GOOD TIMES... Spring (Part 69c)

That next weekend was the one Jay and I had designated for switching motors in the Chevys. I went over to his house to pick him up so we could drive the two cars back. By the time we had both cars in Jay’s yard it was mid morning. One of Jay’s cousins stopped by and he was a big help. By lunchtime we had one car ready to have the motor pulled. Jay sent his cousin to go buy some sandwiches for us to eat which puzzled me. He lived right there and I sort of expected that his wife would feed us. Elle had made sandwiches for us on some of the weekends we’d worked at the County Center and it seemed reasonable to expect the same from Jay’s wife. The next thing that surprised me was that when Jay had to relieve himself he just walked back into the woods and not into the house. However, I didn’t say anything.

By the time it got dark we had both motors out and had the ”good“ motor in the black car. We still had to hook up the wires, put the radiator in and connect the exhaust. I was willing to keep going as long as Jay was willing. Then I heard a very loud and shrill ”Jaaaaaayyyyyyy!". Jay was under the car and I heard him swear. Another “Jaaaaayyyyyyy! and he came sliding out and headed for his door. His cousin and I kept working but I heard his cousin mutter something that sounded like ”Beach!“. He was originally from the Ukraine and had been in the country for about ten years so he still had a bit of an accent. What he actaully said was"Bitch!". Jay was gone for about 15 minutes and I could see that he was upset when he returned. I knew him well enough to keep my mouth shut. It took about an hour before we could start the engine and shortly thereafter I headed home.

It was the longest trip I’d made in the car since picking it up and it was very obvious that it needed shock absorbers. I felt like I was out at sea in a small boat the way the car seemed to just sway and bounce while riding down the road. I had asked Jay what time I should come back on Sunday and he never gave me a time. I decided to do my regular Sunday duty and to take my grandfather to the hospital. It turned out to be the right thing to do. I’d had time to learn more about the trust fund that he’d given me. It was made up of stocks and they paid dividends. That's where the cash came from. I’d studied about the stock market while in college but had never given a thought to ever being in a position to own stocks. While talking with him that Sunday I asked if he would teach me about the market. I honestly think that there was nothing I could’ve done or said that would’ve meant more to him than that. I only wished that I could’ve stayed that day to start my ”lessons“.

Back at Jay’s, he and his cousin had the other motor about ready to go in the blue Chevy. He didn’t have much to say and I didn’t push him. It was about dark when we fired the engine up. I asked if he’d drive one of my cars back and he said ”no”. I was a bit surprised but, again, didn’t say anything. He told me he’d bring it to work the next day and have Jo give him a ride home. Now, as I’ve hinted at, it was becoming more clear that there were some definite “sparks” between the two of them. It was on my way home that the thought came to me that relationship between Jay and his wife wasn’t going all that well. I’d thought it somewhat strange that Jay never talked about her or his daughter. In the parts of the two days I spent there I never saw either one and yet I knew that his wife was there. I just wished I knew more about the situation.

The first thing I wanted to do was to get the blue Chevy ready to sell. I recruited Lance to help me do a tune up on the motor I'd put in it from the black Chevy. When he saw it he told me to get it powerwashed before doing anything else. He said anyone lifting the hood and looking at the motor would walk away after seeing all that farm dirt on it. Once that was done he told me that he’d take it out to the air base and should get it sold in just a few days. I fully expected him to ask for a percentage and we worked it out so that I would forgive the last money he owed on my old trailer. Ironically, the day he got a buyer for me was the day Judy gave birth to their son. He was at the air base and the buyer had just given him the money when he got word that Judy had been taken to the hospital. It was three days later before I saw my money.

In hindsight I probably should’ve gotten more than $450 but having the cash to buy what I needed for the black car was more important. I’d been driving it to and from work and was somewhat ashamed to be seen in it. The seats were brown from worn in farm dust and the floor had at least a half inch of dirt on it. I could’ve planted flowers in the trunk for all the farm dirt I found in there. I decided to strip all the seats and carpeting out of the car and to just use a hose to wash the dirt away. I got the front seat unbolted and asked Elle to help me drag it out from inside the car. With difficulty, we got it out and off to the side. She asked if there was anything else she could do to help and I told her to start in on washing the seats. I worked on getting the back seats out which was much easier. Once the carpets were out I took the hose to the floor and watched the pavement under the car turn farm lot brown. Elle, who’d been sitting on the front seat as she worked forgot that it wasn’t fastened down. She turned to take a look and as she did she leaned back and I watched as the seat, with Elle on it, flipped over, her feet straight up in the air. But, what I also saw was something white jammed up into the seat springs. I came over to help Elle get up and as I got to the seat I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. I was positive that the “white” was a pair of panties.

To be continued...