Bob of Small End (82 page)

“
You
don’t have to do that Bob,” said Lori. “Ken’s taken
them.”

“
Oh, I
hope Mary doesn’t mind. Okay, climb in and we’ll be
off.”

On the way
Lori gave him a small bundle of floppy disks and the computer’s
instruction manual.

“
Start
with the disk I’ve labelled ‘1.’ It’s the easiest game and it’s
fun. You know how to insert it, just push it into the slot on the
front of the computer after the computer is on. Don’t push it in
before or the computer won’t start. Okay?”

“
Yes.
Thanks Lori. I can’t do it this weekend. Maybe next. I’ll let you
know when I’ve started.”

“
All
right. Have fun when you can. That’s what we do, isn’t it, Craig?”
He smiled back at her and said, “Yes.”

They sat at a
large rectangular table in a corner of the pub’s biggest room, Ken
at one end and Bob at the other. The place was packed and it was
much noisier than when they were on the patio. Talking was
difficult but they enjoyed themselves. Switching places now and
then allowed them to talk to their friends but there was a general
feeling that they should go to another place next month. Afterwards
Bob took Alan home then drove Lori and Craig to their apartment.
When they arrived at the door Lori said, “Don’t come in Bob, the
place is in a mess. The kitchen cupboards are on the floor and half
the walls have still to be painted. Wait ‘till we have the
party.”

Their
stationery was ready at
Printer’s
Delight
. Bob returned to Small End and put the package
on Lori’s desk, collected the old computer and drove home,
wondering where to keep it. ‘I’ll put it in Sam’s room. Don’t have
to keep that for storage any more.’

Washing,
cleaning, tidying and a bit of gardening filled Saturday morning.
After lunch Bob took the stencils to his workshop and marked the
letters for three notices on a sheet of plywood. The largest,
stating
Small End Wooden Toys
was for the front of the building. the next was to designate
the visitor’s parking space and the last directed deliveries to the
back of the building. He cut out the letters with his jigsaw then
glued them into place on the ply he’d painted white. He’d paint
them tomorrow.

After a mug of
tea Bob bathed, put on a white shirt, a red tie and his blazer and
went to the pub. Rose and Jack were there, dressed rather smartly,
sitting at their usual table.

“
So
you’re going to the dance too,” laughed Bob, as he put his pint on
the table. “Where’s Joe and Jane?”

“
Still
getting dressed, I imagine,” replied Rose. “Jane phoned me just
before I left to say that Joe had only just come in and would have
to shower so they’d be late.”

“
Why
didn’t she come on ahead?”

“
Ah, she
told me she couldn’t, she wanted to be sure Joe put on something
decent.”

“
I
didn’t know the dance was a big social occasion,” said
Bob.

“
But you
dressed up for it so you must have guessed what it’d be like. Joe’s
usual pub clothes aren’t what most people would go to a dance in.
Here they are.”

Jane joined
them at the table and Joe, dressed in tie and jacket, ordered the
drinks. He carried them to the table and was about to put them down
when Jack said, “Nay, sorry, this seat’s fer Mr. Joe Smith.”

Everybody
burst out laughing and Joe grinned sheepishly.

“
Thanks.
Just what I needed. And who are you lot anyway?”

They laughed
again. Bob looked around the pub to see if there were other people
dressed as if they would be going to a dance. A group of six looked
as if they might and he pointed discreetly towards them. “Looks as
if they’re going. Anyone know them?” Nobody did.

“
Probably new-comers. Let’s hope so, dancing’s a good way to
integrate,” said Jane.

“
I
helped ‘integrate’ some on Wednesday,” said Bob. “I went to the
dance lesson and danced with three or four women who are new to the
village.”

“
What
was it like? Was the instructor any good?” asked Jane.

“
I liked
it and she was very good. We learned two new waltz steps and she
said we would be working on the quickstep next Wednesday. Oh, and
how to rise and fall.”

