Bob of Small End (43 page)

“
Not at
all.”

So they had
lunch together and Bob learned that her boy-friend, “more-or-less
an ex-boy friend now,” Tina said, had moved to Bournemouth a year
ago and she saw him periodically. “He drove me here this morning.
It’s too awkward to take the table, lamps and pieces on the bus. Do
you have a car?”

“
I have
a van, a rented one.”

“
Well
can you drive me home after this is finished? Tommy would if I
asked but I told him I’d catch the bus. He’ll drive me home with
the stuff at the end of the conference but I don’t want to bother
him more than I have to.”

“
Yes of
course. Glad to.”

“
Thanks.
I have to change buses to get home and you know how long that can
take if you miss one.”

“
Yes I
certainly do. Having the van makes life much easier for
me.”

“
Bob do
you mind if I tell you something about your boxes?”

“
My
boxes?”

“
Yes.”

“
What
about them?”

“
Well
they don’t look very nice. When we go back to the tables have a
look at mine. Not the small blue boxes I use for the cheaper
ear-rings and brooches but the ones for the large necklaces or
bangles. I don’t know if you noticed them but they are much better
than the ones you use.”

“
I
didn’t notice your boxes Tina.”

“
Well I
had the big ones made for me. When I order a thousand at a time
they’re not much more expensive than the popular blue box. If you
had some made they’d probably cost three or four times more than
the brown boxes you’re using but I think they’d be worth the money.
If you’ve finished let’s go back and I’ll show you what I
mean.”

They returned
to their booths and Tina pointed to the larger boxes near the back
of her table. “See, they have curly black lines over a range of
colours. It’s just a design I sketched and they use it when making
the box. This box looks much more attractive than my ordinary blue
boxes don’t you think? And, if you don’t mind me saying so, ten
times more attractive than the brown cardboard boxes you are
using.”

“
Yes
they do look nice. Do you think the company you buy from would make
boxes for me?”

“
Of
course they will. That’s their business. The company’s in
Salisbury. Visit them and talk to Don. He’s the designer. I’ll get
their address for you when I get home tonight.”

“
Thanks.
Is there anything else about my stuff I should change?”

“
No I
don’t think so. Do you make other kinds of toys beside
these?”

“
I used
to carve birds but they take too long. We couldn’t make them, it’s
something an individual has to do.”

“
Well
you might think about making some different toys as well. If
retailers like what you have now they’ll ask if you have others and
it would be a pity not to provide them. That’s why I make all kinds
of jewellery instead of just brooches or just
necklaces.”

“
I’ll
talk to Ken about that. Trouble is, he’s set up something like a
production line and I don’t know how easily it could be changed to
make a different toy. I suppose it would depend on what we chose to
make. You’ve given me something to think about, two things, in
fact.”

“
I hope
you don’t mind.”

“
Quite
the opposite Tina. Thanks.”

She smiled at
him, sat down and started engraving a broach. Bob sat behind his
booth thinking about what Tina had said. ‘New boxes, yes. That made
sense, if they don’t cost too much. My boxes do look cheap now I
think about it. But making different toys might upset Ken, though
maybe it wouldn’t, he likes solving problems. Making different toys
might be something he’d like to do sometime in the future, if not
at the moment. I should design a few before talking to him about
it.’ He thought about the ones he’d made for Sam and Regina, one or
two of those might be easy to make. And he had the magazines, they
had lots of designs for toys.

Just then he
saw Leo and Rose. They had just walked out of one of the meeting
rooms and he stood up and walked down the corridor to greet
them.

“
Hello
Bob. I saw you earlier but was talking to friends so I didn’t come
over,” said Leo.

“
Same
for me,” said Rose. “How’s it going?”

“
I don’t
know. I’ve talked to lots of people but no one said they wanted
anything from me.”

“
Ah!
That might change,” said Leo. “Several people have asked me if your
stuff sold.”

