END OF SUMMER... September (Part 74h)

The last week of a month was always a bit rushed because we had to prepare for extra reports. On top of that I had a full County payroll to run. I’d been in the DP department almost a year and we hadn’t experienced a major problem with the computer... until that week. I was just at the beginning of my payroll run when it stopped. Unfortunately, this time it was something that our regular repairman couldn’t step Jay through and had to ask for assistance from the area office. We were told that it would be at least four hours until that help would arrive. Basically, we were dead in the water. Both Jo and I needed the computer to continue on our respective projects. We’d both done all the prep work necessary and, to stay on schedule, we knew we’d have to work late. Knowing that it’d be at least four hours and probably be more, Jay suggested that the both of us take off from work. He said he’d call when the special technician had a chance to assess the problem and to guestimate the time necessary to fix it. Jo and I both agreed.

It was early afternoon when I got home. Elle had been called in to teach so I knew the kids were at the neighbor’s. I went to check up on them and was told they were taking naps. With time on my hands I headed for the trailer with the idea of looking through the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs. In the few minutes I spent looking in the Sears catalog the week prior I was really surprised at the broad spectrum of product. I now had a chance to take a closer look.

I started from the front and not having a real interest in female clothing, especially Winter wear, found myself in the lingerie section. It was unbelievable. Although I was mostly only looking at line drawings the range and scope of the things there had me with a soft bulge. I remember wanting to kick myself for not knowing what was hidden in those pages all those years. My ”excuse” was that my parents, for whatever reason, had never dealt with Sears (or Montgomery Ward) and even when I’d seen a random catalog at a friends house I had no reason to peruse it. Dumb me!

I’d spent a lot of time looking at panties in stores but I probably saw more choices in the pages I was staring at. When I reached the last page I grabbed for the Montgomery Ward book and went looking for their lingerie section. It was another eye opener. However, I did find one thing of great interest... the name “Carol Brent”. It took a few seconds for it to register but when it did it put a big smile on my face. Carol Brent was the trade name Ward’s used on some lines of their lingerie. Once I realized that I started looking in earnest for the cotton panties that I now knew Janelle, from next door, was wearing at least at night. When I located them they were in a section of what I would call “warm wear”, in with long johns and like garments. I also liked their price at 6 for $3.99. I was excited enough to think about driving down town to order some right then. But reality took hold and I knew I need to be ready for when Jay called so put the catalog number on a piece of paper and stuffed it in my wallet.

Jay called at around 7pm and said to be back around 8pm. I helped Elle get the girls ready for bed and then left for work. Jay had indicated that we’d work only to midnight and if everything was working we’d still be able to make our deadlines. When I walked in there was no one there... no Jay, Jo or repairmen. All the panels were back on the computer and it was running so it seemed as if all was well. There were no notes warning that the machine was ‘down“ so I took the first tray of payroll cards and started in. A few minutes later I saw Jay coming from the back of the room. He looked a bit disheveled but Jay was never one for neatness so I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t quite 8pm and I figured Jo would be walking through the door at any minute. I was putting the first processed tray in line for the printer when I saw someone go out the back door. Whoever it was was wearing dark trousers and had shirttails hanging out. At first II thought it was probably one of the repair people. A few minutes later Jo walked in the main doors. She was her usual cheerful self with a big smile on her face. As she walked past me I saw that the back of her blouse was out and that she was wearing dark pants. It took but a second for me to connect the ”dots“... She and Jay had to have been in one of the storage rooms. Now it was my turn to smile.

That weekend Elle was in a ”tizzy“ about weather to have a birthday party, with guests, for Anne. At two years old she didn’t have any true friends. She played mostly with her sister, Jean, and her friend, Julie. Never knowing when she’d be called in to teach she figured it would be just her luck to get a call that day. She’d learned that once you made it to the top of the substitute list you just didn’t ever want to turn down a job or you’d go to the bottom of the list. Elle mentioned her concerns to Millie who told her that she and her daughters would step in and help if it came to that. So, that weekend we did the planning for the party, buying all the decorations. One of the things Elle definitely wanted was to have pictures. I went to get the camera to see if I needed film and found it wasn’t there. I was puzzled and concerned. It was my grandfather’s good Polaroid camera.

To be continued...