Bob of Small End

by David Hockey

  Chapter 43 Sally

  Bob had a leisurely breakfast of kippers, toast and tea then walked over to his workshop, feeling the overalls as he crossed. Most of them were damp from the dew so he left them for the sun to dry. It took him an hour to unfasten the saw, drill and vices from the bench.

  He passed Ron and his birding group as he walked along the river after lunch and waved to them. He didn’t stop but he slowed down as he came toward Betty’s tree and told her that he’d sold their house. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked. He didn’t think she would. He asked the same question when he stopped at his parent’s grave. Perhaps they would mind more than Betty; they had lived there much longer than she had.

  Supper was a pot pie, easy to heat and eat. He phoned Regina afterwards. She was surprised to hear from him in the middle of the month.

  “Hello Dad. Is there anything wrong?”

  “No everything’s good. I’ve lots of news for you,” and he told her about selling the company, selling his house and buying Ken’s house.

  “There’s room for everybody in the new house, Regina. Room for you, Bernard and Roy and Sam and his family at the same time. Although Roy would have to sleep in the storage room. I could put a camp bed there for him. Once we’ve furnished it you should all come and we’ll have a family party. You should all stay for a week or, at least, a weekend. I’d like that.”

  “So would I. It’d be nice for Roy to spend time with his cousins. It sounds as though you’ll have to buy a lot of new furniture.”

  “Yes, we’ll have to.”

  “We being you and Maria?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to marry her Dad?”

  “I don’t think so. What do you think? Would you mind if I did or if I didn’t?”

  “You should do whatever you want Dad. I don’t mind either way. And I’d have to see her before I could make any kind of judgement like that.”

  “You will, as soon as she comes here next.”

  Regina told him that Roy had joined the drama club at school and that he’d have to visit to see the play they’ll be putting on in December and told him the date.

  “Yes, I’ll mark it on my calendar. Can I stay with you that night?”

  “Of course Dad.”

  “Good. All right. I’ll phone Sam now and tell him the news. ‘Bye Regina.”

  “‘Bye Dad.”

  Sam answered the phone and listened carefully as Bob told him what had been happening.

  “I’m surprised you sold the company Dad. It looked like a very good business though I can understand you wanting more time to yourself. And moving to a new house too. It must be a big one if all of us can stay there at the same time. I’d enjoy that, all of us being together again.”

  “Yes, me too, though it might not be until the Easter holiday.”

  “You’ll visit us when you come back from Paris?”

  “Yes. I’ll phone and we can decide when.”

  “All right. Don’t work too hard! My love to you and Maria.”

  “My love to you too. ‘Bye Sam.”

  “‘Bye Dad.”

  Bob then wrote to Maria, telling her that he’d sold the company to Lori and Craig. ‘They have been with us from the beginning. Lori looks after the office and the finances and she knows what the place is worth. Craig runs the shop when Ken and I aren’t there. They’ll be able to manage it just as well as we did and they’ll do all right. So I’ve now got lots of time, or I will have starting in November when they take over. I’ll tell you all the details when we meet. I’ve also booked my flights to Paris. I’ll be waiting for you when you arrive.’

  As he was getting up Bob thought that the week would be much like the last, everybody working hard, making plenty of toys, an order from Dave on Friday that he would deliver, but that was not to be.

  It started with good news. Ken told him that he had rented one of the houses the agent had shown them.

  “It’s in Stockport, five miles from the factory. It’s in a good location, we don’t have to drive through Manchester to get to Nottingham. I’ve only taken it for three months because I hope to buy a place. That should give us enough time to find one.”

  “You’ve got it from November first?”

  “Yes. It’s furnished so we’ll store our stuff until we find a suitable house. It’s not very big, only two bedrooms, but that’s all we need.”

  “Mary likes it?”

  “Not much but it suits our needs and it’s not for long.”

  Then Simon Delare arrived and more or less took over the office. By nine fifteen Simon was sitting at Bob’s desk. He began by aligning the bank statements and Lori’s account books. Then he checked each item against the expense and receipt slips she had filed. He joined the others for a short tea break when Bob told everyone what he was doing. Lori added, “Mr. Delare’s making sure we’re all right financially.” At the end of the day he spoke to Bob and Ken and said, “Everything looks good so far except for your Unemployment Insurance contributions. They should be looked at by someone to see what has to be paid. I can do that if you wish.”

