SLOGGING THROUGH WINTER... Good & bad (Part 169w)

SLOGGING THROUGH WINTER… Good & bad (Part 169w)

Timing is everything in life. We’d just started to eat when there was a knock on the kitchen door. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I knew it was Jonesie. He had a full time job and did the handyman stuff at night and on weekends. He had a flashlight and I added my big one as we headed to next door. He was somewhat of a character and I’d become used to him and knew when he was kidding and when he wasn’t. When he saw the tree limb against the house he made a remark about needing a crane. I knew he was kidding but Matty didn’t. She made a comment about her father saying he’d have a heart attack when she had to tell him. It took Jonesie a minute or two to convince Matty that he was only kidding. He wasn’t kidding when he said she’d have to have someone with tree trimming equipment to get it off the house. He was able to get under the limbs to see the damage to the windows and window frames. Then, after seeing the inside damage, told Matty that he’d get it done as soon as the tree was removed. That left her with trying to find someone to do it. She asked Jonesie who he would use and he didn’t have a name to give her. Then she asked me…

One of my father’s friends had a son who’d recently gotten out of the Army. He hadn’t been able to hold a job for more than a week or two and was doing a little bit of any and everything. My father asked me to keep him in mind for any kind of “off the wall” job and I’d gotten him a job to clean up the vacant lot next to the church. I knew his father had a gas powered chain saw so I said I’d give him a call in the morning .That wasn’t good enough for her so, hoping to get rid of her, took her back to our house and gave Tony a call. I really didn’t think he’d be home and told Matty so but she insisted. Tony’s mother answered and surprised me saying he was right there. All I was hoping for was a “Yes..”  and that he’d do it but… he wanted to see it before committing himself and said he’d be right over. Jonesie had headed home when we went back to my house. I’d forgotten that neither Matty nor I had finished eating and Elle asked if we were still interested. We had to do something while waiting for Tony so I resigned myself to eating a warmed up meal… not my favorite thing.

Tony was what we called a “wise guy”, always having a quick, smart assed comment on just about everything. He was about five years younger than me and I barely knew him. The only reason I suggested him was because of my father. When I introduced him to Matty I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. I have to hand it to her in that she was “all business” in that after he’d gone to look at the tree she wanted to know when he could do it and how much it would cost. I remember him hesitating a bit but when Matty opened her pocket book he said he’d do it in the morning and would also haul the debris away all for $20. She proceeded to pull a wallet from her bag and gave him a $20 bill. Then she looked at me as if to say… “he better do it!” as he walked out the door. It was now close to 8pm and the reason I remembered was that Elle had sent the kids upstairs to get ready for bed and Matty asked why they went to bed so early. Elle’s answer was to reference that the schools were reopening in the morning. The girls had ‘milked’ the weather situation to the limit and had stayed up way past their normal bedtimes. I remember Matty making an off hand comment about how strict Elle was and it got me to wondering just what her kids were like and how ours would react to them when they came for the Summer.

With everything ’settled’ I had hoped Matty would get up and go. But, she didn’t. She wanted to know where the nearest motel was located which brought forth a bit of a chuckle from me. The township we lived in had passed a moratorium on motels back in the late 50’s. That meant there weren’t really that many to choose from and added to that was that there were only two that were open during the Winter. Never shy about asking for help, she wanted me to call to see if either of them had a room available. I looked at Elle and rolled my eyes. My thoughts weren’t for the current moment but was on the future when she and the rest of the family would be living there. I was about to tell Matty what was on my mind at that point when Elle volunteered to make a call to the larger motel. I had to bite my tongue but vowed to myself to give Elle a piece of my mind after Matty was gone. I didn’t say a word while Elle made the call and I secretly smiled when I heard her ask if the motel knew of any vacancies. When she returned to tell Matty it didn’t seem to deter her at all. ”There has to be someplace I can stay!” was basically what I heard. The only place left was the Lodge owed and run by the president of the school board, Wally, and when I thought about it I found it immediately amusing. I got up and made the call. When I identified myself he asked if I was going to run for the board in June. So, I had to chat about that before I got to ask about a room. Other than on Summer weekends there were always rooms available as no one wanted to stay in a run down old mansion. I told him he’d have a visitor in just a few minutes. Returning to the kitchen with the news I thought our involvement with her was over, at least for the time being. But, no… she wasn’t done yet as she then asked for a piece of paper so she could write down some telephone numbers. When done she handed it to me and, almost like giving an order, said she’d appreciate a call when we observed the different phases of the repairs being completed. That’s when I lost it.

I’d thought back to how involved we’d become when Sabrina (Lisa) had been the first to occupy that house after Sophie, the owner when we bought our house, had lost it to a tax sale. With Sabrina there had been some residual (panty) benefits but, standing there looking at this woman I could see none. I told her that Elle and I had been waiting for the house to be sold hoping for permanent neighbors. I told her that we’d both lived in the community since we were kids and had to put up with part time summer residents and how they “used” our parents to handle various “nuisance” chores that they couldn’t do because they were too busy/involved in their permanent community. I told her that we just were not going to do it. I told her that we’d be good, quiet neighbors and wouldn’t bother them but we were not going to be “slaves” and do their bidding. The look on Matty’s face was one of disbelief. It made her finally stand up and to head for the door… and without saying a word. Elle wouldn’t speak to me after she left and headed upstairs to bed. I was so worked up there was no way I could’ve slept. But, sitting back in my reclining chair I was proud of myself for speaking up. I ended up thinking of a few more things I could’ve added.

I was watching the TV when I saw headlights coming up the driveway. It was now after 10pm and I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out who it could be. As the headlights went out I saw the dome light in the car come on and thought I saw a short female get out. Within seconds there was a knock at the back door… it was Matty.

To be continued…