THE NEW JOB... & other things (Part 100f)

I’d called Elle to tell her I’d be late but I hadn’t expected it to be that late. It was after 8pm and I fully expected to get a dose of “hot tongue and cold shoulder” but she was somewhat civil. Our anniversary was coming up and I’d seen her act this way when there was something she wanted and both the Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs were along side her chair. Now I had to wait to see just what it was and what it was going to cost me.

Even with doing Stasia the favor the previous evening all I got from her the next morning was a casual “Morning.” I remember thinking how very strange she was and what it would take to break down the barrier she'd built up. The next day, Friday, the phone rang at just after 7am. It was a call for Elle to come in and teach. It was the first call she’d received since school had started three weeks earlier. When she had to stop teaching to have her first operation back during the Winter she was at the top of the calling list for three schools. Now she was at the bottom. She’d learned not to say “No” early on as it was like a big black mark against her. Within seconds our place was in chaos. She had to call her mother to come and care for the kids, figure out what to wear, take a shower, do her hair and eat all within about 40 minutes... and that was without any thought of me or the kids. I was left to get Jean, our oldest, up, fed and dressed and ready for school while also tending to the baby.

Elle left at 7:45am with Jean. She was teaching at the same school she attended. That made it a little easier for me as I didn't have to take her to the school bus stop. After they left I still had to eat, get myself ready and, when Elle’s mother arrived, go over where all the things for the baby were stored. I was hustling. I was pulling into the bank parking lot when I realized that I didn’t have my lunch bag. Neither Elle nor I thought of it or even had the time. Since most of the employees went home for lunch and I was still very much an “outsider” I didn’t know who to ask where I might get a bite to eat. I knew nothing about the town other than it was very small.

Every day Alvin would leave as soon as the noon siren on the firehouse went off and would go to his car to eat (drink) his lunch and I had to wait for his return. I’d noticed that Stasia didn’t have a set time for going to lunch. I had no idea where she went when she left the building. On this day she’d left around noon time and was back in way less than an hour. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if she knew any place that I could get a sandwich. When I did I was surprised at her response. She actually looked up at me and gave an animated response. She told me to go to the drug store and to ask for Judith. She reinforced the name “Judith” by saying not to call her Judy. I thanked her and as I walked away she called out for me to tell Judith that she’d sent me.

For some reason I was very hungry when it was my turn for lunch. It took less than  five minutes to walk to the drug store. It was sort of deja-vu as I walked in. It very much reminded me of the drug store that Elle had worked at while we were dating. There was a counter immediately to the right as I walked in that mirrored the one where I’d sit while waiting for Elle to clean up at the end of her shift. There were six stools and the first two were occupied. As I approached the other end of the counter I saw a large but friendly looking woman walking towards me. Before I could take a seat she bellowed out “You’re new! Welcome!” It took a few seconds for me to stammer back something like “You must be Judith.” Her smile was incredible. I liked this woman immediately. The first question she asked wasn’t what I’d like but it was to ask if I was just passing through. I remember thinking that the bank needed someone who showed a love of people like she did. I told her I was new at the bank and she responded by asking if I knew Stasia. It was obvious that the two had become friends

I ordered a BLT and by the time she made it and I had eaten she'd told me that she’d spent Summers in the area as a girl. Her parents owned a cottage and she'd always loved spending time there. When they died she inherited it and afterwards she and her husband spent weekends there. They both had worked in the city after college and when, by chance, they found the drug store was for sale they bought it and moved. Believe me, there wasn’t any chance of me asking any questions but yet she didn’t come across in a negative way. By the time I headed back to work I felt closer to her than anybody at the bank. I knew I’d be back for another lunch time break before too long.

For the next few weeks things got into a routine for me. It was because of Alvin’s neuroses... certain days for certain jobs and it did make it somewhat easier. However, it didn’t make me like the job any better. I’d stay late on specific days and when I did Stasia was usually there as well. I’d made a couple of tries to engage her in conversation but with little success. When she did speak it was without looking at me which was quite disconcerting. It was one night into my second month when I noticed Stasia fighting with a drawer at her desk. On a couple of occasions I’d seen Artie or John go over to help her with it but I was the only one there at that time. Even though I was a bit annoyed with her for her actions (or lack thereof) knew I should get up and help her. As I approached the desk I saw that she was now squatting with both her hands on the top of the partially opened drawer and tugging mightily. I called for her to stop and that I’d help. I was at the corner of the desk when the drawer popped out and sent her sprawling on her back. The drawer ended up on her right leg. As it had come out and fallen the bottom edge had caught the hem of her skirt and pushed it up into her groin. I looked down and saw a bit of her panties including a bit of crotch line. She was flat on her back with her arms up around her head and in no position to try to cover herself. I’m not sure she even knew that she was “exposed”. In any case, I stepped over her and picked the drawer up and off of her. As I did she rolled to her left and that became my “reward’ as I got to see a good bit more including a fair amount of her one cheek and the crotch line that encased it.

To be continued...