Bob of Small End (65 page)

“
Trouble
is, I’m counting on selling everything we make. Thirty five hundred
sets each week. We now have how many shops selling for
us?”

“
Three
hundred and fifty eight. That’d mean each shop would have to sell
about ten toys a week. They don’t do that Ken. All they sell, on
average, is three or four. Of course, the bigger shops in large
towns would sell more but the smaller ones sell less.”

“
Yes. So
we do need a bigger territory, at least three times bigger. Maybe
four or more times bigger, if the production-line method works as
planned.”

“
And
twice that if we had a second bench. It’s overwhelming!”

“
Distribution of all this would be impossible if we tried to
do it all ourselves. But with the right distributor we’d be in
clover. They’d take the sets, store them and distribute to the
retailers.”

“
And
just send us the money.”

“
Yes.
They’d just send us the money, when they’re sold, of course. If the
toys don’t sell they’ll send them back to us. Now that raises
another problem. Our toys are selling now because of the Green
Movement or whatever but the wish to buy wooden toys won’t last
forever. It’ll fade and something else will pop up. We’re supplying
a demanding market now but it won’t always be that way. Either we
make different articles to sell or we’ll eventually go out of
business. You see that?”

“
Yes of
course. How long do you think the demand will continue
Ken?”

“
No
idea. Maybe for a year or maybe for five years. It’s one problem I
don’t know how to solve. Do you?”

“
We
could make different things. All I’ve been thinking about in the
past is making different kinds of wooden toys but if the market for
toys disappears we’d have to make something else but I don’t know
what.”

“
Well we
don’t have to decide just yet. We have a few months to think about
it. Just keep the problem in mind. We’ll come up with something I’m
sure.”

“
Yes.
Then we’d better call a few distributors and see what they say.
We’d want ones that distribute toys or gifts, I guess. They would
be serving the kinds of shops I’ve been going to.”

“
Can you
find out how your retailers get their supplies, what distributors
they use?” Ken asked.

“
Yes,
I’ll phone some on Monday. Hey, we’d better be going back. Everyone
will be wondering where we are. They’ll have finished their tea
break.”

Everyone
stopped work at twelve. Craig checked that the floor had been
cleaned, the wood carefully stacked, tools in their proper places
and all the paint trays cleaned, taking Bert and Gerry with him to
help. They then gave Bob their overalls and climbed into the
cars.

“
We’re
going to need a bus next time,” said Lori.

“
Hopefully one of the new people has a car,” replied
Ken.

“
I have
one,” said Bert. “I can drive if needed. And Gerry has a motor
bike. He’ll be using it next week and will give me a lift. He could
give someone a lift next time and I’d have room for three more in
my car.”

“
Great,”
exclaimed Ken.

The pub was
very busy but Luke had made a reservation for eight and a table on
the patio was waiting for them. Ken sat at one end and Bob the
other. All ordered beers except Lori who had a gin and orange. They
gossiped about the pubs in Big End, the young ones voting for the
noisiest ones, Bert and Gerry preferring the quiet ones. Curries,
fish and chips, and sausage and mash were ordered and eaten and
more beer drunk. It became a rather noisy group with much laughter
and leg pulling about relationships. Apparently Craig and Lori were
becoming an item, Luke’s girl friend didn’t want him to do any more
volunteer work and Jose’s girl, Rosemary, had not written to him
for five weeks. The table quietened when he said that and Luke
squeezed his arm. Everyone except Ken and Bob had one last drink
then Ken and Bob drove them home.

They returned
to the shop afterwards and went into the office to discuss next
week’s activities.

“
I’ll
not seek more shops Ken. It will be a waste of time if we hire the
right kind of distributor. They’ll already have a market for
us.”

“
What
about the ones who now have our toys but aren’t on their
list?”

“
I don’t
know. We might have to deliver to them ourselves or drop them. I’d
hate to do that. Or perhaps the distributor will add them to their
list. There are too many unknowns to work on that problem now. So
next week I’ll help you set up the equipment or work in the
shop.”

