A Promise For Tomorrow

by Barnes, Miranda

  'John! Come in.'

  'Well, OK. But I was wondering if you fancied going out.'

  'Oh, John! I've just got in. And guess what!'

  He followed her inside. She led the way into the kitchen and reached for the kettle.

  'Nice flowers,' he remarked.

  'Aren't they? They were left with Linda.'

  'Oh?'

  'Guess what,' she said again. 'I've got a job!'

  'A job? You never have?'

  I know, I know! Incredible, isn't it?'

  'Where – what and where?'

  She began to tell him about her day as she made two mugs of coffee and helped herself to a slice of cheese.

  'A garage!' John said, laughing. 'What on earth possessed you?'

  'I can drive. I've got a car.'

  'Yes, but …. Well, congratulations, I think. Is it what you wanted?'

  'I wanted a job, John. I need a job. Otherwise, I can't stay here.'

  'I see.' He eyed the flowers and asked, 'Who sent them?'

  'Oh, just a friend. You don't seem very pleased for me?'

  'Well …. Of course I am, if it's what you want. Good luck with it. Come on! Let's go and celebrate.'

  'I haven't had anything to eat since this morning. I'm starving.'

  'We'll get some fish and chips – or something. Anything!'

  Laughing, she put her coat back on and allowed herself to be led away. John filled the stairway with his chatter and hoots of delight.

  Such friends! she thought, as she clattered down the stairs after him. She had such good friends.

  Chapter Sixteen

  It was only a ten minute walk to the garage, and Sarah was there before seven-thirty. That seemed a bit early to be starting work, but the place was in full flow by then. The lights were on. Engines were revving. Pop music was playing on the radio in the barn, where the mechanics were already banging and screeching. As she approached the door to the office, she could see both the Charltons conferring inside.

  'Good morning!' Sarah called as she pushed open the door.

  'Oh, there you are, pet!' Ted smiled a greeting. 'Come on in. We're just sorting things out for the day.'

  Peg glanced up and said, 'I didn't expect to see you again.'

  'You weren't expecting me?' Sarah asked with alarm. 'Did I get it wrong?'

  'Take no notice of her,' Ted said with a chuckle. 'She's a bad-tempered old so-and-so at the best of times, and in the morning she's ….'

  'I thought it would be too much for you,' Peg said, overriding her husband. 'Working in a dirty old place like this.'

  'I need the job, Mrs. Charlton,' Sarah said crisply. 'That's why I'm here.'

  'Good. Come and get started.'

  'I'll leave you two to get on with it,' Ted said. 'We've got a couple of big jobs on today. I'd better get the lads started.'

  'It looks as though everyone is already working very hard,' Sarah said.

  Ted chuckled. 'You know nothing about garages, do you? They're all doing something, but none of them wants to do anything difficult. They just want to cruise through till tea break.'

  He sounded like a real slave driver, Sarah thought uneasily. She glanced at Peg and was reassured to see her wink. 'He thinks he's the boss,' Peg said in a stage whisper.

  'And don't you forget it!' Ted warned before he departed.

  Sarah gave an uncertain smile. She felt as if she had a lot to learn – not only about garages, but about the people in them, as well.

  *

  It was a busy morning in the office, as well as in the yard. Peg dealt with phone calls while she was making up wage packets and telling Sarah where everything was. There was a lot to remember, all delivered at rapid pace. But it was basic office work, and very little was new to Sarah. There was just a lot to absorb at break-neck pace.

  'You'll soon get the hang of it,' Peg said more than once. 'And if there's anything you're not sure about, just ask Ted or one of the lads.'

  The main problem, Sarah thought already, was going to occur when someone rang up and wanted to book their car in for a job she had never heard of. She was bound to get it wrong.

  'I know what a wheel is,' she confided to Peg after one call, 'and I've heard of breaks and gears, and tyres, and things. But what's a "differential"?'

  'When you've been here thirty years,' Peg said with a chuckle, 'you'll know more about cars than the manufacturers do. Until then, just ask!'

  Sarah laughed. It was sensible advice, and she was starting to feel more at ease. Peg had watched and heard her doing things and seemed to trust her already, which was a big step forward.

