Bob of Small End (3 page)

“
How
about dolls for the girls?”

“
No not
dolls, they’ve already got lots and I never see them playing with
them. Roy might like a construction set, do you have
any?”

“
Just
these model airplanes. There’s balsa wood and paper in the kit and
a tube of cement. And a rubber band and a propeller. They say that
the plane will fly two or three hundred yards if it’s made
properly.”

“
I’ll
take one of those for Roy. Maybe Big End will have something to
suit the girls.”

There was
still enough light to walk home through the developing sub-division
that lay behind the row of shops gradually filling the field that
lay behind his garden. The road into the site led to a T-junction.
Several houses lay along each of the new roads, some occupied and
several others almost finished. None were bungalows so there was
nothing that might tempt Claire.

Bob fried two
sausages and baked a potato in the oven for supper; that and some
raw broccoli was enough for him. As usual he ate in the kitchen on
the small table, listening to the six o’clock news, just as he,
Betty and the kids used to do years ago.

After supper
he read two more chapters then watched a murder mystery on the
television followed by the news. He usually went to bed around
9:30, earlier if he felt tired, later if there was any reason to
stay up.

That Monday
had been a very normal day for Bob, one he rather liked. A routine,
where most of the things he did were activities he enjoyed.
Portugal didn’t interest him, he was happy enough at home and
didn’t need a holiday. But, occasionally, as he was falling asleep,
he wondered if he should be doing something more. He couldn’t think
what it could be. Just before falling asleep he turned his thoughts
to Claire. ‘I haven’t been shopping with a woman for years. I
wonder what that will be like?'

On the drive
to Big End Bob and Claire discussed their plans for the day. Their
first stop was to have a coffee. Parking was no trouble this early
on a Tuesday morning.

After coffee
they walked to the closest of the town’s real-estate agents where
Claire told the agent what she was looking for. As Bob had guessed,
she was looking for an older cottage, one with a bit of character.
She wanted a garden, a garage and two bedrooms and it had to be in
Small End. The agent said he didn’t have anything in the village;
he only had three-bedroom houses that were being constructed in the
new subdivision. Claire asked him to call her if something turned
up and gave him Bonnie’s telephone number.

Since it was
now eleven thirty they decided to have an early lunch and see the
other agent afterwards.

“
Where
do you eat when in Big End Bob?”

“
At the
Fox Inn.” It was on the main street not far from where they were so
they walked there. A drink each, a curry for Bob and a chicken
salad for Claire, then they drove to the other agency. This agent
too, knew of no cottages in Big End and was given Bonnie’s
number.

“
Okay,
now we can shop Bob. You have some groceries to buy?”

“
Yes but
I’ve also got to buy Christmas presents for my two granddaughters.
They’re eight and nine. I don’t want to give them dolls, they’re
growing out of them I think. Do you have any ideas what they might
like?”

“
How
about a kitchen set? I had one when I was about their age and loved
it. One with a small oven that works, some small utensils, packages
of food, recipes and instructions. You might be able to find one
that’s big enough for them to share and one present would do for
both. What do you think?”

“
That
sounds ideal. Let’s try the shopping centre, there’s a good size
toy shop there. They also have a supermarket where I can buy my
groceries and you could probably buy the things you need
too.”

The toy shop
had exactly what they were looking for. He bought the large kitchen
set and an extra set of food packages, choosing one that had
different recipes.

“
I’m
sure they’ll both love this,” Bob said. “It might even turn them
into gourmet cooks!”

Then they went
to Tesco’s, the local supermarket. Bob bought two ready-made
curries, two roast beefs and two chicken pies. He often bought the
same things each week but tried different makes whenever he saw
them glad to have a little variety. He also bought a bottle of
whisky and one of rum, mostly for his friends to drink at
Christmas. This year he bought a bottle of gin in case Claire
visited. He’d buy the tonic in the village grocery. Claire bought
fruit, chocolate, a bottle of sherry and a flower arrangement to
give Bonnie.

They chatted
about the day as they drove home and arranged to meet on Thursday
afternoon when Bob would show her the new subdivision and the
railway station where he used to be the Station Master. Claire
agreed to help him fasten the balls and stars on the tree and
they’d do that after their walk.

He hummed
happily as he gave the ornaments a second coat of paint Wednesday
morning. He started carving a bird after lunch, thinking as he
moved his knife, that Christmas this year looked like it’d be a
happy one. ‘Maybe that’s because I’ve made the tree decorations. I
should do more things like that. It might be fun to work with the
stage crew. I’ll ask Jane.’

The ornaments
were dry by supper time but he left them hanging on the rope,
tidied the workshop bench and swept the floor. Now everything was
ready for tomorrow. ‘I wonder if Claire would like a gin and tonic
tomorrow? I’d better buy the tonic tomorrow morning. And I must
fill the ice trays with water, they’re bound to be empty.’

Thursday
morning differed greatly from Bob’s normal Thursdays. He dusted
everything in the living room, kitchen and bathroom and vacuumed
the carpets. Then he moved upstairs and cleaned the bedrooms, not
that Claire was likely to visit them. Then he walked to the village
grocery shop to buy the tonic water and collect his weekly loaf of
bread, a block of cheddar, more tea bags and a few slices of ham.
He had a late coffee break and tried to read his book but kept
thinking about the afternoon, popping up as thoughts occurred to
him, first to put water in the ice trays, then to check the glasses
to see if they were clean and again to put his shaving things in
the bathroom drawer. It was as though he was preparing for an
inspection.

