SUMMER HEAT... so much going on (Part 161g)

SUMMER HEAT… so much going on (Part 161g)

Jerry had managed to avoid doing anything productive the whole day. Knowing I wouldn’t be spending whole days at the branch I took a deep breath and called Jerry over to where Betsy was going over Barb’s debits and credits. I asked him if he knew how to do a ‘consolidated proof’ and he sort of nodded that he did. I suggested that he, not having had a hand in any monetary transactions during the day, be the one to do it to avoid any chance of impropriety. I just wished that Hobie, or maybe some of the Trustees who thought he was so great, were there to watch. He supposedly had over 15 years of banking experience and I swear that Mae, with no banking experience, could’ve done a better job. What should’ve taken maybe 10 to 15 minutes took almost a half hour… but he got through it… and we were able to leave around 5:30pm. He was the first out the door.

I wanted to have a quick review of the ‘Jerry situation’ with at least Betsy, Rita and Mae before leaving. Barb had a softball game and asked to be excused so she could change into her uniform, which was OK by me. She was too inexperienced to understand the situation with Jerry and having her out of the way was a good thing. The four of us gathered in the lobby just outside the ‘break room’ so that she didn’t hear what I was about to say. It was a reminder that Betsy was the ‘go to’ person when a customer question came up. If she wasn’t available the next in line was Rita but Jerry was the last resort. While I was going over it I happened to look into the ‘break room’ and for some reason Barb had not pulled the door to the rest room fully closed. I know I stumbled a bit with the point I was trying to make as I saw her pulling on her uniform pants. I had at least a 10 to 15 second look at flowered bikini panties before they disappeared under the uniform pants. Up to then I’d not had even a hint of what she wore although, based on her age, bikini’s would have been a safe bet.

I got back on topic and then, before releasing them, asked for their ’take’ on the day. Mae wasted no time in speaking out saying that Jerry was a “real piece of work” or something very close to it. She mimicked him walking around with his fingers together, out in front of him like a preacher, interviewing customers, nodding as he went. I should’ve cut her short but I was having a hard time to keep from laughing. When I did jump in it was to ask if any of them thought that they would have any problem working with him. I distinctly remember them looking around at each other and then hearing Mae say something along the lines of “not as long as he leaves us alone.” Before they left I told then I wouldn’t get there until around noon time and if there was a real problem to call the main office and to ask for Bret if I wasn’t available. On my way home Mae’s last words troubled me a bit but, at the same, time gave me confidence that nothing really bad would happen as long as she was around.

With nothing substantial to eat since I’d left home I was famished. Elle had started a sort of tradition to have spaghetti on Wednesday. She could cook it up at her leisure and then when I got home just warm my portion up. I was really looking forward to it on that evening. It was obvious that Elle had something to tell me just by the way she kind of flitted about. I finally had to tell her to sit down and get it off her chest. Back in the Fall Pat (the PTA lady) had convinced the school Board to offer adult education courses during the evenings during the Winter. I signed up for golf but didn’t stick with it for all that long. Elle had signed up for guitar lessons and did manage to make it to the end. One of the ladies in her class had called her to ask for help and, although far from knowing really how to play, she had grasped the basics. The lady had stopped by a few times and, on this day, wanted to know if Elle was interested in golf. It’s kind of funny now because she’d never ever held a club in her hands up to the time the lady asked. Telling her that she didn’t think so the lady pushed it on her saying that her husband taught golf at the driving range about ten minutes away. Wanting to pay Elle something for her time she convinced her to go with her to the range and at least give it a try… and she did.

Elle was (and still is), a natural athlete and high school she won the outstanding female athlete award. In golf she just thought it took too much time to play a game. But, with the urging of the lady (I don’t remember her name) they headed off. The woman’s husband quickly saw the athleticism but decided to start her off slowly. He suggested that rather that take on a regulation golf course it would be a good idea to start on a par three course. As Elle was telling me this I remembered hearing that there was one in the next town to the East but I had no idea exactly where it was. I’d lived most of my life in the area and had never seen it. With Elle’s enthusiasm and my curiosity, I suggested that we all take a ride after I ate and find it.

There were only two ways to accomplish that… have detailed instructions or… just stumble upon it. Elle had some instructions which got us on the right road but it took two passes to find an almost hidden sign that read “Marshland Links”. Driving on the rutted dirt road I questioned why anyone would put a golf course in such an out of the way location. At the end we found a small house with a sign over the door reading “Office”. It was approaching 8pm and we weren’t going to play so I just went about turning the car around. Before completion of the turn I heard a knock on my window. It was an old man, maybe 70 to 75 years old, and he had a small card in his hand. It was the owner and he wanted to give us a free round of golf. I thanked him but told him it was too late plus we had the kids. When he told us to come back another day it was almost like he was pleading.

I’d bought golf clubs from Bret’s father so I could participate in the adult education program and when we got home I went into the shed I’d erected in the very back of our property to find them. Successful, Elle and I spent the rest of the daylight swinging at waffle golf balls in the back yard. It was a lot of laughs and with the kids to pick them up everybody was involved. Heading inside we decided that we’d take the man up on his offer. The question was… when?

To be continued…