WINDING DOWN... Summer (Part 140a)

WINDING DOWN... Summer (Part 140a)

Rain and wind was what I woke to that Saturday. On top of that the temperature was below 70 for the first time since June. It was a reminder that Summer would soon be over, at least from a practical standpoint. Our geographic area was a Summer destination with the population growing at least three fold. Three out of four homes were nothing more than cottages and of those almost a third were rentals. The ‘locals’ considered the Summer season to run from the middle of June (when schools let out) until Labor Day (with school starting right after). I was more than a bit upset because with rain I couldn’t mow the lawn. Sunday was a full day from dawn to dusk which meant I’d have to squeeze it in after work during the week.

After my weekly trip to the landfill with the garbage I decided to go check on things at the church. It was a good thing because the undercroft hadn’t been cleaned up by Phyllis, the obnoxious neighbor, and her day care center. I could’ve done what had to be done myself but seeing that she wasn’t keeping her part of the bargain made me mad and I decided to go to her house and confront her. While at the church I checked on supplies and found we were low on some. The church had a benefactor at the hardware store in the wife of one of the owners. We were allowed to charge things up to $20 a month and she would cover it. Stopping there would also give me a chance to catch up with Sandy and to find out if her husband, Johnnie, had heard anything about his coaching position for the upcoming year.

Seeing Sandy in slacks was another reminder that cooler weather would soon be upon us. I hadn’t seen much of her all Summer because she was working full time. She looked good and I tried checking her out for a VPL as I collected the things I needed for the church. Checking out I asked about Johnnie and his status and I got a sour look on her face as my answer. She said he was “out” and it would be announced at the open school board meeting now scheduled for Tuesday night. I was surprised that Elle hadn’t said anything about it. I asked if she and Johnnie were going to attend and she gave me a thumbs down saying that all the new teachers were supposed to be introduced.  By then I’d given up on my quest for a VPL but as I was going out the door I ran into (literally) Pete (from the ‘unmarrieds’ group) so stopped to say “Hi”. While we were chatting I noticed Sandy, behind the counter, bending over to get a bag to put a customer’s purchase in it and got my wish. I was pretty sure she was wearing the ‘dribble panties’ that Elle and I’d made for her because the crotch, with the extra layers of cloth, bulged out a bit. I smiled when I saw it.

Pete had some very interesting news in that Martin and Sabrina (my former neighbor) were now engaged. However, she’d gone back to using her birth name, Lisa, at her father’s request. Back living with her parents, Pete said she was a different person. No date had been set but Pete thought it pretty funny that Martin was the “first to fall” of the 'unmarrieds'. I asked about Bebe and he smiled but didn't answer.

I drove right by my driveway and headed up the neighbor’s. Their car was there which was a good sign. Barbara answered my knock. It was now getting close to 10am and she appeared to still be in her nightgown which unnerved me for a second or two. She was such a sweet girl and totally opposite of her mother. Disregarding the nightgown, I had a very hard time reconciling that difference almost to the point of wondering if she hadn’t been adopted. She went and got her mother for me and before I could open my mouth Phyllis announced that Bill, her husband (and new principal), would be constructing a clothes line if it stopped raining, and hoped that would make me happy. That came out of the blue but it was sort of good news. Then, before I could express my complaint about the condition of the church, he appeared. It was the first time I’d actually seen him at the house since the day he started moving in. He was almost as brusque as his wife but he did take time to say hello and tell me his name, obviously having forgotten about our previous meeting. He offered up the excuse of being incredibly busy getting acclimated at the school and getting things ready for the first day. I just stood there and listened. With my focus now switched from the church matter to the clothes line I decided to push that project and offered to help him construct the T-poles. I was figuring that my involvement might insure getting the job done. He readily accepted. Since I had a station wagon I offered to drive to the lumber yard. I knew what we needed would fit better in it than in a car.

Back with the needed supplies, I found that I’d bitten off a little more than I bargained for. Bill didn’t have much in the way of tools so I went and got mine. It was still raining so we worked in the garage.. I said “we” but 90% of the effort came from my input. I had the “T’s” attached to the pole and was about to put the screw eyes on the cross bar when I asked when he wanted to put them up. He looked at me with a blank stare and I pointed to a shovel leaning against the wall. Without hesitating I said the holes needed to be at least three feet deep but they had to be the same. I was waiting for him to protest but he didn’t. He (possibly Phyllis) had come to the conclusion that the open space where the tree that had been hit by lightning earlier in the Summer had stood would be the best location. The ground was soft from the rain so it wasn’t really all that hard but in watching him it was obvious that physical labor was something quite foreign to him.

Barbara came running out to tell him he had phone call. The look on his face was one of pure relief. Barbara stayed for a few minutes asking me about what I was doing. She, somewhat surprisingly, was still wearing her nightgown but did have a sweater over her shoulders. When she asked her question of me she squatted down to take a close look. As I proceeded to explain she ‘duck walked’ a few inches closer and as she did I got an up close and personal view of her crotch. Granted they were only for split seconds but it did grab my attention.

Barbara didn’t stay long and when her father didn’t return I took the shovel and finished up the holes figuring that if I didn’t they might not get done. I dropped the two poles in and dumped the dirt back in around them. They turned out to be level enough for the naked eye that I didn’t bother to measure them. I probably would’ve if they’d been mine. By then I was pretty wet and decided I’d done enough and Bill could string the clothes line himself. After collecting my tools and heading down the driveway I realized I hadn’t done what I’d originally come to do and that was to ream Phyllis out about not picking up the undercroft of the church. I hesitated for a few seconds and then continued on back home.

To be continued...