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

Elle was waiting for me at the door wanting to know what was going on. She’d seen (or heard) the ‘55 Chevy and wanted to know just what was going on. I waved the check at her and told her it was a new trailer. She looked at me like I was crazy and that’s when I sat her down and told her about Lance wanting to buy our unit. (I carefully neglected to mention the car.) It really was too much for her to fathom in such a short time. Even though I’d previously taken her up to the display lot to show her the new style trailers I’d never really indicated that I was serious about buying one or that we even could afford it. The kids had already eaten so I suggested that we go up there again to take a good look. Since it was a Friday night I knew that one of the “boys” would be there until at least 7pm. We dressed the kids and headed on up.

There were two of the “pop out” units on display. We went into the first one which was similar to the one I’d shown her before. The first time she’d just looked without visualizing actually living in it. This time was different. We were inside for about 10 minutes or so before Dick showed up. I gave him the “thumbs up” signal and he picked up on it right away. He pointed out some features that even I didn’t know about and then mentioned that there were options that were available if we wanted to order one from the factory. Of course we had to at least listen to them.

I don’t think I’d even given a thought to actually ordering a unit up to that point. After listening to what Dick had to say Elle picked up on a few of the options. The unit we were looking at was a three bedroom model. We’d toyed with the idea of having a third child, wanting to add a boy to the two girls. One option was to have bunk beds built into one of the bedrooms and that made sense rather than to try and “stuff” a store bought one into the existing space like we’d done. Another option was for different styles of kitchen cabinets. A third option was to have the bathroom laid out in such a way as to be able to put a full sized washing machine in there. THAT was something that really resonated with Elle. I asked how long it would take to get a custom made unit and Dick said it usually took about three weeks. That would make it right before Christmas. I remember looking around at the expanded living room and wanting to be able to celebrate Christmas with all that space.

In spite of the kids getting bored and tired we sat there and placed our order. The options added a few hundred dollars more to the total but there was nothing I could do about it. When we got back to our trailer I was amazed at how small it looked and felt in comparison. I’d never really felt cramped in it until that night. After putting the kids to bed we spent the next few hours planning/dreaming about what it would be like in our new home. I told Elle about how I’d more or less “reserved“ the last South side lot and the advantages we’d have with it. It was hard for both of us to get to sleep that night.

It was frustrating not being able to get in contact with Lance. All I had was a barracks number and he was never there when I called. I had to use Mac as a messenger. It was Tuesday before I saw him. I know he was disappointed when I told him that it wouldn’t be until right before Christmas that we would be able to move. I gave him the projected date and he said he’d arrange to get his wife here at that time so they could celebrate Christmas together. Now all either of us could do was wait.

Things, for me, at work went well over the next few weeks. Nina ignored me as did Leo, which was fine by me. The ”excitement“ was in the arrival of the two transferred employees. One was an older lady named Hilda. The ”buzz“ concerned the reason why she was transferred. She’d been a Treasurer’s department employee for a long time. The other was a young girl who had started during the Summer named Lenora. She was a very attractive girl with shoulder length dark hair. Since we were somewhat removed (physically) from the general work area we didn’t get to interact with either of them. All we could do was look through the partition windows as the office dynamic played out in front of us.

One issue that did involve the whole Audit and Control Department was the upcoming Christmas party. A vote was taken and it was decided it would be for the employees only; no spouses or boy/girl friends. Leo, through his potato chip route, knew of a local restaurant that would give us a break on price since we would have to pay most of our own way. The Controller threw in some money but the rest was pay as you go. It was decided to hold it in the middle of the month so as to not interfere with everything else that was going on. Jay insisted that it be on a Thursday evening so as to not to deprive the DP department from participating due payroll processing. I was looking forward to it as a way to get to know some of the people that I could only see but not interact with.

The County Board of Supervisors monthly meetings were always held on the second Thursday. The payroll was delivered to the Treasurer’s office on time and Leo had given the Audit and Control department permission to leave for the party at 4pm. They didn’t call it ”Happy Hour“ back in those days but the restaurant did provide cheaper drinks when we arrived. I hadn’t done much, if any, drinking since leaving college so after just two I was pretty blitzed. I remember Leo arriving well after the rest of us and the first thing he did was to call us all together. Then he announced that the Supervisors had authorized a 7.5%, across the board, pay increase. The place went wild and there were more (and more) drinks all around.

I don’t remember a thing after that until I found myself at the trailer. A couple of the non drinking women had ”poured“ Jay and I into his truck and drove it to the trailer. The next thing I remember was waking up the next morning with one of the worst headaches I’ve ever had. As I stumbled to the bathroom I saw Jay all crumpled up on the sofa, his 6’4” frame all twisted around. By the time we were both showered and dressed it was close to 10am. The last place I wanted to go was to work to have to face the people who’d seen me so messed up but I did go. Other than a few smirky smiles nothing was said about our behavior. The “talk” that I do remember concerned the new, older lady to the department, Hilda. Supposedly she’d been cut off by the bartender and than proceeded to curse him out. The important thing was that I survived the day at work. However, I got an earful of grief from Elle when I got home.

To be continued...