NEW GROUND... with some shocks (Part 99c)

Disappointed, I headed on up to the house. Peggy seemed happy to see me and told me that Bobbie was coming out with Ali that night. When I mentioned the possibility of her sailing with me she said it wouldn’t hurt to ask and that possibly she’d be willing to sail the next day. I really hadn’t given that any thought. I’d gone there with the idea of asking her to sail on the following weekend in the last races for the year. As far as the next day went I still had to resolve my mother’s plea to bring my kids to see her and to be part of the farewell dinner for Dolly. Somewhat embarrassed I told her I’d call in the morning. As I drove away I was wondering just how I’d resolve it all knowing I’d only have a few minutes at home before leaving for the races.

I was frustrated on the trip home and not able to put my dilemma in perspective. To get my mind off of that I allowed it to wander back to Jeanette’s panties that were under my seat. Seeing the Lollipop label reminded me that Elle still wasn't wearing the new ones I’d bought at Ali’s store for her. Her excuse, as usual, had been that she’d “ruin” them. Her incontinence had improved so that she could last over an hour and even then, when she “dribbled”, she was able to hold it for a little longer. I thought it would be a good time for the transition and formulated a plan on how to execute it. Since I’d be home all week I knew I’d have the time to devote to it.

Walking up the path I knew something was “up”. Elle walked towards me and I could see she was upset. As soon as she spoke I knew my mother had called. When I’d left I told her I’d let her know about Sunday as soon as I could. She, not hearing from me and not knowing I’d been delayed by taking a side trip to Peggy’s, called for the answer. Unfortunately, Elle took it to mean that I’d already committed to it. I kept looking at my watch as I tried to explain but was smart enough not to mention the races. It took some doing but we worked it out. The “hook” was Dolly. We both wanted to be there for that. We managed to compromise and told my mother we’d all spend the afternoon. Even with that Elle wasn’t too thrilled. She knew her mother would be jealous and, having just gotten over her “snit” over Dolly helping Elle with the kids and the baby was afraid it would start all over. The "compromise" precluded racing the sailboat but I still had to get back to Bobbi but I was now late for the car races.

To say I wasn’t prepared for the races was pretty much it. Late to the track the pit space I usually occupied near Bags and Rick was taken. I ended up way out in the back with no useable lighting. I parked next to the guy who was leading the points battle for the championship who was also late arriving. His name was Lee but every one called him Jr. His father was also named Lee but around the track he was known as “Pop” and had owned race cars since track opened. I remember back to my first race car when I was still in high school and that cars owned by Pop had won championships even then. Jr was actually part of of the Rick/Bags/Budah group in high school as he had been the all league fullback when they won the league football championship. However, that group liked to “party” and Jr, who had gotten married right after graduation, was very much under the control of his father and wife. The deal was that he could either race or party but not both. Jr was very quiet and said very little. His father wasn’t much better but he was always looking to help out a young competitor. On this night I needed all the help I could get.

When I was late getting home Jim thought I wasn’t racing and had taken off to somewhere. Cal was on duty at the air base and Jay had let me know he wasn’t available so I was all alone. Jr had a brother who was still in high school but to look at him you would never know it. At least 6’4“ and 300+ pounds he looked more like a professional football player. Pop, seeing that I was alone assigned ”Boy“ (that’s exactly what Pop called him) to help me. Pop had asked how the car was handling and I told him that it had been a handfull all season. He took a look at the car and made a few suggestions. I explained that I'd already done a few of them and it hadn't seemed to help. Because he didn’t say all that much I didn’t know what he was doing when he grabbed the steering wheel and gave it a yank. He pointed to the frame of the car where the steering box was attached. A bit intimidated by Pop and his reputation I didn’t ask what he was pointing at and didn't ask. He did it again and this time I could see the frame twist without the front wheel turning. He'd discovered that the frame was cracked and told me to take the car to the track welder. He also told me that the car was a piece of junk. The comment sounded a bit familiar.

Out on the track I won my qualifying heat. The car handled better than it ever had and I was able to drive it where I wanted. Normally I’d aim the car for a spot on the track and sometimes it would go there and sometimes it wouldn’t. I was excited. Long story short (I know... it’s already too long) I won my second feature race that night and had made some very important friends in the process. Pop confided to me that he was going to build a new car for Jr and was going to sell the car they were racing. He asked if I was interested and if I was he'd hold off putting a For Sale sign on it. I'm not sure I wasn't more excited about the possibility of owning a championship car or having just won the feature race. Even though I didn't ask the price and didn't have any money I told him I was interested and I'd be over to see him during the week. I couldn't believe how much had happened on a night I didn't expect anything. As an aside... Jr’s wife, Sophie, turned out to be quite cute.

To be continued...