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

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

To me, it didn’t matter what had or hadn’t happened to the motor. The team didn’t have any more money so we were about finished. To help get over the disappointment I turned my focus to sailing because the next day was the first day of races that counted towards the championship at the sailing center. I didn’t even watch the finish of the race. As we loaded the car on the hauler I finally saw my friend, Jay. He said he couldn’t hang around as his wife Jo and their daughter were with him and waiting out in the parking lot. In a way I was glad but he promised to get in touch at the end of the next week so we could get caught up.

When I got up Sunday morning I'd forced myself to put the race car completely out of my mind. It was a normal Summer Sunday morning for me… church… breakfast… gathering the things up to take to the sailing club. Elle made an attempt to get Barbara to join us but she declined… again. It wasn’t until we were leaving that I thought about my theory of what Barbara had been doing while we were not home the previous Sunday. But there was too much going on around me what with getting the kids and all their paraphernalia loaded into the station wagon to dwell on it.

Friday had been the first day of lessons for the two older girls and also their introduction to Bobbi. I’d not partaken in any discussion of their day so was ‘out of the loop’ when, at the sailing center, they spied her in the parking lot and were excited to see her. Once out of the station wagon they ran right over to her. I’ve previously mentioned that Bobbi liked to crew on racing sailboats and not be a skipper. She was there to crew for one of the guys who raced a boat similar to the one I used to own and race. Her skipper was about to leave the beach when the girls ‘attacked’ her but was courteous and bent down to give them a hug. Even though there was an almost 100% chance of getting at least partially wet when sailing, especially racing, it was a ‘given’ that participants didn’t do it in a bathing suit. Too much flesh was exposed to the sun drenched decks and it was possible to get burned. So, when Bobbi bent over to give the girls a hug I got a VPL. It would also be reasonable to think that it would be a bathing suit that might be under the shorts but sometimes (like with Elle) it wasn’t. This was one of those times. From past experiences with Bobbi, and the fact that her aunt ran a clothing store that sold Lollipop panties, I was positive that what I was viewing was a Lollipop VPL, in all likelihood from a pair of bikinis. It was a nice diversion.

Truthfully, I have no idea how I did in the races that day. I do remember that my mind kept wandering back to what I had to be prepared for at the bank the next morning and not concentrating on the business at hand… racing. I do remember that Elle did well in her race and was really excited when she landed back on shore. Being the first day of races that counted almost all the true racers were there and some for the first time since the previous Summer. Even though it was good to see them I had no desire to hang around and talk.

At home, after all the ‘gear’ was stored away, I was told there really wasn’t anything for supper. I wanted to ask why but knew I’d only get a smart-assed answer. Barbara was there when we got back and during that brief conversation said she’d help make one of her mother’s noodle salads. Elle accepted the offer and I headed for the shower. I can’t deny that for the few minutes I was preparing for it I was hoping to find one of Barbara’s wet items. The reality was that there was nothing to be found. Everybody got showered and dressed pretty quickly while Barbara was working on her creation. As usual, when it was hot, we would to eat out on the screened in porch. We’d done it enough so that setting up was pretty routine. While that was being done I stepped back into the den and took a look at the notes I’d made about the branch the previous day. I don’t know why but the first thing I saw was the name, Morris.

It was the name of the somewhat unctuous character that had been referred to me when things were getting serious about the branch back in the Spring. He owned and ran a gift/premium business in the city that focused on bank give away programs. I’d been tasked with finding some more acceptable gift/premiums than had been used in the first new account program the previous year. He had thoroughly impressed me with his knowledge of the field and I’d taken his suggestions back to the branch committee and they accepted all of them (the blankets were a separate item and came later). It wasn’t the smoothest of negotiations but, in the end, both parties were satisfied. When focusing on his name while sitting there in the den I remembered an off-hand question he asked of me. I’d not thought about it at the time but now it was very relevant. He’d asked why we (the bank) had chosen that particular location for the branch.

During the early stages of considering a branch and where to put it I’d been completely left out of the process so I really couldn’t give him an answer… and didn’t… and that had ended the discussion. He was a strange man in any number of ways going from animated to almost somber in a matter of seconds. I sat there trying to remember his reaction to my answer. Not being able to started driving me crazy. My focus shifted when Kaye came in to tell me that it was time to eat. I was definitely not a good supper partner as my thoughts were now on Morris and wondering why he’d asked about the choice of location and what, if any, his reaction to my answer had been. I’m not sure when it came to me to actually call Morris… but by the time I was up and dressed the next morning I knew what I was going to do first when I got to work.

As I previously mentioned, Morris was a bit strange. Since he owned and pretty much ran the company single handedly he did what he pleased and when he pleased. On this Monday he decided to come in late… after 10am. By then I was almost pacing the floor behind my desk. I’d convinced myself that Morris had a very good reason for asking the choice of location question of me but what was it?. The first call I got was from the lady (?) who had started the disruption in the lobby on Friday to find out if we had her blanket. The next was from Betsy with the final numbers for Friday (a bit better) and then was the call from Stan over at the stock broker’s office. That one turned out to be important. With the crazy week I’d just experienced I’d not paid much attention to my mail at home. I knew I’d have time for any bills coming in so pretty much ignored it. Stan wanted to know what I was going to do with my $5,000. I didn’t know what he was talking about. When he realized it he told me that one of the corporate bonds I owned had been “called”. I knew next to nothing about bonds at that time so asked him to explain. He did and then told me I should’ve received some correspondence telling me to turn the bond in to a brokerage office to get my money. He then told me to get the bond over to him and he’d put some suggestions together for me on what to invest in. That put a smile on my face until I remembered that all my important papers were still in the safe deposit box at the first bank I’d worked at.

To be continued…