FINISHING THE YEAR... Odds & ends (Part 167y)

ENDING THE YEAR… Odds & ends (Part 167y)

I really had no idea what she would say but when she spoke she said a ‘mouthful’. The answer to coming to the main office was a resounding “NO!”, But, it was what she said after it that gave me some hope that all was not lost. I’d mentioned that Betsy, the branch head teller, and Rita had kept in contact. Even though they’d only worked together a short time they had become good friends and had even gotten together socially. She told me the first thing she did that day was to call Betsy and tell her of the offer… and that she wasn’t interested in commuting… especially in Winter. As I’ve said, Betsy was a ‘confidant’ with me in keeping me up to date on Jerry and the branch. I’d sensed that Betsy, in spite of Jerry, liked working for the bank. The benefits had to be a definite plus for her and her family with her husband an independent contractor. So, what she had to say next was an unbelievable shock. Rita said that Betsy had come up with an idea that might work for her and the bank but that it was a ‘long shot’. She proposed that Mae be approached to go to the main office and that she, Rita, come to work at the branch. My thoughts shifted immediately to Mae and what I knew about her. A ’snap’ review of her in my mind was that she was very bright and a definite ‘positive’ for the bank. I also knew she had kids and wasn’t sure where her husband stood in the big picture. I sort of hesitated when I asked if she’d been approached with the idea. She responded that nothing had been said. I remember taking a few deep breaths thinking that it should be me to discuss it with her. I did have that one ‘in’ with her when I’d told her of my race car and that her former brother in law had raced against it. Not really sure of where I was going with this whole thing I decided to call Mae at the branch.

In retrospect, Mae was a bit of a character even though she was very much a ‘driven’ person. Being hired by the bank was, in her mind, a definite ‘step up’ and she’d expressed it to me a couple of times. Betsy had told me that it was a goal of Mae’s to become a bank branch manager one day. However, when I heard her voice on the phone I could hear a bit of fear. I had no idea what her decision might be but definitely wasn’t expecting to get a quick “Yes”. However, and this was something I quickly learned about Mae… it was never quite what it seemed on the surface. By the time we were through she’d negotiated a ‘premium’ to cover her travel expenses. When she brought it up I asked if she’d spoken with Rita and she said not since her last day of work back in July. As hard as it was to believe her, I did. The next part was something I couldn’t guarantee and that was that she be considered for a raise prior to her anniversary date. The best I could do was to put in her file that she had volunteered to help the bank out of a very bad situation. It took a few minutes for her to agree to just that, but she did. The hardest part of this whole situation was that I was at home sitting by the phone in the hallway. With all the Christmas preparations going on around me it was very difficult to keep everything that I’d agreed to in sequence. I closed by telling her not to say anything about the arrangements until she heard from Trish. Even though I didn’t know her all that well I could tell from her voice that she was excited… very excited.

After doing some things to help Elle I called Rita to tell her that Mae had agreed to come to the main office. She was just about to leave for work which reminded me to ask if there was any way she could start on Friday. She hesitated for a few seconds but said she’d try. Next was calling Trish to tell her what I’d arranged. At first she didn’t believe me but after I went through the whole process she responded by saying that she hoped it worked. I told her to get in touch with both Rita and Mae. Rita indicated that she’d know by the end of her shift and would call when she got home. The problem with that was with it being Christmas Eve the stores were closing at 6pm and I and the family wouldn’t be home.

From there it sort of got ‘crazy’ and I’m not sure I remember all the details. So, I’ll spare you by not even trying. By around 7pm Trish confirmed to me that Rita would be at the branch at 8:30am Friday and Mae would be at the main office at the same time. Lorie had been briefed and Trish told me she was a bit surprised but happy to know she wouldn’t be going into the ‘busy period’ short handed. For me it was like a ‘back handed’ Christmas present. However, it left me with a lot of work to do come Friday getting signature approvals for the women and some other ’nitty gritty’ details taken care of. I’d been on the phone and had basically missed supper. My parents always hosted a Christmas party for friends and family and I’d spent most of my time on the phone. The early Christmas Eve church service was at 8pm so I didn’t have a lot of time to grab a bite and to socialize. I won’t say Elle was upset with me but she was quiet all the way to the church, about a twenty minute drive. I, as a vestryman, had usher duties so didn’t get to sit with Elle and the kids which didn't help matters. It was after 9pm when we headed for home… with more traditional stuff to go through. Christmas Eve always was a long night but this one was looking to be longer than usual.

The tree was in place and we had two more things to do before the kids were sent up to bed. Elle, from our very first Christmas with Jean, read “The Night before Christmas” to the kids. Then, they would go hang an ornament that they’d made on the tree and their stockings on the fireplace mantle. Realistically, we knew it would be a fair amount of time before they were sound asleep and we could decorate the tree. As I had mentioned, Santa decorated our tree before leaving the presents. We both thought it pretty amazing that the older girls still believed in Santa. They were pretty smart and Elle had wondered why they never asked some pretty obvious questions concerning the whole thing.

I have no idea what time it was when we started or when we finished. One ‘trick’ we’d come up with when the two older girls were much younger was to leave a present on the end of their beds to occupy them for a bit before they got out of bed in the morning. Once we heard them it was a mad dash for me to get downstairs to turn on the tree lights and to get the camera ready for pictures. I’ve mentioned any number of times about the kids knowing of Elle’s incontinence so seeing her in panties (or even a ‘package’ with the plastic panties) was not shocking or out of place. We’d tried to make them comfortable with the whole situation. So, when Elle came down the stairs leading them I was greeted with her wearing just a nightie top that just about covered her butt. I was pleased. I positioned myself to get pictures of the kids as they got their first view of the tree and all the presents. Then it was a mad dash to the tree to see what was there. When it came to opening the presents we had one rule. It seems sort of harsh but to keep some semblance of order, they were limited to one present at a time… and after each had opened it they had to show everybody just what it was that they got. It dragged the process out but the benefit was that they all got to see what the others had received… and gave me a chance to get a lot of candid pictures. After they’d opened a few presents each I called for a “time out” so that Elle could open one of hers. I’d purchased a new, somewhat elegant robe as her main gift and I couldn't wait to see how surprised she'd be. As soon as she saw it I could tell that I’d earned a few ‘points’ for my choice.
     

     To be continued...