Bob of Small End (91 page)

No one asked
him if he was thinking of getting married, sensing it might be too
early to raise that subject.

The
fortnightly teenagers’ dance was held that night. The noise they
made when leaving woke him. He didn’t bother to shut the window,
knowing it wouldn’t last long. Then he suddenly thought about
having double-glazed windows installed when renovating. They would
cut down the noise and the house would be warmer. ‘I’ll ask Jack to
put them in. And he should check the attic, it might need more
insulation.’

He
tidied the garden and the house Sunday morning and was planning on
going for a long walk in the afternoon when Ken phoned, asking if
he could come over to talk about the offer from
Goodners
. “Come as soon as you like,” Bob told
Ken and he was there fifteen minutes later.

“
Hi Bob.
No, nothing to drink, thanks. Bob, I told you earlier that I wanted
to visit Goodners to see how compatible we are. I was a bit leery
of the two men when they visited the shop, mostly because I didn’t
know why they’d come and I thought I might still feel that way.
Also I wanted to meet their father. If we get along all right I’m
going to take the job. So I want to visit them next
week.”

“
I see.
When will you go?”

“
Tuesday. Mary has lots to do tomorrow but wants to come with
me. We’ll stay at James’ place.”

“
Do
Goodners
know
you’re coming?”

“
Yes, I
phoned them this morning. I didn’t think you’d mind me doing
that.”

“
No of
course not. Will you stay all week?”

“
Oh no.
We’ll be back Wednesday evening and I’ll be at work on Thursday.
I’ll tell you what I’ve decided then.”

“
All
right.”

They talked a
little about the shop after that but that wasn’t the most important
thing to think about right then. Ken didn’t stay long and left for
home saying he had to help Mary. Bob didn’t take his walk but sat
in his chair wrapped inside his uncertain future.

The first
thing Ken did when he entered the office Monday morning was look at
the stock list. Lori watched him then took out the account books
and showed him the August expenses and income. Bob sat at his desk
while she was doing this then said “You can have your £15,000 back
in a couple of weeks Ken.”

“
Ah
that’s good. I may be needing it. I’m glad things have been going
so well. Everyone had a good holiday?”

“
We
did,” Lori said, “and everyone else said they did as
well.”

“
I’m
glad. The only thing against our cruise was the amount of food one
was tempted to eat. I must have put on five pounds! Ah, Lori, I’ll
be away tomorrow and Wednesday. Mary and I are going to visit
James.”

“
All
right Ken.”

Bob thought
that the conversation was a little strained and was glad when
everyone else came in and he started working. He wished Ken ‘good
luck’ when he left at five. Ken said ‘thanks’ in return; there
wasn’t much more he could add.

Wednesday
evening the dancing class members were taught a few steps of the
tango. Bob found it a difficult dance and decided it wouldn’t be
one he’d use. Not unless Maria wanted him to dance it. Ken phoned
him shortly after he returned home to tell him that he would be
taking the job and asked Bob to meet him at eight in the office to
discuss the next steps.

“
I’ve
signed a contract Bob and I start early November. So we’ve got just
over a month to find a buyer for the company. Can you ask your
friends and see if they know of anybody who might be interested?
I’ll ask mine too, of course.”

“
I don’t
think my friends will know of anybody but I’ll ask. We should ask
Simon and Arthur, they’re more likely to know of someone who has
that kind of money.”

“
Yes, of
course. I’ll phone them tonight.”

“
I’ll
tell Len, he’ll let everybody in the village know. It’ll be a big
piece of gossip for him. But if we can’t find anyone we’ll have to
think about other ways of finding a buyer. Perhaps using a business
broker.”

“
We’ll
have to agree on the price before we tell everyone it’s for sale.
Are you still okay with half a million pounds?”

“
Yes.
I’d be happy to let it go for that. Provided it stays in Small End,
although that’s becoming a little less important now. If we can’t
find a buyer I’m thinking we might have to sell to
Great Toys
.”

“
If they
still want it. All right. Let’s see if we can find
someone.”

Ken called at
nine that night to say that neither Simon nor Arthur wanted to buy
the company. “They’ll talk to some of their friends and clients.
Some of them might be interested.”

“
Did you
tell them what we are earning, our net profit?”

“
Yes, I
had to. I gave them our current position and what we expected to
make in future. They were interested in that but cautious, as one
would expect. Anyone who bought the company would want to inspect
the books, our past sales, talk to
We-Have-It
and so on. But none of that should
cause us any problems.”

“
Did you
tell them that we’re not sure sales will continue at this rate in
the future.”

“
I
mentioned it. I don’t know what they thought about
that.”

“
All
right. We’ll have to tell Lori and Craig about this
soon.”

“
Let’s
tell them last thing tomorrow and then tell everybody else first
thing on Monday.”

“
All
right.”

A postcard
from Ken and Mary was waiting on the mat when he arrived home. Mary
wrote that they were enjoying their cruise and Ken added, ‘you and
Maria would enjoy this!’ ‘Only if we sell the business,’ thought
Bob as he read it.

When Dave
called he asked for the same number of toys as he had last week.
After they were loaded Lori reminded Bob that there was another
load of pasteboard to collect. He drove to Basingstoke where Dave
gave him a cheque for £9,375. “I know you are short so I asked
accounting to give it to me.”

“
Thanks’
Dave. That’s much appreciated. It’ll be an extra-good lunch we’ll
have when you’re ready.” Then he drove to Salisbury to collect the
pasteboards. He ate his lunch at a deli in the city then drove back
to the shop. He worked there the rest of the afternoon and joined
Ken, Lori and Craig in the office after everyone else had
left.

