MORE SUMMER FUN... August (Part 73g)

I got her to get out and pointed to what I thought the problems were. I told her I just couldn’t do anything with the car right then but I’d give her a ride to work. It was probably close to 7pm by then and I knew I was in for ”hot tongue and cold shoulder“ at home. Because of those thoughts I didn’t pay much attention to Rena. Once at the restaurant she asked what she should do about her car. It made me feel bad in that it wasn’t my usual nature to just brush someone with a problem, off. Wanting to get home I told her to give me her keys and I’d try to get it fixed. With keys in hand I drove off wondering how I’d gotten myself into this mess.

As I drove into the trailer park I found I couldn’t take my usual route to my trailer. The back road was closed off and as I checked the situation out found there was a trailer in the middle of the road with a broken axle. To get home from there I had to use the road my first trailer was on and saw Lance working on another of his reclamation projects. I hadn’t seen him in a while so asked him about it. As he explained I got the idea to ask if he’d help me with Rena’s car. He truly was a ”motor head“ and upon hearing the situation explained he was ready to go right then and there. However, I still had on my good work clothes and knew I still had to face Elle and her wrath before we could go.

Elle's complaint wasn’t the situation (not that I told her ALL the details) but it was that I hadn’t called. She had supper ready at 6pm and I wasn’t there. As far as me leaving again she was mad enough that it didn’t really matter. I picked up Lance and we went back to the County Center and Rena’s car. He totally agreed with one part of my diagnosis and that the problem was primarily due to a broken distributor cap. The normal places to find auto parts were closed but, Lance being Lance, knew a place where he thought he could get what we needed. A little riding around and we were back. It only took a few minutes to change the offending part and when he went to start the car it roared to life right away. After hearing it run for a few minutes he confirmed the rest of my diagnosis in that the engine needed a tune up.

Lance followed me to the restaurant driving Rena’s car. I didn’t want see Rena so sent him inside with the keys. When he returned he had a big smile on his face and told me that when he’d told her that her car was outside she ”attacked“ him with her thanks. Actually, that was the very reason I didn’t want to take the keys to her.

However, in spite of my somewhat concerted efforts to avoid her at work she eventually caught up with me. Thankfully, we were in a hallway and her ”thanks“ were muted because there were people all around. I just knew there would be more to come.

As we approached the end of the month the special HVAC unit had been installed for our new space and Jay was itching to get us moved as soon as possible. Since the County only leased the equipment from Remington Rand they demanded that they handle the move. Even though the partitions for the internal area of the new space weren’t due in until the middle of September Jay wanted to get the equipment in and running as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Labor Day weekend appeared to be the best choice. It certainly wasn’t mine.

Jay and I were in the process of marking out the location for each piece of equipment when Gina, Leo’s secretary, came into the room. That usually meant that Leo wanted to see Jay and that wasn’t good. But this time she was looking for me. She wanted me to come back to the Audit and Control office but she wouldn’t tell me why. As I remember it the time was around 3pm. I was puzzled, for sure, and once inside the doors she pointed me towards GT’s desk. (GT being the cute, young blond) As I approached I could see she was upset and crying. She blurted out ”Grampy died“ and went through another crying spell. It took a few minutes for her to calm down and when she did she said she wanted me to know as soon as possible since my grandfather and her grandfather were best friends. Then she dropped the ”bomb“ on me and asked if I’d go with her to tell her sister, Terri, who worked in the Treasurer’s office.

Death and I were were strangers. When my mother’s mother died I was just six years old. I didn’t really know her and when she died I was living with my father’s parents so had no memory of it at all. I didn’t know what to say or how to act. When we walked into the Treasurer’s office and got someone to get her sister I was dreading having to give her the news. I was somewhat spared because when Terri saw GT she pretty much knew from the way she looked what had happened. It was then that the second ”bomb“ hit.

They both took the bus to and from work. When their mother called GT to tell her she asked that the girls go directly to her grandparents house. With no car they had no way... except for me. I was in another difficult situation not of my own making. Jay and I had been making good progress and it would make it rough on him if I left. Thankfully, payroll was not a factor at this time. I told the girls that I’d have to get the ”OK“ to leave and then went to Jay to explain what was happening. He said he had no problem with it but I wasn’t sure about that when I left.

The grandparents lived in a town a little more than half way from where we were to where Elle’s and my parents lived. Since it was mid afternoon traffic wasn’t bad so it only took about twenty minutes. GT wanted me to come inside but I wasn’t up for that. I promised her that I’d let my grandfather know as soon as I could. However, as I drove away I knew I didn’t want to be the one to tell him. My parents house was only 15 minutes away and I quickly decided I’d go tell my father and let him be the bearer of the bad news.

To be continued...