THE HEAT GOES ON... August (Part 163l)

THE HEAT GOES ON… August (Part 163l)

My focus on Thursday was to casually interact with Hobie hoping to get some insight as to what happened at the extended Board meeting. It took until mid morning before I felt it appropriate to bring the subject up. He’d been at Cara’s teller window and had had a brief conversation with Joanie who was at her desk located right next to it. I overheard him tell her that she’d done a good job in preparing the things for the meeting. Without being obvious (at least in my mind) I started in that direction. As casually as I could I asked how the meeting went. As I remember it he just shrugged his shoulders and said but one word “Long…”. Doing what I felt was a good job of acting I casually asked why all the members showed up so early. By then Hobie was headed back to his desk and he said there was a lot to cover and rather than drag the meeting out into “supper time” they decided to start early. That was all he’d give me. I didn’t follow him because I didn’t want him to have any idea that I knew the additional material they had to go over was probably the report from Morris. However, what was a bit disconcerting was that it was Hobie who had been at the meeting with the president when I was instructed to get Morris involved. That was no secret and it seemed to me that I, as the operations officer and responsible for the operation of the branch, should be involved. But, with my recent blow up at Jerry I didn’t want to ‘push’ Hobie because I felt he truly ‘had my back’. It just meant having to wait to see what would become of the report.

I went over to see Stan, my stock broker (and, hopefully to see Lynda) during my lunch hour to thank him for the invite to his party. Lynda was on vacation which, for sure, was a disappointment. For some reason Ruthe seemed friendlier than I’d seen her before. Nothing really special but definitely noticeable. I mentioned it to Stan and he smiled as he whispered that Ruthe was somewhat intimidated by Lynda’s good looks. The funny thing was that Ruthe was also attractive but she tended to somewhat ‘mute’ it. Before leaving I told Stan that I’d try to make the party but with leaving for Bermuda so soon after it would be difficult. The truth was that I really wanted to go but it looked like reality would get in the way.

As soon as I returned to the bank Gertrude (from the travel agency) showed up with the plane tickets and a whole raft of brochures with things to do while in Bermuda. It wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking about our trip but now, with the tickets in hand, it was being pushed to the forefront. Elle had started putting some clothes aside but I hadn’t done anything. About the only thought I’d given the trip was to make sure Cliffy had set time aside to drive us to the airport and to pick us up upon our return. The package in my hand told me it was time to put some real thought into it.

I’d only be gone from the bank for a week. Actually, four days because one day that week was Labor Day. Things in the main office were really going well. Laurie had really adapted to her new position and the tellers had responded positively to her leadership. The only problem was Eileen and it was a minor one. To Bret and I it wasn’t a problem, at all. Eileen was, in spite of continued warnings, still prone to giving off panty peeks when she bent over from the waist. It drove Trish mad every time she caught her doing it. However, until her promotion to administrative assistant Trish didn’t have the ‘standing’ to talk to her about it. Now, it was different and she was really ‘on her case’. I’d had a chat with her telling her that, in principle, she was right but that Eileen was a really good teller and I felt her ‘attacks’ were going to upset her. Trish didn’t agree with me but did agree to ease up a bit.

I’d told Marty that I’d go sailing with him to ‘tune’ his boat. The Comet class sailboat at that time was going through a transition period with new rules on equipment. Marty was unfamiliar with either and as his boat had the old style rigging (mast and stays) that I was familiar with and, since I’d expressed an interest in going for a sail with him, it was a ‘natural’.  Arriving home, Elle had a message from Marty requesting that I pick him up at his house. I hadn’t given it a thought up to that time but as soon as I heard it I got the idea that I might be able to see panties on the line of the neighbor. That possibility had me excited all through supper. When I’d seen the panties on the line the first time I had no idea they belonged to the neighbor. Now that I knew what she looked like it would be special if there were any on the line. I had my fingers crossed.

Pulling up to Marty’s I could see the clothes line but without panties. That didn’t make me all that happy but when Marty asked me to help load the sails into my station wagon I saw something a bit better than what I’d anticipated… the neighbor lady working in her garden. She was wearing a pair of short shorts and, peeking out from both leg openings was a bit of panty. If Marty didn’t see what I was looking at he had to have been blind… but the only thing he said was that it was getting late and we had to get going. As we did I was encouraged about future visits to his house. After that, the sailing was a bit anti-climatic. It was good to be back in a boat with two sails. Even though it had been a few years since I’d been in a Comet class sailboat, it didn’t take long for me to become comfortable. Marty let me skipper for a while and I was able to show him an old technique that had worked for me. All in all, it was good evening for both of us.

About the only thing ‘hanging’ for me at work was in wondering just how the Board had reacted to the report Morris had prepared for them. The temptation for me was to ‘press’ Hobie on it but I was able to throttle my anxiousness. However, it was hard. The next thing on my agenda was the meeting that night at the garage and I didn’t know just why . One of the things that had been on both Elle’s and my mind was her period. She’d always had long ones and, from time to time, they’d be late. The last thing either of us wanted was for it to interfere with our Bermuda trip. When I walked in the door I saw Elle was really upbeat. I can say, pretty much without doubt, that this was one of the very few times she was happy to have her period. It was ten days until we were on our way and even with her worst experiences it had never lasted ten days. I was probably as happy as she was.

The meeting at the garage was to tell the guys that Cliffy had persuaded “Fairlane John” to come up with some money to allow us to go to the National Championships in October. That, and to plead with us to try to come up with enough money for us to finish out the season. There were only three more nights of racing that made up the regular season. I was going to miss the last night because I’d still be in Bermuda. I’d not shared the news about the profit I’d made on my stock because I didn’t want the rest of the guys to just look at me and think I’d make up any shortfall we had. Five of the six of us that made up the ownership team were married and had a total of 14 kids and Cliffy had one on the way. Things were tight for all of them and I was determined not to give in. In the back of my mind was that, if necessary, I’d come up with some money for the championship weekend. Now, with “Fairlane John” in the picture I was weakening.

To be continued…