MORE SUMMER HEAT... so much of it (Part 162p)

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

I was still faced with cleaning up the yard. The storm hadn’t done any real damage (…other than the limb from the neighbors tree) but had left a lot of twigs and leaves strewn all around the property. It had to be cleaned up before I could mow the lawn which should’ve been done on Saturday. I was on my way to start when Elle pleaded with me to take the car to see if Barbara had a problem with her bike while on her way from work. The tone of her voice told me she was really concerned so, somewhat reluctantly, I got in my car. There were two ways she could take from town and my plan was to go one way and return the other way. Riding through town I saw the son of the owners of the store where Barbara worked so stopped and asked him if he’d seen her that evening. He said he knew she’d been at the store in the afternoon and he’d seen her talking with the girl (Edna) who worked at the drug store. That bit of information gave me the idea to go to Edna’s house to see if she knew anything.

Ed, Edna’s father, was doing what I should’ve been doing… raking up the debris. He stopped and with a big smile told me that my ears must be ringing. I had no idea what he meant by that and I’m sure the expression on my face spoke for me. He went on to say that he and his wife had just finished discussing inviting Elle and I over some evening for dessert as a thank you for feeding their daughter that one night and also for helping him work on his boat. I was surprised but thanked him and suggested that his wife call Elle to set a date. In a rush, I told him I’d actually stopped by to ask his daughter a question about one of her friends. He called her name and almost instantly she appeared. I could see she recognized me. I asked if she knew where Barbara might be as we’d expected her for supper and she hadn’t showed up. I remember the puzzled look on her face followed by her saying she was at her new house. The way she said it made it sound like I was supposed to know that. I briefly explained what her father had told Elle and that was she’d stay with us through the current night. She shrugged as she told me that, as of lunch time, she’d be staying in her new house that night.

My next stop was to Barbara’s house. It only took a couple of minutes to get there and approaching it I could see two vehicles in the driveway. One of the compromises they’d made was to cut back to a one car garage and I could see it was filled with cardboard boxes. I had to park in the empty lot across the street and in walking over to the house could see considerable erosion caused by the heavy rain of the weekend. Without grass there was nothing to stop the topsoil from being washed away. Seeing it made me wonder how much creek water had gotten into the basement due to the abnormally high tides. The front door was open so I walked up and called out a general greeting. I had to repeat it again before I saw Phyllis, Barbara’s mother, walk up. She, rather brusquely, asked what I wanted… not what I expected having just housed and fed her daughter for the previous three weeks. I was too shocked to have time to think of a reason for her attitude. I had to say something and as stupid as it sounds I told her I was concerned that she hadn’t shown up for supper. Phyllis, now looking perturbed, stated that there had been a change in plans and Barbara was helping to get things in order so they could sleep in the house. I stood there, somewhat in disbelief, over what I’d just heard. I was reminded of the Phyllis that I’d first met when she and her family moved in next door to us about a year earlier… blunt and demanding. I don’t remember if any more was said before she disappeared down the hall. Walking back to the car the only thing that made any sense for her attitude was that Barbara had said something to her about the incident I’d been involved in with her over the weekend. However, based upon her reaction when I asked what he mother would say or do if she knew what she’d been doing, I immediately dismissed that thought. I was at a loss for what had triggered her attitude.

I’ll tell you that on my way home I found myself getting madder and madder. I’d used all my restraint to keep from telling her off knowing that her husband was the principal at the school and had the power not to call Elle for substitute teaching once school started. Back at home I found Elle and the kids in the back yard making an attempt to clear the area around their playhouse. I waved her over to the car so I could tell her about my meeting with Phyllis without the kids hearing me. She, like me, was shocked and immediately came up with the same thought I initially had. All in all, she was relieved that Barbara was OK. The hard part for her was in telling the kids there would be no party and that Barbara wouldn’t be sleeping there that night. In my emotional state I wanted no part of that so grabbed a rake and started in with the clearing of the yard.

I worked off my anger that way and by the time I came inside it was almost 10pm. The kids were asleep and Elle was waiting in the den for me. I don’t know and I never asked how she resolved it with the kids but one thing she did say was that all the things Barbara had brought with her were still up in Anne’s room. I’d forgotten about that but, not wanting to revisit the situation, just told her to keep the stuff until Phyllis (or Barbara) made an effort to retrieve them. Elle thought that was being a little harsh but I, emphatically, told her that was the way I wanted it.

Elle finally got a call from Phyllis on Friday. As I remember it Elle told me it came in the form of a demand for the return of Barbara’s clothes and accessories. There was no recognition of the effort Elle had put forth on looking after Barbara but just the insinuation that we’d taken Barbara’s things. Elle, somewhat taken aback by the ‘attack’ told her she could pick them up at any time and they would be on our patio. Phyllis, still on the ‘attack’, wanted Elle to deliver the things to her. I remember when being told of this of wanting to go over and to demand an apology from her but Elle stood her ground and told me it was over… that Phyllis had come and retrieved the things while she and the girls were at sailing lessons. Elle, very clearly, insisted that we be ‘above her’ and to let the matter die. I didn’t agree with her but stayed at home in a very agitated state.
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At this point I’m going to deviate from the ‘time line’ that I’ve pretty much stuck to since the beginning of writing this blog because I want to bring this ‘thread’ to an end. This part is being written in a somewhat disjointed manner because it, from a timed perspective, will jump around a bit. Here’s hoping you can follow it…
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MOVING FORWARD… I, personally, didn’t see Barbara again until the high school basketball season. With Barbara a cheerleader there was no way to avoid us seeing her or her seeing us. I found excuses not to go to some of the early games but eventually gave in. I stayed in the back while Elle and the kids got seats down front. Barbara did acknowledge the kids and Elle but didn’t spend much time with them. On the way home from that first game they talked enthusiastically about her and I was sorry we’d gone. Over the Winter I’d see her in the village but just as I was driving through. Elle would see her in the halls at school during the course of the school year but we never got into discussing her. After graduation Elle found she’d been accepted at Temple University in Philadelphia and done the same as her sister, Mo, signing up for Summer school to get a head start. I never saw her again.

When it came to Elle and her teaching at the school there didn’t seem to be any problem as Elle got many calls to fill in. For me and Phyllis, with the completion of the new house she moved her day care from the church to the house thereby eliminating any need for me to be involved with her in any way. To some degree it became like she didn’t even exist.

Bill, her father and the principal at the school, stayed for three more years and then left to take an assistant superintendent’s position in a suburb of Philadelphia. They sold the house (ironically, to the new principal) and as they disappeared from sight so did the talk about them. The legacy of Bill’s tenure at the school was a much elevated curriculum and the introduction to the modern ways of education so that was a good thing.
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I do want to explain how I was able to put so much detail into what I call “The Barbara Story” and will do so in the next post.

To be continued…