TIME MARCHES ON... changes (Part 122d)
I know you’ve
all been put in the same position I was in. Even though I worked for a
bank that made mortgage loans I didn’t know enough about valuations to
give her what she wanted... some hope that Vic’s appraisal was wrong.
Since he lived on the commission from the sale of houses I knew that, if
anything, his price might even be a little high. I don’t remember what I
said but when she disappeared back through the hedge she was one
unhappy woman. I was really at a loss. I felt sorry for her but had no
idea of what to say or do.
After lunch I got a call
from Johnnie (Sandy’s husband) saying that he’d collected six other guys
for the town team basketball team he wanted to start and wanted to have
a meeting. I hadn’t mentioned anything to Elle about it waiting to find
out if it was going to happen. Since it apparently was for real I knew I
had to face the music. I waited until she was finished cleaning up
before approaching her and when I told her I couldn’t believe her
reaction... there was none. It turns out that Sandy had told her. We
talked about it a bit and her only concern was that it didn’t get to be
an every night thing. She acknowledged that, since selling the racecar, I
hadn’t had a group of guys to hang out with and she thought it would
also be good for me to get some exercise. Talk about a positive! I
couldn’t wait for the meeting and to meet the guys Johnny had recruited.
The weather had gotten cold and windy so the kids
were playing inside. The two older ones got into some sort of a
disagreement and, when told by their mother to stop, didn’t. To separate
them Elle sent Anne upstairs and had Jean sit on the couch. It was
unusual for them to fight and I wanted to talk with Anne to find out
what was behind it. When I got upstairs I found her not in her room but
playing with her dolls with the door to the attic open. The first thing I
saw was the box with my “stash“ in it sitting on the second or third
step. The sight of that box took my breath away. It took a few seconds
to collect my thoughts and to turn my attention back to Anne. Even
though being sent to her room wasn’t a common occurrence I knew that she
knew she was to get up on her bed and wait until told to come back
downstairs. I didn’t have to say anything for her to scamper back into
her room where I scolded her. I think I’ve indicated in previous posts
that she was the chance taker of the two. She wasn’t happy with me but
didn’t protest all that much.
I grabbed the box and
ran up to the top step and left it there, vowing to remember to finally
get the thing up into the attic. I couldn’t believe that I’d forgotten
about the box, especially since it contained such ”sensitive“ material. I
know I was perspiring as I went down to Elle to report on Anne. It also
triggered the thought about the lingerie catalog that Willie had sent
me and I had to really think about what I’d done with it. Before it came
to me I was back downstairs so told her about finding Anne playing
instead of on her bed. Her only response was that next time the girls
misbehaved it would be Anne who would stay under her watchful eye. I
happened to glance at Jean as Elle spoke and saw a bit of a smile on her
face.
It was when I finally sat down to relax in the
reclining chair that my thoughts went back to the missing catalog. I
remembered quickly flipping though it but couldn’t remember exactly when
or where. It both bothered and puzzled me. I did remember my friend
Willie saying that he’d be settling in at the new company right after
the first of October and that he’d open an account for me. That was all
well and good but where was the catalog?
The check with
the proceeds from my loan against my trust fund arrived on Saturday
which meant I couldn’t do anything with it since the banks were closed.
Elle and I had agreed to put half of it aside for Christmas and I’d
figured out that about $250 would take care of our outstanding bills.
There was one thing overhanging my plan and that was, with cold weather
coming, I needed to fill the fuel oil tank. The tank held 550 gallons
and one of the customers at the bank owned a fuel oil company. He’d
stopped at my desk a while back and said that if I bought over 400
gallons at one time he’d take 2 cents per gallon off the price. His
price was the best in the area and that offer made it even better. I
wanted to have a little ”rainy day“ money but the practical side of me
said it would be best to have a full fuel tank going into the Winter. By
the time I went to bed my ”rainy day“ fund was almost non existent...
but there was still a little bit left.
Monday morning
ended up being a little chaotic. It was the last day of the ”busy
period“ which meant that deposits made on that day got interest from the
first of the month... a 10 day ”gift“. I was surprised at just how many
people were waiting outside the door when I walked up. I really wanted
to see Trish and/or Laura to hear just how the meeting with Peggy’s
parents had worked out but Hobie was waiting for me at my desk. By the
time he was through with me there were at least a half dozen customers
waiting to open accounts. It was good for business but not for my
psyche. When I finally got a minute with Trish she told me I had to talk
with Laura to get answers and she was still working on the second
floor. Lunch hour was still over an hour away and it took what seemed
like forever for it to come.
Laura was, for her, still
very excited for how the meeting went. At James’s house she found that
his wife and her mother had worked together on some church committees.
She would be sleeping in Peggy’s room to see just how the arrangement
was working and if it went well that she’d move into the ”guest“ room
and could decorate it as she wanted. She told me that it was going to
cost her $10 a week for food. When she told me that she thanked me for
allowing her to put off paying the money she owed me. It was the only
way it was going to work for her. I asked about ”wheels“ and Trish had
agreed to pick her up and drop her off each day so that pretty much
covered it. I was really happy for her but probably no where near a
happy as she was. Failure to find a place to stay would’ve meant
returning to live at home and working on the farm.
What Hobie had
called me aside for had to do with a Chamber of Commerce promotion for
Halloween. He’d designated me a his surrogate for this project. There
was an organizational meeting at 4pm that day and he wanted me there. It
was not good news. I made a half hearted attempt at passing it off to
Bret but Hobie wanted me. On one hand, it was good but, on the other, I
had my hands full without the added chore. Not knowing what to expect at
the meeting I grabbed my briefcase as I was about to leave. Unless I
had a project to work on at home I seldom ever used it. However, as soon
as my hand touched the handle I knew where the lingerie catalog had
disappeared to.
To be continued...
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