Bob of Small End (40 page)

Before leaving
he crossed the parking lot to see what they had done at the new
Community Centre’s site. Where it was to be erected a large
rectangular section had been excavated and covered with crushed
stone. Capped sewer and water pipes projected in several places. He
shook his head thinking that he wasn’t going to like living that
close to the Centre there’d be so much noise though it might be
like the trains, he only noticed the sound from them when wondering
if they were on time.

He drove the
van to the workshop and parked at the side. The exterior walls had
been painted and their new colour brightened the place making it
look attractive and welcoming. Ken was already in the shop pushing
a large rack towards the paint booth.

“
Hello
Bob. How do you like this, a moveable rack? I’ve made four of them.
They’re to move toys from the end of the line to the paint booth. I
had to buy sixteen wheels for them. They were expensive because I
had to buy new ones. You’ll see them on Leon’s bill.”

“
The
racks should be very useful. Did you buy anything else?”

“
A few
ducts. We’ll need them for the extractor and exhaust fans. Screw
hooks for the racks and a few other things. Nothing cost
much.”

Several
shelves were mounted on the long wall of the hall and cardboard
boxes sat on two of them. Bob pointed to them and asked, “those are
for parts?

“
Yes.
They’ll do for now but I want something stronger. If you see any
plastic boxes when you’re shopping buy one or two. Once we get the
right size we’ll buy a couple of hundred. Hey, did you notice how
far apart the shelves on the trolley are? That’s so I can put hooks
underneath. The holders will hang there after the parts have been
dipped and they’ll dry there. That way they’ll be ready to move to
the next paint booth. Oh, I’ve made all the other paint trays.
Come. I’ll show what we’ve done.”

They went to
the sanding booth where the sanding mop was bolted to the bench.
“The extractor fan hasn’t come yet. It should be here early next
week. Jack helped me make the trolleys and the benches. I told him
that I didn’t think we would need him again so he gave me his
bills. There’s the labour costs, that’s him and John, and it’s
£1,075. The materials he bought during the construction cost
another £732.88.”

“
We
won’t have enough money to pay all our bills Ken. We’re going to
need well over £4,000.”

“
I
guessed that. Why don’t we add another £2,500. That should keep us
going until we get money from the retailers. Can you manage
that?”

“
Fifty
one percent, yes. I can do that today, I’ll be in Big End after
this to do my shopping.”

“
I’ll
give you my cheque then.” Ken pulled out his cheque book and wrote
one, payable to
Small End Wooden
Toys
. “Here, put that in when you deposit
yours.”

“
Do you
want anything for the shop? I’ve started a list, it’s just got
safety glasses and overalls. Two medium and two large size. They
should fit most people. I can get the overalls and glasses from the
lumber yard.”

“
I can’t
think of anything right now. I’ll make a list next week if I think
of anything.”

They
walked around the place one more time, visualising how things would
work if there were two or more people working in the shop. As they
were leaving Bob said, “I’ll make a sign to hang over the entrance
door. ‘
Small End Wooden
Toys
.’ It’ll be a wooden sign, stained brown, so it’ll
show against the wall.”

“
Just
what we need. Good!”

Bob drove the
van to the garage to be filled and gave Tim his credit card. He
took it, slid it through his machine and Bob signed the slip. It
couldn’t have been easier. But he decided not to get a card for
himself; thinking it’d be safer if he only used cash.

At his bank in
Big End he transferred £2,000 from his savings to his checking
account and bought a bank draft for £1,275, putting that and Ken’s
cheque in their business account at the National Westminster. Now
he felt less worried. There was enough to pay all their bills and
if Jenny and Leo sold the toys they had they’d be all right for a
while. If he found more retailers they’d begin to grow. ‘Let’s hope
I do that at the conference.’

After lunch he
went for his usual walk. It had begun to rain but he didn’t mind,
it was what his garden needed and he needed the walk to think how
he would answer questions from future retailers about percentages,
quantities and deliveries. He’d have to take a notebook to record
special requirements and details about contacting or delivering to
them. It would be important to be consistent and precise about what
he said. He also had a quiet little chat to Betty about Sally as he
walked beside the river.

He joined his
friends in the Crown at six and told them about his visit to his
aunt, a little about her illness and that she had given him her
Vauxhall. Joe told him about the sub-division above the railway
tracks.

“
There’s
about two hundred acres under development. The water and sewer
pipes are already at their main entrance.”

“
Oh and
what about the Centre Jane, who’s going to build it?” Bob
asked.

“
We
haven’t received any bids yet. We’ll probably get them next
week.”

“
How’s
the Spring Show going?” asked Rose.

“
The
rehearsal was a disaster. One of the school groups had to cancel
because so many of the children had colds. We’re looking for
another skit. Any of you have a suggestion?”

“
Joe can
whistle,” suggested Jack.

“
Only if
you sing,” he replied.

“
The
children might be better by the time the show opens but they won’t
have had much practice. Worse, the lead actor in the comedy fell
and broke a leg and his replacement has not learned the lines. I
guess it’ll all probably work out in the end. It usually
does.”

“
I’m
looking forward to it. You know, the shows are about the only
entertainment I get apart from television and holidays,” said
Bob.

Bob left with
the others and as he was saying goodbye Jack told him that he had
the stationary and workshop photos and would bring them to him
tomorrow.

“
Oh
great. What time?”

“’
Ow
about nine?”

“
Yes,
that’s fine. I’d also like some titles beneath each photo. I’ve
taken another look at what I’ve done and it’s not good enough. Can
you do that?”

“
Aye.
‘Ow big?”

“
How
about me coming to your place and see what you’ve got.”

