Bob of Small End (57 page)

He did another
quick calculation. After paying any additional May expenses there
should be over £1,500 in the bank. That, plus the May income,
should give them enough to pay the June expenses. ‘So we won’t have
to borrow from the bank. I’m very glad about that,’ he thought. ‘I
hate the idea of paying nine or ten percent interest.’

It took most
of the morning, although he took rather a long coffee break, to do
all the calculations and write the cheques. Afterwards he wondered
how long it would take Lori to do the same job. Probably about the
same time, but maybe not, since she would use the computer. However
it was going to become harder when they hired part-time drivers and
more helpers. Perhaps they should hire an expert to look after the
books. He would know how to keep accurate records and how to
minimise their income tax.

After mailing
the cheques he walked over to the old Community Centre and read the
notices on the board by the front door. The one that interested him
the most was a notice stating that, after June, there would be no
more activities in this Centre. Everything in future would take
place in the new Centre, probably starting in August. Sports in the
field would continue but the Centre would be closed and members
would have to change in the toilets at the edge of the field during
July. ‘Well if there’s nothing going on in here then perhaps we
could rent this building. I bet we could put eight or ten work
benches in the hall. And there’s plenty of places to store the wood
and boxes. I must talk to Jane about this.’

He walked,
almost ran, to Joe’s farm and knocked on the kitchen door.

“
Who’s
that?” called Jane.

“
It’s
Bob, Jane. Can I speak to you?”

“
Of
course. Come in Bob. Here, sit down while I put these pies in the
oven. I should have made them earlier this week but didn’t have
time. I’m taking some of them to Howard and Shirley tomorrow. What
did you want to talk about?”

“
It’s
the old Centre, Jane. What’s the village going to do with
it?”

“
I don’t
know Bob. Why do you ask?”

“
It’s
exactly what we want, a place where we can have a bigger workshop.
Could you find out what they’re going to do with it? Can we rent it
for a year or so? Or could we buy it? Surely they’re not going to
pull it down. It would be ideal for us. If we had it we’d provide
work for some of the new people that are coming to this
village!”

“
Wow,
Bob, slow down. I’ll ask the committee what’s planned but I don’t
think anyone has talked about it yet, we’ve all been too busy
thinking about the new one. There’s a meeting next Friday afternoon
and I’ll raise the subject. So you would buy or rent
it?”

“
I’m not
sure about buying it, maybe, Jane, but we’d love to rent it. And
for a year at least.”

“
Okay.
I’ll not say anything about buying it but I’ll tell them
Wooden Toys
would like to rent it
for at least a year. I’ll let you know what they say.”

“
Oh,
thanks Jane. It would be such a relief. We have to expand because
we’re doubling the number of shops that sell for us. Can you
telephone me as soon as you know?”

“
Saturday evening at the Crown would be too late for
you?”

“
Oh yes.
I couldn’t wait the extra day!”

“
All
right Bob. Would you still keep this place?”

“
I would
think so. It’s all set up and we’ll need as much room as possible.
If we can rent the old Centre Ken and I will talk about what we’ll
do in the milking parlour but I’m sure we’ll keep it.”

“
All
right. I’ll tell Joe that. He might worry if he thought you were
going to move out although he shouldn’t; what you’ve done adds
value to the farm so we’ll get more for it when we have to sell.
Now, here, have a piece of pie, the first batch should be cool by
now.”

“
Aren’t
you taking them to Howard?”

“
Not
this first lot; they’re for Joe and me. Here, try this, and she
handed him a slice and took one for herself.

As Bob ate he
relaxed a little and they began talking about holidays. Bob told
her what he planned to do in August and Jane told him a little
about their intended visit to Spain. After finishing his tea he bid
goodbye and walked back to his house. He decided he wouldn’t say
anything to Ken until he heard what Jane found out. It would be a
shame to excite him if they said they didn’t want to rent it.

Sally called
him after supper just before he was going to phone Sam and Regina
and gave him her new telephone number.

“
How do
you like the residence Sally?” he asked.

“
There’s
three on the staff I remember but all the other’s are new. There’s
one lady still here that I used to visit and I said ‘hello’ to her
but she didn’t recognise me. I think she has
Alzheimer's.”

“
Is your
room a nice one?”

“
Yes.
Although I wish I’d kept my chair, the one they provide isn’t as
comfortable.”

“
You old
one was sold with the rest of your furniture?”

“
Yes. I
sat at the back and watched the auction. I was surprised by some of
the prices. Things I thought to be worth little fetched high prices
and some of the expensive furniture fetched very little. It was sad
to see it go and I’m glad Brian wasn’t there.”

“
Why not
buy yourself a new chair, the same kind as you had
before?”

“
I
might. But I might get used to this one. We’ll see.”

“
And
how’s the food?”

“
No
complaints, but I’ve only been here a day so it’s too soon to tell.
I hope they vary the menu each week. We have three entrees to
choose from at lunch and at dinner. When are you coming to see
me?”

“
Not for
a few weeks. There’s a hundred or so new shops to visit first. I
hope to come after that.”

“
There’s
a room I can rent here if you want to stay in the
building.”

“
I’ll
decide that when you tell me if the food is always good Sally. But
we’ll go out for meals when I come.”

“
Good.
Well, don’t leave it too long. ‘Bye Bob.”

“’
Bye
Sally.”

Then he called
Sam and Regina and asked how their month had been. There was little
news; a sprained finger from catching a cricket ball, lots of
homework in preparation for the exams, sports days that were coming
soon and some new clothes for their holidays. He wondered if he
should ask if he could visit when he was in their area but he
couldn’t fix a date so he didn’t say he’d be near them in three
weeks time. He could always drive over for a Sunday lunch now he
had the car but with all the driving he was about to do he probably
be too tired to do more on the weekend.