“
We have
something to tell you, Lori, Craig,” said Ken. “I’ve been offered a
job in Manchester and I’ve accepted it. I will be the CEO of
Goodners. I want the job because I have been asked to double its
size, something that intrigues me. And Mary wants me to take the
job because we’ll be nearer to James and Larry.”

“
Oh!
Well, congratulations Ken,” said Lori.

“
Yes,
congratulations. But what’s going to happen here?” asked
Craig.

“
I’ll
run the shop,” Bob said, “but we’re putting it up for
sale.”

“
Oh
dear. I hope the buyer is as nice to work for as you two,” said
Lori. She sat down in her chair. “Is it easy to find a
buyer?”

“
Don’t
know,” said Ken. “First time I’ve ever done it.”

“
And
we’re not going to sell to
Great
Toys
if we can help it,” Bob added. “We want the
factory to stay here.”

“
They
offered half a million pounds, didn’t they?”

“
Yes.”

“
So
would you sell for that price to someone if they’d keep the factory
here?”

“
Yes we
would,” said Ken. “Bob doesn’t really want to run the factory. He
wants to retire again.”

“
Well we
can try to help,” said Lori. “We’ll talk to the people we know,
“but we don’t know anyone who has that kind of money though someone
might know of another person who’d be interested. When will you
tell the staff about this?”

“
First
thing Monday morning. We thought you should both know about it
before we told them.”

“
Yes,
thanks. They’ll be a little upset, I expect.”

“
I’ll
tell them not to worry; we will try to find someone who will run
the shop the way it’s run now.”

Chapter 39 Up for sale

Bob
waited until ten o’clock on Saturday morning then drove to the bank
and deposited the cheque from
We-Have-It
. Afterwards he walked to his
favourite coffee shop, had a coffee then drove to Salisbury and
parked the car at the back of the
King’s
Head
. The receptionist told him that his room wouldn’t
be ready until three so he sat in the lobby wondering what to do
when Maria’s group arrived. She saw him as soon as they entered,
waved, then went to the receptionist to collect a set of room keys.
She handed them to the group members and they disappeared, some
taking the stairs, others using the lift. Bob went over as soon as
everyone had gone and kissed her.

“
You
know, I can’t get my room until three. You’re lucky.”

“
Ah, I
arranged for the tour group rooms to be ready by eleven thirty.
They clean them first if I insist on it. We need the rooms because
some want to change before lunch; I’m taking them to the cathedral
at two.”

“
What
time will you be free?”

“
We can
have lunch together as soon as I’ve shown them where they’ll be
eating but we can’t eat dinner together because there’s a farewell
dinner tonight. Just let me know your room number when you have
it.”

“
Yes, I
will.”

“
All
right, Then we’ll meet here in about half an hour?”

“
Okay.”

He walked
along the main street then went to the cathedral. It was an
impressive building, one he’d taken the family to see many years
ago, but there was not enough time for him to visit now. He walked
back to the hotel and found Maria waiting for him.

“
Let’s
find a restaurant,” she said, “I’m tired of eating in
hotels.”

They chose a
small café hidden in one of the side roads, one probably none of
the tour members would find. They both chose one of the several
salad and sandwiches offered and drank coffee. Maria described the
tour and some of the members reactions. Bob told her about Ken’s
decision and that they would sell the company if a reasonable offer
came. They returned to the hotel at one forty five and Bob watched
them gather and leave. He then got up, planning to take another
walk when the receptionist beckoned him to the desk. She gave him
his room key and asked if he wanted help with his luggage. ‘No
thanks,’ he said and collected it from the car. In his room he
unpacked then wondered how he should spend the rest of the
afternoon, finally deciding to walk the city streets and see if
there were any interesting movies. He found one that had a four
o’clock showing and joined the few waiting for the ticket counter
to open. It felt very strange going to a movie. He tried to
remember when he last did that and eventually thought it was when
he was on a holiday with Betty. He had supper in a Thai restaurant
then walked back to the hotel to see if the group had finished
their dinner. They hadn’t but he caught Maria’s eye and pointed in
the direction of the hotel bar. She nodded and joined him there
half an hour later.

They had a
drink and talked about how life could be if he sold the company and
had enough money to live in Portugal for half the year. Twice they
were interrupted by a couple who were on the tour and wanted to
tell Maria how much they had enjoyed it and who then asked
questions about the flight home. They were very interested when she
introduced Bob and told them he was ‘a special friend.’

At ten o’clock
Maria decided that they didn’t have to stay up any longer. “If
anyone want’s me they’ll have to come to my room,” she said.

“
Then
I’ll join you there,” Bob said.

“
You
bet. Give me ten minutes. Don’t undress, I’d like to do that and
that way you’ll have your clothes for the morning.”

“
Do I
bring my pyjamas?”

“
You
didn’t need them before so why use them now?”

“
In case
anyone wants to see you.”

“
I’ll
not let them into the room if they do. No one has wanted to see me
at night on this trip so we’ll take a chance.”

Bob dressed at
six the next morning, returned to his room, showered and took his
bag to the car before eating breakfast. He wondered what the maid
would think of an un-slept-in bed but reasoned she’d be used to it.
He read the Sunday Times in the lounge until he saw Maria putting
her group on the bus then quickly joined her.

“
I don’t
know when we’ll see each other again,” he said. “If I can I’ll
arrange a trip to Portugal before Christmas.”

“
How
about us going to Paris for Christmas?” asked Maria.

“
Oh!
I’ve never had a Christmas away from the children. Let me think
about that.”

“
Okay.
We must go now or we’ll miss the plane.” She kissed him on his
cheek, “Love you Bob.”