  “Oh, yes, please do that,” said Bob.

  “There’s no rush and there’s unlikely to be much to pay. I’ll talk to Lori and Craig about it. They’ll probably ask you to pay any amounts owing up until the date the company is sold.”

  “I see. All right.”

  “Apart from that, I’ll probably be finished tomorrow.”

  Tuesday Simon checked items in the storage rooms and the tools on the benches, finishing with a cursory look into the cupboards in the tea room.

  “You don’t have anything to worry about,” he told them, as Lori walked into the room. “I’ll write a report and you’ll get it early next week, with my invoice.”

  He looked at Lori and said, “You did an excellent job. I’m sure you’ll look after everybody’s interests until the debt is fully paid but I can check again when that’s done, if you like.”

  “Lori,” added Bob, “Simon told Ken and I that there might be some Unemployment Insurance contributions owing. He’ll check that and let us know what he finds. Ken and I will pay the amount up to November first.”

  “All right Bob.””

  “Thanks for doing this so promptly Simon,” said Ken.

  Then came the bad news. Bob was making his supper Wednesday evening, planning on having a bath and going to the dancing classes, when the phone rang. It was Lydia Pettish, the manager of Sally’s residence. She told him that Sally died that morning.

  “We had been expecting it as, I think, you must have. It was a peaceful death. The staff had just taken away her breakfast tray—she hadn’t eaten anything—and were tucking her in when she died. She just drifted off, quietly and peacefully.”

  “Oh, dear. I wish I’d gone up to see her again. She told me that she wouldn’t live much longer last time I saw her. What can I do? What arrangements must I make?”

  “It’s all been done. Sally arranged everything two months ago. The doctor saw her this afternoon and signed the death certificate. The undertaker came shortly afterwards and has taken her body. I’ve informed the minister and the funeral will be this Saturday. Will you be coming?”

  “Oh, yes. What time will it be?”

  “At twelve. She’ll be buried alongside her husband.”

  “Then I’ll drive up on Friday.”

  “Can you come here as soon as you arrive? I’d like you to clear her room. She told me she wanted you to do that and to take anything you wanted. The rest, she said, could be given to us or to a charity.”

  “All right. I’ll be there.”

  He phoned his children immediately afterwards and told them that their great-aunt Sally had died. They knew of her but had only seen her a few times.

  He did not go to the dancing classes but sat for a while recalling things they had talked about when he had visited her. He felt depressed and drank a glass of port hoping it would make him feel better but all it did
was make him sleepy so he went to bed.

  He told Ken and Lori Thursday morning that he’d be taking Friday off.

  “Sally, my aunt, died yesterday and her funeral will be on Saturday. I’ll be back Sunday, or even on Saturday, if there’s nothing for me to do there.”

  “Can you deliver to Basingstoke on your way?” asked Lori.

  “Well I could, it’s on the way, but I’d rather not. I don’t want to drive to a funeral in a delivery van. Can you deliver?” he asked Lori.

  “Yes. I’ll tell Dave I can’t have lunch with him because we’re short staffed. We can do that next time.”

  Bob left at nine on Friday, after the traffic has decreased. He didn’t hurry and switched on the radio but hardly heard it. Most of the time he was reminiscing, thinking of the days he’d visited Sally and his uncle Brian. He stopped at a road house for lunch and arrived at the residence just as the afternoon tea was being cleared away. He knocked on the manager’s door and entered. Lydia was expecting him and asked if he would like a cup, pointing to the tray. He was thirsty but refused, preferring to clear Sally’s room first. He would relax later. So Lydia walked with him to her room.

  The staff had already done most of the work. Sally’s clothes had been folded and were placed with her shoes and slippers on the stripped bed. Beside them lay the two paintings and photographs, her purse, a vase and the remote control of the television that stood on a small table. A box held toiletry items, a hairbrush, two combs, some creams and a toothbrush.

  “What should I do with the clothes and shoes?”

  “If you don’t want them we’ll give them to the charity shop. You’ll take the other items?”

  “I’ll take everything, but not the toiletry things. I’ll take the hairbrush though. It looks like a new one.”

  “All right. Can you come to the office and sign a receipt for them once you’ve put them in your car. We’ll be sending her final statement to her lawyer. He’ll pay it.”

