Bob of Small End (14 page)

“
At that
rate you’ll soon put the water back!” he replied as they carried
the drinks back to the table.

“
Rose’s
shop was closed when we went past Jane,” said Bob. “Are they
away?”

“
No.
Jack is showing some people the cottage that’ll be ready to sell
soon and Rose went with him. They’ll be here later. Have you found
enough places to design some tours Maria?”

“
Yes.
Lots. I’m pretty sure the agency will accept one or two of my
suggestions. I hope they let me run them if they do.”

Joe said that
he was hungry and asked everyone what they would like to eat. Maria
and Joe chose pheasant and Jane asked for the rabbit. Bob said he
would have the mackerel and Joe took the order to the bar with his
empty tankard. “Is anyone ready for another drink?” he called as
his glass was being refilled. None of them was so he returned, with
quarter of his bitter already drunk.

“
We’re
going to Spain next year,” Joe told Maria. “I’ll write you later
for recommendations, you’ll know Spain better than our travel
agent. Bob told me that he wants to return to Lagos. Is that
because he likes the place or because you’re there Maria?” he
added, with a smile.

“
Oh, no,
it’s not me, it’s the place,” she replied. Bob didn’t know how to
reply and remained quiet.

“
Where
are you going to stay Bob?”

“
I’ve
seen an apartment I like. It’s in the Old Town and you can see
right into the central park from the balcony.”

They chatted
for a while about Lagos then made room for Nancy to put their meals
on the table.

“
Hope
you like the pheasant. My uncle shot them on his farm,” she said,
“and his son caught the rabbits. They’ve all been properly
aged.”

Jane tried her
rabbit pie.

“
It
tastes great Nancy. Rabbit pie’s a favourite dish of mine ever
since my mother made it. Joe, you should put snares along the east
boundary. There are lots of rabbit holes along that
hedge.”

“
I would
but they would be mostly for you Jane. I don’t like rabbit pie, I
had it too often when I was young.”

“
Maybe
mine would taste better than the ones your mum made. Do you have
any snares?”

“
I think
so. Dad kept them in the tack room in the big barn. I’ll look there
tomorrow, if I remember.”

“
I’ll
remind you,” Jane said. “This pie’s delicious. How do you like the
pheasant Maria?”

“
It is
very nice, especially the gravy.”

“
It
needs gravy because it is too dry without it, I think.”

“
The
mackerel’s excellent,” said Bob. “It’s a pity we don’t have fish
mongers in Big End any more. I used to buy crab from the one on
High Street. You can’t get a nice crab anywhere now.”

“
I’m
ready for another drink. Who want’s one?” Joe asked.

Shortly
afterwards Jack and Rose joined them with drinks in their hands.
Bob dragged up two more chairs and they sat down. Joe introduced
Maria and told them how they met. Nancy came over and asked if they
wanted to eat. Jane had told them how much she had enjoyed the
rabbit pie so that’s what they ordered.

They talked
about England, Portugal and their holidays until nine o’clock when
Maria said she should go and pushed back from the table. “I’ve
still got to pack my suitcase.”

“
What
time’s your flight?” asked Bob.

“
11 am,
from Gatwick.”

“
Sound’s
like the one we caught in February,” said Joe. “If the traffic’s
normal you can get to the airport in less than two hours. We left
at seven because we had to meet the group at nine thirty. You’ll
have to return the car first, though, so you’ll have to leave time
for that, I suppose.”

“
Yes.
I’ll probably leave at seven as well.”

“
I’ll
walk back to Bonnie’s with you,” said Bob and stood up. “Pay the
bill for us Joe and I’ll give you the money next time we
meet.”

“
Okay.”

Chapter 6 Driving lessons

Bob rushed
through his washing and dusting first thing Sunday morning. He had
his laundry on the line and the housework finished by nine. He then
had breakfast, a slice of toast and marmalade. He then took his tea
to the workshop, planning to work as long as he could each day to
see if he could finish all the farm sets that week. By Thursday
night he knew that he would.

