Bob of Small End

by David Hockey

  Chapter 22 The barbecue

  It was the usual weekend for Bob. Washing, dusting and cleaning, grocery-buying in Small End, gardening and an afternoon walk on Sunday. During his walk he thought more about selling mostly in the towns. The idea was attractive; he could explore the towns in the evenings, something he would like to do, and the evenings were lighter these days. He would be able to find and eat in different restaurants, paid for by the company, but staying away from home might generate a new feeling, that of loneliness. He’d seen what looked like salesmen sitting by themselves in pubs in the evenings, having nothing to do but drink. They looked as though they were lonely and he didn’t want that to happen to him.

  In the end he decided it would be good for him and for the company. He’d try it for a while and just treat it as a new experience, something to be enjoyed for a while, not something he would do forever. If he didn’t like it then they’d hire a man to do the deliveries.

  There was no news at the Crown Saturday night. Everyone knew that the Community Centre’s walls were up. “They’ll have the roof on and the doors and windows in place by the end of next week,” Jane forecasted. Joe was very busy in his fields and greenhouses, Jack had occasional work with the developers but the unions didn’t like non-union workers so it wasn’t easy to find a job. He was constantly looking for cottages to buy or people who wanted renovations done. Bob showed them the Toy and Gift Association’s newsletter and read what Julie had written. They were all very pleased for him. “Should boost your sales a lot,” said Joe.

  As they left the pub Bob told Rose the date of the lunch. Jack overheard and asked if he could come too. “No way Jack,” said Rose. “You’ll be looking after the shop.”

  Bob told Ken first thing Monday morning that he would try his suggestion and concentrate on the bigger towns. “I’ll also stop at any shops I see on my way of course, no point in not doing that, but I’m not sure I’ll like being away from home each week.”

  “Try it for a month.”

  “Yes I will. I’ll know then if it’s a job for me or if it’s for someone else. We’ll need a bigger van of course and we should hire someone to deliver to the nearby shops. He can use the small van.”

  “All right, I hope we can find someone.”

  “Well let’s see if Charles has a bigger van first,” said Bob and he picked up the phone.

  “We have a lorry that people borrow when they want to move a house full of furniture. It that what you want Bob?”

  “No that’s too big. We want something four or five times bigger than the van we already have.”

  “You have the Ford now I think. Let me check the rental sheet. Nothing’s available now but we’ll have one the size you want next Monday.”

  “How much would it cost per month?”

  “Three hundred and fifty a month.”

  “Okay we’ll have it. We’ll collect it Monday afternoon.”

  “Who’s driving it?”

  “I will be Charles.”

  “Oh. Are you returning the Ford then?”

  “No. We’re going to hire another driver.”

  “Okay. Do you know how long you’ll want the new van?”

  “Let’s start with a month but we might want it longer. We’ll let you know.”

  “All right. I’ll book it. One Ford Transit, June 3rd, collected in the afternoon. We’ll have it ready for you. And it will be clean, of course! Thanks for calling us. ‘Bye Bob.”

  “’Bye Charles,” said Bob. “Now we’ll have to find a driver Ken. Jack said he’d help when he didn’t have any construction work but he wouldn’t become an employee and he wouldn’t be available if something more in his line turned up.”

  “Well we won’t want a full-time driver right now. All we need is some one to fill phoned-in orders. Maybe we’d need a man once or twice a week. Oh that reminds me, Lori has another list for you. About twenty shops.”

  “No problem, I’ll do them this week.”

  “And Bob, I’ve been thinking about the lunch for the gang and the decision not to increase their wages for a while. I do want to reward them somehow. What do you think about making the last afternoon of each month a holiday? We could have our celebration lunch and they wouldn’t have to return to work. Do you like the idea?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “Okay let’s do it. This month I’d like to hold the lunch at my place and have a barbecue. I’ve talked to Mary about doing this and she says she’ll do all the arranging. We’ll buy beer and soft drinks. What do you think? Will that be okay?”

  “Yes that’d be very nice, they’ll enjoy that. They can swim or fish if they want to as well. Tell them about it in the tea break, I want to see how they react. Keep all the bills, the company should pay for that kind of expense.”

  “All right.”

  “It should also pay my hotel and meal bills when I’m working.”

  “Of course it should, so you keep all your bills too.”

  Everyone loved the idea of having a barbecue at Ken’s home on Friday.

  “Bob or I can drive you there and bring you back,” Ken said. “You could swim in the river if you want for I live beside the Tusset. Or try fishing.”

  “It’ll be too cold for swimming,” said Craig. “I felt the temperature yesterday with my friends because we like swimming. But fishing should be okay. We fish by the bridge near your place.”

