ANOTHER YEAR... MARCHing on (Part 155e)

ANOTHER YEAR... MARCHing on (Part 155e)

Staying home had another (hidden) benefit. Without her older sisters around Kaye had my total attention. Elle appointed her as my 'nurse' and she just radiated happiness in the role. Her job was to periodically change ice packs for my ankle. It was funny because she didn’t understand the reason nor the process and every few minutes she’d come and ask if it was time for a new one. I was able to work with her on her alphabet and early level reading and that was rewarding. Around mid morning Elle got a call from Pat (the PTA lady) telling her that the final dollar tally had been over the goal of $250 but the equipment guy pledged a 10% discount if the school bought from him. By lunchtime Elle had her daily household chores completed. I’d never taken the time (or had the opportunity) to see just what she did when she was at home and I was impressed at her organizational skills.

We all ate in the den, usually a ‘no-no’, and when we were done Elle dispatched Kaye to go color me a picture. My patience in not pursuing the events of Saturday night paid off as she, willingly, offered to tell me about her conversation with Phyllis. As I’ve described her, a no nonsense, driven woman, she’d get an idea and then run with it even if it meant running into a few walls. After seeing the community acceptance of the ‘Olympics' she decided that she wanted to run a PTA variety show and wanted Elle to help her. Using the same ‘cause’ that Pat (the PTA lady) had used (raising money for gymnastics equipment) she visualized making as much as $500. She told Elle that she had all kinds of ideas that she’d used at the last school that her husband had been at. Elle said she was really on her ‘case’ about working with her. As Elle explained the program to me I just sat and listened knowing Elle’s disdain for getting up in front of people. However, when she said she thought she’d like to try it was a good thing I was already lying down.

The subject of Elle’s ‘accident’ never came up and I let it stay that way. After she put the kids to bed she returned in just panties and a pajama top. I was really pleased with how little pain I was in. I felt good enough to think about some extra curricular activity so made a suggestion that we might think about heading for bed a little early. I remember getting a coy smile in return. She did make a trip to the bathroom and returned with a damp spot between her legs. Feeling it was enough to arouse my latent desires she wanted to watch something on TV and told me I'd have to wait. I remember protesting and being told to have patience. I countered with a request for a picture. I hadn’t asked for any since Christmas and pointed that out to her. I got her usual reply... “I’ll think about it”.

I’d managed not to put any weight on the bad foot/ankle all day, hopping on my good foot when I used the bathroom, so it felt pretty good. I certainly didn’t want to screw up the gains I’d made so going up the stairs was going to be a challenge. I crawled from the couch to the hall closet to get the camera. I knew there was film in it because I’d bought some in anticipation of Easter morning. With the camera in my lap, I sat on the stairs and then ooched my way up, one at a time. I’d left Elle with her show just about over so sat and wondered just what was taking her so long to get upstairs.

When she appeared in the doorway she apologized. That didn’t make any sense as I was smiling as she walked in, The apology was for the fact that she’d wanted to wait to use the toilet until we’d had a chance to ‘play’ but when she stood up she had to make a dash for the downstairs bathroom. My mind went into ‘overdrive’ seeing her in a somewhat vulnerable position (in her mind only) so asked about a picture. She made a face but asked that it be a ‘back’ picture. That’s what she called pictures of her backside and of course I wasn’t going to complain. As much as I liked taking that kind of picture it wasn’t my main focus. I was looking forward to what I hoped would follow and I wasn’t disappointed.

The next morning I decided to wait a bit before going in to work. The week(s) before the busy period were always slow. Everything had been going smoothly on the teller line as the changes made right after the first of the year had pretty much worked out. Jaz had transitioned to the teller line rather seamlessly and Peggy continued to be happy in her dual role as both the drive-up and school savings teller. Lori, as chief clerk, was performing way better than I’d expected. The only problem was Jerry, the branch manager in waiting, who continued to march to his own drummer, often ignoring bank policy. Even after repeated reminders he would do it his way. Hobie had been little help in getting him to follow bank protocols. I gave up pointing it out to him choosing to just make notations on a pad hoping, eventually, to get Hobie to back me up. Weighing all of the above I called Bret around 10am to see how the day was going. When he told me there were no problems I decided to take another day off. I'd come to realize that if I’d done what the doctor had advised right from the beginning I’d probably be OK so wanted to try and make up for it. In truth, I was afraid the bad ankle would have a negative effect on Elle’s and my Florida trip. (I also wont deny that I was hoping for another day just like the previous one where I was the beneficiary of Elle’s good mood.)

To be continued...

As you can see, my efforts to salvage pictures from the crashed computer were worth the effort.