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

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

If there had been one consistent thing about Phyllis it was that she said what was on her mind and didn’t ‘beat around the bush’. Not so this night. In retrospect, it was like she was painting a picture to set the tone of her request. I had no idea where she was going when she started in about the upcoming election day. I know I was sitting there frowning but she was concentrating on Elle and couldn’t see me. After a few minutes she actually got to the ‘meat’ of her pitch. The polling place for all elections was the school which meant there would be no classes. In the past there would be a half day of school on the day prior so the voting machines could be placed and checked out in the afternoon. The teachers had complained that the half day was a waste of time as the kids were concentrating on getting out of school early and not on lessons. The new school board had agreed so made it a another day off. Phyllis and her husband saw it as an opportunity to visit family and to also take their oldest daughter, Mo, to look at potential colleges. Even though she was only a junior in school, she had been taking extra courses and hoped to graduate early. This was an opportunity to do both BUT...

The ”favor“ Phyllis was asking for was for Elle and I to consider letting daughter Barbara stay with us while they were gone. I know that my eyebrows raised when I heard that. Phyllis told us that Barbara had just gotten her first paying job and was told that if she didn’t work that weekend she would be let go. Phyllis didn’t want that to happen and also didn't want her to be alone in the house for four nights. Because of the relationship Barbara had with our girls she thought she’d ask.

I can’t really explain my thoughts after hearing that but they surely were favorable. Elle, without turning to look at me, told her that we’d be happy to have her and added that our girls would be ”overly excited“. I hadn’t had time to grasp the whole idea when Phyllis turned to me and asked (told) me to leave as she wanted to talk with Elle. I wasn’t happy with the way that went down but Elle softened it by asking me to start getting the kids ready for bed. Bedtime was 8pm on school nights but when there was no school they could play until 8pm so when I went to get them before 8pm there was some complaining. To appease them somewhat I let the old two older ones get a book to read while I read a story to Kaye. When Elle showed up I asked what was so secret that I couldn’t hear. She made the motion of a finger over her lips telling me to shut up which made the situation even more strange.

On our way down the stairs Elle asked if I wanted to try one of the brownies Phyllis had brought over. I responded that I wanted to know what was the ‘secret’ Phyllis couldn’t share with me and Elle just smiled. She wouldn’t share it saying that she wanted a brownie. I knew she was teasing me because she never ate anything after finishing supper. She put the brownies out on the counter and got some milk from the refrigerator.  Being a ‘chocoholic’, I couldn’t refuse. Elle bided her time before starting to explain what Phyllis had to say. When she did, all I can say is that I had to work really hard at not smiling.

Elle said Phyllis was a completely different person once I departed. She wanted to tell Elle that Barbara had a ”problem” and, after explaining it, she’d understand if Elle changed her mind. Even though she’d not had many face to face meetings with the woman she was very surprised at how her demeanor had changed. When Elle told me that Barbara’s “problem’ was that she was bedwetter I almost smiled. All my ‘detective work’ in observing the number of panties and sheets on the wash line that led to my thinking that she might be one finally was confirmed. I know it sounds somewhat perverse but for a minute or two I was happy.

Elle went on that Phyllis would provide sheets, a rubberized flannel pad and soap. She added that Barbara would do her own wash and that she (Phyllis) would pay for her food. With that I asked what Elle had said to Phyllis. I can’t say I was surprised when she told me she wouldn’t accept the offer. We talked for a while trying to figure out where she was going to sleep. It wasn’t the bedwetting we were concerned about but rather the fact that all three of our girls would want her to sleep in their room. Each of the older girls had an extra bed but Kaye’s room didn’t and we both knew she’d be heartbroken if Barbara didn’t sleep in with her. We agreed that we had two weeks to figure that out and went into the den to watch TV. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about Barbara. When we finally went to bed I casually tried to get Elle to tell me if Phyllis gave her any background on Barbara’s ”problem“. Of course, being a female, she wouldn’t... but that didn’t curb my curiosity.

In bed, I got to wondering just how Barbara was taking the thought of others knowing her secret. Elle was just about asleep when I shook her to run that thought by her. She wasn’t happy about being sort of woken up but agreed I raised a good point. I suggested Elle reach out to Phyllis to set up a meeting with Barbara to make sure she was comfortable with the whole thing. One of the main concerns was our kids. In spite of precautions we'd taken with Elle’s ”problem“ the older kids found out about it and we had to have ‘heart to heart’ talks with them. Kaye was too young to understand so she was pretty much left out of them. I felt Barbara should have a say in how it would be handled if our kids stumbled onto her secret. When Elle agreed with me I felt somewhat better and was able to get to some sleep.

To be continued...