The sets had
been given their last coat of paint as he cleaned his brushes at
seven o’clock Friday evening. All together it had taken about fifty
hours to make twenty farms. He was tired but very happy and
promised himself a couple of days rest next week. He warmed a
frozen curry for supper and drank a bottle of beer as he ate. He
watched the news, had a glass of port and was in bed just after
nine.

After a late
breakfast of porridge and tea, Bob wrapped and boxed the farms. He
put three boxes in a big plastic bag, added three villages and put
his last three trains in another bag. Now, for the trip to
Twinner.

He caught the
9:45 bus to Big End, staying on it until it arrived at the bus
station. The coastal run bus left at 10:30 and he had time for a
mug of coffee. He looked at the timetable while waiting and found
that the bus back left Twinner at two. ‘I’ll not get back to Small
End until 4:15! It’s probably not worth selling there if it takes
that long to deliver. I’ll see how many Leo sells and decide about
that later. It must be a good location, lots of tourists must pass
through Twinner in the summer, though they’ll also go to Big End.
Jenny’s place might be enough. I’ll just have to see what
happens.’

Leo was happy
to see Bob and liked the toys.

“
I’ll
take all of these. They should sell well. I can call you if I need
more, can’t I?”

“
Yes.”
Bob made a mental note that he’d have to make trains next, though
it wouldn’t be next week, he’d wanted a rest first.

He found a
Deli and had a sandwich and a mug of tea for lunch. Then he walked
around the streets and did his grocery shopping until it was time
to catch the bus to Big End.

Once home he
collapsed into his arm chair, put his feet on the stool and had a
nap, not waking until six twenty. He had a quick wash, put on his
coat and walked to the Crown. After buying a pint he joined Joe in
the corner.

“
Where
have you been?’ Joe asked, after Bob had sat down. “I thought you
must be sick. It’s nearly 6:30.”

“
I’ve
been to Twinner delivering toys to a gift shop. I spent most of the
time on a bus or waiting for one. It’s a bit of a
chore.”

“
Well
you’ll have to buy a car.”

“
If I
could afford one.”

“
You’ve
a sound reason to buy one now.”

“
I don’t
have a driver’s licence Joe. Years ago I took a few lessons but
stopped when we realised a car would cost too much to buy and
maintain.”

“
Well
it’s not too difficult to get a licence. Tim Sawyer’s son, Peter,
gives driving lessons. He taught Howard to drive and he passed
first time. Why don’t you go see him?”

“
Well
maybe I should. I’d need a car if I’m going to deliver to Twinner
and, maybe, some other villages or towns. Yes, you’re probably
right, I should do that.”

“
See him
tomorrow, he’s opening the garage on Sundays, now the tourist
season is starting.”

“
I don’t
have the money to buy a car Joe. I might be able to buy a used one.
Hey, how much do I owe you for last Saturday?”

“
Twenty
four pounds.”

“
Right,
here you are.”

“
Drinks
on me t’night,” said Jack, as he and Rose walked to the table.
“I’ve sold t’cottage tenants wer’ rentin’.”

“
Congratulations, I’ll have another pint,” said
Joe.

“
Me
too,” Bob added, and quickly swallowed the rest of his
beer.

“
Gin and
tonic for me, Jack,” said Rose, as she sat down. “What have you
been doing this week Joe?”

“
I’ve
finished the first planting and am ready to plant in the
greenhouses. I can knock down the railway station after they’re
finished.”

“
We’ll
have to tell the brick sorters as soon as you know when you can
come. The architect still wants to use the old bricks
Joe?”

“
Oh, no.
Jane told me he’s changed his mind. Too difficult to find matching
bricks so we’re buying new ones. Jane’s talked to the bank and
they’ll lend us the money if we don’t have enough. So I’ll just
flatten the place. We’ll have to remove the doors and windows
first. The committee thinks we could sell them. The inside wood
studs will have to be removed before I push it down. It’s going to
be burned. Jane’ll arrange that with the firemen. When that’s gone
I’ll push the bricks, roof and slates to the far end of the parking
lot and dump it down the slope. It’ll enlarge the lot a bit. Here’s
Jane. She can tell you all the rest.”

