by Tara Ford
“I close at eight o’clock. Did you know that?” Jenny began to feel somewhat agitated at the lack of consideration shown.
“Like I said, I was just passing. I saw your car round the corner and thought I’d come and see how you were. What are you being a stress-head for?”
“Stress-head? I was just getting ready to go. You scared me, Calvin. You could have just text me or phoned,” said Jenny, angrily.
“All right, keep your hair on. I wouldn’t have bothered if I’d known I was going to get this reception. I guess it’s not going too well, by the sound of it.”
“It’s going fine, Calvin – thank you.”
“Good, pleased to hear it. Do you want to go for a quick drink before you go home?”
Calvin had softened which made Jenny rethink her momentary, irrational fear. “Thanks for the offer Cal but I need to get home. I’m worn out. And since when do you go for a drink on a Wednesday night?”
“Well, I can start can’t I?”
Jenny laughed, “Look, I’m really not up for it. I’m gearing myself up for day three and my papergirl duties. Maybe another time. You know, I’m not sure that this can work…”
“What?”
“Well, this being ‘just good friends’ bit. I know it’s what you want but… well, it’s just a bit odd, don’t you think?”
“Why should it be odd?” Calvin was frowning now.
“Well how are we… you, ever going to move on, if we’re ‘good friends’?”
“I’m happy where I am, Jen. I don’t need anything else. Are you trying to say that you do?”
“Calvin…” Jenny lowered her voice, “…my only interest in life now is my new shop, my business. End of – Finito!”
“Yes, I know. I’m only trying to be supportive, Jen. You’re a bit of a stress-head at the moment aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not… I just need to get home, Calvin. I’m sorry – I don’t mean to be snappy.” Jenny cringed at her nasty thoughts and sharp words. “Pop in again at the weekend, if you must. I’ll be less tired during the day.”
Calvin huffed and turned towards the door. “We go back a long way, Jen. I can’t just stop caring about you straight away.”
“I know… I’m sorry Cal. Let’s go for a coffee on Saturday. I get a two hour lunch break.”
Calvin grinned.
“But that’s it. A coffee and a catch up, Calvin.”
Nodding his head and smiling like a pathetic child, Calvin went to leave.
“Hang on, wait for me. I was just about to lock up.” Jenny ran back down the shop, turned off the computer, grabbed her coat and bag and switched off the bottom rows of lights. It was much nicer to have someone waiting at the door as she switched all the lights off and ran to the door before the alarm went off.
Thump, thump.
Jumping into her car, Jenny wondered whether she had imagined the two ‘thumps’ coming from the ceiling, as she left the shop. Perhaps she had invented them in her moment of being a ‘stress-head’, as Calvin had called her… or perhaps the strange noises had happened again.
Chapter 12
The rain poured down heavily, in diagonal bands as the wind whipped across the car park at the back of the shop. Wrestling with the swinging doors of the newspaper shed, Jenny attempted to get the bundles of papers inside, as quickly as possible. Last one in. Only the top paper in each bundle was wet and as Jenny hadn’t managed to sell any more than half of them to date, she could spare several damp ones.
Thump… thump, thump. Thump… thump… thump.
Jenny stood dripping in the back of the store room and peered through to the shop’s ceiling. She could trace the pathway of the thumps, each one growing quieter as they led away to the front end of the shop. Thump. And then they stopped.
Peeling her coat off, she puzzled over the noises, once again. It seemed that the thumping only happened at night, when she was closing up and early in the mornings. Or had she just not noticed it during the day? She decided that she should ask the other two girls if they had heard any strange thumping noises, at any time.
At 7am, Jenny went to unlock the front door. She didn’t expect to see many shoppers this morning, due to the weather conditions – and certainly not any dog walkers.
Just moments later, a car pulled up in one of the parking bays outside and out stepped Dolly, clad in a lime green, waterproof jacket. Flicking the elasticated hood up and over her head, she went to the windows and walked along the outside, with her head down.
