SLOGGING THROUGH WINTER... Good & bad (Part 169v)

SLOGGING THROUGH WINTER… Good & bad (Part 169v)

Elle was closer to her than I was and got to her before I did. The opening in the hedge hadn’t been trimmed since Bill (the school principal) and his wife, Phyllis had moved from the house during the Summer. The woman seemed to have been engulfed by the hedge as she forced her way through. Walking up to them it was almost impossible to know what she looked like or how big she was. I heard her tell Elle that she was the person that had been called about the damage to the house. When I identified myself she apologized for seeming to have been “difficult” on the phone explaining that she really didn’t know that much about her father’s purchase of the house. There wasn’t much for me to say so I just listened. She went on that after calling her siblings she was designated to be the one to come take a look and now she was there but the keys didn’t work. She was talking so fast it was hard to grasp what she was saying or to get a word in. When she finally shut up I told her that we didn’t have a key and that if there was one the realtor who had brokered the sale would be the one to talk to. I started to walk away as it was then about 10am and I’d told Bret that I’d be to work around 11am or so and had to get cleaned up and dressed. As I started towards the kitchen door I heard the woman ask Elle if it would be possible to use our bathroom.

She was right on my heels as I reached the patio. I stopped to take off my boots and as I did she reached for the door handle asking where the bathroom was. I knew the few minutes she’d take wouldn’t interfere with my taking a shower as I still had to get out of my work clothes. Elle was there and I asked if she’d gotten any information from her. As I did she looked up at the window to the bathroom and let out a cry… “OH NO!” Then she told me that when she’d come downstairs to shower earlier she’d just stripped off her “package” and put it in the sink. I immediately knew why she was upset. There, for the woman to see, was a soggy mass of sanitary pads and cotton panties encased by a pair of plastic pants. Elle was beside herself and within seconds had gone inside. I knew there was nothing she could do about the wet mess and wondered where she was going. I soon followed but didn’t see Elle. I looked around and finally went to the bottom of the stairs and quietly called her. She stuck her head out of our bedroom and made a ‘shushing’ motion across her lips and then disappeared. That left me to face the woman. I waited for what seemed like a long time for her to reappear. I was getting concerned about the time because I had a lot to do to get ready for work. I took a deep breath and gently knocked on the bathroom door only to get a quiet apology. There was nothing more I could do at that point but wait.

If I were to guess it would be to say she was in there for over ten minutes. We all joke about what women do when they go to the ladies room and this was just such an example. When she stepped out she still had on both her big fur hat and also her long fur coat. I admit it seemed strange, especially knowing how small our bathroom was. But, my focus was on getting in the shower so all I did was to give the woman, Matty, directions to the realtors office and escorted her to the door. Walking into the bathroom I saw Elle’s soggy mass lying in the bowl of the sink. I couldn’t even begin to think of what the woman must’ve thought when she saw it. I called to Elle that she was gone and by the time I had stripped off my clothes she was there looking at the sink. I remember feeling sorry for her but didn’t say anything as she pulled it out and headed for the basement.

I ended up getting to the bank later than I’d wanted. Bret was a bit upset but I knew he’d get over it. He was supposed to do something for/with his mother. Trish and I had both chatted about how his mother seemed to have control over him, even more than his wife did. In any case, I spent most of the rest of the day handling minor problems and answering two days worth of mail. Getting up at 5am, I had NO desire to tackle anything in the cellar and looked forward to getting home and being with the kids. I’d given no thought to the lady from next door all day… until I was on my way home. By the time I arrived I pretty much knew the new neighbors, whoever they might be, would be drawing upon us for all kinds of favors. Growing up and being all year round residents, the Summer neighbors were forever calling upon both Elle’s parents and mine to look after their homes during the Winters among other things. Only just having met Matty, I could see it coming. They were “city people” who knew little or nothing about home maintenance and would be ‘leaning’ on me to guide them.

There was an unfamiliar car in front of the garage on the side where I parked my car. It was a big Lincoln Continental. I didn’t really know anybody with a car like that so when I walked in the house and saw Matty all I could think of was that it was going to be interesting living next door to people like this, even if it was only for a few months of the year. This time though, the fur hat and coat were off and I could see a pudgy woman in her mid to late 30’s. My first reaction was to think that if she lost 10 to 15 pounds she might be more attractive. She was sitting at the kitchen table and jumped up as soon as she saw me enter. Both she and Elle started talking at the same time and I remember putting my hand up to shut them both up. I chose Elle to speak first because I knew I’d be able to understand her. (Matty talked so fast her words ran together.) Long story, somewhat short, was Matty had to get a locksmith to pick the lock to get in and then had to wait until a new lock was installed. Once that happened she needed a phone to call the handyman I’d recommended, Jonesie and then, Elle feeling sorry for her sitting in her car invited her to stay until he showed up. They were still waiting. I was behind Matty as Elle told me this and I, with my eyes, gave a signal to Elle that I really wanted no part of it. But, the ‘damage’ had been done as Elle had invited her to stay for supper. I’m still shaking my head! I wanted to wring Elle’s neck.

As Elle prepared for supper I tried to be nice… but it was hard, trying to get some background information about the different members of her family. Elle shooed us to the living room which gave me a better look at the woman. About 5’4’’, with her hair obviously done professionally, she was wearing slacks that didn’t appear to fit. Remembering the fur coat and seeing the hair the ‘dumpy’ pants didn’t jibe. In any case she was divorced with two kids. She’d been a professional woman but after the divorce didn’t need/want to work. I remember thinking how nice that must be. She had both a boy and a girl with the boy 10 and the girl 12. Sitting there listening to her I wondered how that would work out with our kids come summer. By then Elle was calling us to the table. Because she was a ‘guest’, we ended up eating at the real dining room table with all three of our kids present. The one thing I remember clearly about that meal was the comment she made about our kids eating with us… “Oh… you let them join you at dinner?”

To be continued…