“
Rise
and fall? Wot’s that? Fall on t’floor an’ rise up?” asked
Jack.

“
No, you
dope. You do it standing up.”

“
I know
what you mean,” said Rose “but we don’t do it.”

“
I don’t
know wot you mean,” said Jack.

“
Don’t
worry Jack,” said Rose. “I’ll do it and you do what I’m doing. It’s
easy, once you know how.”

“
Hey
let’s order and eat or we’ll be late,” said Joe.

They weren’t
late but there were already about forty people in the hall when
they arrived. It turned out that Jenny Painter was in charge of the
evening for she climbed onto the stage, held up her hand, welcomed
everybody and introduced herself. She told them that the cafeteria
would be open for an hour at nine for light refreshments then she
introduced her husband, a middle-aged man, saying he would be
operating the sound system. He waved, moved to the side of the
stage and, a moment later, the sounds of a large dance band filled
the air.

“
Jenny’s
a great find,” said Jane. “She was the first to volunteer.” She
turned to Joe and said, “Well, let’s dance.”

Rose looked at
Bob. “Who are you going to dance with if I dance with Jack?”

“
You go
ahead. I’m going to look around and see if there’s anyone from the
dance class. I’ll dance with them.”

“
Okay.
Come on Jack. It’s a long time since we’ve danced.”

“
And
don’t forget the rise and fall,” called Bob, as they moved
away.

It didn’t take
long to find two of the ladies from the class. Bob danced with both
and rejoined his friends afterwards. They had found enough chairs
and were sitting on the side of the hall.

“
Tired
out?” he asked.

“
Nay,
but I can’t tango,” said Jack.

“
Nor
me,” said Joe.

“
All we
do is the waltz, quickstep and foxtrot,” said Rose.

“
Then
you’d all better go to the dance lessons,” said Jane. “I’d go if I
could get Joe to go.”

“
I’m too
tired during the week,” he replied.

“
So am
I,” said Jack.

“
Well I
seemed to have more energy at the end of the lessons than I did at
the beginning,” Bob said. “I don’t know why. Oh there’s a foxtrot.
Do you mind if I ask Jane to dance with me Joe?”

“
Of
course not.”

“
Shall
we?” So they danced. Bob sat at the table until Rose was free then
he danced with her.

“
How
about a rest and a coffee everyone?” said Jane.

“
Good
idea,” said Joe. “I’m ready for a rest. Let’s go,” and they joined
several others in the cafeteria.

“
When do
we actually become members of the Centre?” Rose asked Jane. “Surely
there must be a membership fee.”

“
Yes
there is. We thought that the first month should be free, a gift to
everyone who’s helped, but we’ll make an announcement next week
about membership.”

“
Do we
pay for lessons?”

“
Some
will be free, dancing lessons, for one, but there’ll be a fee for
some of the others, like cooking or woodwork. We’ll have to have
extra cleaning done for those. We’ll see what happens and adjust
the membership and lesson fees as we go along. Shall we go back to
the hall?”

“
I’d
rather not Jane,” said Joe.

“
All
right, you’ve done well Joe,” Jane said. “Shall we go to the next
dance?”

“
Yes, I
enjoyed this. It’s nice not to think about the farm for a
while.”

“
I’d
like to go home too,” said Jack.

“
Oh
okay. I’m pretty tired too. Are you going to stay Bob?”

“
No.
That’s enough. But it was fun.”

So they walked
home, saying goodbye to Bob as he turned into his garden.

Chapter 34 Money

Bob gave the
letters their first coat of black paint on Sunday morning then did
a bit of hoeing. He walked along the river path in the afternoon
and stopped at the river pub for a pint. He was sipping it and
thinking about the dance when Ronald Teller tapped his
shoulder.

“
Hello
Bob. How are you?”

“
Why,
hello Ron. I’m fine. How are you? Take a seat.”

