FALL... November (Part 76a)

Andre started work around the first of the month. It was readily obvious that he was familiar with the equipment we had. I’d actually written down all the steps I had to take to process payroll and Jo was doing the same for the appropriations accounting. The hardest part for him was learning the “jargon” we used. However, Lucy was a bit of a problem. She was still upset that she had to pretty much go back to just keypunching. Pouty would probably be the best way to describe her. Because Jay had been letting her process a lot of the work DP had taken on for some of the other departments within the County it was expected that she would show Andre what she did. She didn’t think so. She took the position that since she was “just a key punch operator” she really wasn’t responsible for anything more. It wasn’t “fun” for a few weeks.

Andre’s personality won her over after a while. Jo and I really liked working with him because he was always smiling and willing to take on any project. With him getting comfortable in the job, Jay was anxious to take on the task of programming the invoice tracking that Rena had suggested to her boss, the director of Purchasing. Once he started it seemed like Rena spent more time in our area than she did in the purchasing office. On one of the first days she worked with Jay I happened to look her way and she had somehow hiked her skirt up so that she could sit on the calf of her leg. If I moved just a bit I could see the magic little white triangle. I tried not to be too obvious but she did catch me and immediately smiled. I didn’t mind her knowing but I certainly didn’t want to be caught by the others in the office.

All the parts to my new awning and room were delivered at about the same time. I got home and saw this huge pile of cardboard boxes stacked in my yard. I checked with Dick at the park office and he said that he and his brother would be to my trailer first thing that Saturday morning. That night, as I stared at the pile, I remember shaking my head saying that there was no way that it would all go together in just one day. Elle was really excited about it because it would mean that we’d be able to set up our Christmas tree in the new room and wouldn’t have to rearrange the living room to accommodate it. I found her interest in Christmas a little upsetting since we weren’t even close to Thanksgiving.

I’d been both right and wrong about concern about how long it would take to erect both the awning and room. Even though none of the three of us had ever done it before we found that if we followed the instructions it was really pretty easy. It took about ten hours to get the room so that it could be considered “up”. When we finally quit for the day there were still a lot of little things like caulking, installing crank handles for the windows, door hardware and the like to be done. I remember Elle standing inside it and marveling how big it was. As I’d mentioned before, she had no ability for spatial relationships... at all! As the “boys” left I remember thinking that it was one of the few times that I’d seen Ben be even moderately civil. I also remember that Dick commented that it was definitely not a “one man job”.

Dick had left me the keys to the pick up truck that was used around the park so I could haul all the cardboard out of the yard. Other than taking my grandfather to the hospital for his visit that was my main job on Sunday. While I did that Elle was doing her planning on how the new space was to be used. The first thing I was greeted with upon my return was that I had to do something about the floor. It was nothing more than the concrete patio... and it was cold. Elle had called her mother to tell her that the room was up. Since the fishing season was over her father was home and suggested that they take a ride to come see it. Elle complained about the cold cement and her father suggested that we make a false floor by laying sheets of plywood over a grid of 2x2’s. That would create a dead air space which would act like insulation. It made sense to me and I was glad he’d come to see it even though it meant spending some money that we didn’t really have.

That Monday I told Jay what I’d been working on and asked if he’d help me put down the wood for the floor. He said he would and the two of us headed for the lumber yard during our lunch. We actually got it roughly laid out before going back to work. That night, using Jay’s Skil saw, I cut it to fit and had it all in place by the time the kids went to bed. Elle had been busy during the day and had bought some material and borrowed a sewing machine. She’d made curtains for the windows although we needed the hardware to put them up.

Reality hit on Tuesday when she got a call from Ben up at the office. We’d had people from the trailer park stop by to see what we were doing but Dick had politely told them he couldn’t talk with them since we were trying to get the project finished before nightfall. Now these same people wanted to see the somewhat finished product. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten that part of the “deal” but she was so caught up in making the space livable that she wasn’t prepared. I don’t remember how many people ended up stopping by but I know Elle was upset by the end of the day. For my part, all I could see was dollar signs. Each different family meant another $25 off what I owed for the whole thing.

The “visits” paid off for the “boys” as well. They had at least four orders as a result and that meant more money in my pocket. It took about ten days from placing an order to delivery. I remember the first one was scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The problem was that I was going to need at least one person to help me. I hoped that Dick would be the person but he said that putting the one up was enough for him.

To be continued...