FINISHING OUT THE YEAR... The neighbors (Part 150b)

FINISHING OUT THE YEAR... the neighbors (Part 150b)

After the discovery of the purchase of the property it wasn't until the day after Christmas before I had contact with any member of the family. That was when Barbara brought over the gifts for the kids and the cake she’d baked for us. I knew Elle was just ‘itching’ to ask about the projected new house and the move but I kept a close eye on her, cutting her off when she’d make a casual hint about it. It was my feeling that Barbara wasn’t the one to be the ‘messenger’ or to be queried about it. However, we (the whole family) were invited over to Barbara’s house to view their tree and visit with her parents and nothing was mentioned about it, even then. I can’t explain why but I was a bit miffed.

The next contact with any of them was on New Year’s day. The conversion of all the bank deposit records over to the service bureau had been completed earlier in the day and we’d beaten the deadline quite comfortably. I was pleased to be home just as it got dark. My thoughts were focused on a nice meal and a chance to relax, although I knew the kids would have something to say about that. I’d called ahead to Elle so she had supper ready and we all ate together, a rarity for sure. After finishing up I headed for my reclining chair hoping to get a few minutes to relax but not for long. The phone rang and, as usual, there was mad dash to answer it by Jean and Anne with Jean the winner. I heard her call to Elle who was finishing up in the kitchen and who, in turn, called for me to take the call. It was Phyllis from next door. She wanted to know if she and her husband could stop over for a few minutes. I held her off for a few seconds as I called to Elle to make sure she was ‘presentable’. She came to the hall and had a puzzled look on her face when I told her who was on the line. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say it was OK and I passed that on to Phyllis. She said they’d be there shortly. All I could think was “What now?”

 At the door, seeing them together it seemed very strange. Elle and I were very aware that Bill was not a ‘social’ person and Phyllis was only a shade better. After opening the door for them and being greeted by a somewhat jovial Bill, I wondered if he was drunk. We ushered them in to the living room and the girls, seeing the school principal in our house, kind of shrunk into the background of the den. Bill continued to be talkative, complimenting Elle on the Christmas decorations. He mentioned that theirs were always down and stored before school reopened. We told them we usually left them up until the second weekend after Christmas. With so much effort going into putting them up it seemed a shame to take them down.

After a few minutes of ‘pleasantries’ Bill’s body language changed perceptibly. Sitting on the sofa he moved forward, almost to the point of almost being off of it. Looking straight at Elle he asked if she could come in and teach for at least three weeks starting Wednesday. The question caught both Elle and I completely by surprise. The question wasn’t directed at me so I just sat and waited for Elle to respond.

Even though the holidays were over, school didn’t start up again until Wednesday for the kids. Elle had only been working as a substitute teacher but she still was in the ‘loop’ as far as scheduling was concerned. Full time teachers were to report the next day but Elle, as an ‘on-call’ substitute didn’t and I could see Elle trying to process what had been laid out before her. When she didn’t answer right away Bill started in with his ‘sales pitch’ telling her that she was his first choice. It was obvious that he was in a bind and wanted to get an answer quickly. Knowing Elle as well as I did (and do) I know she was overwhelmed. She loved teaching and had enjoyed her stints where she had the same class for a week or more. We’d both talked about her teaching full time and only had a little over two years until Kaye would be in school full days.

When Elle finally opened her mouth it was to thank him for thinking of her in that light. Once she started speaking it seemed like she had control of the situation. She had  a list of concerns with most of them having to do with Kaye. Elle’s mother was a pretty good bet for a few days but as she would remind Elle, she had a life to lead as well. Ginger was always available for an emergency but that was about it. After going over those options Elle kind of shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t think it would work. She said she hated the thought of passing Kaye from baby sitter to baby sitter. The first words we heard from Phyllis were a real shock. She, looking from Elle to Bill and back said that she’d take Kaye in at her day care facility at no cost to us. I knew I heard the words but somehow almost didn’t believe what I’d heard. Elle couldn’t respond right away and then Bill spoke and said that he really, really wanted her for the position. Even though there were a lot of ‘nitty gritty’ details to work out, that just about did it for Elle. In looking back on it now, what was somewhat amazing was that Elle never asked what grade it was or who the teacher was that she’d be filling in for. She just wanted to teach and Bill’s ego stroking certainly helped.

After Elle agreed to do it they got up to leave. At the door Bill stopped, and I can’t remember his exact words, but it was to tell us that they’d bought property and would be building a house. I’m not a good actor and neither is Elle but I think we did a good job in pretending to be surprised. I embellished it a bit when I asked where it was located but Bill, still not familiar with the area, couldn’t describe it except to say that the property was “on the water”. As soon as I heard him say that I wanted to say “It’s IN the water!” as I knew exactly where it was and the problems they would soon be facing... but I didn’t.

To be continued...