THE NEXT PHASE... new job (Part 105d)

I’m sure I smiled or maybe even let out a little laugh. But his expression never changed as he said he wasn’t kidding. Then he asked if I’d known Chuck. I’d never even met the man. I told Bret that the first time I ever set foot in the bank was for my interview. He then told me Chuck’s last name and it more than rang a bell for me. He was from a large local Polish family that owned and ran a very large well known farm. What made it especially poignant for me was that Chuck’s sister had lived next to my grandparents when I lived with them during WWII. Her daughter, Joan, was the girl who I’d persuaded to give me panty peeks (and to wet herself) and had ended up baby sitting for Elle and I after we'd moved back to the area when Elle got her first extended substitute teaching job. Not only that but his brother sold the health insurance policy that the other bank had taken out for me (and was still in force). After we got through that part Bret proceeded to explain “The Polish Mafia”.

Chuck’s family was very much involved in the local Polish Catholic church. Bret didn’t know to what extent but he did know that Chuck was directly involved in a youth group sponsored by the church. That said, Bret then hit me with a statistic that got my attention. Of the eleven women in the department, Chuck had hired nine of them and... of that nine seven were Polish. Added to that total he added Elena, the mortgage teller. So, the final tally was eleven female employees with eight of them being Polish. At first I didn’t know what he was trying to tell me. It didn’t take long for me to find out...

One of the things that Hobie had told me that morning was that Chuck was “everybody’s friend” and that he wasn’t a very good manager. Bret brought that point home... in spades!“ The ”Polish Mafia“ was pretty much the group of Polish employees Chuck had hired. They, as a group, pretty much got their way when it came time for making decisions. Bret told me that the ringleaders were Trish, Cara, and Lorrie. He then asked if I noticed that the tellers left work around 4:30pm. I told him I had and it was a question I was going to ask him about. The ”Polish Mafia“ had gone to Chuck and ”sold“ him on the idea. He went on to say that Chuck gave unrecorded days off to them as well. He proceeded to list a few other things that Chuck allowed them to do (or not do) that others didn't. Then he said that I was going to have my hands full in dealing with them as they were loyal ”to a fault“ when it came to doing anything other than the way Chuck taught them or let them get away with.

After having had what I would’ve described as a ”pleasant first day“ I was listening to it disappear as Bret went on. He explained that he’d gone to high school with most of the girls and knew Trish, Cara, Lorrie and Willa (one of the non Polish) fairly well. Trish and Cara were best friends going back to grade school. He smiled when he told me that both of them, as well as Lorrie, started on the same day with Willa following soon after. I think he used ”Thick as thieves“ to described them. The sum and substance of his conversation was to watch my back when it came to dealing with them. He mentioned Trish as one to be especially wary of because I’d be dealing with her more than any of the others and she had a way of ”deceiving“ you and he proceeded to give me an example of how she’d recently ”gotten“ him.

By this point I was wondering if I hadn’t walked into yet another problem job. I had a few questions from when Trish had walked me around to meet the staff so decided to go in a different direction. Kate had been on my mind all day. I couldn’t figure out just what she did in the way of work. More times than not I saw her resting her head on her hand while leaning her arm on a back counter. As soon as I mentioned her name I got a big laugh out of Bret. It was the first time the frown had left his face since we got in my car. I can still picture him sitting there with both palms up and a disbelieving look on his face (rolling his eyes). It was as if he was telling me that he had no idea what she did but without words.

A question I came up with after Bret told me about the ”Polish Mafia” and Chuck’s hiring all of them was how did Corrine (the colored girl) fit in. He shook his head from side to side. He said he didn’t know the details but that he thought he’d been told to hire her. He knew that her family was well known in the community and he added that there were a fair amount of “colored” people living in the area. He added that he felt that she hadn’t been treated fairly by the fact that she’d been given the drive up window to operate. With few customers using it she was basically kept out of sight. I mentioned that I was impressed with her in the short time I’d chatted with her. Bret didn't disagree and then added that he knew her brother and he was a “real good guy”.

I also had a question about Mala... actually a few of them. I mentioned that she’d seemed uncomfortable during my introduction. That elicited a smile and the explanation was that she was a bit “stiff“ around people she didn’t know. I immediately asked how that worked with her having to deal with customers that she didn’t know. He, more or less, defended her by saying that she was the quickest, most efficient and accurate teller they had. He also offered that she’d had a ”problem or two” in that area since he’d been there. Even though I had no idea how Corrinne stacked up in speed and accuracy I just knew in my heart that she’d be good with customers.

I don’t know why but I ended up asking Bret what Mala’s real name was. I’d never heard “Mala” used as a name before. Another smile. He qualified his answer by saying that he didn’t know any Polish but that he’d been told it was a loose translation for “little one” and that’s what she requested she be called. It was right about then that I heard the six o’clock siren at the fire house go off. I gave Bret a ride and by the time I arrived home it was 6:15pm. Elle had already served the meal and I ate a luke warm dinner. I wanted to tell Elle about my day but, just like her mother, being late for a meal was a major offense calling for the silent treatment.

To be continued...