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

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

By the time we got the truck loaded it was already 11:30am and I was supposed to meet ”Big B“ for lunch at noon. I knew he had to go in to work for a while on Saturday mornings so called there. I couldn’t believe my luck when he was the one to pick up the phone. I explained my situation and told him we’d have to try another time. He responded by asking if I (we) could use another hand. That was for sure as Moira’s son and his friends had left to prepare for what was to be his last football game. In previous posts I’ve mentioned that "B", in spite of his bulk (300+ pounds), was one of the strongest people I’d ever seen. I told him where we’d be and then headed for the mobile home park.

Brucie, the park co-owner, had the unit placed on one of the perimeter pads which was a plus for Moira. He’d had the electric hooked up and ordered fuel for heating. The only thing Moira had to do was get a phone hooked up. Moira, Bret, Mike and I toured the empty unit and visualized where the different pieces of furniture would go. Moira admitted that she’d missed seeing the drawers under the closets and had a sheepish smile on her face as she did. We were just about to start unloading when ”Big B“ showed up.

Getting the beds and mattresses in place was easy since we didn’t have to fight over, around and through furniture. That part of our plan worked perfectly. ”Big B“ handled the double bed mattress and box spring all by himself. However, in spite of my warning Moira about taking too much living room furniture, we had some things that just weren’t going to fit. Setting them aside the next things were the dresser drawers with the clothes in them. After explaining the reason for all the drawers to ”B“ he, rather innocently, asked what Moira was going to do with the drawers after they were emptied. I think we all just stood there with blank looks on our faces.

Mike, once again, came up with a temporary solution. If we could get all the clothes out of them he’d take them back to Moira’s house and meet her there. He’d already offered to temporarily store her excess furniture in his truck until she could find a place for it. We took all of them out of the truck placing them on the beds. We were now approaching 2:30pm and Elle didn’t know anything about where I was, only that I was with ”Big B“. The whole time we’d been unloading the truck Moira’s daughter had been sulking in the front seat of their car. Moira went out and almost dragged her into the unit telling her that if she wanted her clothes she better start packing them away. She made some smart assed remark to Moira that got her a smack across her cheek. I, inwardly, smiled.

Still to be unloaded were the boxes with glasses, dishes, pots and other kitchen utensils. ”B“, Bret and Mike took on that project while I went to get Rusty’s clothes into the drawers in his room and Moira did the same with her things. I finished first and carried the empty drawers back to the truck. Mike had run into a small problem which needed Moira’s attention. While she was up front and in the kitchen area I went into her room to collect any empty drawers to get them out of the way. I was hoping that the panty drawer would be exposed but I didn’t see it. I remember thinking I was pretty lucky to have scarfed a pair of Moira’s panties earlier. That gave me two pair, the other I'd found in the glove compartment of her car. I carried a few empty drawers out to the truck and was contemplating my ‘getaway’ when it came to me that Moira now had three dressers that she didn’t need.

When Elle and I’d bought our house, the previous owners had left much of their furniture behind. There was enough to take care of the kids needs but now,  with them getting older, they needed more space for their clothes. Anne, having just been moved into what had been our spare bedroom, was in need of another dresser.  So I approached Moira to ask if she’d sell one of the taller ones to me. She was headed down the hall towards me with  pained look on her face. I let her speak first and it was to ask what she should do about Mike. I didn’t know what she meant so didn’t have an answer. She’d suddenly realized that she should pay Mike for at least the use of his truck. I knew when I’d asked him to help out that he’d said "yes" because I was now his boss. I also knew that it wasn’t really fair but had let it slide. I had no idea what to tell her as far as what the amount should be and just stood there looking sort of foolish. To break the stalemate I asked about the dresser. Bret had come by and when he heard me ask he piped up and offered to buy the other tall one. Now it was Moira who didn’t know what to say. I had $15 in my wallet so offered that up to her. I happened to see Bret’s eyes when I made the offer and I know they sort of popped out a bit when he heard me. I distinctly remember Moira taking a deep breath before she agreed to my offer. I could see Bret was now in a bind and he hesitated before saying all he had was $10 and asked if he could pay the rest on Monday. When she said OK that meant she had at least $25 to offer Mike.

By then Mike had walked up to find out what was going on. Moira said that she’d just sold some furniture and now had some money to pay him. I didn’t really have a  full ‘read’ on Mike at that time but he’d shown me that he could think on his feet. He emphatically told Moira ”No money!“  but added that if she was willing he’d like a table and a chair that had been left back at her house. Within minutes it seemed like everybody was happy. The problem for me was I’d now have to go back to Moira’s house to get the body of the dresser and would be even later getting home..

”Big B“ had been sitting on the stairs into the unit while all these negotiations were going on. No one had had anything to eat and the only thing I’d gotten from ”B“ was he wanted to discuss having a bachelor party for our friend Martin. He and my former neighbor Sabrina (now going by her given name, Lisa) were getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving so time was running out. I asked ”B“ if he wanted to go back to Moira’s house with me so we could discuss it. By then everything that was staying was out of Mike’s truck and he was ready to head back to Moira’s to pick up the furniture we’d left behind. Bret wanted to get home so didn’t join the armada. Mike told him he’d pick up the dresser he wanted and they’d arrange a pick up for him.

To be continued...