Bob of Small End (5 page)

He completed
the rough and the fine carving Tuesday morning finally finishing
the bird an hour after lunch. He’d make and fit the legs tomorrow.
Legs were always difficult, they had to look realistic and be bent
at the correct angles to suit the bird and the branch the bird
would stand on. He had an early tea and wondered what he should do
with the rest of the afternoon. Perhaps Claire has returned from
Reading. ‘I could go around to Bonnie’s and check. But no, I can’t
keep bothering Bonnie like that. I’ll walk to the Community Centre
and see if Jane’s heard anything.’

“
No,”
Jane said. “I’ve not heard anything. I’ll ask Bonnie when I see her
tomorrow afternoon. Maybe she’ll know. Bob, now you’re here, do you
have time to reposition the stage spotlights? Our two main helpers,
Jim and Ken Smith, have colds and I told them to stay away until
they’re better. We need more light stage-right, near the back.
That’s where the teenagers have their jazz band. I couldn’t see
them very well at the matinee.”

He found the
stepladder and climbed it nearly falling off as he did so because
one of its legs was standing on a dark book that he hadn’t noticed
earlier. He moved several lights until Jane was satisfied. Then he
helped her move some of the sets. He was glad he had come.

“
How
about tomorrow? Do you need any help then? I could come in the
afternoon if you like.”

“
Yes
please, and every afternoon this week if you can.”

“
Okay,
I’d be glad to.”

He walked home
feeling extra happy. It was nice to help at the Centre, he should
have volunteered to do that long ago. And, being there, he’d know
as soon as Claire returned and wouldn’t have to keep asking people
about her.

Wednesday
largely followed Tuesday’s pattern. He made several legs for the
robin in the morning then selected two. He drilled holes in the
bird, cut and adjusted the legs until it’s claws grasped the branch
in a realistic fashion then glued everything into place. He decided
to slightly colour the robin’s breast. Normally he just darkened
his bird’s eyes but robins needed a bit of red. That done, he had
lunch.

He walked to
the Centre immediately after washing his dishes. Only Jane was
there and she asked him check each row and pick up any rubbish.
Half way through Bob asked her if she had heard from Claire.

“
No I
haven’t. If she’s not here would you mind being an usher? There are
four buses coming each night and we’ll be very busy.”

“
Of
course I’ll be glad to help,” though he hoped that Claire would be
back by then.

Claire hadn’t
returned by the time Bob arrived at the Centre Thursday afternoon.
He began worrying. Why isn’t she here? She told Bonnie that she
would only be away for a couple of nights. What’s going on? Is she
ill? She might have a cold but that wouldn’t stop her from
returning would it?

He had an
early supper and returned to the Centre. Claire still hadn’t
arrived so he was very busy until the performance began. ‘Well,’ he
told himself, ‘since she said she would be an usher she must return
sometime tomorrow.’ He tried to stop thinking about her but it was
hard.

Bonnie walked
into the Centre on Friday afternoon with a message to Jane from
Claire. Bob was nearby and overheard her say that Claire had called
to tell her that she couldn’t return until late Saturday evening.
He drew nearer and listened to the rest.

“
She
said she was very sorry that she couldn’t be there early enough on
Saturday to help and that she would explain what had happened when
she came. She wanted to know if you’re going to the Crown after the
performance and, if so, what time would everyone be there. She’ll
phone me Saturday afternoon to find out what was
happening.”

Bob was
relieved; Claire was all right. But he couldn’t help wondering what
had happened. It wouldn’t be just because she wanted to party with
her friends. Was it a problem with her furniture? She’d stored
enough to set up a two-bedroom bungalow with a company in Reading.
Had there been a fire or a break-in? Or could it have been a
problem with her mother’s will? Claire might have been talking to
the lawyers. That could be it.

“
Tell
Claire that we’ll be at the Crown around 9:30, Bonnie, and that
we’ll probably stay for an hour. We hope she can join us. Did she
sound all right?”

