Bob of Small End (62 page)

“
With
the number of calls coming in it might be time to hire two drivers.
Did you know there are three hundred and sixteen retailers selling
for us now?”

“
316? I
knew it must be close to three hundred but I didn’t think it was
more. Well, that’s great. You don’t have to worry about getting
drivers, I think I already have some. Five people called yesterday.
Two were painting someone’s house when Lori called earlier and the
others had only just got the message. I knew that you couldn’t
deliver to everyone we had now so I asked everyone if they would be
interested in delivering as well as working in the shop. Two said
they would. So you can relax Bob. I also rented another small van
from Charles. It’ll be ready for us after four today. Can we
collect it after we’ve finished?”

“
Oh
that’s very good. Yes of course.”

“
You
didn’t tell me about finding more people Ken,” said
Lori.

“
Sorry.
You were busy in the shop all afternoon and I forgot.’

“
Okay.
I’ll organise the deliveries differently then. Do you still want to
deliver Bob?”

“
Yes I
think so. We’ll see how it goes.”

“
We had
a problem yesterday Bob. Jose cut his hand on one of the saws. It
wasn’t very deep but I took him to the hospital and they put in a
stitch.”

“
Is he
okay now?”

“
Yes. He
came in this morning. I told him to take it easy. Maybe you can go
and help him Lori.”

“
Okay.”

“
Do you
know what we earned in May, Ken?”

“
It
hasn’t increased from last week, nearly £8,900. I assume that’ll be
all we’ll get for May. I deposited the cheques yesterday while Jose
was waiting to be treated.”

“
So
everybody has been paid?”

“
I think
so. Lori’s spreadsheet names everybody and lists what they’ve sold,
what they’ve paid us and how much stock they have.”

“
I’m
glad she’s looking after the lists,” Ken. “I couldn’t do all that
and deliver too. You know, if our income increases each month I
might not need a mortgage. What do you think?”

“
I think
you’d better. If things continue like this I’m going to add a
second bench and hire more people.”

‘
Oh
dear,’ thought Bob. ‘He’s already thinking about expanding. I don’t
know if I can handle it, it’s too much and too quick. I suppose
I’ll have to learn to live with it. It might be easier when we have
other people to deliver.’

“
I’m a
bit scared about how quickly we’re growing Ken. Can’t you slow down
a little?”

“
It’s
probably best not to do that right now Bob. People are buying our
toys right now and it’s best to get our name known before other
manufacturers start making wooden toys as well.”

“
I
suppose you’re right. I just worry, that’s all.”

“
Don’t
Bob. Remember, ‘don’t worry, we’ll be all right.’ That’s what we
said, wasn’t it?”

“
Yes, I
guess we did. Okay. Tell me about your new production method. How
long does it take to find out if it works?”

“
There
are bound to be problems to begin with but we’ll know how good it
is in a couple of weeks.”

“
All
right, I’ll get the mortgage. I’ll drive to the bank and find out
if it’s been approved. Have you deposited your amount?”

“
Yes.
The cheque arrived Wednesday and I put it in yesterday.”

“
So once
my money’s in, plus the May income and the money left over from
paying May’s expenses we should have over thirty three thousand.
Less, of course, this month’s salary cheques.”

“
After
the rest of the June salaries are paid it’ll be about thirty two.
We’ll need most of that when we have ten or more working for
us.”

“
I guess
you’re right. I still can’t help thinking we’re expanding too fast.
It will make me very uncomfortable when it comes to
mind.”

“
I’ll
tell you what Bob, I’ll not start a second bench for at least
another month. By that time we should be able to start taking money
out to repay ourselves. How about that?”

“
Well
I’ll be glad when we’re taking it out instead of putting it in.
Okay. That’s a deal. No more expansion until August or later,” and
he held out his hand for Ken to shake. “I’m off to Big End then.
See you after lunch.”

“
Yes.
‘Bye Bob.”

Mrs. Pringle
was busy when Bob arrived so he bought a bank draft from the teller
for £1,000. He’d give it to Maria to cover the August holiday
balance when he saw her. Then he sat in the chair outside Mrs.
Pringle’s office. ‘What would Betty think about what I’m doing
now,’ he wondered. They had rented before moving into Bob’s
parent’s house and had never had a mortgage. So much had changed
since she had died. His head nodded a little and he almost fell
asleep when, “Do come in, Mr. Barns,” alerted him.

“
It’s
been approved and everything’s ready. Here’s the agreement. Look,
it says you have a mortgage for seventeen thousand five hundred
pounds; you pay ten and a half percent interest, interest-only is
payable monthly and the principal is repayable anytime. All you
have to do is sign in these places,” and she pointed to the three
crosses marked on two sets of papers. “One copy is for you, the
other is for us. Once you’ve signed them the money’s
yours.”

Bob signed the
forms then Mrs. Pringle asked him if he wanted the money paid into
his account, “or do you need a bank draft?”

“
A
draft, please. Our business account is at another bank.”

“
I
thought so. If you would like to transfer that account to Lloyds I
could reduce the interest rate by one percent Mr. Barns. Would you
like to do that?”

“
I don’t
think so. Not just now. Maybe in the future. Thanks for suggesting
it.”

“
All
right. Just wait here and I’ll get the draft.”

Bob deposited
it in their business account and carefully checked the balance when
given the receipt. They now had £34,161.44 in the account. When he
later showed the slip to Ken he just smiled.

Bob spent the
rest of the day boxing toys then he reloaded his van and checked
the smaller one to see if it was full. Afterwards he went to the
office and asked Lori how many pasteboards they had. When she told
him he said that she should order another ten thousand.

