WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108f)

The 16th was the third Wednesday, Board of Trustees meeting day. Hobie was the corporate Secretary and had to attend all formal meetings to record the minutes. As 5:30pm approached I started clearing my desk. As I did I saw Hobie approaching me though the work area. He waved for me to approach him which I did. Then he motioned for me to follow him up the back stairs. Once there I saw the Board room door open and a few of the Trustees talking. He motioned for me to enter the room ahead of him. From the time I’d seen him approach me downstairs he hadn’t uttered a word which seemed strange to me. Just a few steps into the room I could hear and see the men clapping their hands. I didn’t know what to make of it so just stood there. At the head of the table this little old man stood up and in a barely audible voice called out as best he could “Congratulations!”. I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t my birthday or even my anniversary. Then the President took over and announced to the other Board members that I was the newest officer of the bank. I would love to see a picture of the expression on my face at that moment. Never once, from the day I started, had I thought about the possibility of becoming an officer. I didn’t know what to make of it and it showed.

Hobie took me around and introduced me to each an every one. When we were done I couldn’t have told you the names of more than two or three of them. Then he excused me and I want out in the hall to contemplate the whole situation. I really didn’t know what my title was to be nor what being an officer meant. After a minute or so, as my mind started to clear, I began wondering if it meant a raise in pay. The anticipation of that meant more than the title did. I never went back to my desk and headed home, immediately.

Peggy was there and the kids had her fully involved in playing with them. As I drove up I could see them out around the playhouse. That gave me the freedom to tell Elle the good news without interruption. The only thing was... I really didn’t have much to tell her. I couldn’t answer most of her questions which, in thinking about it now, is pretty funny. I had to tell her she would have to wait for the next day.

For dinner I’d decided to go to the restaurant that Cliff, the driver of my first race car had opened with his wife. In a very short time they’d garnered a very good reputation. They only offered T-bone steaks and lobster tails. They didn’t take reservations so we had a time to wait before eating. I did get a chance to talk with Cliff and told him of my racing adventures. He told me he hadn’t been to the races since he’d quit driving, nine years prior. That surprised me as he was a very talented driver. The meal was excellent and I promised that we’d be back again.

We were home just after dark. Because the kids got so excited when Peggy was there and the fact that there was no school the next day we had told Peggy they could stay up until we got home. She was reading to them on the floor when we walked in. They both looked up and that was it. There was no excitement about seeing us. Peggy had their complete attention... and mine as well. Positioned as she was I had a bit of a DP, the white of her panty elastic showing above the waistband of her pants. However, she did acknowledge us and told me that I’d had a phone call from a man named Bret and it was something about a baby. Elle and I knew that his wife, Jan, was due around this time but he’d not mentioned it in a while. It meant that this 16th day of June was meaningful to both of us.

Both Jean and Anne wanted Peggy to stay overnight but that wasn’t going to happen. As I walked her to the car she reminded me that I’d promised to take her sailing. It was also a reminder to me that I’d had the boat at home for about two weeks and hadn’t done anything with it. It was something else to think about as was the race car. Peggy also told me that she’d started her job with the lady up the street and told me that the lady told her to call her “Memaw” as that’s what her grandchildren called her. She said that it would be less confusing if everybody called her by that name. It was obviously another name for a grandmother as my kids called Elle’s mother “Nana”. But, the most interesting thing about this conversation was that on three days a week she didn’t have a ride home and that Elle had told her that one or the other of us would get her there. I looked over at her and thought that was a very good idea.

The next day was very exciting. I was waiting for Hobie wanting to know all about the promotion I’d gotten. The first thing I learned was that he’d been the one who’d presented the idea. He’d kept a list of the things I’d accomplished in just the few months that I’d been there and felt that I was worthy of the promotion. He added that it hadn't been a hard sell. That made me feel really good. The next thing was that, technically speaking, I was now his assistant and if he was sick or on vacation and there was a formal meeting I would attend to take the official minutes. Another was that I would have signatory approval on checks that the tellers issued that were over $1,000. This was all very nice but I was waiting for the money subject to come up. I don’t know if he was playing games with me but he went over a few more responsibilities before getting to it. As shocked as I was to learn that I’d been made an officer, my new salary just about did the same. Basically, it was a $20 a week increase. It took my breath away.

To be continued...