Ron sat and
put his binoculars and a rum and coke on the table.

“
You’re
birding again?” Bob asked.

“
Yes.
Nothing very interesting. Wrong time of day really but I’m
beginning to like this walk and have been here twice since I saw
you on the path. Usually it’s first thing in the morning though.
You out for a walk?”

“
Yes.”

“
I saw
you on television last Sunday. You’ve had a busy year, growing from
a one person shop to one having twelve employees! It is twelve,
isn’t it?”

“
Thirteen actually. Plus Ken and myself. Yes, it’s been a
busy year, or rather, six months. It feels like a lot longer than
six months though.”

“
Did you
go to the dance last night? I thought about it but watched
television instead.”

“
I did
and I enjoyed it. I also went to the dance lesson on Wednesday; in
the evening and enjoyed that too. Do you like dancing?”

“
Sort
of. I used to, when my wife was alive, but I haven’t danced since
then. My interest is bird watching almost exclusively now. I’ll be
teaching that at the Centre starting next Tuesday. Why don’t you
come along?”

“
One
course is enough for me right now Ron. Maybe I’ll have more time
after Christmas.”

“
Okay.
It’s an enjoyable hobby once you get started. Well I’m off now.
Three more places to try before going home. Cheers Bob.”

“‘
Bye
Ron.”

Bob finished
his drink, returned his mug to the bar, went to the toilet then
continued along the path. He crossed the fields and visited his
parent’s grave before walking home. As he made the last part of his
journey he started thinking about Ron’s suggestion. He didn’t think
he wanted to look for birds even if he did have the time to do it.
Wood carving would be his first hobby choice. But not toys any
more, just birds. Then, maybe, he could do both, carve and watch
birds. Not that he could carve birds from just seeing them, he’d
have to work from photographs. So he might have to carry a camera
too. ‘That’s something to think about. It might be a good
combination, especially if he got a camera that would connect to
the computer. He could print his own pictures and then carve a bird
from a photo he’d taken.’

Bob wrote to
Maria after supper telling her that the BBC documentary had
increased interest in the toys and they expected this month’s sales
would be better than last. He asked her about her week and hoped
she wasn’t too tired. ‘Won’t guiding the Lake District tour make
you tired though?’ he asked, hoping it wouldn’t.

Then he rang
Regina and asked how she and Roy were doing. “He’s fine. He’s
reading about Paris to get ready for our trip right now. We all
watched the BBC show. I liked seeing Small End and our house. And
you and the workshops. I had no idea you had become so big.”

“
But I
told you about it the last time I called.”

“
I
didn’t think you would be in charge of a dozen employees. Nor that
you were making toys in the old Community Centre. Don’t you get
tired?”

“
Yes I
do, but things will slow down soon, I hope. Did you tape the
show?”

“
I tried
to but couldn’t get the machine to work. We use it so little I’d
forgotten what buttons to push. Bernard never uses it so he
couldn’t help.”

“
Well
never mind. I can get a copy from Sam or Jane Smith, Joe’s wife.
Joe’s the farmer. You must remember him.”

“
Yes of
course I do. He’s your best friend isn’t he?”

“
Yes but
I see much less of him now.”

Then he called
Sam. Sam had taped the show and was considerably impressed by what
he had seen.

“
The
girls loved it and want to come and see the workshop.”

“
Come
anytime. If you come during the day I can show you what everyone’s
doing.”

“
Well
we’ll visit after the camping trip. I’ll let you know the
dates.”

“
Okay.”
It would be nice to show them first hand what was
happening.

He put the
signs and a shovel in the boot of his car Monday morning and drove
to the workshop arriving just as Craig and Lori were pushing their
bicycles through the front door.

“
I
didn’t know you cycled to work,” he said.

“
We
don’t, usually, but it’s such a nice day we thought we would
today,” replied Craig.

“
Where
will you put them?”

“
In the
wood-storage room.”