  Bob spent the night in the hotel he and Maria stayed in when they had visited Sally and he checked out after breakfast. There was no need to stay longer for there was little he could do; Sally had arranged everything.

  There were sixty or more people at the funeral. Bob was surprised to see so many, presumably they were friends or from her bridge club or former patients. Lydia and one of the residence’s nurses were there and David, the garage owner who looked after Sally’s car joined him. He said, “I knew you were here as soon as I drove up because I saw Sally’s Vauxhall parked near the gate.”

  Bob was standing at the grave after David and most of the others had left when a man approached and introduced himself.

  “I’m Gilbert Radley, Sally’s lawyer. You’re Bob Barns, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did Sally tell you about her will?”

  “She said she was going to leave everything to me some months ago.”

  “That’s what she did. You’ll receive everything, everything except five thousand pounds which she’s giving to this church. She’s given me your address and telephone number. I can send you the cheques or deposit them in your bank account. It’ll take several months before Inheritance Tax, probate and various other expenses have been sorted out but I’ll be able to send portions during that time.”

  “How much do you think there will be Mr. Radley?”

  “About £550,000 I’d guess, after everything’s been paid.”

  “Wow. I never expected that much!”

  “Her husband was a successful stock broker you know. Now, I’ll be able to release £300,000 in about three weeks. The rest you’ll receive over the next six months. Do you want me to transfer the money electronically to your bank account or send cheques to you by mail Mr. Barns?”

  “Can you transfer the £300,000 electronically Mr. Radley. It would be safer that way. But could you send the rest of them by cheques. It’ll be a lovely surprise opening them.”

  “All right, I’ll do that. Please call me if you have any questions,” and he gave Bob his card.

  Bob drove home in a dream. He could pay for Ken’s house easily now. And pay for the furniture and still have lots left for holidays. He could even buy a Rover if he wanted! But that, he decided, would not be sensible. ‘I’ll have to learn how to invest what money’s left after setting up the house, not spend it.’

  He parked his car and walked to the Crown for his supper but it was nearly eight and his friends had already left. He thought about telling Len about his inheritance but decided not to. He’d tell Ken, Maria and Joe but it wasn’t something everybody had to know.

  He told Maria that Sally had died when he wrote to her and that she’d left everything to him. ‘I will have lots of money for holidays now, even after paying for Ken’s house and furnishing it. Why don’t you quit work completely and come and live with me? It would be wonderful if you’d did that. With tons of love, Bob.’

  Ken asked if the weather had spoiled the funeral when he entered the office on Monday morning.

  “No, why should it?”

  “We had a lot of rain around noon and I thought the funeral might have been postponed. I’m glad it didn’t affect you. Were there many people there?”

  “Over fifty, I think. And Sally’s lawyer was there. He spoke to me afterwards and guess what, Sally’s left everything to me. I’ll be able to discharge the mortgage on your house as soon as the money comes in. Tell Arthur to make sure I can do that.”

  “Okay, I will. I haven’t spoken to him about selling my house to you yet. He’ll need to know the down payment and details like making it repayable anytime.”

  “Well, we must have more than one hundred and fifty thousand in the bank now. Let’s withdraw most of it then I could give you my half as the down payment. Oh, hello Lori, Craig.”

  “Hello Bob. Was the funeral all right? Did the rain affect you?” asked Lori.

  “Ken just asked me the same thing. We didn’t get any rain and it went as planned. Did you deliver the toys to Dave?”

  “Yes. Driving was difficult much of the time and I had to drive very slowly.”

  “Did you let him buy your lunch?”

  “Yes I did. I changed my mind about that, hoping the rain would be less in the afternoon. We talked about how Craig and I would run the company. He was very interested and said that he’d be able to sell our other products too. He wants to meet Craig. You’ll come with me when we own the company won’t you Craig?”

  “Yes, and I’ll buy the lunch this time. Not an expensive one though, we’ll be very short of money our first year.”

  “Fish and chips Craig. He’ll settle for that.”

  Bob checked the order: Dave wanted 500 farms, 600 villages and 300 trains and the stock at the end of Friday was 11,300 farms, 10,400 villages and 5,200 trains. He wondered if Ken would make more trains to equalise the quantities. They should be soon receiving bigger orders as retailers built their inventories ready for Christmas.

  He worked in the shop most of the week. Tuesday a cheque for £33,000 arrived; it was the payment for their August 30th sale to We-Have-It.

