MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162e)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162e)

My reason for concern about what had taken place at the meeting was that the next day was the full Board meeting and, for sure, a major topic of conversation would be the branch. As corporate secretary, Hobie would be ‘up to his eyeballs’ preparing for it which suggested to me that he’d not have much time for me. Even though my contact with Morris was limited it had been long enough for me to know he was very opinionated and pretty much said what was on his mind. In trying to guess what would be asked of him, and his response, was anybody’s guess and that concerned me. Most of the Board members were pretty ‘stiff’ and unfamiliar with ‘city folk’ and I felt there was a chance he’d ‘turn them off’ to what he had to say. That’s why I wanted to know, especially about his feelings on the advertising agency and the job they did in promoting the branch.

Before leaving for home I got another phone call from the stock broker’s office wanting to know when I was going to bring in the corporate bond that had been “called”. Being so busy I’d completely forgotten about it. The $5,000 that the bond represented wasn’t earning money any longer and Stan, the broker handling my account, had some material for me to look over as well. I didn’t have an answer as to when I’d be able to retrieve the bond from the safe deposit box still at the bank I’d first worked at. However, I figured I’d be able to get over to their office to get the research material on the selections Stan had made for me before heading home. Before the ‘busy period’  I’d tried to make it over to the office once or twice a month but it had been over a month since the last visit. I told Lynda, Stan’s secretary, I’d be there just before 5pm.

Lynda was one of those people you couldn’t help but like. As soon as I walked in the door I had her undivided attention. She made me (and others that I’d observed) feel like I was the most important person in her life. Seated at her desk she greeted me with a BIG smile and warm welcome. It made me feel good. She spun her chair around to hand me an envelope and as she did I got a look up her very short skirt and it wasn’t for just a split second. Not expecting it, the look on my face had to have been a reaction… and she picked up on it. All I can say is that it was ‘instant heat’ as I felt my face flush. I do not remember what she said or what I either said or did right after it. What I do remember was sort of backing away from the partition that separated the aisle from her work area. After catching my breath I tried to speak but it seemed like nothing came out. Looking at her (with her legs now back together) with probably a dumb look on my face I do remember her sort of laughing and asking why I was blushing. Of course I didn’t have an answer. Not one to enjoy being called out when embarrassed I just backed my way towards the door and thanked her for the material.

Once in my car I was able to think back on what I’d just seen. I knew her panties were white and that I’d seen at least a good part of the whole crotch of them. As I thought about the situation it came to me that her reaction to my sighting was similar to that of Gina the first time I’d stumbled into a peek of her panties back at the bank… and wondered if Lynda would choose to tease me in the future much as Gina had done when she called me “panty man”. It was an intriguing thought, for sure, because it might just provide an opportunity in the future.

At home, I knew that it being a Wednesday night Elle would be heading for the sailing club to be a part of the racing lessons being given for the women. For me, Wednesday nights were a race car night at the garage. With no damage to the car on Saturday night the team agreed to by-pass the usual Monday night car unloading so it was a ‘must’ to go that night. If there was a positive to having Barbara staying with us this night was a good one. The older girls had spent the morning at the sailing club attending their lessons and didn’t want to return so it looked like it would work out for everybody.

There was a surprise waiting for me (and most of the race car crew) when I pulled up to the door. Right there on the apron was a blue car that looked like all the window glass had been removed. Up close I could see there were no seats or dash board. Standing around it were a bunch of teen aged boys. Dick and I had arrived at about the same time and neither of us knew what to make of the car. It didn’t take long to find out. One thing I’ve not spent any time in writing about has been Cliffy’s brother, Jim. There are any number of reasons for that. For now I’ll just interject that he was also a race car driver but when their father decided to get out of racing Jim and his friends couldn’t come up with the money to buy the car he’d been racing. It sat in a corner of the garage covered with a tarp. Jim and Cliffy didn’t get along even though they both worked for their father. Jim was given a portion of the shop that had been partitioned off to do his share of shop work. A one word description of his personality would be “prickly”. None of the original guys who worked on Cliffy’s car liked him so he was truly on his own. I knew from them that he’d been trying to find the money to buy the car from his father but up to that point had been unsuccessful. But, as we were to find out, that had changed.

One of the kids that had worked in the pit crew of Jim’s car had been a ‘wanna be” racer and had been able to talk his father into letting him try it. The track promoter where we raced had just announced a new class of racing… figure eight… where the race cars would cross in the middle of the infield. When I heard about it I thought the idea was crazy but there was a lot of interest being expressed in it… plus it was a cheap way to get started. An old car with a roll cage installed was all that it would take. That was what the blue car on the apron was there for… to have Jim install a roll cage and seat in it. I never did learn all the details but the kid’s father was paying to have Jim do it and the money was to be enough to get Jim back out on the race track. The kids Dick and I’d seen around the car were that kid’s friends.They were all in high school and were very loud. All I could think of was the chaos we’d have to endure with them around. One of them asked where Jim was and identified himself as Greg and the one to drive the car. One of our crew asked where he lived and I when I overheard him answer I wondered if I didn’t know his parents. I asked and was told I was right. I remember laughing out loud and the kid wanting to know what was so funny. When he was born I was working in the small grocery store in our town and his parents were customers. On the day he was born his father came into the store and shoved a cigar in my mouth. That made me ask how old he was and when he said he was 16 I couldn’t believe how time had flown by that fast. When Cliffy showed up he took charge and sent the kids and the car out behind the garage and into the part of it that was Jim’s bailiwick. Cliffy was not happy!

To be continued…