CONTINUING... surprises & changes (Part 139c)

CONTINUING... surprises & changes (Part 139c)

We had a nice visit but my mother elicited a promise that Elle would bring all the kids over soon. I really didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t that Elle was avoiding going there but the Summer had been so busy it was hard to find the time. When we got home I brought the subject up and it was obvious that Elle wasn’t pleased. But, after thinking about it for a minute or two decided that the next day, Sunday, would work for her. She’d been going to the sailing club while I raced and liked interacting with the other ladies but with Summer almost over there would be even less time once the kids were back in school.

Sunday morning, as I’d been doing all Summer, I got up and headed for church. It had been church policy that at least two members of the vestry attend the 8am service to act as ushers and to pass the offering plate to the parishioners at the proper time. I tried to be a little early to get the weekly hand out ready and the offering plates in their proper place. I’d go into the office to get them and on this morning two of the ladies auxiliary were blocking the door. They were there to brew the coffee for the ‘meet and greet’ that was held in the undercroft (basement) after the service. They were upset about something and the minister was trying to calm them down. Seeing me he asked if I could help them out. One, very vocal, demanded to know what was going on down in the undercroft. I couldn’t give her an answer so headed down the stairs. I was still in the kitchen area when I could see the cause of their concern... at least ten cardboard boxes piled on, under and around the tables. As soon as I saw toys it came back to me about my new neighbor and her day care program. If the women weren’t there I would’ve cursed. Even though this wasn’t the exact problem that I had envisioned when I warned the members of the vestry about what dealing with the woman would be like. However, it was just another example of how her mind worked... no one else mattered but her.

I told the two ladies that I’d clear some space so that they could put out their goodies and coffee. By the time I finished the church service was under way. I did get upstairs to help hand out the offering plates and to guide the people who wanted to partake of the coffee down the stairs. However, I also got to ask the minister why he’d allowed the things to be just dumped all over the place. His answer... ”She told me she’d be back to put it away...“ I wanted to scream.

I’d calmed down by the time I got home. Approaching the garage I could see clothes on the wash line. I remember thinking that they better be ours or I was going to go tear them all off and throw them out into the farm field. I headed right into the house. Elle still wasn’t dressed, which if I wasn’t so upset would’ve been a good thing. I asked if the wash was hers and she said it was but wanted to know why I wanted to know. Of course I expressed my distaste of the neighbor... which didn’t make Elle happy. She turned and walked away leaving me to fix my own breakfast.

I have no record or memory of how the racing went that day. When I got home I found a note that she and the kids were eating at her mother’s house that night. There was no suggestion for me to join them so I was alone... and hungry... and really mad... at the lady next door.

Monday morning I was out of the house by 8am. I wanted to be at the bank when Joanie arrived just to make sure she understood what her priorities were and that she wasn’t too nervous. When I saw her walking across the lobby I was a bit taken aback. She looked just like a high school girl. She was wearing a print dress that was more appropriate for a girl of about 14. Because she worked upstairs and I’d had little to no contact with her and I didn’t know what she regularly wore to work. On Friday she’d worn a khaki skirt that came to her knees. It was fairly tight around her hips and I liked the look. Elle didn’t have anything like it and I didn’t know what to call it (I subsequently found out it’s called a ‘pencil skirt’).

I wanted to talk to her about it but pretty much knew that if I did she probably wouldn’t take it the right way. I watched her start to settle in at Trish’s desk and walked up to tell her not to worry, that Bret and I would be there to help her out. Standing there I could see the egg shaped stain on Trish’s chair from Friday night. I’d forgotten about it so asked if she wanted me to get something to put over it. She looked at the spot, let out a nervous laugh and then said something that really surprised me. She said that it wasn’t necessary because she might add to it by the end of the day. I know I blinked a few times after hearing that... but didn’t say anything. Before I walked away I asked her who of the people who worked upstairs she had the most contact with. She didn’t hesitate at all before saying that it was Lena, the president’s secretary.

What I had in mind was to have someone who she knew and was comfortable with to possibly speak to her about appropriate clothing for the workplace, especially when dealing with the public. Lena was perfect. In her late thirties, she was truly the fashion icon for the bank. She was always impeccably dressed and certainly ‘in fashion’. She was not afraid to wear the shorter hem line styles in spite of her age. There were only a few female employees who wore skirts more than an inch or two above their knees and she was one of them. As soon as I could I headed upstairs to talk with her.

I explained my dilemma and she readily agreed with my assessment about Joanie and her clothes. In her job upstairs she didn’t deal with the public and often worked in the back office. What I ended up doing was telling her about how Trish and I had spoken with Laura and offered to help her transition from clothes for school and clothes for work. At first I wasn’t comfortable in telling her that Trish and I had loaned Laura the money but, of all the regular employees she was probably the most trustworthy. I asked that she speak to Joanie and suggest that the two of them go take a look at some clothes that were both work appropriate as well as in style. I warned her that Joanie would protest about not being able to afford any clothes and told her about her family situation. I told her when it got to that point to get me involved. I could see she wasn’t convinced that it was a good idea but did agree that she would speak to Joanie.

To be continued...