  'Shall I make the tea?' she asked after a couple of hours, seeing Peg start to assemble things for the mid-morning break.

  'You? Can you make tea as well?'

  'As well as answer the phone and sharpen pencils, you mean? Certainly I can. I've had a lot of practice.'

  'My! You're a real find. Help yourself.'

  Sarah smiled and got on with it. She was becoming used to Peg's sharp tongue and her sarcasm. Beneath that gruff exterior, there was obviously a sharp intelligence and a great capability. Peg was no fool. Running this office on her own was a demanding challenge.

  Over their mugs of tea, the older woman gradually released more about herself and the business.

  'You see, Ted and I came from nothing, from nowhere. We had nothing at all when we started out. But we slowly built this place up, and now we have a good business and a good life. The garage is our life,' she added for emphasis.

  'I can see that,' Sarah said. 'It's an exciting place, isn't it? The garage, I mean. So much going on all the time.'

  Peg smiled warmly. 'I'm glad you think that, dear. Not many would. At least, they wouldn't think it's where a woman should be. Ted didn't, at first.'

  Sarah glanced at her with a smile.

  'But he needed help, and couldn't afford to hire anyone. So I had to step in. And I had to learn to swim in a man's world. Then we became a team, a real partnership.'

  Sarah listened. She was fascinated by Peg's story. She had worked in offices all her working life, but never one like this. She had worked in big offices, where people were specialised and structured – and numerous. Here, you did everything yourself. You were it! There wasn't anyone else.

  'Who made the tea today?' Ted wanted to know.

  'She did,' Peg said.

  Sarah waited apprehensively.

  'Ah! I thought it was a bit better than usual.'

  'You can make it yourself in future,' Peg said. 'Sarah won't always be here, and I'm never doing it again, all the thanks I get.'

  Ted gave Sarah a wink. 'How are you getting on?' he asked.

  'She's getting on just fine,' Peg assured him. 'Now clear off!'

  'It's a lot to take in,' Sarah said, 'but I'm doing my best.'

  'That's all we can ask,' Ted said. 'We wouldn't expect anything more. Give a shout if you're not sure about anything.'

  *

  The pace seemed to slow in the afternoon. That wasn't surprising. The mechanics had broken the back of the work. The big jobs were well in hand. The little jobs were being ticked off. The men were winding down. Customers were arriving to collect their cars.

  Sarah worked with Peg on the invoices and bills. Cash came in. Cheques were written. The card reader worked overtime. Ted was in and out of the office, with queries and fine detail about particular jobs.

  'I'm going to struggle on my own with this end of things,' Sarah confided to Peg.

  'Ted will come and help you sort it out. He knows it all like the back of his hand. Don't worry. You'll be fine.'

  It was a vote of confidence that carried Sarah through the remainder of the day. Soon the garage was quiet. The men were leaving. Lights were being switched off. The machines were falling silent. The yard was emptying.

  'Get away home,' Peg said eventually. 'Me and Ted will do what's left.'

  'Are you sure?'

  Peg nodded. 'Thanks for coming in today,
Sarah. You've done well. I can go off tomorrow with confidence this place will survive till I get back.'

  'Thank you, Peg. And I hope you have a good trip.'

  Peg grimaced. 'I'm not at all sure about what I'm going to find out there, but I have to go.'

  'Ready, Sarah?' Ted said, coming into the office. 'I'll run you home.'

  'Oh, no thanks! I'd rather walk. But thank you anyway. It's very kind of you.'

  Ted smiled. 'Will we see you tomorrow, or have you had enough of us already?'

  'You'll see me tomorrow,' Sarah assured him firmly. 'I've enjoyed it today.'

  'Really?' He looked surprised.

  'She's a good girl, Ted,' Peg said, 'a very good girl. We're lucky to have found her.'

  For once, Ted seemed unsure what to say to that. 'Get away home then, pet,' he said eventually. 'And thank you for coming in.'

  Sarah smiled all the way home. It was a long time since anyone had referred to her as a girl, or called her "pet". But she didn't mind at all.

