Even though he still needed to drive down to Labor Ready and pick up his time card for the next day (and his daily paycheck), he felt optimistic since the idiots who normally drive "the 5" must have boycotted the freeway today. We decided to make our game plan. The closest Bank of America to Labor Ready is conveniently the one right by our condo.
At his words I grabbed my purse, quickly locked the door behind me, and flew to the Camry. It was cold... I was without my sweater... but I was determined (lol) !
I drove the whole way there (like 2 miles if that...) and began to wait outside... 5:45pm... 5:50pm... 5:55pm... and BINGO! My finace comes jogging right past me and into the bank. I followed him in and tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention... (Well actually I pulled on his shirt because in reality I'm 5'1'' he's 6'5'' and tugging on his shirt is just easier).
There were a few people in line before us but half the battle was already won because we had actually made it there TOGETHER... before it closed! After maybe a min in line, the 6 people before us were cleared away and we approached the teller (I swear bank tellers are far more efficient in the last 15 mins of closing because they can smell the freedom from the end of the day). I told her that we needed to add my fiance onto my checking account so we could cash his paychecks.
When she told us that we would have to meet with a personal banker to do that...I started to panic for a second until I realized there was still one "personal banker" in the building helping an older lady. Phew, our efforts were not in vain after all!
The teller told us to take a seat in the corner and wait for him to finish up. So we did as we were told. At 6:00pm the bank doors were locked... and we were still inside.
Have you ever been in a bank or an establishment when the doors that say "These doors must remain unlocked during business hours" are in fact actually locked??? ... its a little weird and a bit eerie.
Since we were still inside-- feeling like we were breaking the law by merely being there--- my fiance and I decided to amuse ourselves by casing out the joint from where we were sitting. We counted all the security cameras, sensors, and other devices we could see from our chairs... By 6:15 I was starting to get impatient and antsy since we had run out of things to count and we were going to be late to our pot luck.
Naturally we decided to take this time to debate what we thought the building "used" to be before it was a bank...
My fiance was sure it was a Pizza Hut because no one would possibly use this floor plan for a bank originally... 2 sets of glass doors kitty cornered on opposite ends and sides of the building... no actual vault for valuables... and the sitting room was not near the front area at all, but way off to the side and completely non-user friendly.
Before I could start my own fantastical rant on how the place was probably a pets store, a woman came up to us who worked at the bank and told us she was sorry for the wait. Then she "eye balled" the checks in my fiance's hands, frowned, and told us someone would be right with us. As she walked away I followed her with my eyes to see her interact with another teller. He frowned slightly too... It was then that I put two and two together. He couldn't cash out his drawer yet since we would be making a deposit or cashing a check once we got my fiance added to the checking account.
At this point we began to feel bad for him, but at the same time it was pure luck that we were even able to make it to the bank before it closed... (and I had tried to come in earlier on another day to add my fiance on the account already)... Add in the fact that it wasn't our fault that the "personal banker" was still "assisting" the older woman still and all my guilt disappeared.
Finally at 6:25 the oldler woman left and the personal banker unlocked the front door for her... and then locked it again... (which again, makes the bank creepier considering the WANTED poster on the front glass from a recent robbery in the area.)
My fiance and I sat down and begin getting him put on my checking account. We were glad I though to grab my fiance's social security card in my haste to leave the house because he needed 2 forms of ID and without it we would have only had 1!!!!!!!!!!
We signed some form, went to the teller, and cashed my fiance's checks... We joked with the teller about the horrible printing job Labor Ready did on 2 of my fiance's pay stub statements because they were low on ink, and about the tellers ID number--- I'ts totally 007 (As in James Bond Double 0h - 7--- which makes our casing the joint from earlier seem hilarious, especially with the WANTED sign outside on the door).
So James, err I mean the teller, seemed almost envious that my fiance gets a paycheck everyday after working instead of waiting two weeks for one... I decided not to mention the free lunch he also has been getting every day since he works in the cafeteria... nor to mention the occasional sugar cookies he gets to bring home when they toss out some of the food that doesn't sell... No need to ruin Mr. 007's day any further.
We then headed over to the glass doors to wait for the banker to let us outI remembered that they hadn't given my fiance a debit card... and I'm glad I remembered to ask!
The banker looked a little white in the face like he forgot to do something after I mentioned it to him... (but in hindsight that might have been because we were now chatting inside the bank with the door partially open... The door with the WANTED poster attached to it.)
He replied, "... Oh, well uh, we'd have to do some more paperwork for that.. when do you get paid next?"
My fiance replied, "tomorrow... i'm paid every day... (and seeing the look on the guys face, he added) but I probably won't come back till Saturday when i have a few more checks." Relief washed over his face and the banker told him they'd have a temporary card for him on Saturday when he came back.
So now my fiance can now go cash his checks on his own!
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