“
Me
too,” said Rose. “I think that they’ll come and see you
later.”

“
Oh
thanks. That makes me feel better.”

He returned to
his table when they said they were going to have some tea. Shortly
afterwards people began dropping by and asked what his toys
normally sold for and the discounts he gave then said they’d like
to try selling them. He took their cards and noted how many sets
each wanted on the back. This kept him busy until four o’clock when
they moved into various meeting rooms.

“
It
looks as if you’ll have some sales,” Tina said. He smiled at her.
“Yes it does, doesn’t it. I’m happy now!”

A few others
placed requests during the social hour but the place was empty by
six thirty. He counted the number of cards on which he’d written
orders. Twenty eight! He had twenty eight shops to visit now and he
might have more tomorrow. Then he counted all the cards in the
bowl. Another seventy seven but they would surely include some of
the twenty eight so it could be quite a lot less than that.

“
They’re
going to rest or have a shower or change before dinner now Bob.
Most of them will be staying in the hotel and I like to wait in
case someone visits.”

“
How do
you deliver to your retailers Tina?”

“
By
registered mail.”

“
Ah yes.
That would work for you. It’d probably be too expensive for us to
do that. How many people do you think there are at the
conference?”

“
Probably between a hundred and one-fifty. The organisation
covers the western half of Hampshire, all of Dorset and the
southern half of Wiltshire. There are lots of shops in that area.
Oh, here’s Julie. She’s the editor of the organisation’s
newsletter. I expect she’ll want to talk to you because you’re a
newcomer. Hi, Julie.”

“
Hello
Tina. It’s nice to see you again. And I think this is Mr. Barns,”
she said, looking at Bob.

“
Yes. My
name’s Bob Barns. We manufacture wooden toys.”

“
Leo
told me about you and that you’ve just formed a company making
wooden toys. I’d like to interview you. I do that for every new
manufacturer or distributor who rents a booth at one of our
conferences. That lets those who can’t attend learn about what’s
new. I also spoke to Rose and she told me she’s sold your toys for
four years and she told me a little of your history. Do you have
time to talk now?”

“
Yes
indeed.”

Bob told her
why he began to sell toys and why he decided to make more of them.
Then he told her about the partnership and the new workshop and
pointed to the photographs. Judith seemed very interested. She took
notes, photographed Bob, his booth and each of the two photos.

“
I’ll
send you a few copies of our newsletter when it is produced.
That’ll be near the end of next month. I hope you like what I
write.”

“
I’m
sure I will. Thanks’ for talking to me.”

As Julie
walked away Tina said, “that’s an interesting story. Julie might
make it the feature article. If she did it would be very good for
your business. Well I’m packing up now. Are you ready to
leave?”

“
Yes.”

Tina collected
all her jewellery and put it in a small suitcase.

“
Should
I take my toys Tina?”

“
No
they’ll be all right. I take the jewellery because someone might
pinch it but I don’t think anyone will take your toys. Most people
leave their stuff here. The doors to this corridor are locked at
night.”

On the way to
Tina’s flat she asked Bob where he was going to eat that night.

“
I’ll go
home and since it’s late I’ll probably eat at our local
pub.”

“
I’m
eating out too. I’m going to have Thai tonight.”

“
What’s
that like?”

“
It’s
wonderful. Umm, do you like curries?”

“
Yes I
do.”

“
Well
Thai food is often hot and spicy but it’s much tastier than
curries, I think. Why don’t you come with me? There’s a Thai
restaurant just around the corner from my flat.”

“
Well
thanks. That’s nice of you to suggest it. Yes I’ll join you. You
can tell me what to order and show me how to eat it.”

Tina showed
Bob where to park and they walked to her shop. She opened the door
and pointed to the boxes on the shelves behind the counter.

