Sunday proved to be everything I thought it would be with the starting of the construction in the basement. The picture above is a pretty good representation of the method we used to get the 82 pound sheets of drywall up in place. I was, of course, the one standing on the ladder holding one end. It was an excellent way to build up biceps but a little difficult to keep the drywall from slipping an eighth of an inch before Dennis found the correct location for all the nails. It was a day of many expletives the children should not have heard from Dennis while I concentrated on happy thoughts, black stars and the thought that I would live through this. By the end of the day a quick calculation showed there would only need to be three more days of ceiling drywall - if I lived that long.
After writing quite a few things about Dennis that were less than flattering maybe I should explain a few points. I must say here that Dennis came home from work every night when he was not travelling, did not drink much, gamble, run around with other women or was physically abusive. Those were all good but he was also terribly insecure, didn't really like very many people or want to be around them, had no patience with the children or me, had an explosive temper and nothing really made him happy.
Who knows what I imagined at nineteen when we got married. Maybe he would have been happy if I had been different, wanted to stay home and bake bread, but that wasn't me. In truth we were totally different personalities that did not mix very well together. You certainly cannot change a person unless they want to change so through the years I learned how to keep the water fairly calm part of the time. But I was very good at causing tidal waves by wanting to learn new things, meet new people and have lots of friends.
The move to Kansas City magnified all the problems. Dennis only wanted to move back to Dallas while the boys and I were very happy with the move. It actually seemed like the happier we were the more unhappy Dennis became. It was quite a balancing act on my part and one I got pretty good at. Somehow I learned to be the perfect wife when Dennis was home with chores done, dinner cooked and pleasant. The moment he walked out the door in the morning I became the person I wanted to be. I also began the fine art of treating everything hurtful with a sense of humor.
Monday was the first official day of summer for Wes since school was out. I can remember how fantastic that felt when I was little so I had put Barney's house off for a week so I had time to take the boys swimming and off on excursions with all the neighbors and their children. I kept Wally in the Mothers-Day Out program on Thursdays so he did not loose his spot. Lucky for me Dennis's Mom decided to come for a visit the second week so I had someone to take care of the boys and haul them around while I worked on paint and wallpaper at Barney's house. I always enjoyed her coming as we had fun together plus Dennis tended to be on his best behavior when she was there.
Barney called on Tuesday morning and said to not order the stuff for the sliding glass doors. He had a guy come out the day before and was going to have them replaced with French doors since I hated them so much. That was a big hooray and great timing as I was working that week on ordering all the items for the house. He did get all serious and asked if we could meet for lunch of Thursday since he needed to talk to me. Yes to lunch and it was funny that in the past when he got all serious about wanting to talk to me I would get worried but not this time. He had a place he wanted me to see that was pretty famous in Kansas City.
Dennis finally noticed all my stacks of drawings and order sheets for Barney's house on Wednesday night. He never asked me how the appointment turned out on Saturday and with the construction ordeal I did not feel like mentioning it. He got a black star for that one. Anyway I told him about what I was hired to do, showed him all the drawings and his only comment was did I really think I could do all that. I must have mumbled something but at the same time I was thinking that maybe he thought some elf had come in and did most of the same stuff to our house. Duh! The last thing he asked was how was I going to pay for all the stuff I needed to order. He seemed disappointed when I told him I had a deposit.
Barney had told me to meet him at a place called Kelly"s Bar - now Kelly's Westport Inn. Since I didn't know anything about it I asked Karen if she had heard of it. Turned out it was quite the place. Kelly's was thought to be the oldest building in Kansas City and a pretty famous hangout. On Thursday Wes went off to the zoo with the neighbors, Wally off to the Catholic church and I headed to Westport to see what Barney and I needed to talk about.
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