INTO THE "HEAT" OF SUMMER... (Part 25 l)

Concerned that the nosy neighbor would see me coming down the stairs we worked out a ”plan“. While Elle was showering I was washing up in the upstairs bathroom as best I could. Then I went to the window on the stair case landing and waited until I heard the phone ring next door. Elle had told me that the lady’s phone was on the far side of the room and the window at the bottom of her stairs couldn’t be seen from there. When the phone stopped ringing I was to run down the stairs and head for the back porch. As soon as the phone was picked up Elle hung up. I stayed on the porch and watched Elle get the wringer washer out and load the soiled bed linens into it. We sat there drinking lemonade as we waited for the wash to be done. But, by the time it was finished it was almost time for Elle’s father to get home from work. The big problem then became what we were to do with the clean, but wet things.

We had a three car garage over at my house. During the Summers we never put the cars inside. My father had rigged clothes lines for my mother to use when it rained. (Remember, this was the mid 50’s and an automatic dryer was a very rare item). We devised another plan to would divert the nosy neighbors attention so I could sneak the wet items over to the garage. I hid them inside our washing machine and planned to come back to hang them up after supper. The only time my parents used our garage on a regular basis was the in morning and early afternoon. When I left Elle I suggested that she meet me out front of my house after a short wait. The afternoon breeze had come up and even though it was still hot out, it was refreshing. With Elle there, my mother took it upon herself to ask her for supper. I liked that, for sure.

But, Elle had forgotten to do the household chores that her mother had left for her to do. When she called to see if it was OK to stay and have supper she was told, in no uncertain terms, to get home and get them done. As it turned out it was good thing. We’d also neglected to remake Elle’s bed. I remember her telling me that when she went upstairs to clean the bathroom toilet and saw the unmade bed she had a panic attack. Fortunately, she was able to get it done without getting caught. We had a laugh about it a while later.

Basically, she was ”grounded“ for the night. She was allowed to go to work but had to come right home. I was allowed to go over and visit with her afterwards but she wasn’t allowed to leave her property. I knew I should go to the gas station while she was working... but I didn’t. I took the position that Cliff would call if the power came back on. Instead, I went down to see Cliffy as he was due to go back to his duty station the next day. I turned out to be a good decision. Cliffy and his father were in a ”discussion” about the racecar that he’d been driving. Cliffy had no idea when he’d get an extended leave again but still wanted to keep the car. His father wanted him to sell it, telling him that they could always buy another when he did come home. Hearing that I asked how much they wanted for the car. I was told $300 without the motor. For me it was LOT of money but I really wanted to be racing. I told them I’d buy it. However, the big lesson was that I learned about “buyer’s remorse” as I tried to figure out how to pay for it.

When I picked her up at work Elle wasn’t happy to hear about my “purchase”. Without a racecar to work on she figured we’d have more time together. That sort of set the tone for the rest of the night as she was rather “distant” with me. I really didn’t know how to handle the situation and as I remember it I got mad at her and went home. Not the ending I’d hoped for after such a wonderful afternoon.

To be continued...