“
She
seemed to be all right. Happy in fact.”

Bob was glad
to hear that. ‘It’d be good news, not bad, then. I wonder what
it’ll be.’

Bob ushered
and helped on the drinks’ table Friday and Saturday evenings.
Unfortunately, during the intermission on Saturday evening, someone
spilled a cup of tea all over the table and onto his trousers. The
tablecloth was soon covered over but he had to go home to change.
He helped tidy the hall after the show had finished then went to
the Crown with Jane and Rose. Jack and Joe were already there,
about to start a third pint. Bob bought drinks for them and he had
just sat down when Rose told him that she had sold five trains on
Friday and seven that afternoon.

“
Twelve!
That’s excellent,” said Bob. He quickly calculated how much money
this would bring. He got ten pounds and fifty pence for each one
because Rose priced them at fifteen pounds and took thirty percent.
Twelve times ten fifty was one hundred and twenty six pounds, that,
and the ninety four fifty owed for previous sales this month made
two hundred and twenty pounds, fifty pence. Not bad! Bob didn’t
need the money, his pension covered all his normal expenses. He put
what he made into a savings account and planned to give the money
to his grandchildren one day.

It was almost
ten o’clock when Claire arrived. She strode confidently in, smiling
and holding the hand of a smartly dressed man, and walked to their
table.

“
Hello
everybody. I’d like to introduce my husband, Charles.”

Claire named
everybody, everybody smiled and the men stood up and shook his
hand, then Claire sent him to the bar to buy a bottle of champagne.
As soon as he had left she sat down then told them what had
happened. Charles was the manager of the bank where she used to
work. After he had overcome a nasty divorce they had become lovers.
“That was about eight years ago. We didn’t marry because I was
looking after my mother. After she died I wanted to marry Charles
but he refused. He said he was afraid that if they married it might
end in another divorce and he couldn't face that. So, last month, I
told him that our romance was finished. That’s when I decided to
leave Reading and live somewhere else. But last Saturday evening
Charles phoned me and proposed. So that’s what we did, four days
ago, in a registry office.”

Charles
returned with an opened bottle and some flutes on a tray. “Please,
drink to our happiness,” he said, as he filled and handed out
glasses.

Everyone
lifted their glass, smiled and drank, including Bob, although he
was stunned. ‘Why didn’t I foresee something like this happening? I
should never have begun thinking that Claire would be interested in
me. I’ve behaved like an idiot. It was a stupid idea I had. Did I
make a fool of myself? No, I don’t think so.’ He’d only made a fool
of himself to himself.

He stood up
and said he would like to buy another bottle to celebrate this
grand happening, offered his seat to Charles and went to the bar,
glad to get away for a moment to let his thoughts readjust. Joe
watched him as he went and told himself that it might be a good
idea to visit Bob tomorrow; he might need a bit of cheering.

As Bob got
ready to go to bed that night he felt empty; Claire had somehow
added spice to his life. She had given him more to think about than
making toys or carving wood. It would be hard to return to doing
just that in future. But what else was there? He’d have to make the
best of it. ‘Things, I suppose, could have been worse. I might have
tried to kiss her when we were on the beach. I’m so glad I didn’t.
It’s a good job that Christmas will soon be here; seeing the family
again will help to knock sense into my head.’

Bob was
sitting on his stool in the workshop Sunday afternoon, staring at a
block of wood, intermittently thinking of Claire and wondering how
the wood could be shaped into another bird when Joe arrived.

“
Hello
Joe. It’s not often you visit. Is everything okay?”

“
Sure, I
came to give you your Christmas present. You can open it now if you
like. It’s a book as you can tell. But you’ll have to open it if
you want to know what it’s about because I’m not going to tell you.
I also want to talk to you about something.”

“
Well
I’ll not open it until the twenty fifth. Thank you. I’ll give you
and Jane yours later this week. What did you want to talk
about?”