  “What do you catch?” asked Lori.

  “Carp, roach, perch and pike mostly.”

  “Do you eat them?”

  “I eat the perch. I never eat pike because it’s got too many bones.”

  “Well could you bring your rod?” Lori said. “I’ve never tried fishing.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m glad you all like the idea,” Ken said. “Bob and I also think that the last afternoon of every month should be a holiday so you don’t have to return to work after the lunch. However in future you’ll have to decide where you’d like to go to eat.”

  “You mean we’ll get a holiday and a lunch each month?” asked Craig.

  “Yes. I think that’s the easiest way to arrange the lunches instead of waiting until we produce twenty five hundred. We’ll be doing that or more each month from now on I’m sure.”

  “Can we go to the Ritz for lunch?” asked Lori, with a smile.

  “No. We have pub-style lunches in mind. But we could do something better at Christmas.”

  “We won’t be here then,” said Jose.

  “You might, if they throw you out of college,” said Luke.

  “I had higher marks than you at school, so you can’t talk.”

  “Just kidding. They won’t throw you out.”

  Bob phoned Salisbury Boxes after the tea break and explained why they wouldn’t buy the plastic lids. Then he loaded the van and began delivering, going East that day, North on Tuesday and West on Wednesday. It was a pity the towns weren’t closer, driving took up fifty percent of the time.

  Thursday he worked in his own shop. Whilst driving he’d considered what kind of new toy he should make. He first thought about making extra pieces for the existing sets. a garage or a milk van, a school or a swing set for the village set, or a tractor, wagon, some hay stacks and a chicken pen with miniature chickens for the farm but discarded the idea because they weren’t “new toys.” Then he considered the toys he’d seen in the magazines and eventually decided to make different kinds of vehicles driven by miniature men. Children could do things with that kind of toy. He’d make a fire engine with a moveable ladder first.

  The fire engine was finished, all but the painting, by lunchtime. It was harder to make than a train because it had a base, a cabin with holes for two firemen, an open back with a water tank, a ladder that rotated and six wheels. The two firemen were simply short cylinders with a rounded end which he’d paint to look like a head. Drilling all the holes and fitting the rungs to make the ladder was very time-consuming. Two screws held the ladder on a rotatable ba
se fastened on the back of the fire engine. He gave the toy it’s first paint coat after lunch and it’s second coat after his tea break. It was a happy day for Bob; he was at home, doing what he loved and not in a rush. Being away from all the traffic turned it into a holiday.

  Maria came to mind after supper. He hadn’t thought about her since talking to Sally, over a week ago. He wondered how she was and thought about phoning her but couldn’t think of anything to say. It would be the same if he wrote a letter. He could tell her what he was doing but he really wanted to know what she was doing and what she thought about them meeting again. Did she really like him? He stopped himself from thinking more about that; uncertainty would spoil his evening.

  Bob drove his car to the workshop Friday morning so he could take people to Ken’s for lunch. He showed the fire engine to Ken. “Do you think you could make this for a profit Ken?”

  After looking at it for a minute or two he said “We’d probably have to sell it for twenty pounds to make a profit. Would people pay that much?”

  “I don’t know. I could show it to Rose and ask her. It took me a day to make.”

  “It would probably take two people three days to make a hundred once we had set-up the jigs and after a few days practice. That’s less time than it takes to make a hundred farm sets. A farm set is sold for £22.50 so £20 is probably the right price.”

  “I’ll see what Rose says. What can I do to help now?”

  “Oh just look around and help anyone you can. But don’t get in the way—they’ve figured out how to do things quickly in pairs or by themselves. Probably wrapping and boxing would be the best thing.”

  Doing that, filling the van, collecting the bills and lists from Lori and chatting to each of them filled his morning. They stopped at noon, gave Bob their overalls so he could wash them and climbed into the cars. Ken took Lori, Craig and his fishing gear and Bob followed with Luke and Jose.

  Mary welcomed them, showed them where the toilet was then walked them through the house to the back garden. Three tables, a lawn swing and a dozen chairs sat on the grass. Ken opened the cooler and offered beer and soft drinks.

  “There’s fresh lemonade in the kitchen fridge as well. Help yourself,” said Mary.

  “Why don’t you explore the gardens while I cook the steaks?” said Ken. “Who wants theirs well-done? One? Okay. Who wants it medium? Three? I’ll do the others medium-rare then. We also have sausages. Put your fingers up to show me how many of those you want.” Everybody except Mary put up two fingers. “Right. Seven steaks and thirteen sausages. I’ll fire-up the barbecue. They’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. Want to help me Bob?”

  The others walked down the garden and looked at the river.