Chapter 24 On the road

When Bob
entered the shop Monday morning Ken was talking to Craig. “Would
you supervise, that is, be in charge of the shop, when Bob and I go
to lunch today? We’ll be gone for about three hours. Can you manage
that?”

“
Yes, of
course. I’ll be glad to. We’d just carry on as usual?”

“
Yes.”

“
What
time are you going?”

“
About
twelve thirty. Good, I’ll tell the others in the tea
break.”

No one minded
when Ken told them that they were taking some retailers for lunch
and that Craig would be in charge when they were away. “We’ll be
back about three,” he added.

“
Where
are you going?” asked Lori.

“
The Windlass Tree
.”

“
In
Warmly? That’s where my parents took me to celebrate my high school
graduation. It’s a nice place.”

“
In that
case we should go there for our next lunch,” said Luke.

“
Maybe
for Christmas,” said Bob. “It’s a bit too expensive to go to a
place like that each month.”

“
I know
a good pub we could go to,” said Luke.

“
So do
I,” said Jake.

“
Why
don’t you make a list of places you’d like. We’ll veto any that
might be too expensive,” said Ken. “Okay, it’s time to go back to
work.”

Rose was
busy behind her counter when Ken and Bob arrived to pick her up.
“Give me a minute to finish this and get my mackintosh,” she
called. Twenty minutes later they collected Jenny and at ten to one
the car splashed through the puddles into
The Windlass Tree’
s parking lot. Leo was sitting
at a small bar waiting for them when they entered.

“
Hello
Leo,” Bob said.

“
Hello
everyone,” he replied.

Rose hugged
Leo and Jenny shook his hand. “It’s nice to see you again,” she
said.

A waiter
approached, asked them if they were ready to eat then, after Ken
had said they were, led them to their table. It was in the bow
window, as requested. Once they had sat down he handed out the
menus and said he’d be back to take their orders in a minute or
two. “Would anyone like to order a drink now?” he asked.

Ken told
everyone to order what they wanted and Leo said he’d probably have
some wine with the meal, Jenny asked for a Bloody Mary, “because
I’m not driving,” she added. Rose said she’d have a gin and tonic.
Ken and Bob said they’d have something with the meal.

Leo turned
towards Jenny and said, “I haven’t seen you for a year or more.
How’re things?”

“
They’re
good Leo. Business was a bit slow after Christmas but it’s fine
now.”

“
Same
for me. We closed the shop for two weeks at the end of January and
went on a cruise to the Canary Islands.”

“
We took
our holidays about that time,” said Rose, “but in little pieces, a
few days one week and the same the next.”

Ken told them
that he and his wife, Mary, would be going on a cruise, “but not
until September. We’re going to the Mediterranean.”

“
Let me
know how you like it,” said Leo. “Lena wants to go there next
winter.”

“
I
will.”

“
What
are you going to do for a holiday Bob?” asked Jenny.

“
I’m
joining a group and touring the Lake District in August. There are
many places I haven’t seen in England and that sounded like an
interesting place. There are many good walks there, I’m told, and
I’d try some if we have any free time.”

The waiter
brought the drinks and some warm rolls and pats of butter. “Would
you like to order now?” he asked.

“
Sorry
no. We haven’t looked at the menu yet.”

Everyone
opened their menus then wondered what to order. Bob said he would
like to start with one of the soups because it was a cool day, in
this way suggesting to the others that they might also order a
starter.

Two minutes
later the waiter reappeared. Rose said she’d have the watercress
soup and the Lancashire Hotpot; Jenny chose a garden salad and the
Shepherd’s pie, Leo asked for the vegetable soup and the steak and
kidney pie, Ken also had the vegetable soup and the roast beef. Bob
said he’d have the watercress soup and the fish pie.

“
You
seem to specialise in pies,” Ken said to the waiter. “It’s a bit
different from the times I have eaten here before.”

“
We
changed the head chef two months ago. The one we’ve got now thinks
that people might like pies this time of the year. He changes the
menu at the end of each month. Would you like to order more drinks
now?”

“
A
bottle of red wine might be nice with the meals we are having,”
said Ken. “What do you think?” he asked the table. No one disagreed
and Ken ordered a Merlot, thinking that most people would like
that.

Lunch passed
quickly, often with two conversations at the same time. Leo spoke
mostly to Ken about business topics. Jenny and Rose chatted away
and Bob interjected in both conversations from time to time. A
second bottle of wine, coffee and desserts—bowls of trifle,
bread-and-butter and sticky toffee puddings and an ice cream topped
up their already-full stomachs.

“
That
was a lovely,” said Jenny.

“
Indeed
it was,” echoed Rose. “Thank you, Bob and Ken.”

“
Yes,
thank you,” said Leo. “I must come here with my wife before they
change the menu. It was a great meal.”

“
We’re
very glad you could come,” said Bob. “You’ve all helped Ken and me
so much as we started this business. Thank you,
everybody.”

They said
goodbye to Leo as he drove off then climbed into Ken’s car. The
rain had stopped and they were able to see some of the coastline as
they drove back to Big End. Ken parked beside the National
Westminster bank.

“
Bob has
to visit the bank. Then he’s going to rent a bigger van and drive
it to the shop so we don’t have to wait for him,” he explained to
Rose and Jenny.

“
I’ll
get out here too,” said Jenny.

“
All
right,” Ken replied. “I’ll see you later Bob,” and he drove
off.

After ordering
more cheques Bob walked to Charles’ garage, glad the rain had
stopped, for he’d left his umbrella in Ken’s car. The van, looking
rather large to Bob, stood near the exit.