MORE... surprises and changes (Part 128c)

MORE... surprises and changes (Part 138c)

When Gina walked up to my desk at around 4:30pm I still didn’t know what I was going to say to her. I did know that we weren’t going to talk there at the bank. Gina lived about a half hour to the West and to get home she had to drive past a bowling alley just outside of town. (Back when I lived in the mobile home I bowled there and also used the property to launch the Sailfish boat I owned at the time.) I told her I'd meet her there in about 15 minutes.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog then you know I liked Gina... for a lot of reasons. She was a good worker, getting along well with her fellow tellers. The customers liked her because she was always pleasant to them even if they weren’t back to her. She was dependable in spite of the fact that she was a single mother, only missing a few days work in the time she’d been there. And, she was bright and made numerous suggestions that had been incorporated into the daily work flow. I didn’t have one single reason to feel negatively about her and was puzzled by Hobie (and Bert, the president) not liking her. I didn’t feel I had enough ‘standing’ within the corporate hierarchy that I could press them for their reasons. As I pulled into the alley parking lot I wished that I had at least one.

Gina was waiting inside for me and I asked if she wanted something to drink. She shook her head in a negative way and, being about as blunt as she could be, demanded to know what was going on. When I told her that I didn’t know she shot back “Bull shit!”. At that point I really didn’t know what to say. I gave her some mealy mouthed words that certainly didn’t appease her as she made ready to get up. I actually thought she was going to say she was quitting, right then and there. With her standing and me sitting she looked much bigger than I  remembered. But, she didn’t say anything... at all... which made it all the more uncomfortabal for me.

So, I stood up and was now looking down a bit on her. (The games we all play!) I have no idea where the words came from but I finally said that I would do the best I could to rectify the situation. I had no idea what that would entail but the sincerity of my words seemed to buy some time. She broke her silence then and said she was unbelievably disappointed but that she couldn’t afford not to work.  With at least that to go on I then asked for her patience. I tried encouraging her as best I could but I knew they were empty words. I don’t think anything was said after that and we headed for our cars.

Just like in a small town where everybody knows your business, the bank was the same. Gina leaving early and me soon after caught Bret’s attention. As I’ve mentioned, he had an ‘eye’ for her. On a few occasions I’d mentioned to him about the high quality of her work and he’d responded that she was capable of far more responsibility. On Tuesday morning he was there waiting to find out what was going on. He’d only spoken a few words when I had the answer as to who it was that had ‘spilled the beans’, only he didn’t know he had.

In some ways Bret was like a little old lady always wanting to be in on the ‘news’, whatever it might be. He’d figured out that Lorrie and Jaz would be displaced when we had our accounts serviced outside the bank and had noticed that they had been talking, together, with Hobie ever since the decision was made. Lorrie’s attitude had made a decided change for the better and Bret put the two things together. Unfortunately, to him it was just speculation when he’d made a general statement to some of the tellers that Lorrie and Jaz should fit right in with them. It was unfortunate but now I had to live with the consequences.

While still sorting that mess out I saw Moira, the new hire, approaching. She had a question concerning one of the forms she’d had to fill out and Trish wasn't at her desk. I asked if I could help and she brought it over. It was a simple fix but before she stepped away I asked about J J and if he’d introduced himself. She flashed a ‘knowing smile’ and then said “Thanks for the warning... but it didn’t help.” I didn’t know what to make of her answer but as she got to the gate she turned back and stated “ It’s all Irish blarney!” and laughed.

It was sometime that week when, upon arriving home, Elle came running out to greet me. With my one track mind I though she’d had an ‘accident’ and was coming out to share it with me. No such luck. She’d heard some sounds from the yard next door and peeked through the opening in the hedge. There had been a truck in the driveway and they were moving furniture into the house. I asked if she’d gone over to find out if it was the new principal and she shook her head that she hadn’t. I couldn’t understand why and proceeded to go over and look in the yard. Nothing. Back in the house I called Fritz, whose wife Nanci had been the secretary for the old principal, to see if he (or she) had any news on housing the new principal. He didn’t have anything definite other than the principal and his wife had decided to rent rather than buy. Hearing that I remembered the realtor for the house telling me that Sabrina’s father was willing to rent and assumed that this was the house. When I told Elle and the girls they were ecstatic since there were four girls in that family.

At work, the rest of the month was shaping up pretty much as standard fare. Business  always slacked off in the Summer. Gina seemed aloof after our meeting and I'd heard Janet, the teller next to her, comment that she’d seemed preoccupied. As far as the service bureau was concerned it was in the hands of the attorneys working out the details of the contract. The branch approval had moved along to the point that all that was necessary was for an approval from the zoning board to go to the next phase. From overhearing Hobie talking with Gee (the Trustee) it seemed pretty much routine. I was scheduled to go into the city to meet with representatives of the equipment manufacturer and to work on the phasing out of the old equipment and the phasing in of the new. There were a ‘lot of balls in the air’ but nothing seemed insurmountable. The managers of the service bureau had promised to make some of their employees available when the time came to make it all go seamlessly. I was certainly busy, but happy, with the exception of the matter concerning Gina.

To be continued...