MAKING PROGRESS... of sorts (Part 172bb)

MAKING PROGRESS… of sorts (Part 172bb)

When I got home I found the kids playing in the immediate backyard just off the patio. As I walked up to them asked why they were playing there. Jean, the oldest, answered that they were told to while Elle took a nap on the den sofa. The den looked right out on that part of the yard so it made sense. I went inside and saw Elle was in a deep sleep and tried to be as quiet as possible as I changed clothes. My plan was to first build a temporary easel in the garage and then to rough sketch in the lettering. It didn’t take long to be ready to start but before I did Jean came into the garage to ask if she and her sisters could go next door to play. Remembering the incident from the previous week when Martha’s daughter invited herself over to our yard I hesitated giving an answer. Jean was anxious for permission so I asked who’s idea was it and, like magic, Mattie turned the corner of the garage. She quickly explained that she’d invited our girls over for lemonade and cookies but Jean had told her they couldn’t because their mommy had told them they could only play where they were. I explained that Elle was resting just inside in the den and wanted to be able to keep track of the girls. I made the decision to let them go but told them not to stay too long. I didn’t think much of it at the time.

I don’t know how long it was before I heard Elle’s voice calling for them. I popped out from inside the garage to see Elle heading through the opening in the hedge that separated the two properties. I called out to her but was too late to catch her attention so hustled over to the opening. As I walked into the yard I was about ten or so steps behind Elle and was a bit taken aback at what I was looking at. As Elle’s pregnancy had progressed so had her incontinence. She’d learned that to be ‘safe’ she needed to be wearing at least a ‘partial package",  even around the house. When taking a nap or out in public it definitely she had to wearing a ‘full package’. With her expanding waist line and now being warmer weather she’d taken to wearing her knit shorts and slacks because they had elastic at the waist and they stretched in ‘other places’. But… when I saw her I knew her ‘package’ was full of urine and the bulges it created were very obvious. As I caught up to her I was torn between coming right out and telling her of my observation or asking why she’d run over there in the first place. Mattie had set up her chaise on the far side of the patio so wasn’t really in a good position to observe Elle’s bulges. I told her I’d take care of the situation and for her to go on back home. She was totally unaware of what she looked like so proceeded to question me why. That gave Mattie a chance to get up and to come over to talk with us. Once I saw her headed our way there wasn’t much I could say or do.

Elle managed to ‘cover’ the reason why she’d come over to Mattie's yard  explaining that when she’d woken up and seen the girls were gone she panicked and come running out of the house looking for them. She said she hoped that they’d just gone next door and just ran through the hedge. Mattie was smiling while Elle explained herself. I kept my eyes on her eyes while this was taking place hoping she wouldn’t look down and would keep her eyes on Elle’s face. Elle apologized and as she did she asked if it was time for supper. I knew why she asked. When she saw that I was home thought it was supper time. Mattie was the one to answer and told her it wasn’t quite that late and asked what time she wanted the girls back home. When Elle gave her a time I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her towards the opening stepping in right behind her. It was my intention to protect her backside ‘bulge’ from Mattie’s view. For some reason Elle resisted me and stepped out from my hold and headed over to where the all the girls were playing a game on the patio. I hoped she would resist the urge to bend over to talk with them but she didn’t. I made an attempt to divert Mattie from following her but that turned out to be fruitless because she'd started following her. I could only imagine what she was thinking when she saw Elle’s backside. There was nothing I could but stand and wait for Elle. I never said a word until we were back in our yard. I stopped her and asked if she had any idea of how she looked. I clearly remember her shaking her head like she didn’t. I told her to feel her butt and that’s when it ‘hit’ her. She might’ve let out an “Oh no!” but I’m not sure. She looked at me and I could see the embarrassment in her face. I don’t remember what she said but she was clearly concerned about what Mattie might’ve thought.

She headed for the house to get cleaned up and I returned to the garage and the sign. I’d not lost that much time with the interruption but I’d wanted to get as much done before it got dark. The supposedly longest day of the year had been Saturday so I figured I still had about four hours time. I was really ‘into it’ as far as getting my sketch onto the face of the sign when Elle appeared in the doorway. I could tell from the look on her face she was really concerned about what had just taken place. She wanted to know what I thought she should do about it… face up to it and tell Mattie and, for all intents and purposes, Martha, about her condition or… not say anything and hope for the best. I didn’t know what to tell her. In my mind I was thinking that neither of the women knew anybody locally so that was a viable choice. But, then again, the women would be a part of Elle’s Summer and the  situation would probably come up again. I really wanted to get on with the sign but I could see Elle was struggling with what to do. I hated to see her be embarrassed so told her to be honest about it and to tell them and just ask/beg them to make it a ‘secret’ between the three of them. She isn’t say anything except to say supper would be ready soon and turned and walked away.

Basically, there was no conversation at the supper table other than the kids telling about what they’d done while next door. I was on my back to the garage when she stopped me to say she was going to call them up and arrange a lunch-time meeting. I told her I’d support whatever she decided to do. This situation reminded me of something my grandfather had told me many times and that was to tell the truth. That way they’d know what Elle had to live with and, hopefully, put the situation to rest and end speculation. She looked at me and smiled and I knew I’d made a bit of a comeback from where I’d been the latter part of the previous week.

By the time the daylight had faded so that I couldn’t see clearly I’d gotten most of the layout sketched onto the face of the sign. I went into the house confident that I’d be able to get it lettered by the same time the next day. During the whole mental ordeal about doing the sign I’d not given any thought to the $80 (cash) I’d get for doing the sign. That thought got me to wondering about the aluminum cylinder heads the race team had just gotten and the fact that we hadn’t paid for them. We had the credit at the Chevy dealership that Lynda’s father-in-law owned but I wasn’t sure how we’d get to use it. Money, money money! Like the saying goes… it’s what makes the world go ‘round.

To be continued…