SETTLED... at least I thought so (Part 63d)

After we got the kids to bed we started talking about a lot of things that we’d both pushed into the background. For me it was the potential to lead a somewhat normal life. I’d never real thought about it before because I’d never had a job even when going to school, that didn’t require abnormal hours. I’d done some quick calculations and if the ”boys” would allow me to continue to work Saturdays I’d be making over $115 per week and would even have time for my family. For Elle, my having a full time, permanent job would mean that she would, hopefully, be able to use her teaching degree, if only on a part time basis as a substitute teacher. In discussing it with me she said that Alice (the new resident that she’d just befriended) had offered to watch the kids if Elle ever decided to try it. Somehow, a lot of things were coming together for us. We ended up getting so engrossed in the “what ifs” that Elle had failed to put on her night time “package”. We were still talking, in bed and in the dark, when Elle who was in my arms, sat up suddenly. She muttered that she was “tinkling” and started to get up. I grabbed her and pulled her back and over me. I could feel the warmth of her pee as I rubbed her back and kissed her. It took a few seconds for her to relax and then it got really interesting. It was probably the best sex we’d had in a long time. Usually it was me who would fall asleep but we both did. The next thing I knew I saw a light from the bathroom. Elle had peed again and the bed was a real mess. It was around 2am and we ended up striping the bed and then taking a shower together. Wide awake, we ended up sitting in our underwear in the living room, continuing the talk we’d been involved in all evening. We finally “crashed” around 4am.

We decided not to say anything about my job prospect to any of our friends, choosing to wait until it was fact. I filled out the application for the test and during my lunch break delivered it to Mrs K. She had looked up the date of the test and it was a week from the upcoming Saturday. I knew it would be a long eight days.

On Friday two of the new trailers for display arrived. They were even longer than the three we’d just placed and one of them had a new wrinkle. It had a “pop-out” that would add an extra 8’x10’ to the living room. The trailer was delivered with the “pop-out” actually inside the unit itself. The “boys” (and I) couldn’t wait to start setting it up. We had most of it done by late Saturday afternoon and it just blew me away. At 60’ it had three bedrooms, a separate dining area and an 18“x10 living room. I knew that I wanted one... but I also was smart enough not to tell Elle about it. One of the things that, even during the leanest times for us during the Summer, I had resisted doing and that was to sell the camp trailer that I’d bought the previous year. I just wanted to be absolutely sure that I didn’t have a change of heart about leaving the horse business. The trailer was worth more than I’d paid for it, even a year later. I also knew that trailers around the size of mine (41’) were not as plentiful now with the new longer ones (50 to 60 feet) being the ”in thing“. I had come to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be hard to sell mine, in place, to a young couple starting out or to an older retired couple. Based on some information I’d gleaned from hanging around the office I felt I’d be able to sell it for almost as much as I’d paid for it. The new model that I’d just help set up cost a little over $7,000. If I got what I hoped for my two units I’d only need a little over $2000. I’d overheard a number of people who had been looking at new trailers talk about ”bank financing“. The only thing needed to get it was a full time job. I think you can see what my thought process was at the time.

I really had to resist telling Elle about the newest trailer. We continued to play more of the ”waht if“ game after supper. When Elle went to give the girls their pre bedtime baths she asked me to close the curtains. When I went to close the large ones on Tom and Lola’s side I thought I saw an orange glow flickering in their rear door window. It had the type of glass that you can’t see though clearly. It was hard to tell what it was because the lights from inside our trailer were reflecting on our glass windows. I turned out the main light and still saw it. I went outside to investigate.

I knew that Tom was away at some sort of training for his work but I also knew that Lola had their car. It wasn’t in front of their trailer when I headed in that direction. I went right to the back door and there definitely was an orange glow and I could smell burning rubber. I ran to the front door just to make sure no one was home and after a few seconds ran back to my trailer to call the fire department. (We didn’t have 911 back then) I told Elle what I’d seen and ran back outside to wait for the Fire Trucks. I gave specific instructions on how to find the right road and wanted to be able to point to the right unit. It took them about 15 minutes to get there. With all the cars parked in the street it took some time to make it down the street. It was a volunteer fire department which meant that many of them would be driving their own cars. Talk about utter chaos!

The first two to arrive wanted to chop through the back door with fire axes. I was able to convince them that a couple of crow bars in the door jamb would do the job. When the door was opened I could see flames coming from the door of the dryer. It was one of those stackable units where the washer in on the bottom and the dryer was on the top. Two men jumped up inside the trailer and one opened the door. A huge fireball jumped out at them and the one who had opened the door screamed out in pain. By then some of the others had run the fire hose to the hydrant. One guy had the nozzle pointed right at the door when a guy who I guessed was the chief showed up and told them not to use water but to get a dry chemical extinguisher from one of the trucks. By then there was little in the way of flames. It only took them a few minutes to find the culprit. Lola had washed a rubber backed bath mat and put it into the dryer and then left. I spoke with the guy who I thought was the Chief and he said there was almost no fire damage but the smoke damage was extensive.

To be continued...