“
Well I
don’t know how to put this but Jane and I both think that you
should have a holiday. You haven’t had one since Betty died. All
you have done is make occasional visits to your children and we
worry. Everybody should take a holiday once in a while. So we’d
like you to come to Portugal with us in February. We could go
together. The holiday costs just over two thousand pounds for a
couple. It’ll probably cost twelve or thirteen hundred for someone
travelling alone and maybe a bit more for things like drinks and
extra meals. What do you think? Would you come? Of course, once we
were there we wouldn’t always be together. There would be many
other people in the group and you’ll find them all very friendly.
Please think about this and come.”

“
Wow. I
don’t know what to say Joe. Thanks for asking me. I’ll think about
it but I’ve never thought about taking a holiday. A holiday in
Portugal? What happens in that kind of a holiday?

“
I’ve
brought the brochure we got from the travel agent. Here, you take
it. Look it over and I’ll come around tomorrow afternoon to find
out what you think about it. If you’d like to come with us I’ll
drive you to Big End and we go to the travel agency. I’ve got to go
to town tomorrow anyway, I have to talk to the supermarket produce
manager about next year.”

Joe left
shortly after that and Bob picked up the brochure. It described
several holidays and the one that Joe and Jane were taking was
circled. He stopped work, locked the shop and went in for an early
supper, thinking all the while about what Joe had said.

He first
thoughts were about how he felt about taking a holiday. Did he want
to take one? That was the most important question. He’d never
thought about taking one. His life used to be fine just as it was
but his thoughts were a bit mixed-up now. Claire made him think
about things he’d not considered for a long time. Then he thought
about the cost. Twelve or thirteen hundred pounds was a lot of
money. However he could actually earn three or more times that in a
year if he made and sold more toys although he’d have to ask other
retailers to sell his productions. That was something else to think
about. ‘The big question is, do I want to take a holiday now and
then? Maybe I should. It would be nice to go with Joe and Jane. And
to go to Europe! Well that would be very interesting.’

It was two
o’clock Monday afternoon when Joe arrived. Bob was dressed in a
jacket and was waiting for him in his front room.

“
Yes,
I’ve decided Joe. I’d like to go with you.”

“
Oh
that’s great. In that case get your cheque book, you’ll have to
give them a deposit.”

They discussed
the holiday as Joe drove to Big End. The agent had told Joe and
Jane a bit more about the group than what was in the brochure. She
had taken the trip herself the previous year and could describe the
hotel, the restaurants and the included trips.

“
I’ll
drop you at the agency and go to the supermarket. I’ll be there for
about half-an-hour so wait at the agency until I come back,” said
Joe.

Bob was lucky
to get a place on the tour for he was told that several people had
said they were interested but hadn’t decided yet if they would go.
“There are three places left. Do you want to book now?”

“
Yes I
do.”

“
Then I
need a deposit of three hundred pounds. Do you have a
passport?”

“
No I
don’t.”

“
Then
you’d better get one quickly. Have your photos taken and printed
this afternoon. Get the application form from the Post Office, fill
it in and post it as soon as you can, today, if you
can.”

Bob wrote the
cheque then hurried down the street to the photographer’s shop. He
paid extra to have them the next day and the assistant told Bob
they’d be ready at nine o’clock. He then went to the Post Office,
got the form and completed most of it whilst waiting for Joe in the
travel agency. However he had to include his birth certificate and
that was at home. There was so much to think about all of a
sudden.

On the way
back to the village Joe asked him about his clothes. “Do you have a
bathing costume and sunglasses?” Bob pencilled a shopping list as
they talked. When the kids asked what he wanted for a Christmas
present he’d have lots of suggestions for them!

“
Oh,”
Joe said as he dropped Bob at his gate, “You’re invited to the
volunteer’s party at the Community Centre on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s at 4 p.m. and lasts about two hours. They’re having the party
on the Wednesday because everyone’s busy on the twenty-fourth. Will
you come?”

“
Eh,
yes, I’ll be there.”

“
And
Jane asked if you’d like to help the stage crew next year. They
really need more helpers.”