“
All
right. What are you doing this weekend?”

“
Oh
didn’t I tell you? I’m off to London with Maria. We’re going to a
show,
Les Mis
.”

“
A bit
of a holiday, eh? Well, enjoy yourself. You know, you don’t have to
come back on Monday. You could take one or two more days
off.”

“
Ah,
Maria has to return to Portugal on Sunday.”

“
That’s
too bad. Well. Enjoy yourself Bob.”

“
I will
Ken, I will.”

After parking
the car in his driveway Bob walked over to the new Centre. The
doors and windows were open and people were putting the tops on
cans of paint or washing brushes. Some of the walls were still wet
and notices at the front door warned people to be careful. He
walked in, said ‘Hello’ to several people he knew and asked them
where Jane was. He eventually found her in the main hall.

“
Hello
Jane. The painting’s all finished then?”

“
Hello
Bob. Yes it is. It should dry over the weekend. I’d like to keep
the windows and doors open for as long as I can. If I give you a
key can you lock it tonight and open it tomorrow
morning?”

“
Of
course. But I won’t be here to keep an eye on it after that. I’m
going to London with Maria.”

“
Oh yes,
of course. I hope you have a nice time. The weather should be nice.
You can walk around Hyde Park and feed the ducks.”

“
I
suppose we could. About the windows, should I open them Saturday
morning before I go?”

“
Yes.
I’ll check it during the day and lock it overnight. Leave the key
at the side of the stage, here, this corner will do. I’m sure the
place will be all right during the day.”

“
All
right.”

Jane took him
around the building, explaining what each room might be used
for.

“
We’ll
have a cafeteria here Bob. It’s something we’ve always wanted.
It’ll be equipped so we can serve cooked lunches and we might even
have special dinners in the Centre. We can prepare the food and
drinks for the shows there.”

“
It’s a
big building Jane. How are you going to keep it clean?”

“
Volunteers won’t be enough Bob, so we’re going to hire a
superintendent. Someone who can do many things, clean, of course,
but also repair items, windows, for instance, keep the place warm
in the winter, water the garden. Some of the village ladies want to
plant a flower garden and it’ll need watering. Things like
that.”

“
Where’s
the money coming from to pay him?”

“
Money
we raise. From the shows, membership dues, sales, and so on. Maybe
we’ll get a grant or some donations. We’ve lots of plans. The place
will be busy all the time.”

“
Will
you have dances here?”

“
Of
course. Dance lessons and dances, formal and informal. Do you
dance?”

“
A bit.
Betty and I used to, when we were courting.”

“
So did
Joe and I. I’m going to persuade him to take lessons with me.
Ballroom and Scottish. It’d be nice to do that. You should come.
There’s bound to be several unaccompanied ladies who would like a
partner.”

“
Maybe I
will. Do you know what’s happening at the opening
ceremony?”

“
There’s
a sub-committee working on that. There’ll be a band from Big End’s
high school and it’ll play some pieces, then a couple of speeches,
one of them describing the kind of activities that the Centre will
be offering. And there will be refreshments and tours of the rooms,
although most will be empty. The ceremony won’t last
long.”

“
And the
BBC?”

“
I
suppose they’ll be filming some of it. They’re not here because we
have a new Centre, though, they’re here because the village is one
of the ones that’s undergoing an expansion. I think that other
villages will be included in the same documentary.”

“
Ken
says they want to film our workshops.”

“
Oh,
that’ll be interesting. They’re also going to film our committee,
the river path and a few places in the village, the park,
perhaps.”

“
Sounds
like it’ll be an hour-long episode then.”

They walked
out of the Centre and Jane gave him the door key. “Have fun this
weekend.”

“
I hope
to Jane.”