  Lori held up a bank draft for three hundred thousand pounds when she and Craig came into the office Wednesday morning.

  “It’s from my uncles and Dad,” she told Bob and Ken. “We’ll use it to open a new account. Then we can separate the transactions that relate to you from when you owned the company from those that relate to us when we take over.”

  “It’d be best if you opened it at NatWest Lori,” said Bob.

  “Yes. I thought that. They already know you and Small End Wooden Toys. You can tell them what’s happening and that’ll ease the transaction. Can we go there today and set it up?”

  “Yes, of course. Phone the bank and ask for an appointment with Mr. Longman. We’ll all go as soon as he can see us.”

  “I’ll have Jose and Luke run the shop when we are away,” said Ken. “You agree Craig?”

  “Yes. That’s what I’d do
when I’m in charge.”

  Mr. Longman ushered them into his office at eleven and they sat down as soon as two more chairs had arrived. Bob then introduced Lori and Craig and explained why they’d come.

  “The short story is we’ve sold our company to Lori and Craig. As of November first it’ll be theirs. Lori will tell you what she wants to do now.”

  “We want to open a business account, Mr. Longman. We’ll use it to run Small End Wooden Toys after November first. Bob and Ken also want to keep their account with you as well, that way we can deposit money into it easily.”

  “Selling your company? That’s a surprise. Not many people sell their company a few months after they have opened it, and none, in my experience, sell it when it’s clearly doing so well. I’ve kept an eye on your account, Mr. Barns, Mr. Smith. If you don’t mind would you tell me why you are selling it?”

  “I’ve accepted a job in Manchester that allows me to continue what I’ve found I like doing—setting up new factories,” said Ken. “That kind of work is more interesting to me than running one.”

  “As for me,” said Bob, “I want to retire again, now that I’ve money for holidays.”

  “I see. Then do you have some money with which I may open your account Miss Turner, Mr. Elton?”

  “Yes, here,” and Lori gave him the draft. He was clearly surprised to see such a large amount.

  “Is this your father’s signature?” he asked.

  “Yes. He and my uncles are funding us.”

  “Well I know him. He’s a very pleasant man although he doesn’t bank with us. All right, let’s do the paperwork.”

  After signing the needed application forms Lori told him that she would soon need a banker’s draft for two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.

  “It’s for Mr. Arthur Glone, our lawyer,” she said, “and it’s the down payment for the company. May I have it on Wednesday?”

  “Certainly.”

  After they had finished with Mr. Longman Bob deposited the latest cheque from We-Have-It and asked for a statement. He showed it to Ken, Lori and Craig.

  “There’s £186,544.28 in the account and your £15,000 cheque has been paid Ken, as well as all of the September expenses. So, at long last, we can withdraw some money and pay ourselves back.”

  In Ken’s car on the way back to the shop Bob continued the conversation and suggested that they withdraw £150,000 and leave the rest to run the company.

  “I’ll need the money to give you the house deposit. We’ll get another cheque for £33,000 tomorrow to add to the thirty six there’d be left in the bank after our withdrawal. We could take that out next week, once it’s cleared, but I’m not in a hurry for it. And I must call Dave and tell him we want him to give the week’s order on Thursday next week. You remember that we agreed the money from next week’s production comes to us, Lori, Craig?”

  “Yes. That’s right,” said Lori. “I can call him for you when we get back if you like.”

  “All right. Thanks.”

  They joined the others in the tea room for lunch. Afterwards Bob wrote a cheque for £73,500 and gave it to Ken.

  “That’s your forty nine percent, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll use £75,000 of my £76,500 and give it to Arthur next week as the down payment on your house. You’ve told him you’re selling it to me?”

  “Yes, although I couldn’t tell him what you’d deposit you’d have. I’ll phone him.”

  Simon’s report arrived on Thursday. It stated that Lori’s records were correct. He charged £475 and when Lori saw that she told Bob that if they had any children she hoped they’d become accountants.

  Bob delivered Dave’s order for 600 farms, 600 villages and 300 trains on Friday. He went into the office to bid Dave goodbye and was asked if they could have lunch together.

  “It’s a bit early for lunch isn’t it Dave? It’s only eleven o’clock.”

  “It’s the last time you’ll be delivering, Bob, and I want to thank you for letting us distribute your toys. I’d like to take you to the seafood restaurant we went to last time. And the company will pay for the lunch, so you can’t say no!”

