Page 53 of The Winter We Met
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I stood in the middle of Under the Tree and yawned. Last night Seb and I had stayed late to do the new window display. I’d told him I could manage alone but Seb insisted, so I took him for a curry afterwards as a thank you – and let him play his Motown CD full blast while we worked. How he managed to swivel his hips and gingerly stack books like in a game of Jenga, to create the book Christmas tree, I’ll never know. We’d sprayed the twigs I’d collected from Springhaye Forest with fake snow and scattered pine cones. On a second attempt we’d finally managed to construct the book tree without it falling down. Schoolchildren pestered their parents to stop, on the way to school this morning, so that they could peer in. It made all the extra hours worthwhile. And Nik and Glenda had stopped to admire it, this afternoon, before heading off for their visit to The Corner Dessert Shop.
I’d spent the best part of today replenishing stock, ready for the weekend rush. I rubbed my back as a woman came up to me. Seb was tidying the reading area, in anticipation of the after-school customers who’d bundle in after going on their Friday treat trip to the sweet shop three doors down. I’d try not to stress about sticky fingers flicking through picture books and always had a packet of wipes handy.
‘Have you got any electronic dancing llamas?’ she asked.
‘Like the one wearing a straw hat, featured on the consumer show last night?’
She nodded eagerly.
I braced myself. There was nothing like being on the end of a parent’s disappointment. It happened every time a media outlet did a top ten of the must-have toys for Christmas. Some we’d predicted correctly and bought in a-plenty. Other times we hadn’t.
‘I’m so sorry, we sold the last one an hour ago.’
Her face fell. ‘When are you getting more in? I don’t want my daughter being the only one out of her friends who doesn’t get one.’
‘I rang up our stockist first thing this morning, when I realised there’d been a run on this product. They’ve been overwhelmed with demand and won’t be able to tell me until the end of next week if they can fulfil our order.’
She tutted. ‘I can’t find it online, either. Have you got a waiting list, in case it comes in? Can I put my name down?’
‘No. We don’t do that, I’m afraid.’
‘Why not?’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘I’ve rushed here before picking my two up from school. It’s not easy for me to just drop in on the off-chance. I work mornings and the traffic is always late at this time.’
‘You could ring in,’ I said calmly, despite knots forming in my shoulders.
‘But that’s still no guarantee it will be here when I arrive…’ She delved into her handbag and waved a business card in the air. ‘You don’t even have to write my details down.’
I wiped my sweaty palms down my jeans. ‘I’m sorry. In the past we’ve been caught out by the practice of holding stock back.’
Her cheeks flushed. ‘You’re saying you don’t believe I’d turn up to buy it?’
‘I’m saying it’s not our policy but please feel free to ring into the store next week and we’ll let you know if we’ve heard anything.’ I forced a wide smile.
‘Forget it! I’ll go to one of those big superstores that you local businesses are always complaining about. Is it any wonder shops like you go under?’ She shook her head and flounced outside.
Another customer shot me a sympathetic look. I headed out to the staff room and ran my hands under the cold tap. In some ways, the ruder a customer was the easier complaints were to deal with, as I found it especially difficult when a lovely parent tried to hide their disappointment.
‘What a day,’ I said to Seb a couple of hours later as I turned the door sign toclosed.‘Those little ones loved you reading Beatrix Potter. Who knew you could twitch your nose like a bunny and talk at the same time.’
‘Tim does. It’s what I do when he wears a new aftershave. He has totally different taste to mine and prefers ones that smell woody like decomposting leaves. So, Willow Court tonight? Will he be there?’
‘Yes. Oliver still has his suspicions.’
‘He’s normally so fair and sensible. Remember that university student Misty took on during the summer? You and I went there for a drink after work, for my birthday. That student turned up late for their shift for the fourth time in a row. That aside, she seemed so polite and hardworking. Oliver was in charge that day and didn’t blow.’
‘No. He got another member of staff to cover the bar whilst he sat her down with a coffee. Turned out she was working two jobs to help look with the bills since her mum had been made redundant. He had a word with Misty to arrange a little flexibility with her hours.’
‘Then there was the time he rang the shop to let you know the emergency electrician hadn’t turned up when your freezer broke down. He wanted to check if you’d heard from him. You were, er….’
‘A teeny bit annoyed.’
‘That’s one way of phrasing it.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘But Oliver said there was probably a good reason and he’d try to find out what was going on. Turned out the electrician’s wife had gone into labour and with all the excitement he hadn’t thought to ring his customers.’
I frowned. ‘I know and yet for some reason he’s disliked Nik right from the start.’
‘So if you’re so sure that he’s wrong about Nik, and he’s never been like this with any of your friends then this can only point to one thing – the issue is with Oliver and not Nik.’
