SUMMER FUN... July (Part 71b)

It was just before noon when Elle called me to say that Jay had stopped by the trailer and left an envelope for me but didn’t really say anything. I told her I’d be home to get it before long. It was the cash for the work at the barrier beach house. We’d all come to an agreement that Jay, his cousin and I would get $250 and Jo would get $150. The extra $100 would go to Jay for the use of the trucks and other equipment. I hadn’t planned on letting Elle know just how much money I’d made but since I had to give her the cash for the sails she had a good idea. She’d been bugging me for money to get her hair cut. I liked it the way it was but she was complaining that it was too long for the heat and humidity of the Summer. Now that she’d seen the cash I really had no excuse not to give it to her.

Back at work Jo said that she’d heard from Jay and that they were supposed to meet up after work. We were still puzzled as to what was going on but we both knew it had to do with Leo and probably wasn’t good. When I saw Leo leaving early I remember cussing him out. Hate is a strong word and up until I had to work with him I don’t think I ever felt that I “hated” anyone.

Jay was there when I arrived on Monday but he just said “hi” and went about his work. Jo was taking the morning off so I couldn’t ask her how their weekend went. Jay declined to take a break and I was beginning to wonder if he was going to open up at all. It was a little after noon when Jo showed up and when she did Jay waved for me to come with them. Nothing was said on our way to his truck nor when we stopped at the delicatessen at the traffic circle. From there we headed for the spot we’d sometimes go to at the lake. It was pretty warm so when we got there we took off our shoes and waded into the water to cool off while munching on our sandwiches. I was beginning to wonder what was up as Jay was still pretty silent. Finally he opened up by apologizing to me. I didn’t need an apology. I just wanted to know what had happened in Leo’s office to set him off.

Basically, Leo had “ripped” him for going to the Controller, supposedly “behind his back”. Leo told Jay that if it were within his power he’d fire him on the spot and that if Jay did it again he’d do everything in his power to see that he was. As I listened to Jay my hatred for Leo reached a new height. Jay said that when he left Leo’s office he was ready to quit. That night he couldn’t get to sleep and decided to stay away from the office to see if he could calm down. After meeting up with Jo and talking to her he decided that he wasn’t going to let Leo “win” and decided to come back... and he had. He just asked for some “space” for a few days. I had to hand it to him because if Leo had done the same thing to me I’d probably have taken a swing at him.

By mid week things were pretty much back to normal in the office. One positive thing had happened in that the purchasing office let Jay know that they’d located enough temporary panels to at least enclose the new space that had been allocated for us. As they were only temporary they all had glass in them. At that point it didn’t really matter as what we desperately needed was to move all the boxes of used punch cards to a secure location. Jay was told that they would be in place by Friday.

We hadn't been lied to. It was completed on Friday... just before 5pm. We’d gone down to see what it looked like and to get the keys and on our way back I saw GT, the cute blond who’s skirt I’d cleaned the grease off of, walking down the hall with another young girl. She’d made a point of waving to me or coming over to where I was whenever she saw me. It was a nice gesture but made me a bit uncomfortable. When she saw me she almost dragged the girl over. It was her younger sister who’d just graduated from high school and who was working in the Treasurer’s office as an intern. It was a trial program by the Civil Service Commission for just graduated seniors to get temporary work for July and August. She introduced her as Terri. I would not have recognized them as sisters. Although they were both the same height and build, Terri’s hair was a mousy brown and her eyes were sort of sad. GT had round, rosy cheeks and a prominent smile while Terri’s cheeks were more hollowed and she didn’t have what I’d call a natural smile. I’d known that GT had two sisters from the days when I delivered groceries to their house but the last time I’d seen Terri she was all of eight or nine years old. As I said, I was bit uncomfortable when GT would “accost” me so I made the introduction last as short as possible.

The following week Jay and I came up with a plan to start moving the boxes of cards without making it a real project. We managed to get a hand truck from the maintenance department and each time we’d go to the cafeteria on break or to the rest room we’d load it up and push it on down. On our way back to the office we’d pick it up again.

Our space was located directly across the hall from the Purchasing department. One of the secretaries was well known throughout the whole complex. Her name was Corrine and she was a forty something, buxom, bleach blond. It was impossible to see her and not stare. She and her boss were an “item” which was also well known. Jay and I were teased about our new space being so close to her. Truthfully, I wasn't interested.

I don’t know how many trips I’d made when this girl I'd never noticed before stepped into the space and asked what was going on. She introduced herself as Rena and said she also worked for Purchasing. The only thing special about her was her continuous questions. She was almost painfully thin and was nothing special to look at. However, I answered her questions then headed on back.

I think I made a few more trips before she appeared again. There were more questions and after a few answers I found out that she was the granddaughter of one of my grandfather’s old friends. They had done business with each other and I actually remembered going to her grandfather’s shop when I lived with my grandparents during WWII. That little bit of information gave her the “tie” she needed to keep dropping in on me again and again.

To be continued...