  “Well, thank you. That would be very nice.”

  During lunch he told Dave that he was a little bit worried about the declining numbers of toys being ordered.

  “They’ve been getting less and less since the end of August.”

  “But that’s the same for all gift items Bob. The numbers will go up very soon. In fact they already have for you and we’ll have to increase our order next week.”

  “Oh, good. I was a bit worried about Lori and Craig. I don’t want the company to go bust as soon as they take it over.”

  “No. Don’t worry about that. I predict it’ll have it’s biggest sales ever this Christmas. Also, if they make all the wooden items that Lori told me about, they’ll survive, even if the number of toys they sell declines.”

  “Okay. Did Lori ask you to place next week’s order on Thursday?”

  “Yes she did. She also said that she and Craig would deliver it on Friday and wanted to have lunch with me but it would be fish and chips!”

  “A bit different from this one, eh?”

  “Yes. I’ll ask them to bring me here next year, if everything’s going well, as I expect it will.”

  At the end of the afternoon they had 13,700 farms, 12,800 villages and 6,400 trains in the stockroom. He mentioned the number to Ken and asked why he hadn’t started making more trains.

  “I didn’t notice the numbers and continued the same way as always. I’ll spend two days on trains next week. No, I’ll talk to Craig and Lori about it. They should be making that kind of decision now.”

  There was a letter from Maria waiting for him when he opened the front door. She wrote that she was sad about Sally’s death and very glad that she’d met her. Furnishing the new house would have to wait until the new year when she will be freelancing and she’d enjoy helping him do that. And, no, she would not stop working. She liked the job and having her own income and she thought he’d like coming with her when she researched tours for companies. ‘You could be my assistant when I’m guiding a big tour. What do you think about that? With much love, Maria.’

  He collected the overalls from the workshop Saturday morning on his way home from Big End with his shopping and five more empty boxes and spent the rest of the morning washing clothes, cleaning rooms and dusting furniture. After lunch he selected and wrapped the ornaments, pictures and photographs he would keep and boxed them. Since Maria was going to help him chose the new furniture he decided to take his bed and his armchair and the side table to hold his coffee mug. He’d need them until the new furniture arrived. Plus Sally’s television, the kitchen table and two chairs. No, he’d take Betty’s arm chair as well, Maria would need somewhere to sit when she came. The old stuff could be given away later. He’d leave his own television behind, it was an old one and might not last much longer. He checked the list of items to take that was fastened to the fridge. That was it. Lori could have what was left and the things she didn’t want he’d take to a charity shop. If he moved to Ken’s house early in December it would give Lori and Craig several weeks to move in.

  He napped for an hour after an early afternoon tea break then bathed, put on his blazer and walked to the Crown to join his friends for supper. The only news was that the Community Centre committee was arguing about whether to have a Christmas party or a New Year’s Eve dance. People with young children had said they wanted a party, those without wanted a dance. It would be either one or the other because there wasn’t enough energy to organize both. Bob didn’t express an opinion, he would be in Paris when either was held. After supper they all went to the dance. It was a happy, quiet and uneventful evening.

  During breakfast on Sunday he thought about using Lori’s list of their sales for August, September and October and writing down the dates they would be receiving cheques from We-Have-It. That way he’d kn
ow what money was coming in and when it would arrive. He took the clean overalls to the workshop then sat at his desk with her list. There was one more cheque for August then they’d get £97,750 during the November weeks and £73,300 through December. He’d get 51% of that and he wrote that figure at the bottom of the list. Then he added 51% of the £250,000 deposit they’d receive on Friday when Lori and Craig bought the company and, underneath that, added another 51% of the remaining £250,000 which he would receive when Lori could pay it. It totalled £342,235.50! And there would even be more, his share of what was left in the bank after paying all the expenses.

  Bob copied the total onto the back of the paper and then added two more figures, the £550,000 he’d receive from Sally and £25,000 from selling his house. The total was now £917,235! He had guessed what the total might be but to actually calculate it confirmed his estimate. He was almost a millionaire! Most of it had come from Sally, of course, but a good chunk had come from Small End Wooden Toys. He took a new piece of paper and made another list that gave the dates the cheques should arrive, the amount of the cheque, a column showing how much Ken would receive and another one showing how much he’d receive. He’d give this to Ken before he left for Manchester.

