A NEW YEAR... new beginnings? (Part 103j)

It took less than half an hour. I remember looking at the big clock on the wall of the bank that read 5pm as I turned the corner. I pulled into the parking lot and the back door was right there. Two men were standing in the vestibule with the shorter, balding man looking somewhat impatient. The other man looked quite distinguished, smoking a pipe. He was taller and had a full head of salt and pepper hair. As soon as I opened the door of my car the door of the bank opened and the taller man thrust out his hand. I was too nervous to hear his name but the other man identified himself as the president. They ushered me in and I proceeded to follow them across a wide open lobby. I was immediately struck by how light and airy it was even with the sun almost down. It was the total opposite of the bank lobby I’d just left. The tellers windows didn’t have metal “cages” and thoroughly modern with soft curves to all the edges. As we approached the front of the building the tellers line ended and we walked through a gate into an area with four very modern desks. Even with no real knowledge of furniture types I had a feeling that there was some sort of Scandinavian influence to it. The taller man sat at the back desk and the president and I sat in side chairs. Then the interview began.

To be truthful, I’d not experienced all that many but this one was certainly different. It was like a contest between the two men as to who could ask the most questions in the shortest time. I found myself not fully answering one question before there was another fired right at me. And talk about being disjointed... the questions jumped from family history to education to experience and back, all in a matter of what seemed like seconds. Then, the president stood up suddenly and shook my hand and thanked me for coming in and walked away. To me it seemed like I’d only been there for five minutes. The other man stood up at the same time which, to me, indicated it was time for me to leave as well. At the back door he shook my hand and said I’d be hearing from them... but he didn’t say when.

I sat in my car for a few minutes trying to figure out what had just happened. I looked at my watch and it was just a little past 5:15pm meaning the interview, such as it was, lasted but fifteen minutes. From the parking lot to home took about seven minutes even though it was “rush hour” and I had to around 5 corners like I had to do when working at the county center. Pulling into my parking place at home I was surprised to see Elle standing by the gate. Stepping out of the car I heard her yell at me that "the car place called and our new car is here". That news in itself was exciting but paled in comparison to the possibility of a career change. As I started walking towards her she, rather casually, added  “Wherever you just were, they want you to go back”. I don’t think I hesitated even a second before driving off.

Pulling into the same parking place I’d just left I saw the taller, distinguished man standing in the vestibule with a blue loose leaf binder in his hand. As I approached he thrust the binder out the door to me and told me to look through it... and told me to call him the next day. He then closed the door and walked back into the lobby. I sat in the car and looked at the words on the binder... Manual of Operations. I didn’t know what to think. Did giving me the binder mean I’d been hired? If so, I had no idea what my job responsibilities were to be or what the pay was. I was totally confused.

The potential of a new job took priority over the new station wagon. Curiosity got the better of me and I ended up reading the material, cover to cover not once but twice over the weekend. I tried not to get too “high” or too “low” while doing it. When  morning arrived I gave a thought to stopping by at the bank to see what they had in mind but as I approached the parking lot I backed off from the thought. The man had said to give him a phone call so that’s what I was going to do. I also had a brief thought about stopping at the car dealership but passed on that as well.

Monte, the Chairman, was there when I arrived at work. He asked how the meeting had gone and after I told him what had transpired he smiled. I couldn’t figure that out either. After a few seconds he offered that it was a sure sign that they wanted me but he couldn’t understand the lack of a clear offer. Then he told me to call them from his office and then left the room, closing the door behind him. I won’t deny that I was very nervous when dialing the number. When the operator answered on the other end of the line I had total brain fade. I couldn’t remember the name of the man who’d given me the binder. I broke into a sweat and tried to describe him to the operator. The pipe he was smoking when I'd met him was what did it and I heard her say “Oh! That’s Mr B” and then heard the phone ringing.

I was only one small step better than I’d been when the phone had originally been answered. I didn’t know what followed the the “B” in his name. Thankfully, I managed to get through my introduction without his name but I didn’t know what to say after “Hello”. He saved me by asking what I thought of the material he’d given me. Taking a BIG chance I told him that there was nothing in there that I didn’t think I couldn't handle. His answer... “When can you start?”.

I truly wasn’t expecting that and hesitated for what seemed like an eternity. He finally broke the silence and asked if I was still there. Although it was what I wanted to hear I also knew I still needed some very important information... salary, benefits and job responsibilities before I could answer. When I summoned the courage to ask about the salary I heard a loud “Oh my God!” from the other end of the line followed by an apology. Actually, it was one apology on top of another. He claimed that in the rush to get me there for the interview and the fact the the president had to leave for an important meeting he’d completely overlooked all of that. Then he proceeded to verbalize all the information I’d requested.

When he told me that I’d be making $10 a week more than I was presently making I thought my knees would buckle. The other benefits would be equal to what I presently had. The position that I was to fill was that of bank officer although that wouldn’t come until I finished my six months probation. I remember covering the mouthpiece of the phone when I let out a “WHEW!”. Before I could say anything I remembered that I wouldn’t be eligible for hospitalization until I finished the probation period. That had been a bit of a sticking point when I was hired at the bank I was presently working for but they relented and purchased a policy from a private insurer. I took a deep breath before I raised that point. When I did that brought silence from the other end of the line. I went into a panic thinking I’d just blown my chance to escape from the purgatory I was presently in.

To be continued...