SPRING... adapting to the changes (Part 80g)

By the end of the week I could make it to noon without taking a pain pill so I knew I was getting better. I found that standing didn’t hurt as much as sitting which was a blessing as that was most of what my work required. However, there was no way I could do any real physical labor. I’d worked my debt for the patio room down to about $300 and had projected that I’d have the “boys" paid up by Memorial day, the projected opening for the new travel trailer portion of the park. It seemed that the project was ”jinxed“ for me as well as the "boys" as one thing after another went wrong. Money was already tight for me and Jean’s 4th birthday was coming up at the end of the month. I told Jay that I thought maybe my racing career was over before it started. He tried to be optimistic but I wasn’t convinced.

One thing that I did know was that somehow I had to get the wrecked race car out of the yard where we’d we’d left it. I made some telephone calls and was able to locate the replacement steering parts that would allow me to tow the car back to the park. I felt bad in asking Eric to do the repairs but there was no way for me to do it. It was Saturday when we moved it back to the lean to at the park. It was very discouraging looking at the wounded car.

Andy had seen us putting the car away. When I got home he called me over over to ask what my plans for the car were. As we talked Lil came outside and headed to the rear yard. Seeing her headed that way Andy motioned for me to follow him. As we got there I got a bit excited when I saw clothes on the wash line. But Andy wanted to ask me what he could do about the hole in the back wall of their patio room. Alvin had purchased an electric clothes dryer and the hole was for the vent. He’d taken it out when he left and Andy had no plans to put one in. As I looked at it I tried my best to peek at the clothes line but with no success. But just seeing Lil and the clothes on the line perked up my spirits up. I’d either been too busy or hurting too much to have paid any attention since she and Andy had moved in. My interest was now revived.

An interesting thing happened at work around that time. When I finished printing the payroll checks and everything was in ”proof“, I had to deliver then to the Treasurer’s office. The lady who received them would sign a receipt for them. I never knew her name as all she ever signed was ”Mrs. G.“. On this Thursday she asked me what my name was. Sort of surprised by the question, I told her. She asked if I knew her son, Richie and I said I didn’t think so. Not knowing her last name, off the top of my head I couldn’t think of any Richies. Then she told me her last name and it came to me that it might be Elle’s classmate who we’d seen at the doctor’s office a while back. I then remembered that he’d married the girl, Joan, who had lived next door to my grandparents when I lived with them for a while during WWII. Of course I had to ”play nice“ and talk with her for a while.

When we’d met them, Richie had said they had moved back so he could start a business but nothing was mentioned about Joan. Mrs. G. went on about how Richie was doing and ended up asking me if I knew of any part time jobs for Joan. I didn’t and since it was only May it was too early for hiring for the tourist season. She told me that Joan was supposed to have started at the Cornell University Ag station but the funding for her position had been held up. She described her as going ”stir crazy“ as she didn’t know anybody and was just sitting at home doing nothing. I didn’t have any suggestions and really had to get back to work.

I’m pretty sure it was the following week that when I walked in the door Elle was bouncing up and down with excitement. She’d been called by one of the schools and asked if she wanted to finish out the school year for them. I could easily tell that she wanted to do it but I could also tell that she didn’t like the idea of being away from the kids for almost four weeks. We talked it out and my input was that in spite of only grossing $10 a day after paying her mother to watch the kids it would be great for her resume. I also told her that I thought she’d really like teaching the same kids day in and day out and it would give her a taste of being a ”real teacher”. She pretty much agreed so the next step was to call her mother to confirm that she’d take care of the kids.

The answer was an emphatic “No!”. Once or twice a week was OK but not every day, even if we drove the kids to her house. Elle went from happy and excited to sad and somewhat depressed in just that one phone call. After supper we went over all the options we could think of for care it but just got too complicated. Dora could do it a couple of days a week but not every week. Lil could watch them some mornings but then who would take the afternoons. Eric’s wife, who we didn’t really know, said she “might” be able to help out but we’d have to call the night before. When we finally went to bed we had both pretty much given up the idea.

Thankfully, the school had given her a few days to make the decision. Once in bed, I lay there going over the options again. I finally did fall asleep but when Elle got up with one of “alarms“ I was half awake. While I was waiting for her to come back to bed, for some unknown reason I thought of Mrs. G. from the Treasurer’s office and what she’d told me about Joan, her daughter in law. I remember turning on the light and telling Elle about the conversation. Half asleep, she didn’t seem all that keen on the idea but agreed that we’d go over it again in the morning.

Elle’s biggest concern was that she didn’t know anything about Joan. I tried to allay her concern by telling her that her parents were good friends of my parents and that I remembered visiting them when I was about 11 or 12. By the time I left for work I’d at least gotten her to let me call.

To be continued...