“
Hello
everybody,” Jane said. “Has Joe told you about what we’re going to
do with the station?”

“
Yes. I
guess you’ll need a crew to remove the doors, windows and wood
studs now.”

“
Yes
that’s right,” she said. “And I need help on the stage as well.
Bob, can you come Thursday afternoon?”

“
Yes of
course. What do I have to do?”

“
Help
make the set for the second play. We’re doing two again. One’s a
comedy and the other’s a mystery.”

“
Okay.
I’ll be there. Will Jim and Ken be there too?”

“
Ken
will be but I don’t know about Jim. He might be
golfing.”

“
I’ve
been to Twinner today, Rose. I took some toys to Leo Tinnet and he
asked me to say ‘Hello’ to you. Do you remember him?”

“
Oh yes.
He used to be the treasurer for the association. He’ll probably
sell several of your sets each month. Lots of people go through
Twinner.”

“
I hope
you don’t mind me asking him to sell mine.”

“
No, not
at all. That’s exactly what you have to do if you want to expand.
Ask as many retailers as you can.”

“
I’d
like to expand a little but it took most of the day to take the
toys to Twinner. Joe says I should buy a car. I don’t know about
that but I’ve decided to get a driving licence. If I pass the test
I might buy a second-hand one.

“
Wonderful, ” said Jane. “It’s a pity you didn’t have one
when Betty was alive and the kids were all at home; they would have
enjoyed it.”

“
Yes I’m
sure they would but we didn’t have the money. I still don’t have
enough to buy a new car. It’s selling the wooden toys that has made
all the difference. It’s amazing how it’s changing my
life.”

“
No,”
said Joe. “It was Claire’s visit that changed your life most,
wasn’t it?”

Everyone
laughed, and Bob blushed a little.

“
I’ll
get mor’ drinks,” said Jack.

Bob tried to
sleep in on Sunday, but couldn’t. He was so used to getting up
more-or-less as the sun rose that it felt uncomfortable lying in
bed. There were things to do, even though he promised himself a few
days rest. It seemed the only rest he could take was to work more
slowly. He got up, wondering what he should do after the week’s
chores had been finished. ‘Ah, yes, I’ll ask Tim to teach me to
drive. And I must find out how much used cars cost.’

Bob had a slow
morning, taking time to clean the house more thoroughly than usual
and having a long coffee break. He thought about buying a car most
of the time. It looked as if he could earn five to six thousand
pounds this year. That would surely give him enough to buy a used
car, pay for driving lessons and have his holidays. One problem
was, he knew so little about owning cars. He’d have to pay for
maintenance and for insurance. How much would that cost? He didn’t
even have a driveway or a place to park a car. He could leave it on
the road but didn’t like the idea of doing that all year. It would
probably be all right if he parked it in the railway parking lot
although he’d have to tell the police what he was doing so that
they didn’t think it was an abandoned car. He’d talk to Tim, maybe
he’d have some suggestions.

After his
coffee break Bob tidied his workshop. He’d have to order more wood
and he really needed a bigger place to store it, the racks he’d
made wouldn’t be big enough. Then he thought about adding a lean-to
on the end of the shop. He could make one and store the wood
inside. Yes, that’s what he could do this week. It would be a nice
change. He’d catch the bus to Big End tomorrow and order the wood
for the toys and for a lean-to. Hopefully he would have it by
Wednesday. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of days to
make.

He walked to
the rear of his shop. As he thought, there were six wooden windows
leaning against the wall, stored there from the time the downstairs
windows were replaced ten years ago. He checked the frames. Most of
them were fine. They were standing on bricks and the bottoms hadn’t
rotted. ‘I’ll have to putty some of the windows and the frame needs
painting. I’ll buy the putty and paint for it; white would be best.
I can make the door, that’d only take a day.’ He collected his
measuring tape from the shop and measured the two windows he’d use
for the lean-to. He locked the shop and headed indoors. ‘Time to
draw up a plan and make a shopping list.’