APRIL... More of the same (Part128h)

APRIL... More of the same (part 128h)

By the time I got back down to my desk I didn’t know what to think. Hobie was at his desk and he was about the only male who hadn’t spoken to me about Gina. I don’t remember how I approached him or exactly what I said, still trying to gather myself up after my “inquisition” by the president. I know that, in some way, I asked what his observation of Gina was.

Up to this time I’ve given you, the readers, my observations on J J and how he approached females but I haven’t mentioned much, if anything, about Hobie and his likes and views about them. He was an “observer” in that he never verbalized his feeling about any of the female employees. My own observation was that he appreciated a good looking, young and smart female. He often would stop and talk with Lauri, the the bookkeeping (computer?) operator and her assistant, Jaz. I’d also seen him chatting with Laura and I knew he and Trish had a mutual respect for each other. So, when I approached him about Gina I was breaking new ground by asking his opinion.

Once the public was out of the bank he would take out his pipe and light it up. It was his way of relaxing. He’d just gotten it lit when I came up to him. Again, I don’t remember the words I used but whatever they were they didn’t elicit a noticeable change in his demeanor which I took for a good sign. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity finally asking if there was a problem with her. I know I was fairly emphatic in saying that as far as I knew there wasn’t, adding that in the few days she’d been dealing with the public she struck a “proof” on the first try each day. He could see I was struggling so he prodded me a bit and I told him about Bert calling me in to, basically, ask why I’d hired her. I’d been on my own as far as hiring people for my area of responsibility for over a year and had never been questioned about any of the hires. Leaning back in his chair he told me not to worry about it and that he’d try and get an answer for me. That took a little pressure off me... but not a lot.

One of the things that was still on my mind about Gina was that both my friend Jay and my old boss, Mrs. K didn’t come across as being truly forthcoming with me about her when I’d asked. Because of the incident with the president I decided to go over to the County Center and track Jay down. I hadn’t been back since I’d quit and gone with the first bank and was curious to see how much the data processing department had grown in the two years since. Jay and I talked every so often and he’d told me of all the new processing equipment he’d gotten the County to buy. I got the OK from Hobie to leave early and had Bret take care of closing the vault. It only took five minutes to get there

For some reason I was a bit nervous as I approached the door of the DP department. The first thing I noticed was that the space the Purchasing department, which had been located right across the hall (remember Rena?), was now integrated into DP. The second thing I noticed was that I didn’t recognize anyone. After I told an older woman that I wanted to see Jay she pointed to an area that had once been the store room for the department. Jay was standing over a woman and gesturing to her about something. I immediately had second thoughts about my visit. Before I could turn and leave he saw me.

After the inevitable questions about our families I managed to broach the subject I’d come for... Gina. In writing this I’ve had a hard time trying to come up with a description of his reaction, both facial and with body language. He was clearly uncomfortable and led me out into the hallway. Cutting to the heart of the matter, he, point blank, asked if Gina had said anything about him. That really caught me by surprise. I had no idea that he was (or had been) in any way involved with her but the question and the manner in which he asked it told me he had. I remember shaking my head from side to side indicating that she hadn’t. Now I was really intrigued. I don’t remember how the conversation went from there but I did get across that she’d just walked into the bank and that when I interviewed her there had been no talk of any personalities from her days working for the County. I did volunteer that when I’d inquired about the lapse in time from when she left the County until the present she’d told me that she’d had a baby. I’m trying to remember if he showed any emotion and I really can’t. Then there was an awkward silence. Finally Jay gave out a big sigh and told me to follow him which I did. We ended up in the parking lot. I was at a loss as to what the whole story might be but I was realizing that when I’d had the thought that the hiring of Gina might be trouble was coming true.

Jay was clearly uncomfortable when he started to speak. One of the first things he said was that what he was going to tell me had, and he emphasized the “had”, to be just between the two of us. I remember thinking to myself “Do I really want to put my friend through this?” but he was already talking. Long story short... when Jo was pregnant with their daughter Jay had become “friendly” with Gina. He added that it had gotten a bit too “friendly”. BUT, and this is what might be called the “juicy” part, she was also being “friendly” with the County Purchasing officer at the same time. That was another surprise to me because when I’d worked at the Civil Service department he’d been dating Mrs. K’s secretary and,  as a married man, was the talk of the Center. In any case there arose a problem... Gina became pregnant.

I really didn’t know what to say or how to react. I know I must’ve had a surprised look on my face. After a short pause Jay continued. Before Gina began to “show” she resigned but she went looking for “help“ from both of them. He said that part got ”messy“ because the last thing he wanted was to have his wife find out. Gina absolutely refused to talk about an abortion. As far as paternity was concerned they would have to wait until the child was born. The purchasing officer was already separated from his wife so he and Jay agreed to cover her living expenses until it was determined. Unfortunately for the purchasing officer, his dalliance with Gina wasn’t that much of a secret and when word got out about her pregnancy it was spread throughout the County Center that he was the father. However, Jay said there had also been ”whispers’ that he'd been "involved" with Gina as well. He said nothing much had came of it because the Purchasing officer had had the reputation as a “ladies man”.

It was almost too much to digest on top of everything else that had gone on that day. I wanted to ask about the paternity but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. He ended the conversation by saying that he knew I’d keep the secret and slapped me on my back to emphasize it. As he headed back inside I felt like I’d just run a mile and yet I hadn’t done anything but stand by his truck. I sat in my car and wondered just what all of what he’d told me had to do with my being called into the president’s office. I was totally confused.                

To be continued...