Bob walked
back to his house and looked at the car to see if it needed another
cleaning. He decided it didn’t. He put the overalls in the washing
machine and had supper. After cleaning the dishes he hung the
overalls on the line and put his own clothes in to wash then walked
over to the Centre, closed all the windows and locked the door. He
decided to hang his clothes on the line and go to bed as he walked
home, even though it was only eight o’clock. He didn’t feel like
reading or watching television, he’d rather think about
tomorrow.

Unable to
sleep any longer Bob climbed out of bed at six Saturday morning,
had a bath and donned his best flannel trousers, a grey shirt, a
light-blue tie and his blazer. He hoped that’d be okay to wear in
the theatre, he didn’t want to take his suit. He added a thin
sweater, his pyjamas and clothes for Sunday together with his
electric razor and tooth brush. Over breakfast he wondered what
else he should take then remembered his slippers. He didn’t think
there’d be much time to use them but took them anyway, it’d be nice
to slip into them after a day wearing shoes.

After washing
the dishes he felt the overalls hanging on the line. They were not
dry enough to bring in so he left them there and walked to the
Centre. He opened all the windows and the doors and put the key in
the corner of the stage. He touched the paint several times and
found that it was already dry. ‘No need to open the windows
tomorrow,’ he thought.

At eight
thirty he collected the washing, hung some of his clothes on the
kitchen line and draped the rest over the kitchen and living room
chairs. It would be dry when he returned. He’d take the overalls
and hang them in the workshop, they were almost dry all ready. He
did that, driving there and filling the car with petrol afterwards.
Then, although it was not yet nine o’clock, he decided to drive to
Gatwick. He knew it wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours and
that Maria would not be ready until noon but he couldn’t wait any
longer. He wanted the holiday to begin. He returned to the house,
put his suitcase in the boot and drove off.

He reduced his
speed as soon as he left the motor way at Winchester, driving along
the A272, then up to Horsham. He couldn’t stop himself from looking
for gift shops and noticed several he could have called on. He had
a coffee and a bagel on the far side of Horsham, lingering over it
until it was eleven fifteen, then drove to Gatwick and parked the
car. He took a seat close to the Meeting Point. He was twenty
minutes early. He wished he had bought a bunch of flowers when a
man sat on the seat opposite him carrying one but it was too late
to look for a flower shop.

“
Hello
Bob.”

“
Maria!
Hello,” he stood up, “I didn’t see you. How are you?”

“
Ready
for a rest. The group kept me very busy. Do you have your car? I’d
like to have lunch somewhere, not here, I get tired of eating at
Gatwick. There’s probably a pub nearby. And I’d like to get rid of
my suitcase for a while too,” and she pointed to it. “All I need
for the weekend is in the small bag.”

“
The
car’s not far. Let me pull your big case. Oh it’s good to see you
again Maria.”

“
But
it’s only been a week since you saw me last!”

“
I know.
It just seems longer. Come, let’s go. It’s this way,” and he led
her through the doors to the car park and his car. He opened the
boot and put her big bag inside. “We’ll put the small ones on the
back seat.”

“
Can I
have a hug now?” Maria asked.

“
Oh
yes.”

They hugged
and Maria lifted her face and Bob, without thinking, kissed
her.

“
I’m
glad you did that,” she said, “I thought you might not want
to.”

He kissed her
again. “I wanted to do that last week and before that but I thought
you might not want me to.”

“
Then
let’s try it again,” she said and lifted her head. Three more
kisses and Maria said she’d have to sit down. “Let’s go for lunch.
And I want a toilet too.”

They found a
restaurant ten minutes later after looking at, then passing, a most
disreputable-looking pub. Salads and a glass of white wine for both
of them was all they wanted. She told him about the last week of
the trip, saying how the couple that argued so much with each other
the previous week gradually got over their differences. And that
the woman who cried every time they visited a church told everyone
last night that her husband died only a month ago. “She thought
taking a holiday might help her adjust and I think it might have.
She was the only one that came from her church so no one knew what
had happened.”