TIME MARCHES ON... changes (Part 122b)
After a
pleasant ”celebration“ in bed we both fell asleep... a very deep sleep.
In the euphoria that followed our fun Elle failed to set the alarms that
she used to wake herself up during the night and to get me up in the
morning. Aside from the wet bed we found in the morning we had a bit of
panic on our hands... there was no way the girls could make the school
bus and I was going to be late to work. Since I was already late I
volunteered to drop them at school and then head off for work. There
were three roads I could take; the North road; the main road or the
boulevard. The North road was the fastest but, because of the time I'd
normally leave (8am) I’d run into school busses. The main road was the
most consistent and the boulevard was the slowest but most scenic. Being
late I chose the North road. There was a three mile section of it right
outside the town limits that was perfectly straight that ran through
farm lands and I could go at least 80mph. There was a stop light at the
end of that stretch and as I stopped I smelled something. I checked my
dash instruments and saw the temperature was pegged at the top. I pulled
over and lifted the hood. It only took a few seconds to see the fan
belt was missing. It’s a simple fix if you have a spare belt... but I
didn’t. Being right at the edge of town I decided to just head for
James’ service station.
When I saw James in the office
as I pulled up I felt bad. I’d had it in mind to follow up on what
Darren had told me about Peggy running off and getting married but
hadn’t. When I walked in the door it wasn’t the same old James. The big
toothy grin was gone and he looked tired. He acknowledged me and, not
knowing just what to say, I asked how things were going or something
mundane like that. He, obviously, didn’t know That Darren had filled me
in so proceeded to tell the whole story. Even though I was now very late
I let him go on. Finally, I looked at my watch and he, thankfully,
asked what I needed. I told him but also said that I desperately needed a
ride to work. On the way there the silence was uncomfortable. I really
don’t remember exactly how I phrased it but asked how his wife was
doing. His answer was quick and emphatic... Not well and that he was
very worried about her. I quickly realized I’d touched on a sore spot
but didn’t know what to say or do to get out of it. I just sat and
listened and tried to take it all in. By the time I got to my desk I was
an hour late.
I hadn’t really paid much attention to
what James had told me about his wife worried about my lateness. It
hadn’t created any meaningful problems and by lunch time I was caught
up. During the ”busy period“ I’d often just call across the street to
the luncheonette and have them make me a sandwich and then I'd skip out
for a few minutes to go get it. As I waited for the light to change
something that James had said about his wife came to mind. It was that
the hardest part for her was that she no longer had someone to talk to
and that going past Peggy’s empty room would sometimes bring her to
tears.
That evening I told Elle about meeting with James.
We both wanted to do something but didn’t know just what it could be.
With a death there’s a finality about it. This situation was somewhat
similar but the open endedness of it made it difficult. That night, in
bed, I lay there awake trying to come up with anything that would seem
appropriate. I couldn’t.
As I’ve previously written, I tried not
to get too involved in Laura’s upcoming move hoping that Trish would
keep me up to date. At work the next morning I couldn’t help but
overhear Laura and Trish talking about it. Trish’s brother was due home
the following weekend so time was running out. When they were done I
asked Trish about the status. Laura had decided not to move in with the
lady her aunt had made arrangements with. She didn’t tell me the reason
but it was obvious that Trish was a bit upset about it. It’s always
amazed me how the brain works. I can’t even begin to remember what the
trigger was but somehow I put Laura’s need for a place to stay and James
wife’s loneliness together. It just seemed too far out to work but I
couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. At lunchtime I made the
decision to head up to James place and found him in his office. Once
inside I almost lost my nerve but managed to get the briefest of
concepts out. I was so nervous that I don’t remember much of what I said
but I do remember that he thanked me for thinking of him (and his wife)
but he just shook his head in a negative way. Driving back to the bank I
was kicking myself for interjecting myself into an already bad the
situation. I actually was mad at myself.
The ”busy period“ was
winding down at the bank and the lobby traffic had slowed considerably.
When busy I would usually have Trish take messages and then would make
the call-backs when I had a break. When I got back Trish told me that
Elle had called but that it wasn’t all that important. She hardly ever
called so, concerned, I called her back even though there was a customer waiting.
The matter truly wasn’t that important but it was a bit disturbing...
Celia, our neighbor had made the decision to sell the house. I told Elle
I was busy and that we could talk about it that night. However, the
news left me contemplating Celia’s situation... something I just didn’t
need at the time.
Just as I finished with the customer Trish
rang my phone to say James was on the line. He was about the last person
I expected to hear from. There was a definite change in the tone of his
voice, way more positive than when I left him. I almost couldn’t
believe my ears when I heard him say that he had spoken to his wife and
she wanted to meet Laura. That news presented me with another problem...
I hadn’t mentioned any of this to Laura. So, I had to explain my
position to James and then get to Laura.
I stopped to tell Liz,
the auditor, that I needed to speak with with Laura. She told me she was
upstairs doing audit work in the mortgage department. I found her at a
work table running a batch of ledger cards. That made it a bit easier to
be discrete about talking with her. I asked her to go into the Board
room where there was less chance of being overheard. I think I was more
nervous than she was. I beat around the bush trying to present my idea
and involvement in a less intrusive way. I shouldn’t have wasted my
time. After all my words she looked at me and said it sounded like a
good idea to her. She said she knew Peggy from school although she said
she wasn’t all that friendly with her... and she knew Peggy’s mother
from church. There was a large Polish Catholic in town and if you were
Polish and lived within ten miles of it, you went there. I think I
might’ve even breathed a sigh of relief at that point.
James had
asked if I could arrange for a meeting so that both he and his wife
could formally meet Laura so I asked her about that. She seemed excited and said that she was willing to do it anytime except over the
weekend. Being Friday I knew her mother would pick her up after work,
go grocery shopping and then take her back to the farm. Without knowing
James' schedule I asked if she was willing to do it after work. I
remember her shrugging her shoulders and telling me ”maybe“. At this
point I thought of Trish because she was Laura’s ”wheels“.
By
the time 5pm came the meeting was arranged. Trish was going to drive her
over to James’ house and his wife would drive her home after it was
over. When it came for me to head home I was mentally exhausted. All
the machinations had worn me out. As I slid in behind the wheel of my
car I remembered that Elle had called me with the news about Celia’s
decision to sell. For some reason I knew that I’d end up involved in
that. What a week!
To be continued...
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