He had his
usual meal for lunch; bread, cheese and pickled onions, realising
at the end that he shouldn’t have eaten the onions, his breath
would smell. So he cleaned his teeth then carefully washed the cups
and rechecked the glasses. If Claire wanted a gin and tonic the
glasses were now nice and shiny. He looked at an ice tray, the
water had frozen. Everything was fine. If she had a drink he would
have a whisky, not something he normally did in the afternoon but
it was nearly Christmas and today might be a bit special.

He put on his
best overcoat and arrived at Bonnie’s promptly at 2:00. Claire was
ready, dressed in a long, beige overcoat, for the wind was chilly
and damp. They turned right, walking along the road going out of
the village towards Big End as they left Bonnie’s instead of
turning left, which would have taken them to the Crown and the
village centre. A newly paved road ran at right angles up the
slight slope behind Bonnie’s place. There were two houses on the
left and three on the right and the road continued for fifty yards
before coming to the T-junction. Four more houses had been built
along the right-hand branch that ended in a circle near to the
railway station’s parking lot.

They opened
the door to the model home that stood by the subdivision’s entrance
and walked in. The agent was glad to see them for not many people
visited during the week although the weekends were usually busy. He
showed them around the house and told Claire about some of the
optional extras. He pointed to the site plan and explained that the
lot sizes differed and that this affected their price. Then he gave
her some house designs. She thanked him then they said goodbye.

“
I don’t
want one of those houses,” Claire said, as they walked up the slope
to the T junction. “I should have told him I wanted a bungalow when
we walked in. Too bad they’re are not building any. What do you
think about all these houses being built in your backyard
Bob?”

“
I don’t
like it. I’d prefer Small End to stay as it was.”

“
But
Britain’s population is growing and people have to live
somewhere.”

“
Yes I
know, but I wish they’d live somewhere else, not here.”

“
Well I
can understand that.”

They turned
right at the T-junction and walked along the road to the far side
of the circle where Bob pointed eastwards. “There’s the railway
station Claire. My Dad, and then I, used to be its station
master.”

He led her up
the steep incline which bordered the back of the station’s parking
lot. Walking across the parking lot Bob told her a little of his
history; that he was hired as a labourer by the railway when he
left school at 15 and had to do all the cleaning and baggage moving
in this station; that he was promoted to labourer and ticket clerk
after three years. Four years later, when his Dad retired, he was
made stationmaster, when he hired another lad to do the hard work.
But he soon had to do both jobs as the company was reducing costs
and fewer trains stopped at their station. He lived with his Mum
and Dad in the house and pointed to it on the south side of the
parking lot. Then he married Betty and they rented a small flat in
the village. After his parents had died he inherited their house
and they moved into it. “Betty died three years ago and I live
there by myself now.”

The station
was in a bad shape but Bob expected that; no maintenance had been
done since the company had closed it.

“
We’ll
build the new Community Centre in this spot, hopefully next year
Claire. Most of the work will be done by volunteers. Joe’s tractor
will push the building down and volunteers will collect and clean
as many of the bricks that can be reused. We’ll hire people to
build the outside walls, hopefully using many of the old bricks to
save costs. I’ll probably help build the inside walls and maybe
learn how to gyprock them. We’ll have an architect and he will
oversee everything. We’ll have to hire professionals to do the
electricity, plumbing and heating of course. That, the walls and
the roof will be our biggest expense.”

“
If I
came to live here I could help too.”

“
Yes I’m
sure you could. Talk to Jane about that. She’s on the organising
committee.”

“
I will,
if I do come.”

“
Come
and see my house Claire, we’ll go through that gap in the hedge
over there. That’s how Dad and I went to and fro. It goes into our
back garden.”

They pushed
through the slightly overgrown gap and Bob took Claire to his
workshop. He unlocked the door and showed her the inside. “I spend
most of my time here.”

“
You’ve
got quite a lot of equipment Bob.”

“
I
suppose so. Half of it I got from my Dad. He liked making things
with wood as well. Those balls and stars are for the Christmas
tree. Come and see the house now.” They skirted the vegetable
garden and entered the kitchen door.

“
It’s a
small house, two rooms and a bathroom downstairs and three
bedrooms. Just big enough for Betty and me to raise two children.
Come and see the lounge. See, here it is, it’s nice enough but very
small.”

“
It’s a
warm and comfortable room Bob.”

“
Thanks.
Would you like to see upstairs?”

“
No I
don’t think so.”

“
Okay.
Would you like a drink?”

“
No it’s
a bit too early for that. And we have some work to do—the Christmas
decorations.”

“
Yes
that’s right. We’ll go and collect the ornaments then.”

A group of
children were singing and dancing on the stage when they entered
the hall. They found Jane in the wings and Bob told her that he had
some coloured balls and stars to put on the tree. “Could I borrow a
stepladder?”

“
It’s
under the stage Bob, but it’s not long enough to reach the top of
the tree. Be careful.”

He was careful
and used a stick to hang the ornaments that Claire handed to him
when he wanted to put some near the top of the tree.

“
All it
needs now are some floodlights Bob,” said Jane, when she came out
to see what he’d done. “When I looked at the tree last night I
could see it needed something more than Christmas lights to make it
stand out. The balls and stars do just that. Thanks. There are
three floods that Joe used to use in our yard under the stage. Can
you install them?”

“
All
right.”

He found the
floodlights and some lengths of outdoor cable. He and Claire
positioned the lights, fastened them to wooden pegs driven into the
ground and connected the wiring, wrapping the connections where the
cable plugs and sockets joined in plastic bags to protect them from
the rain.

“
I’ll
check the light’s position tonight Jane. When it gets
dark.”

“
I’m
going back to Bonnie’s now Bob,” said Claire.

“
I’ll
come with you. Are you eating at the Crown on Saturday?”

“
You
bet, about six o’clock?”