REALLY BIG CHANGES... and repercussions (Part 133f)

REALLY BIG CHANGES... and repercussions (Part 133f)

As I’ve mentioned, Bebe’s parents ran a restaurant... actually it was more of a bar that served food. It was located right on a picturesque creek and fishing boats were often tied up to the pier which offered up a bit of ambiance. During the Summer season it was really popular on weekends as they provided live music. Bebe and her parents lived right above the restaurant. Since the ‘season’ hadn’t yet started business was slow and the party, such as it was, occupied one end of the barroom. There were probably 15 people there to celebrate her birthday.

It was the first time I’d seen “B” since the racecar was sold and he didn’t seem to be in a good mood. The reason he was home during the week was that there was an inventory problem at the company where he was an over the road salesman. His first job with them was to manage the inventory and the owner wanted him to come back and fix the problem. The reason for his unhappiness was that he made his money on commission and, if he wasn’t selling, he wasn’t making money. When I asked if he knew how the car had done since he’d sold it and he sort of laughed. The guy wrecked it in his very first race and hadn’t raced it again. I chatted with him about Martin and his infatuation with Sabrina and he seemed to be really surprised saying that Martin had really been ‘burned’ by the last girl he dated. I told him I thought he was in for trouble because, to me, she seemed like a ‘flake’.

Neither “B” nor I got into the partying as we both had to go to work the next day. We pretty much sat and watched. The big surprise was in seeing my brother show up. It was the first time since Christmas that all five of the ‘unmarrieds’ had been together. My brother had changed jobs and was concentrating his time on that. Pete, who was dating Bebe, and Tom, who was a cousin of Jon (the milkman), were really close and had created a start up business for the Summer. Martin, who worked in the city, would join them on weekends. The fact that he was involved with Sabrina was a puzzle for all of them.

“B” gave me a ride home at about 11pm and, as expected, I found Elle asleep. Sleep was something that didn’t come easy for me and I finally got up around 6am. Knowing it would be a tough day I decided to get in really early. With so much on my mind I’d failed to notice that I was almost out of gas when I left and when I was about three miles from work, ran out... NOT WHAT I NEEDED!

After about 15 or so minutes I got thumbed a ride into town. It was after 8am by the time the bank building was in sight. I rationalized that I was still way early as I got out of the car directly across the street from the bank. I walked down the side of the building and as I got near the back I saw a trailer in almost the same position as the one from the day before. It took my breath away. The back door of the trailer was open and all I saw was a wall of cardboard cartons. The driver asked if I was with the bank and I really wanted to say that I wasn’t and when I said I was he handed me the bill of lading... forty eight boxes. The size of them told me that they had to be the blankets for the new account/gift campaign. Standing there staring at them I didn’t have any idea where to put them. I mumbled something about only having room for a few of hem and the driver very bluntly said I better find a place quickly or they’d end up in the parking lot.

Hank showed up a few minutes later but I couldn’t use him to help unload as he had to man the door. The driver pulled a few cases out and other than being a little unwieldy to carry weren’t all that heavy. I’d gotten about six into the lobby when Bret and J J showed up. We all took off our ties and jackets and managed to get them all inside in short order. That’s when the real problem arose... where to put them. All available space in the basement was occupied with the picnic coolers. There was no way that we could leave them in the lobby, no matter how neatly we stacked them. The only place was under the stairs. I knew from the get-go that would be a problem. By the time the doors opened to the public we had  around 40 cases stacked up there. When Hobie showed up and we explained the situation he suggested the Board room for the last of them. When he made the suggestion I sensed a little smile on his face. He didn’t come right out and say it but I got the impression that he wanted to do it as a ‘message’ to the Trustees that management needed to be involved in the decision making process. 

When the last carton was stacked the three of us (Bret, J J and I) needed to get cleaned up. Not only were we wet from perspiration but out white shirts were covered with black smears from the dirt on the boxes. Bret offered to take us to his house which was only minutes away and Hobie told us to go across the street and buy new shirts, charging them to the bank. Bret declined that offer saying he had clean ones at home but suggested that J J and I head over to make our purchases while he called home to warn his wife we were coming. Bret was waiting for us when we got back but since he walked to work each day J J offered to drive. That reminded me that my car was three miles away, out of gas and I needed to do something about it, We decided that we really didn’t have time to shower on our way over. Bret’s wife wasn’t there when we got there but she’d left towels and a note. The note said she didn’t need to be around as three guys showered.

When it was my turn for the bathroom I remembered that there was a clothes hamper at the bottom of the linen closet from when I'd stayed over during a snow storm. My first stop was right there. It looked like just kids clothes but I did find one pair of ladies panties. I fully expected them to be cotton but I was a bit surprised when they turned out to be the Carter’s Spanky Pants but the kind with elastic around the leg openings as opposed to the band leg type that Elle wore. I’d seen them for the first time at Sabrina's and didn’t know if I liked them or not. I knew I had to get washed up quickly so just put them back after identifying them. I can’t explain why but I was a bit disappointed.

Arriving back at the bank Trish had a message for me to report to the Board room. I asked if Hobie was there and she said he and Bert (the president) had gone up to the office of the local attorney who was on the Board. That seemed strange because as far as I knew all the sub-committee meetings were held at the bank. I asked her if she knew which Trustees were up in the board room and she started to say something but stopped short... eventually saying that it was Mr D which was ‘Polak Joe’s“ formal name. To say I headed there with some trepidation would be accurate.

Walking into the room I saw Joe with a blanket in his hand. Along with him was the other new Trustee, the attorney from the Western part of the county. Seeing me, Joe asked why a blanket was picked for one of the gifts. I was speechless... thank goodness. If I hadn’t been... that day would’ve been my last at the bank. I just stood there, looking at him and thinking what a problem he was going to be. I don’t know how long it was before I answered, as calmly as I could, that he should ask the chairman of the gift committee. I fully expected some sort of retort but all I got was an ”Oh...“

To be continued...