“
See,
they all have the same background design. Some of my necklaces are
rather large and that’s what’s in the bigger boxes on the lower
shelf. I’ll get you the address of the company that makes the
boxes. They’re called
Salisbury
Boxes
,” and she walked to the back of the room, opened
a drawer in a desk and took out a small box that held business
cards. She found the one she sought and wrote the name on a piece
of paper and gave it to Bob. “They’re near Salisbury. Okay, let’s
go and eat, I’m hungry!”

They left the
shop and walked around the corner onto the main street. The
restaurant was a small one, almost hidden between a newsagent and a
bicycle shop. They were given a table for two and Tina took Bob
through the menu, explaining what her favourites were made from and
what they tasted like. Eventually they shared an order of
vegetarian Spring Rolls, a chicken Pad Thai, a stir-fried
chilli-and-basil beef, a mango salad, some rice and a couple
bottles of Singha. At the end Bob insisted on paying for the meal,
wanting to thank her in some way for the good ideas she had given
him.

“
That
was excellent Tina. I like Thai much better than
curries.”

“
Well,
as you saw on the menu, they also serve curries but Thai curries
are also better than Indian I think. Next time you should try
one.”

“
I will.
And I’ll look at the frozen foods in Tesco’s to see if they sell
Thai.”

“
I’ve
never looked there because this is so close to me. Would you like
to have coffee at my place Bob?”

“
Well,
it’s getting a bit late, Tina.” He didn’t know if it was sensible
thing to do. It might be best to head home.

“
Oh come
on. It’s not that late! And you should have coffee after drinking
beer don’t you think?”

“
I
suppose so. Okay.”

They walked
back to the shop and Tina opened a door beside the entrance. “Here
we are,” and they climbed the stairs to her flat.

It was a small
place but nicely furnished. Bob sat on the sofa while Tina made the
coffee. He was a bit worried about what might happen next. What if
she asked him to stay for the night? What would he say? Tina was a
nice-looking lady. She must have been about thirty five. And she
referred to an ‘ex’ boy-friend so there wasn’t anyone to complain
if he agreed. Did he want to do that if she asked? What happened
with single people these days? He just didn’t know what to
expect.

However
nothing like that happened. They drank the coffee, talked for a
while about selling items on the internet then Bob stood and said
he must be going. Tina walked with him down the stairs to the door
and kissed him lightly on the side of his face as they said
goodbye. He felt himself blush a little as she did so. She stood
and watched him walk along the road towards his car before shutting
the door.

Bob had plenty
to think about as he drove home. New boxes, different toys and
Tina. Tina seemed to be a very nice woman. He would like to get to
know her better. But Maria was also very nice. In fact Maria would
be the one he’d choose if he had to choose between the two. Maybe
he could be friendly with both. But he certainly couldn’t become
the lover of both; he had never learned how to do that although
some of his school-day friends used to boast about having two girl
friends. It would be much too complicated, especially at his time
of life. So he forced himself to stop thinking about women and to
think about Thai food. ‘Now that’s a food I could eat everyday.’ He
should learn how to make it. Oh there were so many things he hadn’t
done and so many new things to experience. Life was good, wasn’t
it!

Tina smiled at
Bob when he arrived next morning, carrying two bedside lamps and an
extension cord. “How do you feel today?” she asked.

“
Excited. Yesterday provided so many new contacts! Let’s hope
there are more today. How about you?”

“
Happy.
It’s nice to chat to some of my retailers yesterday. Here are two
more coming now,” and she turned her head and greeted a
couple.

Bob removed
the train set and some fencing and placed the lamps on the table.
He then curled the train and it’s carriages around the base of one
of the lamps. ‘That looks quite nice,’ he thought. He formed a
square with four short pieces of fencing around the other lamp base
and put a plastic man and a cow inside. “Hmm, that’s not so good
but it’ll do.’ He looked around, no one seemed to be coming towards
his table so he walked to the registration desk. “Can I have one of
the conference schedules and literature about the association
please? I’d like to know more about it and learn who are its
members.”