A BRIGHT FUTURE... busy but happy (Part 68b)

When Jay and I got back from our break there was Jo waiting for him. I watched as they shook hands and then she sat down and talked with Jay for a few minutes. Then she got up and went over to the second keypunch machine and sat down. Linda was at the primary one and they chatted with Jay for a few minutes. Then I watched her take a big pile of cards from Linda and start to do the keypunch checking of them. I was puzzled. I had to go through a whole waiting period before I was allowed to start work and here she’d just walked into the office and was now working. I got Jay’s attention and had him come over to where I was. He laughed telling me that she wasn’t getting paid until the following week but had volunteered to help. He shook his head, sort of in disbelief, and said “why not?”.

That Friday was the last day of the year. I spent my whole day doing prep work for the next week’s payroll because Monday was New Years day and the office would be closed. Jay and I had worked out a schedule to put time in over the weekend. He was still behind on the final testing of the appropriations accounting program and I had to run my quarterly end reports in addition to the payroll. We were working on the timing schedule for each of us to use the computer when Jo came over to tell Jay that she still had a pile of cards to check. It was 5pm and it was not what he wanted to hear. But, before he could say anything I heard her say that she could stay if it was OK. I remember processing that little bit of information and together with the fact that she wasn’t going to get paid for the work she’d already done, wondered if she were “for real”. All three of us stayed until after 8pm and, to make the day completely unbelievable, as we walked out Jo offered to come in over the weekend. I headed for home wondering if she was really too good to be believed.

Saturday went well as Jo finished all the keypunch checking for Jay’s test. When she was finished she asked if she could hang around and watch what we were doing. I had persuaded Elle to bring us lunch. It was the first time she’d ever seen the office. Even after Jay gave her the “tour” she still had no idea just what it was that I did except for “playing” with cards. She didn’t stay long as the kids were restless (bored).

While we were eating we got some background on Jo. She was twenty years old and the youngest in her family. She had a brother and two sisters. Her parents ran a restaurant and all her siblings worked there. She started when she was 12 years old and since finishing high school her goal was to “escape” it. One of her friends had gotten a job as a keypunch operator at the electric utility company and told her how much she liked it. The computer manufacturer (Univac) had it’s corporate headquarters not that far away from her home and ran keypunch operator classes. Jo had finished in October and had seen the County Civil Service announcement for keypunch operator. She took the test and had just been notified that she was on top of the list. We did ask her what her parents thought about her leaving them and the restaurant. She just rolled her eyes and issued what was becoming her “trademark”, a little nervous laugh. Jo left at about mid afternoon and Jay and I stayed until dark deciding to come back on Sunday.

Elle wasn’t too happy with me working the whole weekend, especially since I wasn’t being paid for it. Jay and I were keeping a record of the extra time we spent because we were supposed to get “compensatory time” for it. I felt somewhat guilty but I really liked the challenge of what I was doing and liked working with Jay. From a purely selfish standpoint, the one thing that bothered me on that Sunday was that the National Football League championship game was on and I’d really wanted to see it on our new TV. The game was between the NY Giants (my favorite team at the time) and the Green Bay Packers. Jay was able to get a radio to play inside the building (all the metal used in the construction effectively blocked most radio signals) so that, somewhat, appeased me. In a way I wished I hadn’t been able to hear it as I remember the Giants got beaten very badly.

Again, we worked until dark. I’d been able to get my reports processed and printed but Jay still had work to do. As we left I told him I’d come in at about noon on New Years day to see how it was going for him. As I left the trailer I told Elle I’d only be gone a short time. Again, it was after dark when we finished. I know Jay appreciated my help but I also knew Elle would be upset. Of the many things that I’d talked to Jay about one was on the possibility of him designing and helping me to build a playhouse for my kids. Jay, very much like me, didn’t know how to say “no”. As we left I reminded him of that and asked if he’d stop by and let Elle know. I hoped that it would take some of the “heat” off me for having worked the whole weekend. He did and his presence made my night a little more tolerable. Now we just had to find the time to do it.

I got in early on Monday to work on payroll and was surprised to find Jo already there. I don’t remember what time it was but it was refreshing to see her there. The rest of the women in the general work area would kind of “hover” outside the doors to the office until almost 9am and then come in together. I just couldn't understand their thinking. I noticed immediately that Jo was dressed as nicely as she’d been for the interview. I wont go as far as to say that most of the other females didn’t dress nicely, (there was a dress code: skirts or dresses for the women and coats and ties for the men) but, with the exception of the two younger females, the best way to describe their appearance was “frumpy”. Jo looked great... another tight fitting skirt with the hem just above the knee and a frilly white blouse. (NOTE: Mini skirts were just appearing on the fashion scene but had not reached our rural area. A skirt or dress above the knee was, for most males, a sight to behold.) What I noticed was that the color of her skirt was decidedly lighter than the one she’d worn on Friday which, early on, provided me with a nice VPL (visible panty line). I liked what I was seeing!

To be continued...