MAKING PROGRESS… of sorts (Part 172c)
It wasn’t until I was well
on my way home that it came back to me that I’d made $1,000 profit on
the sale of my stock. What triggered it was that Elle had come up with a
list of things we’d need when the baby was born and I’d started to put
money aside for them. Now, with my sudden ‘windfall’, that ‘need’ would
be satisfied. Another thing along the same lines was that Jean, our
oldest, would be ten years old on Friday. My mother had planned to take
her to the city to see her first play but her stay in the hospital had
changed all that and now we had to come up with something to replace it
with. When told she wouldn’t be going Jean understood the reason but was
still disappointed. Right from the time each of our girls was born my
mother had stepped in to help us out by buying clothes for them at both
Christmas and for their birthdays. However, the choices were hers and
the girls had no say in the matter. About a year earlier Jean complained
to Elle that she wanted to be able choose some of her clothes.
Initially, it didn’t go over all that well with my mother but she did
back off and said that Jean could go with her this year. Again, my
mother’s illness changed that plan and Elle was contemplating a
‘shopping spree’ for her but didn’t know if my mother would still pay.
Now, it didn’t matter. So, by the time I pulled up the driveway I had a
plan to, hopefully, blunt some of Elle’s expected anger. I knew it would
cost me some money but it was my decision.
As I walked up the
path to the back door I was rehearsing what I’d say, hopefully, to
divert what Elle would have ready to say to me. I’d heard it many times
before but it still hurt. The kids were busy doing their homework on the
kitchen table and the kitchen appeared to have been cleaned up from
supper. I don’t remember the exact words but they were something along
the lines of “I hope you’ve eaten because there’s nothing here for you…
“. That was a shock to hear and it was in a clear, calm voice. No
apparent anger… just fact. It took me a few seconds to figure out just
what was happening and when I did I decided to go ahead with some of
what I was originally going to say. I didn’t lie… I just didn’t fill in
some of the details. I told her that I’d sold the stock I’d bought
around the first of the year and after work had gone over to the
broker’s office to find out just what we’d made. That was partially
true. Then I told her we’d made $1,000 profit. I thought that would
lighten her up a bit but, still in a controlled manner she said that was
good news as we could buy the things she wanted for the baby without
having to worry. So, I’d been right about her priority but… I wasn’t
ready for her next pronouncement. I was pretty sure it would have to do
with Jean’s birthday which was on Friday, Memorial Day. Because the
schools were closed Elle had planned to have a big party for her friends
after the parade. But, somewhere along the line, she decided to hire a
magician to entertain all the kids. Hearing that, all I could think of
was “OUCH!”… more dollars from the stock profits. There really wasn’t
much for me to say. I certainly wasn’t about to mention the possible
help I might be receiving for the race car but did tell her I was going
to the garage to unload the car and to make some decisions on what to do
with it. She didn’t protest and, as I remember it, told me she’d see me
in the morning. While changing my clothes I was having a hard time
figuring out her mood. Expecting to get another ‘reaming out’ for not
calling all I got was what best could be called “indifference”. I
wondered what had happened to cause that.
I was late arriving at
the garage and the car had already been unloaded from the hauler. The
rest of the crew was busy in removing the now destroyed Pontiac motor. I
went up to Alan and asked if Cliffy’s father was going to ask us to pay
for it. He laughed saying he’d tried giving it away and nobody wanted
it. Still confused about the way Elle had acted when I got home I
wondered if it might be better not to say anything about my next day
meeting with the used car guy. The attitude of the guys who were there
was pretty solemn. I thought if I got them all buoyed up and then found
out it wasn’t going to happen it would not be good. I vowed to be a
‘listener’ for the rest of the night and by 11pm the car, without a
motor, was safely back in the corner of the shop where it had spent the
Winter. No one brought up what I’d felt was the obvious question… what
were we going to do with the car? I left it at that and headed home.
Alan and I would sometimes race but neither of us felt much like racing
at that time.
Elle was cordial at breakfast for which I was
thankful. When I was leaving she got her ‘digs’ in by asking if I was
going to join them for supper that night. That was a good question
because I didn’t have any idea how long my meeting with the used car guy
would take. I’d not wanted to tell Elle about the possible arrangement
but this appeared to be the best time to do it. It meant being late for
work but… I ‘fudged’ most of the facts about it saying that at the
garage the night before we’d gotten some indication that we might get
some help to continue racing. I’d been asked to meet with the guy
because I could get the time off. The look on Elle’s face told me she
wasn’t ‘buying it’ but I continued on, saying the guy had a business
right across the bay from my parents house. Facts didn’t matter to Elle.
She had just heard the ‘death knell’ for her Summer. I left without her
saying much of anything and me promising (again) to call and let her
know when I’d be home.
At work I called Lynda to make sure the
meeting was still on. She gave me the guy’s name, Neil, and telephone
number and told me to call to set the time… and wished me luck. He
seemed amenable to just about any time that would work for me so, I
chose 3:30pm. That let me get in a full day at the bank and would
hopefully give me a chance to make it home by 6pm. It took about a half
hour to get there. I expected to see the used cars right next door to
the dealership but had to go about a half mile down the road to find
them. About 30 or so cars filled the lot and they surrounded a building
that looked more like a shed than a place of business. It was obvious it
was tied to the Chevrolet dealership with one exception… the actual
name of the dealership was missing and in its place was the name AOK
Used Cars with Chevrolet signs and decals all around the property. I
parked and walked in the building. As soon as I did I felt I’d seen the
guy before. He was sort of ‘round’ with jowls and a ‘spare tire’. My
guess was that he was in his 40’s. Dressed casually, he introduced
himself and promptly asked where Cliffy was. That caught me by surprise
because Lynda had never mention anything about anyone other than me
meeting him. The immediate thought was that I’d screwed the whole deal
up. As I was explaining that to him I glanced at some pictures on the
bookshelf behind his desk. As I did I saw one with a race car with the
number 25 on it. I knew immediately who he was… Neil Wilson… and that my
first race car driven by the Cliff that owned the restaurant that was
giving us some money had raced against him back in the 50’s. As soon as I
brought that up and saw his reaction I knew I was ‘home free’.
To be continued…
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