  Chapter Seventeen

  On an impulse, Sarah went back out after she had had something to eat. She returned to the little park where she had seen Robert and the children playing football. They were there again.

  'Do you come here every night?' she asked, approaching Robert.

  'Sarah!' Holly shrieked with delight.

  Robert turned to her with a smile. 'Hello! Well, just about, since the light nights returned.'

  'Not in the rain, though,' Holly assured her.

  'Softies!' Jack scoffed.

  'No, we're not!'

  'I didn't mean to interrupt your game,' Sarah said to Robert. 'I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful flowers. Not that there was any need for them!'

  Robert just smiled. 'Glad you liked them.'

  'I helped choose the flowers,' Holly said.

  'Huh!' Jack said with a grin. Then he turned and took off dribbling with the ball, heading towards an open goal.

  'Wait, Jack! Holly screeched. 'That's not fair.'

  Sarah laughed and turned to Robert.

  'They wear me out,' he said, shaking his head. 'Always on the go.'

  'They're lovely children. Such fun you all seem to have.'

  'Yes, I suppose we do. What about you? Much fun today?'

  'Oh, yes! Today was something special. I started work today.'

  'Really? Tell me more.'

  So she did. She told him all about her day, and how she was tired but pleased she had coped.

  Robert shook his head and chuckled. 'Well done!' he said. 'I know that garage, and the couple that run it. They're a right pair.'

  Sarah agreed. 'But they're very nice, really,' she said. 'A bit tough, perhaps, but they've probably had to be.'

  'I'm sure they have. It must be a tough business, running a garage. Anyway, we're about finished here. Walk home with us? You go past our road, don't you?'

  Sarah walked back with them, and when Robert invited her in for a cup of coffee she was happy to accept.

  The house was in a quiet street of big, Victorian villas, houses with a small garden at the front and a yard at the back. The entrance porch had an inner door with stained-glass windows and a tiled floor that featured a sunburst.

  'Oh, I do love these old houses,' Sarah said, seeing the floor tiles.

  'What? These draughty old places, with all their gloomy rooms?'

  'Well,' she said, as they moved through into the kitchen, 'what I see is lovely big rooms with fine decorative features. How many rooms, incidentally?'

  Robert squinted at her. 'I don't know. I'm not sure. I'd have to count them. Anyway, it depends what counts as a "room". The back scullery, for instance. Do we include that?'

  Sarah smiled. 'You tell me.'

  'We have four bedrooms. Perhaps that's the best guide.'

  'Come and see my room?' Holly cried, coming into the conversation.

  'Not now, Holly!' Robert said, laughing. 'We've only just got in the house. Later.'

  She pouted for a moment and then dashed off to join her brother, who was operating something that made a lot of noise. Robert advised Sarah that it was a toy much promoted on television, one of which she had never heard.

  She shrugged helplessly. 'That's a new one on me.'

  'It was on me, too. The kids spot these things on television, and then they draw up their wish lists.' Robert shook his head and grinned. 'I can't keep up with them!'

  'I'm not surprised.'

  'Coffee, or tea?'

  'Tea would be nice.'

  'Sit down, sit down! It won't take a minute.'

  She sat on a dining chair and gazed around. The kitchen was a comfortable, welcoming room. That went well with Robert and the children. She felt very content here. Even though she hadn't known them long, she felt comfortable with this family. The children were lovely, and Robert was such a charming, handsome man.

  'I take it you don't have previous experience of working in a garage?' Robert said, as he waited for the kettle to boil.

  She chuckled. 'None at all. They were desperate, I think. They needed someone at short notice, and there was I. It's just for a month anyway.'

  'What did you used to do? You moved from Newcastle, didn't you?'

  She nodded. 'I was General Factotum in a family-owned furniture store in the city. Jacksons. Perhaps you've heard of it?'

  'Oh, yes. Of course. They're quite famous, aren't they?'

  'Yes, they are. Anyway, I was the general office manager, having worked my way up from making the tea and licking envelopes and stamps.'

  'So you were there a long time?'

  'I was. Too long, really.'

  'Is that why you left?'