“
I’ve
all ready done that. Ken told me to do it yesterday. Don’t worry
Bob. Everything’s under control.” It saddened Bob a little when he
realised what she implied; it made him feel he wasn’t needed
anymore. But then he cheered up. He didn’t really want to worry
about the inventory, or keeping the list of retailers up-to-date or
looking after all the little things. Worrying about money was quite
enough.

After everyone
had left Ken drove Bob to Charles’ garage and they rented another
Ford, the same model as the first one. Charles gave them a ten
percent reduction in price without either of them asking for it.
Ken asked Charles how much the van would cost if they were to buy
one but Bob rapidly interjected, “No, we’re not ready to do that.”
Charles didn’t say anything.

Maria

Jane called
Bob at six, just as he was cooking his supper.

“
Hello
Bob. More good news, in fact, lots of it. First, the committee said
you can set up your equipment any time you like, just don’t do
anything that will make it difficult for us to move our stuff out.
Second, you can cut holes for the ducts too. And, third, you don’t
have to pay any rent until the beginning of next month. Isn’t that
great? I think they are rather glad that you are hiring people from
Small End, the ones who have called the secretary, and don’t want
to discourage you in any way. I’ll tell you why at supper tomorrow
night after I’ve checked a few things. You’ll be at the
Crown?”

“
You
bet. That’s very good news Jane. Ken will want to start on Monday
I’m sure. Can we have keys for the place?”

“
I have
some spare keys and I’ll give you a couple. Will tomorrow night be
soon enough?”

“
Oh
yes.”

He phoned Ken
and told him what Jane said.

“
That’s
wonderful. Then I’ll phone Leon and order the wood to make the
bench. They’re open ‘til nine on Fridays aren’t they?”

“
Yes.”

“
I’ll
phone Jack and see if he can help and I’ll start on
Monday.”

At eight
o’clock the phone rang again. It was Maria.

“
Hello
Bob. Is this a good time to talk?”

“
It
certainly is. How are you Maria?”

“
I’m
fine. I’m with the group in Winchester now. We’ve just finished
supper and I’m free. I wondered if we could have lunch together
Sunday. I’ll be busy all day tomorrow but they have nothing planned
for Sunday. I’ll have to be with them over breakfast and for a
while afterwards in case they want some help from me but I’m sure
I’ll be free by eleven. So can you be here then?”

“
Yes.
Where are you?”

“
In the
King Arthur. Meet me in the lobby but I’d like to have lunch
somewhere else. In a village would be nice. Can we do
that?”

“
Of
course. When do you have to be back?”

“
By
three.”

“
All
right. It’ll be nice to see you again Maria.”

“
And for
me to see you Bob. ‘Bye for now.”

“‘
Bye
Maria.”

After putting
his clothes in the washing machine and tiding the house Bob headed
to the garden. He did a little hoeing, stripped the dying pea vines
from the stakes and put them on his compost heap. He tugged the
three-year-old wooden stakes from the ground and leaned them
against the back of his lean-to. The rain would wash them and they
would be good for another couple of years he thought. Then he dug
the ground where they had been, raked it, made a small trench with
the end of his hoe, sowed a row of broccoli seed and raked the
earth to fill in the trench. Now if the weather co-operated the
broccoli would be ready to eat by the end of September.

After lunch he
walked to the new Centre and looked through several windows. All he
could see was the interior of some of the rooms and along two of
the corridors. It wouldn’t be long before the place was finished.
He continued walking, going beside the river, thinking about where
he should go next week. The shops were getting further and further
away from Small End. He could go to London and spend three or four
weeks skirting the city and visiting as many as he could but he
hated the thought of driving in and out of traffic all day. Maybe
they could find a distributor to cater to the London shops. He
could go west to Cornwall or east to Canterbury and the coast. But
Wales was closer and it should be full of tourists at this time of
the year. So he decided to head north to Cheltenham then down the
west side of the Bristol Channel towards Cardiff. As he thought
about the distances he had been driving he realised that they
couldn’t ask their drivers to cover all that territory in one day;
they’d have to stay in motels like he was doing and that would be
very expensive. There must be a better way to do things, perhaps
Ken knew of one.

He did his
local shopping as he returned through the village and had a bath
before heading to the Crown. He was early and half-way through his
first pint when Joe and Jane joined him.

“
Rose
and Jack aren’t coming tonight. They’re off to Big End to see a
movie,” said Jane. “Let’s order supper then I have some news for
you Bob.”

They checked
the menu then, as Joe was placing the order at the bar, Jane told
him that someone from the BBC had called the committee secretary
and said that they were going to feature Small End in a documentary
and talk about how they were handling everything as they grew into
a town.

“
They’re
going to film the village and all the new sub-divisions. And
they’ll also cover the opening of the new Community
Centre.”

“
Have
they said when they’ll start?”

“
Two of
the team will be here for a few days next week and the film crew
will come during the second week of July.”

“
Will
everything be moved into the new Centre by then?”

“
Oh yes.
Long before then. We’ll start painting the walls Wednesday morning.
We have about a dozen volunteers. Can you help?”

“
I won’t
be here Jane. I’ll be back on Thursday and could help Friday or
Friday evening.”

“
Well I
think we’ll be nearly finished by then. Okay, I’ll call if we need
you.”

Bob didn’t
have much news for them. “I’ve found out that I don’t like driving
all the week so we’ve hired two men to do some of it. You’ll see
them in the yard. They’ll drive the small vans.”

“
I’ve
seen the vans,” said Joe.

“
Are
they taking up too much room?”

“
No. But
won’t most of them be parked at the old Centre soon?”

“
They
will, although we’ll still be using the old shop. Ken’ll have some
of the work done there but I don’t know what yet.”