MORE CHANGES... and problems (Part 132a)

MORE CHANGES... and problems (Part 132a)

After supper I got a call from Bob with some information on the possible source of the rumor about him moving to Texas. One of his neighbors stopped by to tell him that a person who lived in their neighborhood had been going door to door encouraging people not to vote for him since he would soon be moving. Bob’s neighbor wouldn’t tell him exactly who it was but gave him a couple of hints. Of course I was curious and when I asked him who he thought it was he seemed somewhat reluctant to give the name up. I asked him why and his response was such that I asked him why he’d brought it up in the first place if he wasn’t going to tell me. After a  few seconds of silence he responded by saying that he didn’t have any real proof and just had the word of the neighbor. I told him to tell me or to hang up.

“Polak Joe” was all he said. That was a real shock for two big reasons. One, of course, was because he’d just been named a Trustee of the bank where I worked. The second was that he had young kids in the school. Most of Bob's recognized opposition was coming from older residents who no longer had “skin in the game” as their kids had moved on. Why would he be against improving the school curriculum which was the election platform Bob was espousing. I raised that point and Bob added that he’d bought the property for his house from him and, although not bosom buddies, had gotten along with him without any known problem. We talked for a while and we decided the best way for him to handle the situation was to continue doing what he was doing and that was to get out in front of as many people as possible. He agreed and said he would probably take the day before the election off and camp out in front of the post office again.

When it had been confirmed that "Polak Joe“ had been added to the Board at the bank I was concerned but couldn’t come up with a specific reason why. I was just uncomfortable about the man and this only added to my discomfort. I lay in bed for quite a while wondering about the man’s motives.

All employees entered the bank at the back door where Hank, the messenger/custodian, let them in. Everybody who worked on the first floor entered the work area though a shoulder high electronically controlled door located located just inside. Until the bank was opened to the public it was propped open. The only ones not to go through that opening were the officers (Hobie, Bret and I) who walked across the main lobby as it was a quicker route to our desks. I was at my desk and sorting through my ”DayPlanner“ when I looked up and saw Gina walking across the lobby towards the gate into our work area. The look on her face was very similar to the one she wore as she left on Friday afternoon and she was looking straight at me. It pretty much told me that she had gleaned some ”dirt“ about me when she met with Jerene. I looked away and then quickly realized that by so doing I was admitting guilt... but I didn’t know exactly for what... and that bothered me. After opening the gate she never stopped but just kept on walking back to her window. I remember wondering what she might say or do next as I watched her put her personal things away.

I didn’t have much time to contemplate that thought as Hobie walked through the gate and sat down in the side chair by my desk. He never did that. Even if he wanted to speak to me first thing he’d always go to his desk and then call across his desk to me. I’d turn in my chair and we’d discuss whatever it was that was on his mind. I’m not sure I’d recovered from the ”Gina incident“ when he started in. He asked if I’d done anything about hiring the temporary help for the new account/gift campaign scheduled for the end of the month. I told him that Trish and I had gone over the applications in the file and none of them was interested  and they all wanted full time work.  Hearing that, Hobie went on to say that the daughter of a good friend was graduating from high school the upcoming weekend and he wanted me to interview her. Hey, when your boss tells you to do something you do it so I just told him to have her come on in. Without skipping a heartbeat he responded by saying she’d be there at noon and proceeded to get up and go to his desk. I sat there and tried to figure out what had just happened... but didn’t.

A noon appointment screwed up my lunch hour. Bret and I had worked out a schedule where I’d go from 11:30am to 12:30pm and that would allow Bret to pick his kids up from day-care at 1pm. Switching was out of the question. So I ran across the street and ordered up a BLT to go at the luncheonette. Always crowded, the 11:30am to noon was always the busiest. When I got back to the office I saw female sitting at the side chair. It was obvious she was nervous as she was already sitting far forward on the seat with her hands folded in her lap. When I walked past her and sat in my seat I saw one very pretty young girl who was in a silent panic. She said her name was Joan but she asked to be called Joanie. Nervously, she explained that her whole name was Joan Elizabeth and she’d been called Joan E.  by her family as long as she could remember. Her mother’s name was also Joan but had a different middle name and adding the E. differentiated the two of them. Eventually it ended up coming out as Joanie to everybody. Telling me the story seemed to put her more at ease.

She pretty much spoke in a whisper, her nervousness continuing to be readily apparent. It didn’t take long for me to realize I was talking with what could’ve been described as a clone to Laura. She, like Laura, had basically been denied a ”life“ as a teenager. Her mother had been bedridden for many years and when her father lost his job he also lost his medical coverage. At that time she had to come home from school to care for the mother. In May, the mother had some sort of seizure and had to have specialized care and Joanie was no longer needed. It was now more important for her to earn money to help pay for it. After hearing her story I was puzzled why Hobie hadn’t told me she was looking for a full time job. I felt bad knowing I had to tell her that the jobs I was interviewing for were only temporary.

It was about this time that J J came around the corner and started towards the auditing area. He made it to about the side of Bret’s desk when he stopped suddenly and turned and looked at me and then Joanie. I watched him turn to Trish, whisper something to her and then turn back towards me with a wolfish smile. In truth, it shouldn’t have surprised me. J J did about the same thing when any pretty female was in range of his eyes. He eventually made his way to talk with the auditor but on his way back he stopped beside Trish’s desk and when he saw me looking at him gave me a thumbs-up.

By then I was doing my best to convince Joanie that taking the part time job could possibly be a good thing for her. I told that being seen on a daily basis she would become familiar to the bank officers and, should a job become available, she would be immediately considered for the position. My phone rang and I looked over at Trish who was holding hers and motioning for me to pick mine up. I did and it was J J. I couldn’t believe it!

To be continued...