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

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

Mala had returned to work at the bank right prior to when Moira started. Mala was in a totally new position for her and then Moira started. She’d come with accounting (bookkeeping) experience which had unnerved Mala a bit. We’d never really ‘hit it off’ but I felt that we’d reached a point where we were no longer adversaries by the time she left to have her baby. After she’d returned I’d made some attempts to talk with her not about work but life outside work. One thing I knew, for sure, was that her husband was a jerk... confirmed by her best friend, Trish and also by Bret who had played football with him in high school. He was the personification of a ‘dumb polak”. His pride and joy was not Mala and not his daughter but it was his 1962 Chevy coupe. He’d ordered it with special additions like a four speed Muncie transmission and a big four barrel carburetor. Bret had told me that he polished it once a month, religiously,  and had a fit if anyone touched it. But, I’d seen Mala drive past after work with a for sale sign in the window. I was still driving my 1955 Chevy that I’d bought from my cousin over five years ago. The 55’s were a ‘cool car’ but they were rust buckets and it was showing on mine. So, I’d dropped a hint to Mala that I might be interested and asked if she’d have her husband give me a call. When he did it was a ’doozy’!

Before I ever had a chance to say anything more than “Hello...” he told me he’d never sell the car to me or anyone else who worked at the bank. This was not in normal conversational tones but almost a full out bellow. I remember standing there and holding the receiver almost an arm length away and hearing him saying that he didn’t want some "big shot officer of the bank trying to put his wife in a bad position“. I don’t know how long I stood there without saying anything. Finally, I could hear his tone modify a bit with the words ”Hello... anyone there?“ By then I was mad and, knowing that I was protected by the fact he was in one town and I was in another I said ”I guess the answer about the car is a no?“ and hung up. It was less than 15 seconds later when the phone rang. I had an idea it was him so let it ring quite a few times before picking it up. I didn’t say a word. Then I heard a voice say, emphatically, ”Don’t ever hang up on me again!“ I still didn’t speak. Then, I heard the phone click. Elle wanted to know what was going on and all I told her was that it was biggest idiot I’d ever tried to deal with and headed out to the garage.

There was always something to do. It goes with owning a house. When it started to get dark I figured I’d go in and say good night to the kids. Walking down the path I looked over at the house next door and saw lights on in multiple rooms. It looked good to see some life there and with the prospect of having some kids for ours to play with made it even better. I heard some banging and went over to the opening in the hedge to take a look. It was the new principal who was trying to open a wooden crate. It appeared as if all he had was a hammer so I went on over to where he was swinging away. I startled him and when he looked at me it was obvious that he didn’t recognize me from the meet and greet at Pat’s house. I identified myself as his neighbor and stuck out my hand. The heat wave hadn’t yet broken so all I got was a warm, wet mass of flesh. If you can remember the Mary Tyler Moore show with Ed Asner as her boss then you can get a picture of the man and what he sounded like. Gruff and firm would be two apt words for the description. He told me to just call him Bill. The last name was too hard for most people to grasp and at school he wanted to be called Mr. L.

The crate held a water pump. It only took a second to see that what was needed was a pry bar so told him I’d be right back. As I headed back to my garage I wondered how he’d hook the thing up but, that wasn’t my problem. I fetched the pry tool and was back quickly. It only took a few minutes to uncrate it. While doing it I asked where his wife and kids were. Elle had already told me but for some unknown reason I wanted to hear it from him. As it turned out his answer was a little different. Yes, the wife and kids were visiting family but it was because he wanted peace and quiet as he worked through all the applications for the vacant teaching positions that he’d inherited. As he put it, an active wife and five active kids didn’t equate to getting much done at home. But, he said ten hours in the office was enough so he’d been working at home in the evenings. That answer led me to ask if he’d bought the place and he laughed. He said if he was going to spend the money the owner wanted he’d rather build new. By the time I left I knew that he’d already selected two new teachers but had no idea what he was going to do with the pump. That's when I told him the school board president was a plumber. He laughed again. As gruff as he looked and sounded it showed he had a sense of humor.

I also found out his wife and kids would be back on Saturday and passed that information on to Elle. She thought it’d be nice to make some cookies for the kids, even with the heat. I wasn’t going to complain because I could eat fresh baked cookies at any temperature. So, on Saturday we were on ‘high alert’ for activity in the yard next door. I’d finished mowing the lawn by lunch time and had suggested that we all go to the sailing club but was voted down. The girls, (and Elle) really wanted to meet the new neighbor kids. It was about 3pm when we could hear many voices. Elle was the first through the opening and almost immediately was sighted. Jean was dispatched to go get the cookies and I to bring along fresh squeezed lemonade. Hindsight is 20/20 and we should’ve waited until they had unloaded their van, a GMC suburban that could hold up to eight people. Mrs L looked a little ragged as she walked towards the kitchen porch and the kids were scurrying around unloading suitcases from the back of the van. I didn’t see Bill as I ducked through the opening but I did see the look on Mrs L’s face when she saw us coming. It was not a welcoming look, at all.

To be continued...