AUTUMN... now the changes (Part 143l)

AUTUMN... now the changes (Part 143l)

Since I was on ‘door duty’ I didn’t have any choice but to wait. When the first of the Trustees approached I still had no idea what had occupied them for so long. The only one I felt comfortable in chatting with was Gee and, fortunately, he was alone as he reached the vestibule. I think I made some inane comment about it being a long meeting and he smiled back. As he ducked out the door he said something I didn’t quite grasp... ”I think you’ll be pleased.“ The rest of them straggled across the lobby and I saw Hobie headed for his desk. Being as late as it was I knew Hobie wouldn’t hang around for long but I hoped I’d at least get some idea what had taken place. Bert, (the president) had left with a big group of Trustees and there was no way for me to ask him. Elle had been satisfied with my explanation but I knew not to ‘push it’ and stood there impatiently waiting for Hobie. When he finally headed in my direction I was ready. I didn’t even have to open my mouth as he told me to go on up to the Board room and take a look at the plans for the branch. By the time he got the words out he was at the door and making a motion for me to lock the door behind him. As soon as the lock ‘clicked’ I was on my way up the back stairs.

I turned the lights on and saw the plans on the end of the table. There were red marks all over them. The one that stood out was the circle around the vault with an arrow pointing towards the back wall. I stood there wondering what had happened for the Board to make the change. I remember just shaking my head. I won’t say I was happy about the new location but it was certainly better than in the middle of the lobby. I was so excited about that change that I almost missed the other one I’d wanted to see... removing the wall in the manager’s office. When I saw it I tried to picture how to position the desk to give him (or her) the most visibility of the teller’s area. The cleaning people broke the ‘spell’ and it made me look at my watch. I hadn’t given Elle a time but it was close to 6:30pm. As I went down the stairs I had a lot of questions but, all in all, was happy. It appeared that the changes would make make a big difference.

I’d wanted to stop at my parents house to pick up what I needed to put my plan in place for Elle’s birthday but it was way too late. It would have to be on Thursday which would make it difficult. By the time I arrived home I’d formulated a story to tell Elle that would give me some time to work on one part that night. I’d dabbled with painting signs and posters and had done some for the bank. Part of my plan for Elle was a poster sign so was going to tell her I had to do a quick one for work after I ate. She was busy with the kids and didn’t pay much attention to me so I had free reign in the basement. It only took maybe 15 to 20 minutes and when I arrived back upstairs she’d already put the kids to bed. I had visions of picking up where we’d left off the night before but she wanted no part of it. The class she’d  taught that day had been a hand full and she was going to take a book and go to bed. As she climbed the stairs and I thought about what I had planned for her I knew it’d be a while before I’d have any of that.

The short story on the change of the branch plans was that Hobie got to Gee, the Trustee who was an attorney, right before the meeting and told him the plans were a mess. Gee was good friends with the Trustee who’s son in law had drawn up the plans and took him aside and asked for his help. The Trustee agreed and somehow got a discussion going led by Hobie. Hobie was allowed to mark up the plans and the architect was to contact him that morning.

Mike, the guy I wanted to hire to replace Hank, showed up around 11am. I told him of my calls to his former employers and asked why he’d left them. What had intrigued me was that they both wanted to hire him back. I remember him sitting there smiling as he proceeded to tell me that in both places he’d been promised things that never came to pass. His wife wanted to get out of the city and he figured if he was ever going to do it now was the time. I explained the nuances of the job and he seemed satisfied. However, money was the key and he wanted more than I’d offered.

On a personal basis I wanted to hire him if for no other reason than to get out of doing the crappy stuff but I didn’t have the freedom to do anything but to offer the base pay for the job. Just as we were at that stage Hobie came walking by on the way to his desk. He’d been with the architect and gave me a ‘thumbs up’ as he walked by. I decided to introduce Mike to him and to explain that he was interviewing for Hank’s job. I can’t explain why but I decided to do something I’d not done before... I told him that we’d review his work after six months and if his work was satisfactory we’d increase his salary to the next level. I had no authority to do it... but he accepted it. I figured I had six months to figure out a way to get it approved.

Mike was a bit reluctant to accept but what surprised me was that he volunteered to stay and follow Bret and I for the rest of the day to see just what the job was like. I got a chance to talk with Bret and asked him to give me his opinion after he’d been with him a while. He reported back that he thought he’d be good for the job. At that point all I could do was hope that the guy would say ”yes”. 

I was about to sit down with him to see how he felt about the job when Trish told be Bruce was on the phone. Hearing the name “Bruce” brought but one thought... it was the service bureau calling about the telephone company problem. When I heard the voice I was surprised. It was actually Brucie from the mobile home park. I’d actually forgotten about him owing me a call. Brucie always had marched to a different drummer and today it was more of the same. Just about as blunt as a person could be he said he and his brother had decided against renting their used mobile homes. I really figured that was the end of it. But... it wasn’t. He then told me he had one unit without furniture and that he was going to have to buy furniture for it. He said he’d rent that one as long as they didn’t have to spend any money on it. That was a shock!

To be continued...