Jenny watched from inside, somewhat amused by the old woman’s obvious display of checking whether or not the rings had been fitted, purposefully, for her dog.
Bloody cheek, thought Jenny as Dolly then came hurtling through the door with a gust of wind behind her.
“Ooh, are you ok?” asked Jenny, desperately suppressing a giggle.
“That wind is incredibly strong, dear.” Dolly turned and tried to close the door but the wind refused to let her shut it, now that it had got its foot in the door. “Ooh,” cried Dolly as another gust pushed against the door and almost won. “It’s ridiculous! Do you have another door open somewhere dear?”
“No,” said Jenny, as she rushed around the counter, to help Dolly close the door. “I’ve got the staff room window open slightly though. Maybe I should go and close it.”
“Yes, you should dear, you’ve got a wind tunnel travelling through the shop.”
The moment Dolly had finished speaking, the door burst open again and the wind swept in, tearing down the aisle, taking several magazines and papers with it.
Lunging towards the door, Jenny just managed to close it properly, ensuring the catch clicked into place. “Phew,” she said, turning to see Dolly dripping all over the floor. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She then shot off down the aisle to the staff room and closed the security-grill window. She’d opened it every day, since the fridges and freezers had been running, due to the excessive amount of heat created by them, which always seemed to accumulate down the far end of the shop.
On her way back, Jenny grabbed the mop and a hazard sign. “The window is shut now. Sorry about that Dolly, are you ok?”
“Yes thank you.” Dolly looked down at the tiled floor. “You’d better get this cleaned up before someone slips.”
“Yes, that’s just what I’m going to do. Dreadful weather out there isn’t it?” Jenny began to mop the area around Dolly’s feet.
“You need a much bigger doormat dear,” said Dolly, eyeing the small, household sized mat behind her. “KO Store has a huge one, six times bigger than yours.”
Propping the mop up against the counter, Jenny sighed. “I’m learning every day, Dolly. I realise that there are still things I need to get and sort out.” She walked over to the newspapers and began to collect the papers and magazines which had been blown-to-bits. Lightening the conversation, Jenny said “Did you see the rings outside?”
“Rings?”
“Yes, for your dog.”
“Oh, those things – yes I did. They’re not any use in this weather, my dear. I won’t be bringing my little Wilbur out in this,” said Dolly, pointing to the front door.
“No, I guess there won’t be a need for any of the rings today. I’m guessing that no dog would want to step outside their front door, this morning.” Jenny feigned a laugh, of sorts, in a vain attempt to bring about a friendly interaction with Dolly, or even just a smile on the old girl’s sour face. It didn’t work. “So…” said Jenny, picking up the last sheet of newspaper, “…what can I get for you, Dolly?”
“Oh, thank you dear but I don’t need anything. I must get home to my little Wilbur. All I need is a nice cup of tea while I read the paper.”
“Do you need a paper?” asked Jenny.
“No, no. I picked one up at the KO Store today, as I had my car. It’s often a dreadful chore, trying to get a place to park up here when I go to the beauty salon.”
Beauty salon? Is there any hope? “I agree. During
the day it can be busy, but surely not at this time of the morning?”
“I wasn’t prepared to take the risk my dear.” Dolly edged towards the door.
“Oh, that’s odd. May I ask why you’re here now then?” Jenny could feel the exasperation growing inside her.
“I was passing dear. I saw the parking bays were free so I popped in to see how you are doing.”
“Oh, ok. Well thank you for your show of kindness. However, I do need people to buy their paper from me, rather than the KO Store. And as you must realise, the independent stores need as much support as they can get,” Jenny blurted out before she could stop herself. Dolly was a crotchety old woman and could possibly take offense at anything Jenny said. But it was too late – Jenny had said exactly what she was thinking.
“I’m sure you’ll get everything right soon enough, my dear. Support comes with respect” Dolly placed a hand on the door handle. “I’m going to brave that terrible weather again, I must get back to my Wilbur. He doesn’t like the wind and rain you know. Goodbye dear.”
