A BUMP(us) IN THE ROAD... a pothole? (Part 66f)

I did not get a good night’s sleep what with the potential sale of the trailer and the almost sure fall out at work concerning Nina and my involvement with the last payroll. Since I was sort of “vague” with my answers to Elle’s questions I also had to put up with a barrage of nagging that continued right up to the time I left for work. I wasn’t looking forward to facing the Controller but it was almost better than listening to Elle.

As expected, Irwin, Jay and I were called in to the Controllers office soon after 9am. Irwin took the “heat” for the decision to let me go ahead and to run the payroll. I had envisioned Leo being there but, thankfully, he wasn’t. The long and short of the meeting was that Irwin used up a few of his “chips” with the Controller. He “sold” him on the fact that Nina was NOT the person for the job and that, at least for the time being, I was. Even though I didn’t know exactly what “for the time being” meant, I left the meeting feeling good and knowing that I had a job that I really enjoyed and couldn’t wait to get back to.

Monday’s were used for “catch up”, running reports and doing file maintenance so I let my mind wander a bit and to think through the sale of my trailer and the purchase of the new one. Lance was on duty until midnight and I knew the earliest I could catch up with him would, hopefully, be sometime the next day. On my way home I stopped at the park office and told Dick of what was going through my mInd. I trusted him enough to tell him the asking price I’d given to Lance. The only thing he said was that he would’ve given me more if I’d traded it in with him. My immediate thought was that since Lance hadn’t signed any papers maybe I should back out and trade the trailer in. That was when I remembered the '55 Chevy. I told Dick I’d think about it knowing that if I told Elle that the car was part of the sale price she wouldn’t have a problem with it. By the time I arrived home I’d pretty much decided to let the deal stand with Lance.

Surprisingly, Leo was there on Tuesday morning. He called a meeting of the staff but didn’t include the four of us in the DP department. It didn’t take long to find out what it covered as Linda and Allie were so close so Jay sent Linda in as soon as the meeting broke up. The main purpose was to explain that Nina was going back to her old position and that there would be two new additions coming from the Treasurer’s office. The only one affected by Nina’s return was Lynn who had been doing Nina’s job. The “buzz” was more about just what the “new” people would be doing. There was one vacancy that had been left vacant in anticipation of such a transfer. What would the other person be doing was the question. As Linda was spilling the “goods” I noticed Leo leaving with his coat and hat on. So much for a full day at work!

The news about the impending additions from the Treasurer’s office elicited a snide comment from Donna (the primary keypuncher). I don’t remember exactly what it was but it was a typical negative remark from her. I wondered how one person could be so sour. I was just about to start the payroll process for the week when we saw all the women in the main office gather around Nina’s desk. Linda was sent out to find out what was happening. It wasn’t good news. Nina had just received a phone call from Dora’s son that she’d been seriously injured in a car accident on the way to work and was in critical condition at the local hospital. For some strange reason I can still remember that she drove an early ‘50’s big, black DeSoto 4 door.

From a work standpoint she was a Senior Clerk and her responsibilities were something that Lynn could slide right into. Dora’s accident pretty much answered the question as to the need for another person but it still left the question as to just what she would do and how that would affect all the others. It didn’t mean anything to us in the DP department or so we thought.

Payroll for the week went very well. I employed more multi tasking and was able to shorten the run time by twenty minutes. I was unable to contact Lance and even went to see Mac to have him contact me as soon as possible. By Friday night I was really concerned but when I got home there was the ‘55 Chevy parked in front of the trailer. I pulled in behind it and Lance jumped out and got to the door before I even got it open. He handed me a piece of paper and in the dim glow of the dome light I could see it was a check. Before I could read the amount he told me it was for $1,000 and the rest would be coming in the next week. Before I could say anything he was running back to the ‘55 and I watched him drive off. I sat there and looked at the check and realized that the "deal“ was, indeed, on. It was time to tell Elle.

To be continued...