Bob of Small End (32 page)

“
What if
something goes wrong with it? Or if it needs oil?”

“
It’s
not likely to need oil or go wrong but if that happens you call me
and we’ll find a replacement for you.”

“
Okay,”
said Bob. “We’ll take it. Can we take it now?”

“
Of
course, once the paperwork’s done.”

They returned
to Charles’ office. Ken used his credit card to pay for a two-month
rental. Charles was very surprised when he saw Bob’s driving
licence.

“
Don’t
tell me this is the first vehicle you’ve driven.”

“
Yes it
is, apart from Peter’s car, the one I took my lessons
in.”

“
My God!
Well, it’s done now. Don’t you dare have an accident or everyone
will think me a fool. To rent a nearly-new van to a
beginner!”

“
You
needn’t worry Charles. The examiner told me I was an excellent
driver. And Peter, Tim’s son, you know him? He thinks the
same.”

“
Let’s
hope they’re both right Bob. But I’m not too worried, the insurance
will look after me. Just don’t get into an accident, there’s not
much protection in the van except for the seat belts.”

“
I’ll be
careful.”

Fifteen
minutes later Bob was sitting in the drivers seat looking at the
switches and levers. The car had standard shift and the light
switches and heater controls were in the same position as they were
in Peter’s car. Only the hand brake was different. Two minutes
later he was following Ken back to the main road and then on the
road to Small End.

They drove to
Joe’s farm and parked side-by-side next to the side door. Someone
was hammering as they entered. Jack and John were nailing the
sanding-booth’s window frame to the uprights.

The place
seemed smaller once again, reduced in size by the paint shops which
extended twelve-feet from the back wall. However the open area,
where the work benches would be, was still about four times bigger
than Bob’s workshop. They walked around the shop looking at
everything. The doors of the office, waiting room, paint shops and
sanding booths had been fitted and some of the windows. John had
gyprocked the ceiling of the office and waiting room but the joints
had not been taped.

“
Wot
d’you think?” asked Jack.

“
It
looks great Jack. It’s becoming just like I imagined,” said
Ken.

Joe and Jane
walked in at that moment.

“
We saw
you drive in. So you have passed your driving test Bob.
Congratulations!” said Joe.

“
Hi Joe,
Jane. Yes, I did. Thanks. What happened to you? We expected to see
you yesterday. Was anything wrong?”

“
Oh no.
Howard phoned on Monday evening and wanted us to celebrate their
engagement. His girl friend, Shirley. works for the same company.
She’s also a chartered accountant and the contract they were
working on finished last week. They were going to come here but,
instead, asked us to go to see them so that they could show us the
apartment they’ve just rented.”

“
What’s
Shirley like Jane?” asked Bob.

“
I like
her. She’s warm and speaks well. Although you’d expect that, I
suppose, since it’s probably one of the criteria used when hiring
people for the firm.”

“
She is
a nice girl,” said Joe, “and I’m sure they’ll be very happy. I also
liked the apartment. It’s downtown. They can walk to work or to the
shops and there are many restaurants and pubs nearby. It’s just the
kind of place I’d like to have lived in when I was in my twenties
but I had to run the farm.”

“
What do
you think about your milking parlour now Joe?” asked
Ken.

“
You’ve
certainly changed it. I would never have recognised it if I just
saw a picture of the inside.”

Bob showed Joe
and Jane around, explaining what the rooms were for. Ken talked to
Jack about the position of the electrical sockets and they marked
the locations with a felt-tip.

As they were
leaving Jack told Bob that Rose has none of his toys left. “She’d
like two of each.”

“
I’ll
bring them tomorrow Jack.”

Bob waited
until Ken had left then he drove the van to the station’s parking
lot and parked it next to his house. He didn’t like leaving it
there because teenagers sometimes used the lot after the pubs had
closed and he didn’t want to risk anyone damaging it but he didn’t
have anywhere else to put it except on the road. ‘I’ll have to make
a place for it in the front garden. Oh, look at the time. I’d
better hurry or I’ll be late.’ He washed, changed his clothes and
hurried down to the Crown. It was 6:45 and he was ready to eat and
decided to order. Peter wouldn’t mind because he would have had his
supper. He glanced at the menu and asked Len for a pint and the
shepherd’s pie. His corner was taken so he used the small table on
the other side of the fire. Five minutes later Mildred brought him
his supper.

“
You’ll
be glad when Nancy returns I bet,” Bob joked.

“
I
certainly will although it’s not been too bad so far. It’s the
weekends, that’s when we need help.”

“
You
can’t find a temporary helper?”

“
We’ve
tried but no one wants to work the times we most need them. We
might find someone when there are more people in the
village.”

Bob dug into
his pie and had eaten half of it when Peter walked in.

“
I’m
here Peter. Get yourself a drink and anything else you’d like. I
have told Len to put it on my bill.” Peter collected a pint and a
bag of salted nuts and joined Bob.

“
First,
a drink to celebrate. Thank you for your excellent instruction,
Peter.”

“
It was
a pleasure. Thanks for being an excellent learner Bob.” They
laughed, took a drink and Bob returned to his dinner.

“
How’re
the children?”

“
Fine.
They both love school, that’s the main thing. We talked about where
we would go for a holiday this year. I’d like to take them to
France, they’re old enough to enjoy it. We could go on the Eurostar
through the chunnel. I’d like to do that. I don’t know if we’d take
the car or just book a hotel and stay in Paris.”

“
I’d
like to do that someday. Is it expensive to take a car?”

“
Yes, if
you are only going for a day or two. We’re thinking of going for
two weeks so that wouldn’t be so bad. With a car we would see more
of the country and hotels are cheaper once you’re out of the
city.”

“
Ah that
reminds me, I owe you some money.”