With one tug of the door handle, Dolly was sucked from the shop as the wind continued to play havoc with anything that stood in its path.
Jenny watched through the window, as Dolly battled against the force of the wind to open her car door. She climbed in, slammed the door shut and drove off.
“Stupid old bag,” muttered Jenny, under her breath. She grabbed the mop and hazard sign and took them behind the counter, in case they were needed again later. Hopefully, Dolly’s swift visit, just to gloat and whine, and not buy anything because she’d been to another shop, was not a sign of things to come.
Gazing out of the window, Jenny watched the raindrops plopping onto the pavement, each one creating its own perfect circle. The road was deserted and she had hardly seen any of the usual customers (usual – as in, over the last two days). Most of the early morning customers were dog-walkers, who came in to get a paper and have a natter. Jenny guessed that they were probably avoiding the weather and hopefully, not avoiding her shop.
Jenny looked up at the clock, it was ten minutes to eight – Dayna would be here soon. At least she could have a giggle with Dayna, to lift her spirits, which felt a little damp right now.
Suddenly, Jenny jumped up – papers!
Rushing round to the newspaper piles, Jenny picked up the papers required, took them back to the counter and checked them off in the book. She had forgotten all about the two deliveries. Great weather for delivering papers, she thought to herself.
A moment later, Dayna pulled into a parking bay at the front of the shop, which was unusual as she normally parked round the back. She slammed the car door shut and ran into the shop, holding on to the hood of her coat.
“Phew,” she said, as she stood by the door. “Have you got those papers ready? I may as well do them, as I’m already suited, booted and wet.”
“Are you sure, Day? I’d actually forgotten all about them until a minute ago. You’re doing better than me.”
“Give ‘em here,” said Dayna, reaching out a wet-sleeved arm. She took the papers from Jenny. “Have you got a carrier bag, they’re going to get soaked?”
Jenny pulled out a bag from underneath the counter, took the papers back and placed them inside the bag.
“Right, I’m off. If I’m not back in half an hour, call for the cavalry.” Dayna winked and then hurriedly left the shop like she was on her greatest mission of all time.
Jenny watched her go and wondered just how she would manage her new shop without Dayna around to make everything seem so simple.
At 8.30am the rain had stopped, although the wind continued to batter at the front door and try to get in every time a customer walked in. On several occasions, Jenny or Dayna had run down the aisle, collecting papers and magazines. So the fact that the window, in the staffroom, was now closed had nothing to do with the wind whipping through the shop.
“In hindsight, I should have had the papers and magazines further down the shop,” said Jenny, as another customer walked in and several magazine covers opened up.
“Why don’t we move them today?” asked Dayna, always the spontaneous one.
“That’s a big job, Day, and where would we move them to?”
“Here,” said Dayna, propping herself up by the central display unit.
“And where would all the promotional stuff go?”
“There,” Dayna said, pointing to the magazine rack.
“Not enough room.”
“Papers here then… and magazines opposite, on the second bay down.”
Dayna was a determined character, Jenny would give her that. “There’s an awful lot of work involved in it, Day. We’d have to move all the stationery up to the front.”
“Yes, I know. We’d do it all in a day though, between us.”
“What about the customers though?” Jenny thought for a moment. “The place would be an upside-down mess.”
“One section at a time, Jen. Shall I make a start?”
“Yes go on then. I could regret this later.”
“Needs must Jenny… needs must,” said Dayna as she began to remove items from the promotional shelves and carefully place them in neat piles, behind the wide counter area.
“Come to pick up the nursery stuff,” said a miserable looking young woman, as she leant across the counter.
“Sorry?” replied Jenny.
“Stuff – for the nursery.” The woman stared straight through Jenny. “Bread and milk stuff.”
“Oh – yes. Oh my goodness. Hang on a moment – Day!” Jenny tried to locate Dayna through the mirror’s bird’s-eye view. “Dayna!”