“
Okay.”

As soon as his
washing was in the machine and he had finished his dusting on
Sunday morning he walked to Jack’s place. It was early, just after
eight thirty, for he wanted to hoe the garden before the rain
began.

“’
Ow do
Bob. Come in,” and Jack led Bob to the back room where his computer
was kept. He turned it on and while they were waiting for it to
open up he gave Bob the photo he’d taken of the new shop. It showed
the benches, some machinery, and the painting and sanding
booths.

“
A nice
one Jack. It shows how much bigger we are now.”

“
Aye.”

“
Did Ken
choose it?”

“
Aye.”

“
Then
we’ll use it. Now about the titles. All I want is
‘
The first workshop’
and
‘
The new workshop
.’ I want
the wording under each picture so it doesn’t have to be too
big.”

Jack loaded
his word processing program then showed him the range of fonts and
sizes he had. After selecting the most appropriate combination Jack
printed each on thick paper and gave them to Bob.

“
Nothin’
for that Bob. Here’s t’bill for t’other stuff.”

Bob glanced at
the figure, £32.50. “I think we can afford that.”

Rose
walked into the room and suggested they have coffee in the small
garden behind the shop. Bob wanted to return to his garden but
accepted her offer because he wanted to know more about the
Gift and Toy
conference. Over coffee
she answered his questions, telling him to dress smartly, to be
prepared to discuss percentages and delivery details. He walked
back with his arms full of paper and his mind wondering how he
could attract retailers to his table, fearing that everybody would
spend their time at the bigger displays where there would be much
more to look at. He decided to buy some sweets and put them in a
bowl on the table, perhaps that would help.

It
looked like the rain would be arrive any moment so he put
everything on the kitchen table and started hoeing. He was lucky
for it didn’t begin until he’d finished most of the garden. He
spent the afternoon cutting wooden letters for the new shop sign
with his jigsaw. He sanded each one then glued them onto an old
curved plank. They read ‘
Small End Wooden
Toys
.’

After supper
he pasted the photographs and titles onto the cardboards making
posters of them. The printed titles covered his hand-written script
and he was pleased with the results. ‘One look at these will tell
anyone how we started and what we’ve become. It shows how well
we’re doing and that might make them more willing to work with
us.’

He was in no
hurry to get up Monday morning not knowing what to do that day. It
was still raining so he couldn’t work in the garden. He couldn’t
think of anything else he should do to prepare for the conference.
He could go to the shop and help Ken but he didn’t want to be there
when the new boy arrived. Ken should be the one he reported to, not
him. Then he remembered the sign he’d made for the workshop door.
He’d stain the letters. That would make them stand out.

He was eating
his breakfast, wishing he had bought more kippers because the ones
he had yesterday were wonderful, when a letter from Maria arrived.
She had booked him on the August tour and included a brochure. To
confirm his booking he should send her £500 and the agency would
convert it into escudos. He would have to pay the balance one month
before the tour began. He looked at the tour date. It began Sunday
August 11th and ended the following Sunday. He wrote the dates on
his kitchen calendar and put a note on Saturday 3rd July to remind
him to send the rest of the money. Then he added ‘buy a £500 bank
draft’ to his to-do list.

In her letter
Maria congratulated him on getting his driving licence. “Now you
can drive me when we meet in August!” Bob thought of telling her
that he would be driving a Vauxhall by then but decided to keep
that for a surprise. She was interested in his business venture and
said she hoped she could meet Ken when she did her September tour.
The date of that tour was September 15-22nd and he added those
dates to his calendar, not that he was planning to take a
church-visiting tour but just to record when she was in England.
‘So if Maria hopes to meet Ken she must be thinking she’ll extend
her stay. That’d be nice.’

He thought
more about what Maria wrote as he dried the dishes and decided to
get a draft from his bank today. ‘I’ll go to the bank this
afternoon and see if Jenny wants any more sets.’ Rose had told him
he should keep in touch with his retailers so that they got to know
him and were more likely to suggest his toys to people who were not
sure what to buy. He didn’t need to visit Leo because he’s see him
at the conference.

In his letter
he told Maria that he would love to drive her around the Lake
District although she would have to tell him where she’d like to go
because he hadn’t been there before. “Perhaps we can look for new
places that the agency might add to future tours.” He wondered if
the company would pay for her to spend a few extra days in England.
Probably not. He looked again at how she had ended her letter. She
had written the same words he had used, “with love, Maria.” So he
ended his letter in the same manner.

Bob stained
the wooden letters and left them on the bench to dry. He donned his
mackintosh, collected an umbrella and walked to the workshop,
entering by the front door.

Ken was
running wood through the saw jig. He stopped when he saw Bob and
greeted him. “Hello Bob. This is Craig Elton. He’s on trial for a
week. Craig, this is Mr. Barns. He and I own the company.”

“
Hello
Mr. Barns. I hope my work will satisfy you.”

“
It’s
not me Craig, it’s Mr. Smith you have to satisfy. He’s in charge of
the work shop.” He looked at what Craig was doing. “Do you know
what these are for?”

“
Mr.
Smith told me that the needles will hold the wooden pieces that are
to be painted. This is what they do,” and he pushed the holder he
was holding into a piece of scrap wood and lifted it. Bob noticed
that he was wearing a glove, probably one Ken had given
him.

“
That’s
right. How many holders are you going to make Ken?”

“
Enough
to hold a hundred pieces. I was telling Craig how we make the toys.
Do you have any more questions Craig?”

“
Well
I’ve several but I’ll wait and watch what you do. That might answer
them. I learn best by seeing what’s done rather than being told
about it.”

“
Yes I
do too,” Ken said.