  “Do we have enough time to try fishing?” asked Lori.

  “I wouldn’t think so,” said Craig. “We’ll have a go after lunch. Feel the water; do you want to have a swim later?”

  “No. I don’t need to feel it, I haven’t brought my bathing costume.”

  Jose and Luke walked around the flower beds and Mary joined them. “We like the flowers Mrs. Smith. Do you do all the gardening?”

  “Ken digs and plants the big items, the trees and bushes, but I do the rest. I’m glad you like it.”

  “The people we helped in Africa seldom grew flowers. Many had vegetable gardens though.”

  They chatted about Africa and Mary told them she would like to go on a safari with Ken. They told her that they would also like to do that but that they had already seen many of the animals. Ken called out, saying the steaks were done, and they walked back to the tables and joined Lori and Craig. Mary went to the kitchen and returned with the salad.

  “Help yourself to drinks,” said Ken. “Bob will hand out the steaks and sausages. Just tell him what kind you want, well-done, medium or medium-rare.”

  Lori couldn’t eat her second sausage so she gave it to Craig. Bob ate both of his but they and a steak, over-filled his stomach and he refused the ice cream cake.

  Lori, Luke, Jose and Craig each used Craig’s rod after lunch but no one caught a fish. “It must be the wrong time of the day,” said Craig. “I usually fish early in the morning or in the evening. That’s the best time to catch them.”

  “You’ll have to prove it Craig,” said Luke. “Take a photograph next time.”

  “I can bring in two or three on Monday.”

  “All right. Do that and we’ll believe you. We’ve heard fishing stories in Africa, haven’t we Jose?”

  “Often!”

  About three o’clock they decided it was time to leave. They thanked Mary and Bob and Ken drove them back to Small End just in time to catch the early bus home.

  “That was great Ken. Thank you. And thank Mary from me, for getting it all ready. Everyone enjoyed themselves,” said Bob when they walked into the workshop afterwards.

  “Yes I think they did. It gave Mary a chance to see and talk to them also.” They sat in the office and Ken put his feet on his desk. “Now on Monday when we go out to lunch we’ll have to put one of them in charge. It should be either Lori or Craig. Who do you prefer?”

  “Craig. He’s been with us longer than Lori. Lori will accept him but Craig might be a bit upset if you chose her.”

  “Yes, I agree. Okay. I’ll tell them that during Monday morning’s the tea break. We shouldn’t be gone for more than two or three hours, should we?”

  “No I don’t think so. You can drop me at Charles’ so I can collect the new van on the way back.”

  “Where are you going next week Bob?”

  “I’ll head east. The week after that I’ll head north, then go to the west the following week. I’ll follow the tourist’s route as much as possible; that’s where there are likely to be gift shops. I don’t want to spend the weekends away from home and the van won’t hold enough toys to keep me going for two weeks so I’ll leave on Mondays and try to be home on Thursdays but I might have to stay until Fridays sometimes.”

  “How many shops do you think you will be able to visit?”

  “Don’t know. Maybe forty a week, depends on how many there are.”

  “If you find forty shops in each direction we’ll have another hundred and twenty. That’ll give us nearly three hundred and fifty all told. Think of what we’d earn if they all sold one set each day!”

  “I hope they sell more than that Ken. Rose can sell two or three on a Saturday or Sunday when the tourists are visiting. Bigger shops in towns should sell many more. Even Leo sells more than one a day in his village. Trouble is, how do we keep all of them supplied?”

  “And how do we make that many. Seven hundred a week won’t be enough. We’ll have to double that. You know, until we do that I won’t have time to set up a line to produce the fire engines.”

  “Yes, you’re right. Okay, we’ll leave that until later. But how can you double production? There’s not enough room in the shop to add another two benches.”

  “We might add one, between the other two, but it’d be very crowded and people would be bumping into each other. We’ll have to rent another place. Ask your friends if they know of a building we can use.”

  “I can do that. But I don’t think we’ll be that lucky. Getting Joe’s milking parlour saved us last time. There can’t be any more places like this. I’ll let you know what they say Monday morning. What are you doing this weekend?”

  “We’re going to Manchester to see James, Julie and Larry. Mary keeps saying we don’t see enough of them. It’s especially important now since he’s nearly three and is changing so much. She misses him, even though they talk each weekend. He can speak quite well now.”

  “It’s a long drive and you’ll be tired. Does Mary drive some of the way?”

  “Not usually. I don’t mind driving. I know the road, ‘cos we’ve driven it many times in the last three years. We’ll leave after supper tonight. It’s usually less busy then.”

  “Well drive safely Ken.”

  “I will.”
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