KEEPING UP... Busy, busy, busy (Part 166c)

KEEPING UP… Busy, busy, busy (Part 166c)

Peggy’s last day was Friday and I wasn’t going to be there. Her wedding, on Sunday, was to be a private affair with just family members attending. Because of Elle’s and my history with her I felt we should send a gift. As I said I hadn’t spent much time with her more because everything in her area was running so smoothly. I didn’t know what her plans were after the wedding and felt uncomfortable in asking her. I’m not sure exactly when it came to me to ask Woody. The two of them had ‘bonded’ right from the beginning. A couple of quick questions to Peggy on how Woody was progressing and getting a smile as an answer told me to leave them alone and to let Lorie oversee the details. But, since the two had been together for two weeks it was my thought they had to have talked about Peggy’s future. So, it was my goal to isolate Woody for a few minutes to see just what she knew. When the opportunity came Woody was a bit hesitant but I was able to find out Peggy was going to be a stay at home mom for her daughter. My first thought was to wonder just how much a radio announcer in a small town actually made and hoped it would all work out for her. In the few minutes I had to talk with her it was also very obvious that the two had become friends in a very short time.

Not normally a pessimist, I’d become concerned about how well the ‘busy period’ had been progressing and was secretly worried that something would end up going seriously wrong. What was in the very back of my mind was that I wouldn’t be able to go with the racer and team on Thursday night. As the days were winding down I was getting more and more excited. I’d been to the championships as a spectator but this was going to be my first as a pit crew member (and co-owner). I was at the point I was wishing I could close my eyes and then open them to find we were on the way there. However… there were still two nights to make sure everything was in order and Elle was prepared for me to be at the garage and then to be gone until Sunday night.

I was anxious all day Thursday. It was hard to stay focused and I found myself unable to concentrate. I was waiting on a customer at my desk and looked over at the gate to the platform and saw James, Peggy’s father. I felt guilty when I saw him because, since I’d become a part of the racecar team, I’d been buying my gas from Cliffy’s father. I and the others had been doing it as a courtesy because he’d let the team use his garage and tools and not charged us anything. I excused myself from the customer and went over to say hello to him. Joanie wasn’t there and I knew for James to be there during his business hours there must be something wrong. As always, I was greeted with a big smile. Before I could offer my mealy mouthed apology for not stopping by to see him he handed me a paper bag and asked if I could get it to Peggy. That was a bit if a surprise because with Peggy at the drive-up window he could have just driven up and left it. He, being polite, asked how Elle and I were doing and as soon as I said we were doing well he turned and was gone. I finished up with the customer and made my way back to the drive-up window area.

There was no sign of Woody and Peggy seemed to be all alone. As soon as she finished with the customer I asked about Woody. She just pointed to the ladies room which was located right there. Naturally, I asked if she was OK. The next car had pulled up to the window so all I got for an answer was that it was “a female thing”. It was obvious to me it wasn’t something she was going to go into any detail so I returned to my desk. It wasn’t until I got almost there that ‘the light went on’ and that Woody had gotten her period and that the bag probably contained clothes for her to change into. With that thought in mind I made it a point to go back to their area a short time later. As I’ve written , with the drive-up window located in an area out of my line of sight I’d sometimes not really see that much of either of the girls. However, on this particular day I’d noticed Woody wearing her jacket and pants. When I got to the area I could clearly see that Woody had on a different pair of pants. Peggy liked brighter clothes than what Woody had purchased and the pants she now had on were a lot brighter than the oatmeal color of the pants she’d been wearing earlier. To me, on  seeing that the mystery had been solved.

Before leaving the area I made it a point to tell Peggy I wanted to see her before she left for the day. I sensed that she was a bit concerned. It was just before 5pm when she arrived at my desk and when she sat down I could she her apprehension. As soon as I told her the reason she relaxed. I explained that I wasn’t going to be in to work the next day and that I wanted to give her my best wishes on her marriage. I also wanted to tell her how much I’d seen her grow as a person and that she was going to be missed. There are some people who are uncomfortable when receiving praise and Peggy was one of those. She, embarrassed, thanked me for giving her a chance and for being patient with her. She went on to say that she’d wasn’t going away and would stop by to see us. Then I asked for an honest appraisal of how she thought Woody would work out. That brought forth a small laugh from her and she said she’d be fine. Her only concern was the same one as for all new tellers… proving up at the end of the day. By then it was after 5pm and most of the employees had gone. As I escorted her to the door I told her that any time she stopped in I hoped she’d stop by my desk to see me. She stopped and gave me a big hug which caught me by surprise. Watching her walk across the parking lot I just hoped that the guy she was marrying would be good to her.

Bret was waiting for me when I returned to my desk. I’d gone over everything that I needed to get done on Friday so was a bit puzzled. As I’ve previously written Bret was a big stock car racing fan and he wanted to give me money to get him a souvenir program from the championships. That got us to talking and he told me the motor that C J was going to use in the championships was from a Grand National NASCAR stock car. That just about floored me making me wonder just how we were to compete against something like that. Driving home I sort of wished that he hadn’t told me. But, there was nothing I could do about it.

To be continued…