Popping her head round the end of the aisle, she smiled. “Is that the nursery?” she called.
“Yes, we need to get their stuff ready.”
“Just coming, I have it all here.” Dayna walked up the aisle carrying three carrier bags filled with bread, milk and other items. “Sorry, we haven’t got any spare boxes,” she said to the young woman, as she plonked the bags by her feet. “Your manager did say that she would bring a spare one in.”
Jenny was speechless. Dayna must have got the bags ready earlier.
“I’ve tallied it up on this sheet, Jen. How is it going to be paid?” said Dayna, looking from Jenny, to the other woman, as she passed the piece of paper over.
“Boss said it comes to about £115 a week. Here…” The woman handed over a wad of notes, “fink that’s right.”
“Oh, thank you – that’s great. We’ll make sure that you have everything you need throughout the week. Could you tell your boss that I will make up an account… so that she can see what she’s had and what she’s paid for?” Jenny smiled at the straight-faced woman and wondered for a moment how she had got a job working with children – unless she was just having a bad morning.
The young woman picked up the bags and walked straight out of the door without a goodbye or anything.
“Miserable cow,” said Dayna. “Could at least smile – might make her day a bit easier.”
“Hmm.” Jenny agreed. “I thought we’d forgotten to get the stuff ready for the nursery. Everything seems to be happening so quickly round here.”
“No, you’d forgotten – whereas, I hadn’t.”
“I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you,” said Jenny, “I’d be pulling my hair out by now.”
“That’s why I’m here,” said Dayna, nonchalantly, before walking away. “Now stop pestering me, I’ve got newspapers to move.”
“Love ya,” called Jenny. Picking the piece of paper up from the counter top, she began to put the items through the till and then took the money owed from the wad of notes. She then found a money bag and put the rest of the money, including change, inside it. Then she stuffed the bag at the back of the cash drawer, in an empty section. Although it was only day three of J’s Convenience Store, Jenny now realised that she had to get serious and put some form of accounts into place – not only for the nursery, but also for
the paper deliveries.
By the time Jenny had finished her two hour lunch break, she’d eaten a hearty meal of chicken and sweetcorn pasta, a chocolate bar, two mugs of tea and also, she’d made two new spreadsheets on the computer. She was extremely pleased with her lunch break and her efficiency streak and felt ready to take on whatever the afternoon might bring.
Dayna had moved over half of the magazines and all of the newspapers, during the morning. When Tasha turned up for her shift, she’d received strict instructions, from Dayna, on the completion steps for the project. Dayna had then proudly announced that she was J’s, fully appointed, logistics queen.
Jenny left the quiet, calm of her office and sauntered up to the hive of action around the counter. “Day, have you seen the time?”
“Yep… I know,” she puffed, “…we’re just going to clear this section and then Tasha has only got those shelves to fill up.” Dayna pointed to the new stationery section, by the front door.
“You’ve done an amazing job girls – thank you.” Jenny looked out of the windows at the glistening, watery houses across the road, lit up by the afternoon sun. “The weather looks better now. Still, at least we won’t have flying newspapers or magazines the next time it’s windy.”
At twenty past two, Dayna said her goodbyes and left. She wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon and Jenny knew that she was going to miss her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Tasha; on the contrary, she was a hard-working, thoughtful girl. It was just that Dayna was her best friend, her confidant, her level-headed storm-trooper with a loud mouth. But all in all, Dayna was a kindred spirit, they’d come a long way together and still had a long way to go.
“Dayna told me what happened to Marj yesterday.” Tasha giggled. “How is she?”
“I haven’t seen her today. I thought that perhaps the bad weather kept her away this morning. I do hope she’s ok though.”
“Yes, me too. She’s sweet isn’t she?” Tasha continued to place packs of envelopes at the back of a sloping shelf.
“Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I hope that she does have family around her.” Jenny grabbed a handful of small packets of elastic bands and placed them into a compartment on the shelf underneath. “Did Dayna mention about the paper deliveries?”