FINISHING OUT THE YEAR... Barbara (Part 145f)

FINISHING OUT THE YEAR... Barbara (Part 145f)

Without wasting much time on the surprise ‘guests’, I’ll explain that they were in the area to report to the County court house the next morning for a trial concerning Mike’s failed attempt at creating a charter sailing service. They showed up at our place looking for free lodging for the night. Thank goodness we had Barbara there although, if we’d really wanted to, we could’ve squeezed them in. Nancy was really apologetic when talking with Elle saying it was Mike’s idea and he’d ignored her pleas not to. In the short time they were there she managed to convey that as soon as the court matter was resolved she was filing for divorce.

While we were involved with Nancy and Mike, Barbara took the girls over to the swing set and climbing dome to occupy them. They were there for about a half hour and I had to hand it to Elle for not inviting them in. As they drove down the driveway I went up to her with a big smile and she reciprocated. (Today, it would’ve been a ‘high 5’) Walking towards the house I mentioned the ‘smiles’ and she said she knew, that she'd felt them. I added that I was sure that Barbara had noticed and as I told her she looked over my shoulder and there she was with the girls right behind us. To give herself a little time to get cleaned up she asked Barbara to make sure the girls got all the sand out of their shoes. It also gave me time to suggest that she find some time to explain her situation to Barbara. She didn’t disagree but clearly wasn’t happy.

She also wasn’t happy about starting dinner late. Snacks for the kids made them happy, at least for a while. When the chicken was in the oven she told me to make myself scarce. That told me she was going to talk with Barbara. I’d started painting a new sign down in the basement so at least I’d be ‘productive’. I hoped that by leaving the cellar door open a bit that I’d get to hear how Elle presented her story but the two of them were no where near the door. I wasn’t sure that Elle would be willing to share with me how it went and that bothered me a bit. I wanted Elle to make sure she got across to Barbara that she shouldn’t let herself be defined by her bedwetting like I’d done. I wished that I’d had the opportunity to find out what Elle was planning to say but there wasn't the opportunity. Another thing on my mind was in hoping that Barbara wouldn’t ‘slip’ and let Elle know that I’d told her about her incontinence.

Curiosity got the best of me and after a while I climbed the stairs to see where they were. I could smell the chicken in the oven but there was no sign of either of them so I went back to the basement. A little while later I was surprised when Barbara came down the stairs to see what I was doing. Ever since I’d had my ‘talk’ with her she’d been back to being the girl I’d first met... cheerful, bubbly and just plain nice. I’d been impressed with how she’d handled our earlier sightseeing ‘tour’. Some of it had to be just plain boring for her but she kept a smile on her face and willingly entertained our girls. And now, here she was, acting like she really cared about what I was doing. Because of her demeanor I asked, as innocently as I could, what she and Elle had been talking about.

She made a cute face and told me that Elle had told her not to tell me. Before I  could respond to that she went on and said Elle had, basically, said the same thing that I’d told her in that her bedwetting was only a minor part of what made her unique. Hearing that I was immediately proud of Elle. But, she didn’t stop there going on to add that she had no idea how Elle could deal with it on a daily basis. She was especially in awe of the fact that she was able to teach and not have any fear. I interrupted to say that wasn’t entirely true... it was that, in most cases, she didn’t let it show. It was then that Barbara showed her youthfulness and, smiling, said that she didn’t think she could handle the thought of embarrassing herself in public at any time. It was my turn to smile but I wanted to make an important point. I told her that Elle had learned when one of those situations came up if she acted like nothing was wrong the chances were good that no one paid any attention to it. Then, as I was prone to do, asked a question that, as soon as I mouthed it, knew it was wrong.

I asked if she ever had an ‘accident’ with people around. I watched her face get red even with her lowering it to look down at the floor. I immediately apologized and to my amazement she looked up and said it was OK. I thought that was the end of it but she went on to admit that she had. I apologized again, emphasizing that I was out of line and hoped she’d forgive me. Here’s where she really surprised me with her maturity.  She wanted to know why I’d asked. Before I could begin to answer I heard Elle calling from the kitchen so that ended it. In a way I was glad for the interruption. On the other hand I really wanted to make a point with her. I hoped I’d have another chance.

The big thing we had to work out that night was to figure out how Barbara could sleep in with Kaye. She hadn’t let us forget it. We all went upstairs after eating and Barbara showed she was a real ‘trooper’ and volunteered to sleep on the floor if we could move a mattress for her. It made sense to move the one she’d been sleeping on in Jean’s room as the sheets, beach towel and ‘protection’ was already in place. We struggled getting it down the hall and to make less work, placed it just inside the door and next to Kaye’s bed. She was so excited!

With no school the next day we allowed our girls to stay up a little later than usual. But, when it came time for bed Kaye insisted that Barbara go to bed at the same time. Elle told her that she’d be there in the morning but that didn’t work. Kaye started to make a fuss and Barbara cut it short and said she would. However, when she didn’t take off her clothes Kaye picked up on it and Barbara, now laughing, agreed to change.

To be continued...