“
Here’s
the invoice.” Bob looked at the total and wrote a
cheque.

“
Is the
business paying for your lessons?”

“
No. I
decided to learn to drive last Christmas, though it’ll make
deliveries much easier now I can drive.”

They chatted a
little more then Peter said he should go.

“
Let me
know what holiday you choose,” called Bob, as Peter walked to the
door. Bob decided not to have another drink and carried his plate
and mug back to the bar. He paid the bill and told Len he’d passed
his driver’s test that morning.

“
That’s
good news Bob. Now you’ll want to buy a car.”

“
No I
won’t Len. Ken and I have already hired a van for the business.
I’ll be driving that. You might see me in it as I drive past, it’s
white.”

“
Is it a
Ford or a Vauxhall?”

“
I don’t
know. I never thought to look!”

Bob waved
goodbye and walked back to his home. ‘I guess I’m supposed to know
something about cars now!’ He felt happy, not tired at all, so he
had a glass of port and watched television for a while then went to
bed, smiling, at nine thirty

After
breakfast Bob went to the shed and collected the sets Rose wanted
and returned to his kitchen to write the note for her notice board.
‘Wanted. Someone to work in the
Small End
Wooden Toys
workshop. Apply 110 Big End Road.’ He
thought that that would be enough. If they wanted more information
they could ask Rose. He was putting the toys in a bag when Ken
arrived.

“
Hi Bob.
I’m on my way to the shop. Are you ready to start work?”

“
After
I’ve taken this to Rose. What do you think?. Is it
okay?”

“
It’s
short but says exactly what’s needed. Yes that’s fine. So what are
you going to do today?”

“
I’m
going to Southampton to call on their gift shops. Do you want me to
do anything before I leave?”

“
No.
It’s retailers we want most now.”

Bob lifted the
bag, said he wouldn’t be long, then walked to Tyne’s. He resisted
the temptation to use the van but looked forward to driving it
later. It was nice to stretch his legs on a sunny day.

Rose read the
notice then pinned it on the notice board.

“
You
know we charge fifty pence a week for displaying these,” she said,
“but it’s free for you Bob. Jack’s been telling me about what’s
going on in Joe’s milking parlour.”

“
He’s
doing a very good job Rose.”

“
He
tells me that Ken will make the toys and that you’ll look for shops
to sell them. That’s a big change. Will you like that?”

“
I think
so. You see, I don’t really like making toys the way Ken makes
them. It’s too fast for me but it is exactly what we need right
now. And I do like the idea of driving around the countryside. I’ll
go to Southampton today and visit the shops there.”

“
I know
a better way to contact shop owners and managers than visiting each
one Bob. Why don’t you take a booth at our conference? You can show
your sets and take names of people who are interested in selling
them. Lots of suppliers do that.”

“
Oh?
What conference and when is it?”

“
It’s
the area’s
Gifts and Toys’
conference and it’s on April 24th and 25th, less than two
weeks from now. Here,” she fished in a drawer under the counter,
“you can have this reminder. It’s in the Nextoria Hotel, just
outside Bournemouth. Phone the conference manager, there’s his
number, and ask if there are any booth-spaces left. Do it today.
It’s certainly the best way to meet everyone. I’ll be going. And
certainly Leo will go too. I don’t know about Jenny.”

“
Well
thanks Rose. I’ll phone them as soon as I get home.”

“
Ask
Jenny and Leo to write recommendations for you. I’ll write one
tonight. Put them on your table and we’ll tell people how well your
toys sell if any of them ask us. Everyone knows Leo because he used
to be our treasurer.”

“
Thanks
Rose. Oh these are for you. Jack said you wanted more sets. I’ve
two of each here.”

Bob waited
until Rose gave him a receipt then said goodbye and walked quickly
home. He popped into the workshop and told Ken about the
conference. “I’ll phone them right now and ask for a booth. I’ll
tell you what they say afterwards.”

Bob tried the
number only to find that it was engaged. He’d ring every five
minutes until he got through. He pulled out his pad and began
making a note about what he should display if he had a booth. One
of each set of course. And the recommendation letters. ‘I must
remember to ask Jenny and Leo for one.’ What else? Lots of business
cards, and a container where interested people could leave their
cards if they wanted him to call. He’d better make a small notice
and to ask them to do that. What else should he have? Then the
telephone rang. Bob put down his pen and picked up the phone.

“
Hello.”

“
Hello.
It that you Bob?”

“
Yes.
Hello Leo. How are you? Can I do anything for you?”

“
Well I
need more sets and I want to talk to you about them. Can you come
over today?”

“
Yes I
can. This afternoon, is that all right?”

“
Yes.
Can you bring ten of each kind?”

“
Ten?
Um, Yes.”

“
Good.
Then I’ll see you later. Bye.”

“’
Bye,”
said Bob. ‘That’s strange,’ he thought. ‘He didn’t sound very
friendly. Has one of the sets got a problem? Or have some been
returned? I wonder what’s happened.’

He tried the
conference manager’s number again. This time it was answered. He
told the man who he was and what they made and asked if there was a
display booth they could use at the conference.

“
Yes. We
have room for three or four more. There’s space for a twenty-foot
booth. How much room do you need? The smallest space we sell is six
feet. That costs £75.”

Bob was
shocked by the price. But finding just one or two retailers at the
conference would save him a lot of searching. “Six feet is exactly
the space we need,” he replied.

“
Fine.
Give me your company’s name, address and phone number. You have my
address?”

“
Yes.”

“
Good,
then I need a cheque for £75 before April 17th. If we don’t get it
by then we may let the space to someone else. You know where the
Nextoria Hotel is?”

“
Yes.”
He gave the man the details he wanted, hung up and walked to the
shop. He told Ken what had happened. “They charge £75 for the
space! That’s a lot of money.”