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

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

The amount of the raise was a surprise but I didn’t feel as good as I should’ve. Hobie’s last comment about all raises for the officers being reduced bothered me. It was flattering to know that I’d been recommended for more but something or someone had made the Board reduce the amount. As I gathered my things up I suddenly remembered that my car wasn’t in the parking lot... it was on the side of the road three miles out of town and out of gas.

Back in those days most businesses, including gas stations, closed by 6pm. After thinking about it for a minute I ended up calling my friend James. I knew, for sure, that his service station was closed but I was hoping he’d come to my rescue with not only gas but a ride to my car. Sympathetic to my plight, he said he’d be at the bank in about a half hour. It was past 7pm at that time and I’d really not eaten anything of substance all day. I called Elle, told her of the raise hoping that would mitigate my lateness. I didn’t go into the details of the car or the rest of my day though. It was a day to remember but not for all the right reasons.

It took a little time on Thursday to ferret out all the other happenings at the Board meeting. The new branch application was progressing and they approved two potential sites. The demographics for each were being done by a professional company and the hope was that work would be done by the next meeting. Hobie said that they hoped that if all went well it might be in operation by the following Summer.

The State banking examination report was reviewed and the Board elected not to challenge any of the recommendations. However, the idea of re-hiring Mala and to put her into the accounting department was floated. Hobie said that Joe objected saying that she didn’t meet the criteria of ”an experienced accounting person“ as requested in the report. Since the majority of the members were familiar with her from when she was teller, a motion was made and approved to move ahead. I smiled when I heard that more from seeing Joe get rebuffed than having Mala back. Hobie told me to contact her and to set up a meeting with Bette (in charge of accounting) after the ”busy period“. Trish overheard our conversation and I caught her smiling as it had been her idea.

The day went by rather quickly with the ad agency having to provide a couple of ‘proofs’ of the Pennysaver ad for approval and with me trying to track down the missing tool kits. That last part had me frustrated as I was never sure the person on the other end of the line understood me. I wasn’t sure but she sounded like she was Asian.

In the back of my mind was the thought of there being another school board meeting that night. The talk about the old principal was dying down which was a good thing. I’d not had time to try to find out the purpose of the meeting but, driving home, figured I’d follow up on it before going to bed. Elle greeted me with the news that Ginger was home and that she’d been over to see her. Other than a reaction to the anesthesia she said Ginger came through ”with flying colors“. I knew Elle had pretty much rejected the thought of having the same procedure but asked anyway. I remember her smiling and shaking her head from side to side. My memory of her comment was that Ginger would be a ”turnip’ for the Summer... buried in her house, doing nothing and waiting for Fall to come.

I waited until around 10pm to call Bob. My plan was to use the excuse of reminding him that he, as a member, needed to be at the sailing club on Saturday to help open the facilities for the season. The only thing wrong with it was that he wasn’t home. Phyl, his wife, said she was wondering where he was as well. I asked her to have him call if he got in before 11pm. There was no call and I even waited until the late TV news was over before heading upstairs. Bob was usually pretty good at getting back with me on my calls so I was rally wondering what was going on at that meeting.

I’d just finished showering the next morning when Bob called. I wouldn’t call his tone ‘curt’ but there was an edge to it. No details, promising them later, but told me to be prepared for the “fit to hit the shan” when the public got wind of the meeting. I told him that wasn’t being fair but he just chuckled and hung up. At work I thought that maybe J J might have some information but he didn’t even know there had been a Board meeting. In talking with him I asked how Joanie, his new employee, was making out. I don’t remember his reply but it was along the lines of me not even thinking about moving her. I then decided to check with Lena to see what her observations had come up with. I almost laughed out loud when she told me that he hadn’t seem to “bother” her but the “interesting interaction” was between he and his secretary. Lynne. I just nodded.

When Bret and I got together to try and come up with how the whole flow of new account openings would mesh with the regular customers he told me that Gina had made a suggestion. I didn’t quite follow what he was saying so suggested that he get her to join us. Lobby traffic was painfully slow only emphasizing how busy it was going to get. I watched as Gina approached. Even with Summer's brighter clothes in vogue, Gina seemed to like to stick with grey’s and blues with an occasional plaid skirt but on this day she had on a pink seersucker dress. It made her look younger, not that she looked all that old to begin with. It was short but wasn’t the shortest one there. I told her that we needed more input on her idea for how the tellers would handle posting the deposit for new accounts while continuing to wait on the lobby traffic. She exhibited a ‘knowing’ smile and said it was simple... just give them a receipt and then mail the passbook to them later. It made sense to me even though I knew that some customers would demand to have the book but anyone who would take a receipt would certainly help alleviate the crush of people we expected. I thanked her and watched her give me the ‘knowing’ smile again.

She had been standing in front of my desk and as she turned to go, Hank, the messenger custodian came through the gate to put a parcel on Bret’s desk. She didn’t see him and ran right into him, knocking him into Bret’s desk. She sort of bounced off him and onto the floor at Hank’s feet. I jumped up immediately and got quite an eyeful. Her right knee was up by her face and her whole backside was showing. The two prior peeks I’d had of her panties had been of colored bikini’s. These were not bikini’s. I’ll admit that I didn’t see much of her crotch but I saw white panties that went all the way up to her waist. I immediately remembered her negative comment that night when she saw Gerena's full brief panties as she went through the bag of her things. My take on it was that she wouldn't be caught dead wearing them but here she was, wearing a pair. But, I can’t explain why, with such and incredible view, I turned to Bret to see if he caught it as well. He did and in the split second it took to look at him Gina had managed to cover herself up. I was really upset with myself.

To be continued...