GOOD TIMES... Summer (Part 70c)

The equipment presentation was very good and all the way back Jay kept “dreaming” of all the things he could do if the county were to purchase one. Jo slept most of the way back and I started “spending” the money I was hoping to make if the guy that Jay was waiting on to call back agreed to it. First on my list was a new set of sails. Mine were eight years old and the previous season I’d rationalized that I’d only used them for four years. The rule of thumb was three years at the most. I knew they cost close to $200 and by the time we reached the County Center I was “psyched” about being able to afford it. When Jo said “good night“ she, again, told us we were ”naughty“ but laughed as she did. It was a worthwhile and fun trip.

Elle was asleep by the time I got home. There was a note on the kitchen counter that my grandmother was out of intensive care and back in the same hospital room that she’d been in. That news made it an an almost perfect day.

When I woke up Elle couldn’t wait to tell me that she’d played tennis with Alice and had fun. I asked what she’d worn. She told me bermuda shorts which wasn’t what I was really asking about. Because of her ”problem“ she’d pretty much avoided extended physical activity. It took her a few seconds to realize what I was really asking. Because she hadn’t done anything like this since college and didn’t know who might be at the courts (they were located at the high school and were open to the public up to 2pm daily and after 6pm) she wore a whole ”package“. I couldn’t believe that she’d actually done that and was still able to run around. She smiled when I questioned her. Then she asked when I’d go with her.

Right at that moment tennis was pretty close to being last on my ”want to do“ list. It didn’t stay there long though. I made the mistake of telling her that I was definitely going to be working with Jay over the next three weekends. The fact that I had the opportunity to make as much as $300 didn’t sway her. Then I compounded the mistake. She asked what I planned to do with the money and I mentioned the sails.

It was the first time since we’d moved there that I saw her really mad. I got an ear full of how selfish I was with my time and how I’d used the excuse of ”doing it for the family“ too many times. She was on a rant and I really didn’t have a response. By then I was late for work and as I walked out the door she told me that she expected to see me for supper. She didn’t have to say the ”or else“.

The day got better when Jay finally got the call from the guy about the job. He was on the phone for quite a while but had a smile on his face when he hung up the receiver. The guy was coming out to the house on Friday and wanted to meet with Jay. He was bringing a check for $500 and the remainder would be paid when the job was done to his satisfaction. It wasn’t perfect but it was still pretty good.

That night I made it home by 6pm which barely qualified as being ”on time“. After a very quiet meal Elle suggested that we take the kids to the high school to play and we ”might“ as well take our tennis rackets. There really wasn’t much I could say. A lot of what she’d said was true and for me to put up a weak defense would’ve only made her madder. The only thing I remember was that she told me they required ”sneakers“ on the courts. The last pair I owned was when I was in college. I figured that what they were looking for was rubber soles so dug out my ”boat shoes“ that I wore to go sailing. I put on a pair of my work pants and a short sleeved shirt. I’d seen pictures of the famous players wearing white clothes but my thought was to just satisfy Elle and not be a fashion plate. I did convince her that she didn’t have to wear full ”package“ and that two pair of the heavy cotton panties, a sanitary pad and her sanitary panties would suffice. That was about all the conversation we had.

I’d never been to the high school since we’d moved to town and was surprised at just how much land they had. The tennis courts were a bit out of the way but there was easy access to them from a side street. Of the four courts two were occupied. All the players were men dressed in white shorts and shirts. I knew they were giving me the once over because every time I looked their way, they were looking at me. Elle had on a pair of bermuda shorts and a regular blouse, certainly not tennis attire. The fact that this was my first time on a regulation tennis court didn’t help. In college all I’d done was to hit against the gymnasium wall so I was really struggling with the whole situation. About the only positive was that my older daughter, Jean, had fun chasing the errant balls (of which there were many). We only stayed for a short time with Elle accusing me of ”not trying“, which was partially true. I vowed (to myself) that the next time I had a racket in my hand no one else would be around. Tennis wasn’t mentioned over the next two days.

Jay met with the homeowner on Friday and got the first $500 in a check which was exciting to see. I got the home ”chores“ for the weekend done that night so I didn’t have that weighing over my head. Jay told me that he’d resurrected his father’s old panel truck and put an old license plate on it so that we, hopefully, could move more debris. We agreed to meet at the bridge to the island at 7am because the landfill closed on Saturday’s at 5pm. Thankfully, Elle was still asleep when I left, so I didn’t feel all that guilty as I left.

When Jo, Jay and I had made the first trip to the island to view the damage I hadn’t really taken close notice of all the property that we were clean up. I hadn’t realized that Jay had committed us to cleaning the debris from all of it. I had it in mind that we were just working on the stuff jammed under and around the house. As I surveyed the job that morning I wondered how we’d be able to do it in just six days. I had my doubts.

To be continued...