BACK TO REALITY... Same ole, same ole (Part 165o)

BACK TO REALITY… Same ole, same ole (Part 165p)

Trish approached me to ask if I had the clothes. When I told what had happened she was obviously upset and asked what she should say to Woody. I took a deep breath and told her that I’d ‘borrowed’ money from petty cash  and was headed back to pay for them. I remember her saying that Woody was still back there waiting and that she doubted that she could even make her bus. I hated being in that type situation where there was pressure from multiple directions. I probably took a deep breath at that point. What I do remember is that I asked Trish if she could go back to tell Woody what had happened and to ask her if she was interested in going to the store with me and then letting me drive her to where she was staying.

I stood by my desk and watched as she spoke with Woody. Even though she was way in the back I could see the expression on her face go from disappointment to excitement. By the time Trish was back to me it was after 5pm and the exodus of the employees had started. I could see Woody looking in our direction and waved her on up. I fully expected that the look of excitement would still be there when she walked top but I sensed apprehension. I’d not spoken with her all day and all the conversation was between she and Trish. I could sense her summoning courage to speak and when she did she looked at me with big eyes and I heard a very shaky “Thank you” come forth. Trying not to let the situation get out of hand I took a kind of hard nosed approach and told her that it was a loan and that Trish would work out a repayment schedule with her. Even though in my first sighting of her I’d thought she was older than she actually was, right at that point I could see how young and innocent she really was.

As excited as she was about the clothes there was definite concern about having missed her bus. I explained that I’d drive her to the store, pay for the clothes and then drive her to her friend’s home. It was hard to tell how she assimilated all of it as she, at that point, stood there with wide eyes and not saying anything. Trish broke the silence by saying she couldn’t wait to see what Woody would choose to wear the next day.

The cost of what the two of them had chosen was just a little over $120. Normally I only carried about $20 cash but, luckily, had enough to cover what the money from the petty cash fund didn’t. It wasn’t until we were leaving the store before I asked exactly what was in the boxes (back in those days that’s what some clothing stores did). I made a point of asking about the jacket and she seemed a bit uncomfortable about it saying she’d never had a “dress jacket”. I got the feeling that she was bit uncomfortable talking about the clothes so changed the subject. It took little more than ten minutes to get to where we were going so the wasn’t a lot of time to talk, not that she wanted to. But, I was able to get a little information about her and her family. Her father had been a pilot in the Air Force but had been grounded for health reasons and he hated it. She didn’t come right out and say it but I got  the distinct impression that her life at home hadn’t been the greatest from that time on. There was a reference to being “free” and to it was added that she really, really wanted the job to work out. That had been obvious in just the few days she’d been at the bank. She was gathering her packages from the back seat when she called my name. I turned towards her and could see she was fighting back tears. I’ve written any number of times that tears and women just don’t work for me. I tried to cut it short by saying that I hoped she’d wear the favorite thing that she’d gotten. That was enough to stem the tears and brought forth a weak smile.

I thought I was ‘home free’ but after a few steps towards the house she stopped and came back to the car. I sort of held my breath. But all she wanted to say was that she really appreciated the help… and that Peggy was “special”. Then she headed up the path to the house. On my way home I wondered how I kept getting involved with these naive young women… Laura, Joanie and now Woody. I was just up to the mobile home park that we’d lived at and realized that I’d not been keeping track of Moira and her battle with her husband. I rationalized it by thinking that if anything was happening she’d let me know… at least I hoped she would.

My ‘side trip’ had gotten me home a little late and it was obvious that Elle had not had a good day. Six o’clock was my target unless I called and I’d been pretty good recently. But, this was not a good night to be late. She and the kids had eaten and she was just about finished cleaning up. When I walked in I asked a simple question… “How did it go today?” For an answer… “Don’t go there!”… and she  proceeded to walk out of the kitchen. I didn’t need this aggravation so followed her into the den. The kids were in the cellar so they weren’t a problem. Normally I’d just let her cool off but I felt I hadn’t deserved her wrath for being just a few minutes late so I let her have a taste of her own anger. Long story short… the teacher who she was substituting for had no lesson plans for her to work with. On top of that it was an unusually rowdy class. I’d written that from the time that the call came in until she headed for school was pretty chaotic. She left without ‘spares’ and her ‘dribble’ panties got a “workout”. She ended up being pretty wet for the whole afternoon and didn’t dare to sit down. So by the end of the day, having spent most of it standing, she was exhausted and all she wanted to do was lay down when she got home. That wasn’t to be as the two ladies she’d been working with on sorting the clothing for the church shop showed up. Telling me about it and ‘venting’ ended up calming her down as we both apologized to each other. I suggested that for the future she get some ’supplies’ together and packed so she’d be better prepared the next time the school called. With a smile she stuck her tongue out at me.

Before heading to bed she said she and the two women had identified enough clothes to be able to open the Thrift Shoppe. When I told her the Vestry had decided to wait until the first Saturday of October she wanted to know why I hadn’t told her. I don’t remember what I answered but it wasn’t a satisfactory one and she said that she was through working on the project. I remember thinking that I wished I could do the same. But, before turning out the light I did ask her what to do about all the kids clothes that I’d been promised. She didn’t say anything to that which gave me hope that she’d change her mind. With the lights out she let me know the clothes that they had selected were in the garage ready to go to the church. I think I had a nightmare about clothes that night.

To be continued…