“SPRING”ING AHEAD… Better days? (Part 170s)
There
was no doubt that Elle knew what I’d been looking at. She didn’t say
anything but the look on her face said it all. The girls were thrilled
to see Paula again and started in trying to persuade her to play a game
with them. She tried to wiggle her way out of it but as I was standing
there I saw Elle’s mother drive up the driveway. When she got out of her car she
retrieved a pot from the passenger side and as she was walking up to the
door Elle announced that lunch was here. It was as if her saying it
triggered the noon siren at the fire house. As Elle headed to greet her
mother she called over her shoulder to Paula, almost ordering her to
stay for lunch. As Paula protested Elle countered by saying that her
mother’s chicken soup was “to die for”. The kids mobbed her pleading for
her to stay… and she finally gave in.
After the basic
introductions were over we sat down to eat, that’s when the
‘interrogation’ began. Elle’s mother was never shy about asking for
information about people and by the time we’d finished I knew Paula’s
family history. As I’d previously written, Paula was Italian. Her father
had been born in the city and had volunteered for WWII when still a
teen. He ended up stationed in Italy for a while where he met Paula’s
mother. When he was shipped back to the US when the war was over he
promised that he’d come back to get her. He did and they got married.
Paula was the product of the union. During the war he was a tank
mechanic but back here there were no tanks so he became a heavy
equipment mechanic and went to work for the city. Paula told us his
proudest moment was when she graduated from college. She’d been inspired
to be a teacher by one she’d had right after she’d started school. Not
satisfied with all of that, Elle’s mother wanted to know where she was
going to live almost frightening her when she told her rentals were hard
to come by because of the area being a Summertime destination. That’s
when Paula’s disposition changed. Clearly concerned, she explained about
having rented a room and then having the lady change her mind on her at
the last minute. She went on that she’d been given a list of possible
places to stay and that one was the last on the list. She told us her
father had told her to rent a motel room if necessary. The talk of
looking for a room triggered her to get up to leave. I can honestly say
that both Elle and I were ‘floored’ when Elle’s mother offered to let
her stay with her.
When Elle and her brother were
living at home her mother rented rooms to help pay the bills. Once Elle
was married and her brother was in the Army the expenses went way down.
She swore she’d never do that again and here she was, offering a room to
a girl she’d just met. Elle and I glanced at each other not sure what
to expect next. Neither of us had asked, nor had been told, what the
cost of the room that Paula thought she'd get would be so when
Elle’s mother threw out the figure of $25 a week I didn’t have a reaction to
it. But the next surprise was that figure included doing Paula’s wash
and for $1 a day more she’d provide her breakfast. I should’ve been
looking at Paula for her reaction but the words coming from Elle’s
mother were so unexpected that I was totally focused on her.
It
wasn’t long before Elle, her mother and Paula were off to take a look
at the room Elle's mother offered. I was relegated to watching the kids. I was still
almost stunned by the offer because I thought I knew her mother pretty
well. Letting a stranger move in was unbelievable and I was having a
hard time trying to fathom it. It wasn’t that the woman was unfriendly
because she was anything but. However, she was a very private person and
I’d heard her tell stories of not being able to sleep when she had “roomers”
staying there. I’d been impressed with Paula but I’d spent a lot more
time with her than Elle’s mother had. I knew it wasn’t a matter of
needing the money although ‘extra’ is always nice. I just couldn’t come
up with the reason(s) for her decision. They were gone for a couple of
hours and upon their return Paula headed out telling us she’d be back
the following weekend to get settled in. I couldn’t wait to hear what
Elle had learned and if she had any idea why her mother had turned so
benevolent towards a stranger. Elle’s thoughts seemed to mirror mine.
She certainly knew her mother better than I did and yet she could offer
no insight whatsoever. We could only wait to see how it would work out.
On
a much different subject, Elle and Paula had somehow managed to get on
the subject of Kaye’s impending birthday and Elle’s dilemma about having
a party. Paula, having grown up in the city with both parents working
often had to go without a party. But, to ease the ‘hurt’ of it her
parents would take her to the circus. As soon as I heard that I knew
just where the conversation was going. The Ringling Brothers circus
always came to the city around Easter and so did my birthday. The year
my mother’s mother was so sick and I went to live with my father’s
parents there was no way to have a party for me. I’d become friends with
the girl who lived next door and between my parents and her mother they
managed to get tickets for the circus and in lieu of a party we went
there. (I do remember the one negative thing was not having cake and ice
cream.) My mind went into ‘overdrive’ right after that and immediately
thought of my new banking friend, Dan, who had all kind of ‘contacts’ in
the city. I told Elle of my idea and she immediately asked just who it
would be to take Kaye. I didn’t hesitate for a second and told her she
would. Before she could start to complain I told her to pick one little
girl that Kaye knew and got along with and then to ask her mother to go
with her. The suggestion was not immediately accepted but I got her to,
grudgingly, think about it. I’d suggested Ginger even though she had two
kids who were not yet in school. She’d been working part time and had found
someone to watch the kids so it wasn’t all that far fetched. Plus the
fact that she’d lived in the city when she was first married and knew
her way around.
I mentioned that Easter and my birthday
were usually close together and this year, just to make things a bit
complicated, they were but a day apart. And, if they were going to be
able to do it it would have to be before Easter. Since I was the one to
come up with the idea I was left to work it out… on top of everything
else. Thinking of Easter was a reminder that I’d volunteered at the last
Vestry meeting to attach the candle holders to each of the pews for the
big Easter service. It was getting to the point that my life was not my
own… with meetings here, there, everywhere. I was about to fall asleep
in my reclining chair when the phone rang. I let it ring hoping Elle
would pick it up. When she finally did she yelled that it was Bret. Bret and I had a pact not to call each other at home unless it was a real emergency and the
way things had been going I immediately conjured up some disaster at
the bank. With ‘baited breath’ I took the receiver from Elle and said
“Hello…”. “They got him!” was what I heard. I knew what he was referring
to… Ruthe’s husband. We didn’t talk for long but it was long enough for
me to know the SOB was in jail. I don’t know why but I felt
relieved.
To be continued...
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