  During his afternoon walk he told Betty and his parents the latest happenings and his net worth. What would they have thought about that, had they still been alive, he wondered. He thought that they’d be very happy. In his letter to Maria he told her that he would move enough furniture to the new house so they’d have a bed and chairs to sit on and that they’d be busy when she arrived finding the new things they needed.

  The next week began to take shape as Bob was walking to the shop Monday morning when he remembered he and Ken had said they might give everyone a bonus at Christmas. Even though they wouldn’t then be the owners of the company they couldn’t ignore their semi-promise, the staff had greatly contributed to their success. He waited until the tea break had ended then talked to Ken.

  “I want to talk about the Christmas bonuses Ken but I’d rather not do it here, Lori or Craig might walk in.”

  “Let’s go to the Crown then.”

  “No, not there. Let’s go for a walk.”

  “Okay.”

  They crossed the road and walked around the playing field.

  “I think we should give everybody five hundred pounds and more to Lori and Craig,” Bob said.

  “A thousand each sounds better to me. How much do you think we should give Lori and Craig?”

  “How about two and a half?”

  “All right, we can easily cover that.”

  “Ah, good. That makes me feel much better. You know, yesterday I added what I’ll get when the company’s sold and it’s nearly three hundred and fifty thousand pounds. So I feel very indebted to everyone.”

  “Yes, so do I.”

  “Let’s give them the cheques Thursday afternoon, before we leave.”

  “Okay. I’ll buy some champagne and we’ll have a hand-over ceremony,” said Ken.

  “Good idea. We’ll do it at four o’clock?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’ll have to tell Lori and Craig we going to have a final meeting. We can just tell them we want to say goodbye to everybody.”

  “On Wednesday?”

  “Yes. And Ken, I’d like to take you and Mary to dinner before you leave. What nights are you free?”

  “Not Thursday, for sure.”

  “How about Wednesday? We could go to the Windlass Tree.”

  “That sounds nice. Let me just check with Mary first.”

  “All right.”

  Mary said she looked forward to dining out and Wednesday would be a good time. “I’ll be ready for a restful evening by then!”

  The August 30th sales cheque of £33,000 arrived Tuesday morning and, as Lori was showing it to Bob, she asked him if he could drive her to Big End and then to Southampton tomorrow, “I have to get the bank draft and take it to Mr. Glone.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ve got to do the same thing. I need one for the down payment on Ken’s house.”

  Those transactions filled most of Wednesday morning. After the drafts had been given to Arthur, Bob told him that Lori would be buying his house on January 1st and asked him if he could look after the transfer.

  “Not January first, I’m afraid. The office is closed. It’ll have to be before or after.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” said Lori. “Can we buy it before Bob? The landlord will want ours on the first.”

  “Sure. What date would you like?”

  “How about before Christmas? It would be nice to have Christmas there.”

  “That’s fine with me. How about the beginning of December. Would that be okay?”

  Lori looked at Arthur’s calendar. “December the second is a Monday. That would be perfect. It’d give us plenty of time to make any simple changes and move our things in.”

  “Tell me the selling price and the deposit and I’ll have Jennifer draw up the agreement right now,” said Arthur.

  They told him and drank a cup of coffee while it was being typed. As they were driving back to the workshop Bob told Lori that they would stop t four tomorrow, “We want to say goodbye to everybody.”

  “That’s good. Everyone will want to say goodbye to you too.”

  “Think of all the things that have happened this year Lori. Hasn’t it been great?”

  “Yes, with a bit of worry thrown in to spice it up! We’re lucky people, Craig and I, aren’t we, to have such an opportunity and my Dad and his brothers willing to support us.”

  Bob’s farewell dinner to Ken and Mary that evening began with drinks in the small lounge then moved to a table near the fire. Each had the chef’s mushroom soup, Ken and Bob had the roast grouse and Mary ate prime ribs which she said were excellent. A bottle of cabernet suited everyone. Desserts, coffee and a liquor followed. Afterwards Ken handed Bob a set of keys.

  “This is our spare set Bob. Arthur called me to say that he has your bank draft and suggested I give you the keys. It’ll save you a trip to Southampton. I’ll put all the others into the door mail box after we’ve locked up. Arthur said he’ll send you the papers on Friday or you can collect them yourself. Phone Jennifer and tell her if you’re going to collect them. The moving company will take our furniture Friday morning and we’ll drive to Manchester once it’s all gone.”

