have up close viewing of wash lines and the laundry left behind at the meeting hall washing machines. But it was more money and I really enjoyed working outside with my hands.

It was Thursday when the attempt to place the new trailer was made. We ran into difficulty right at the beginning. When the park had originally been laid out and the roads paved they had used the longest trailers available at the time (40 feet) to develop the turning angles. With 15 feet of additional length there just wasn’t enough room to make a 90 degree turn. We (and I include Ben and Dick) had to remove fences, sheds and cut down trees to accomplish this. What should’ve taken a few hours stretched into the afternoon. Around noon the family who had purchased the unit showed up fully expecting to have access to it. It was still in the street and, in that position, was blocking egress for the majority of the residents. Because I hadn’t come home for lunch Elle came looking for me. As luck would have it she ended up speaking to the lady who had bought the trailer. It turned out to be the same lady who I’d seen Dick showing the lot to when Andy was still clearing the area. I didn’t recognize her at first as she was wearing slacks and when I’d originally seen her she was wearing a rather sheer dress. She was fairly attractive with short, dark hair. When I saw her with Elle she had a young girl with her. I walked over to them and Elle introduced us telling me her name was Alice and the daughter was Julie. The daughter was clinging to her mother’s leg and my daughter, Jean, was clinging to Elle’s leg. It was pretty funny. I could only stay with them for a minute as the “boys” (Ben and Dick) were ready for the next phase of the move.

We finally got it in place around 4pm or so. When we turned on the water there was a leak and I was sent under the trailer to find and fix it. I came out wet and muddy and even though there was still more work to be done I headed home to get cleaned up and changed. Once there Elle filled me in on our new residents. They had come from Texas and the husband was transferred to work on developing the proposed Lunar Module. Upon hearing that I immediately thought about Mac’s and Lil’s argument that Jim had told me about. I couldn’t wait to tell Mac about the guy. When I’d seen their daughter I thought she was older than my oldest but she was actually a little younger. It was just that she was very tall for her age. Elle told me that the two of them had gotten over their shyness and seemed to be getting along well by the time she left.

Elle also told me that she’d gotten a call from Frank (my sailing club mate). He had left, driving, for his permanent home in Florida on Tuesday arriving there that morning. He thought that some important papers he needed for his work were in Florida but had been unable to find them. The only people he really knew on a local basis was Rex (the boat builder) and me. When he couldn’t reach Rex he tried me and asked if I could go to his Summer house and try to find them. Because he’d given me the part I’d needed a few weeks back and hadn’t yet paid him for it I was willing to do it for him. But, as I got into my clean, dry clothes Elle walked into the bedroom and told me her period was all gone. It’d been a week since we’d “played” and after hearing that news the last place I wanted to go was down to Frank’s house. I still had to finish up some things at work and as I did all I could think of was Elle and I getting together.

By the time I finished up with work it was after 6pm. As soon as I walked in the trailer I was all over Elle. She appreciated the attention but reminded me I’d have to wait until the kids were in bed. I knew that but I was really anxious. It was Elle who suggested that while she did that I could go to Frank’s. I still didn’t want to go but there was a part of me that knew I should... so I headed there.

Frank had told Elle where the key to the house was hidden and that I should look in and around the desk that was in the bigger bedroom. I was to be looking for a folio with proofs (pictures). I did and found nothing. I was upset because I’d wasted my time. By then it was getting dark and I was anxious to get back. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t just leave but I decided to take a look in the dresser before I did. There were some random clothes and just as I was about to close the drawer I noticed what appeared to be a panty elastic. I quickly picked it up and was rewarded to find they had the same waist elastic that I’d seen on their wash line just a few weeks earlier and had chickened out before taking a close look at them. Not this time. I quickly stuffed them into my pocket and headed out.

To be continued...