THE HEAT GOES ON... August (Part 163b)

THE HEAT GOES ON… August (Part 163b)

Friday presented me with a conflict… I’d volunteered to be part of the parking lot crew setting the boundaries for the Chamber of Commerce/Rotary Club benefit picnic as I’d done the previous three years… but Friday night was also the night to do final preparations with the race car. Cliffy didn’t take kindly to crew members who didn’t do their share even when they provided money to the operation of the team. He’d say something like ‘money buys the parts but the crew puts them to work’. I couldn’t disagree with him but it made it difficult in times like this. Volunteering for all officers at civic events was considered as part of being employed by the bank. I could’ve volunteered to work Saturday but that would’ve meant not being with Elle and the kids at the picnic. I’d told Cliffy I would be there late and could tell he was mad. Trying to please so many people was getting harder and harder to do.

It was basically the same ‘crew’ at the parking lot as in the previous years. One of the things I liked about it was to see people I knew out of their everyday element. One of the guys was the son of a former Trustee. He was a character and the total opposite of his father… and a fun person to be around. I’d worked with him the year before and, like so many times that we all know, said we should get together after the event was over. We hadn’t done it but before we left that night made a promise to go to dinner with our wives before Labor Day. I didn’t know his wife but had seen her in the bank a couple of times and was impressed by her looks. I seldom, if ever, put Elle a situation like that when she didn’t know the other people at all. Still basically shy, she felt uncomfortable when she had no idea what they were like or what they did. So, in leaving that night I knew I had another type of job to do.

At the garage with the race car, it had been discovered that after the crash into the first turn fence a few weeks back the front cross member holding the two sides of the frame had cracked. To get to it to make the repair meant removing the engine. By the time I arrived Cliffy and Joe were welding the plate to reinforce the frame in place. Everybody else, including Robob, was there and working on checking the tightness of all the external bolts on the motor sitting on the floor. As I surveyed the situation there was no place for me so I went about tightening all the bolts on the rear end. No one was saying much and it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to talk. I overheard one tidbit and that the plan was to get the motor back in the car before we left for the night. Having just had had it out when we got the cylinder heads from C J, I knew it would probably around 2am before that was accomplished. Not exactly what I had in mind. Because of attending the picnic I would have to drive myself to the track so, in leaving, told Cliffy not to stop to pick me up. He was obviously in a bad mood and when he heard that he thought I meant I wasn’t going to the races at all and made a snide comment along the lines of him wondering why I'd even bothered coming that night. Tired as I was I reacted and told him to take his f___ing race car and shove it up his ass and stormed out. Alan caught up with me before I started my car and told me Cliffy’s father had gotten mad at him for something and told him he was going to start charging us rent and that’s why everyone was so quiet. He told me to come to the races and that the whole thing would pass by then. I wasn’t sure I wanted to as I drove home. 

Elle and I’d attended the picnic event as a family for the past seven years and in each case had either been invited to join with friends or we’d invited people we knew because we had extra tickets. I’d suggested Elle invite Ed and Ellen but as I headed for home I didn’t know if they’d accepted. I hoped they would go with us for two reasons… I liked them and… depending on what Ellen might choose to wear, I was hoping for one or more voyeuristic happenings. But, I had to wait until daylight to find out.

Wanting to be at the picnic grounds early to guarantee we’d have at least some shade, I got up early to get the to landfill and also to get the lawn cut. Elle was still asleep when I did so I had to wait to find out Ed and Ellen’s decision. When I did it was a positive one and enhanced by the fact they were bringing her sister. The only thing I knew about her was that she was a ‘caboose’ in that she was over ten years younger than Ellen. That news made the event a bit more exciting. The only thing was that they would be taking their car which made it a bit difficult to rendezvous. I, as a volunteer, had a pass to get into the grounds from a back gate and they would have to enter via the main gate along with the crowd of people who always supported the event. I’d tentatively staked out a space for us before leaving the night before so upon arrival had Elle camp out there while I went to the main entrance to wait for them. The one positive to that was in seeing any number of ‘interesting’ outfits worn by some of the girls and women. More than a couple of them walked past me with a bit of their panties showing from under the leg openings of their shorts. I took that as a good omen for the day.

I managed to touch base with Bret, Lena, J J and Hobie but didn’t see anything of Jerry. Wanting to ‘tred lightly’ when it came to him, I just commented on it as an ‘observation’ to Bret. He told me he’d keep his eyes open for him and headed for his job of running the merry-go-round. When my watch read 11am I was worried that Ed had decided not to come. I knew Elle would be getting ‘antsy’ but decided to wait a little longer. That’s when I finally saw Jerry, his wife and  daughter. As I previously wrote, bank officers were fully expected to participate in  civic events, especially when the bank was a co-sponsor. Because of the situation with him earlier in the week I hadn’t followed up to find out just what area he’d be working in. From what I could observe it appeared that he was there to just partake the picnic and not to be a part of the volunteer staff. I debated with myself as to weather I should go to Hobie or just let it lie. It was right about then when I heard a voice call my name… Ed, Ellen and her sister. I let thoughts of Jerry ‘go’ so as to not get myself worked up about it. It was the sight of Ellen’s sister that  made me change my mind.

Her name was Eloise and, just to make things a bit difficult, went by the name of El. Not a raving beauty by any means she would best be described as “the girl next door”. No make up, her hair in a pony tail and wearing short shorts (very), she looked like a teen. As we walked to where Elle and the kids were waiting for us I made a point to walk directly behind her to check out the ‘possibilities’ and was encouraged by what I saw. I’ll admit I was almost praying that I’d get at least a VPL before we got to Elle. I’d completely ignored Ellen… until we saw Elle and the kids. She was one of those very demonstrative people usually giving a hug for a greeting. When she and Elle got together she tripped over a root or something and fell. She was wearing a pair of tight pink pedal pushers and when she fell the back seam split.

To be continued…