  “What about the electricity, gas and telephone?”

  “I’ve phoned them. They’ll read the meters and make the changes. Everything will be ready for you.”

  “When will you move in Bob?” asked Mary.

  “Slowly, I guess, during November. Lori and Craig take my house the beginning of December. Maria has agreed to help me choose the furniture so I’ll only move a few things, the bed, some chairs and so on.”

  “When will she be here? I’d like to meet her.”

  “Not until the new year. January, I hope. Maybe we’ll drive up and see you then. Send me your phone number.”

  “I will we can’t host you, our place is very small and the second bedroom will be filled with things from this house.”

  “No problem, there’ll be plenty of hotels nearby. What do you want me to do with your share of the weekly cheques from We-Have-It, Ken? Send the cheques to you?”

  “No. Just deposit them in my personal account. I’ll keep it open for several months.”

  “All right. Here’s the dates and what we’ll be getting,” and he gave Ken the list. “It looks nice, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, it does,” and he handed it to Mary.

  “It’ll help us buy a really nice house Ken,” she said.

  Dave phoned Thursday morning and told Lori he wanted 1,200 farms, 1,500 villages and 700 trains. She was jubilant.

  “I told you,” said Dave. “Retailers are beginning to fill their shelves, getting ready for Christmas. However, I should also tell you that it’ll be unusual if it goes up much between now and Christmas. It usuall
y levels off by the end of November and it might even decrease, if items don’t sell.”

  “Well, it’s a good beginning to our ownership.”

  “You don’t get the income from this order, I understand.”

  “That’s right. I’m just guessing what next week’s order will be.”

  “It’ll be more, I bet. Who’s going to deliver this lot?”

  “I will, with Craig, so you’ll meet him. We’ll buy you a fish and chip lunch.”

  Bob waited until the end of lunch bell had rung to tell everybody that they would be ending work at four that day because there would be a short meeting. “We’ll say ‘goodbye’ then.”

  “We’re sad that you’re going,” said Diane.

  “You don’t have to feel sad for us,” replied Ken, “it’s what we both want to do. We’ll miss all of you, of course, but you’ll be fine with Lori and Craig running everything. You know that.”

  After everyone had found a seat at four Bob stood up, made a little speech saying how happy he and Ken had been while working with everybody. “And, although we won’t be here at Christmas we did say we’d probably give you a bonus then. So, here it is,” and Ken handed out envelopes with their cheques to everyone. As they were opening and expressing their surprise Ken opened the first of four bottles of champagne and Bob handed out the flutes.

  “Here’s to the company’s health,” called Ken.

  “And to Lori and Craig’s success,” added Bob.

  “And to a very happy future for everybody,” Lori added. Everyone cheered, raised their glasses and drank.

  When they were passing the bottles around for more Bob said, “As you know, as of tomorrow, Lori and Craig will be the owners of Small End Wooden Toys. So we’ll now give them our keys.” Bob gave his to Lori and Ken gave his to Craig.

  “Thank you Bob and Ken,” said Lori. “We’ll do all we can to make the company a success. To celebrate the change of ownership, tomorrow will be a holiday for everybody. So here’s another envelope for you, it’s your paycheque for this week, from Monday to today. Craig and I will also pay you for tomorrow because we’ll not be having our celebration lunch this month. It will be added to next week’s paycheque. I hope that will be all right. Now, we will start on Monday as usual, at nine.”

  There were hugs and handshakes from everybody as they said goodbye. Diane and Jean also kissed Bob and Ken on leaving. Afterwards Ken retrieved the half-bottle of champagne he had hidden in the container at the bottom of the fridge and opened it to say farewell to Lori and Craig.

  “I’m going to miss both of you very much,” he said. “Let me know how you’re doing, please. A short letter at Christmas would be nice, more often if you like.”

  “I’d like to write or call you if I run into difficulties,” said Craig, “and thank you for the generous cheques you have given Lori and me. We appreciate it.”

  “You’ve both been so very helpful,” said Bob.

  “Call me any time you need help,” said Ken, “anytime. Bob will let you know my phone number. We don’t have it yet.”

  “I’ll drop by each week to collect the We-Have-It cheques Lori,” said Bob.

  They walked out of the workshop. Lori locked the doors and Bob and Ken’s ownership of Small End Wooden Toys ended.