  'No, not really. I liked it well enough. I moved for more … more personal reasons, really.'

  'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.'

  'No. That's all right. I was in a long-term relationship that came to a natural end. So I needed a new start.'

  'And somehow you ended up in Alnwick!' Robert smiled and filled the tea pot. 'Lucky us!'

  Chapter Eighteen

  Once again the garage was in full swing when she arrived on the second day in her new job. She took a deep breath. This was the big one, the first day on her own.

  Ted was in the office, doing bits and pieces while he waited for her. 'Good morning!' he boomed.

  'Morning, Ted. I'm not late, am I? Peg said seven-thirty. Was that wrong?'

  'No, no! Seven-thirty is right for in here. Some of us can't sleep. That's all. And if I'm awake, I might as well be here as sitting around the house.'

  Sarah smiled. 'So you're all insomniacs here?

  Ted laughed. 'You know where things are, don't you? I'll leave you to get started. You don't want me in your way. But if you need anything, give me a shout.

  'I'll take these job sheets with me,' he added, gathering a pile of papers.

  She was relieved to be left alone. She needed to gather her wits and make a start, flying solo.

  Within thirty seconds the phone rang. 'Good morning,' she said crisply. 'Charltons of Alnwick.'

  'I want to speak to Peg,' a gruff man's voice said.

  'I'm afraid she isn't here. Can I help?'

  'And who might you be?'

  'Sarah. I work here. Can I help?'

  'No, you don't work there. Peg's the only woman in that place. I've been coming there for twenty years. You can't tell me ….'

  'I'm very busy, sir, but I would really like to help you,' she said firmly. 'What can I do? Or do you want me to fetch Mr. Charlton to speak to you?'

  'Oh, the no-nonsense type, eh?' The man chuckled. 'Good for you, pet! You must have been trained by old Peg. I'm ringing about my truck. Is it ready yet? I need it.'

  'Nothing's ready right now. Our day has just started. But if you give me your name, I'll find out when it will be ready and ring you back.'

  'Your day's just started?' he said incredulously. 'You lot want to try farming! That would wake your ideas up.'

  T
ed returned just as she put the phone down.

  'A Mr. Armstrong, from a farm near Chatton, just called.'

  'Oh, him. Did he give you a bit of lip?'

  'Not really. But he thinks we should start work earlier.'

  Ted chuckled. 'That's him! He's a grand fellow to have on the phone first thing in the morning, isn't he? Don't mind him, though. He's not the worst customer we have. At least he pays his bills on time.'

  'He wants to know if his truck's ready.'

  'After dinner, tell him. It'll be ready by two this afternoon. He can collect it any time after that.'

  'I think he wants it now,' Sarah said with a smile.

  'They all do, all our customers. You'll have to grow a thick skin, sitting at the end of that phone. If he starts complaining, just tell him we'll fetch Peg back from Las Vegas to sort him out!'

  *

  So she was off and running. The working day had started. She was soon fully immersed in the life of the garage, and starting to appreciate how capable and resourceful Peg must be. The queries, the phone calls, the orders to write, the cheques to place carefully aside, the parts to order …. And then there was the tea to make! The morning flew past quicker than any she could remember. At twelve-thirty Ted returned and told her to take a half-hour break for lunch.

  'I forgot to suggest you bring a sandwich, or something. If you haven't brought anything, there's a man with a van comes round about now. You can catch him.'

  He dug into a pocket in his overall and extracted a screwed up five-pound note that he offered her.

  'It's all right, thank you, Ted. I've brought something.'

  'It must have been through the washer,' he said, before pushing the bank note back where it had come from. I'll have to tell Peg when she rings up.'

  'She'll be pleased about that,' Sarah said with a grin.

  'Perhaps I'll not tell her, then. We'll keep it to ourselves.'

  'It might be best.'

  He gave her a wink and left her to it. She smiled to herself and shook her head.

  After eating the sandwich she had brought for her lunch, Sarah announced that she would go for a walk for ten minutes.

  'Aye,' Ted said with approval. 'You'd best do that. Otherwise it'll be dark, and you'll have missed the day.'