Page 32 of Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay
Bill and I walk back through to the other room and find Tiffany and Dorothy waiting for us.
‘Bill, this is Dorothy, who’s going to be running the tea room, and Tiffany, who will be in charge of the gift shop. Dorothy, Tiffany, this is Bill our builder.’
‘You should have been Bob not Bill,’ Tiffany says, grinning.
Bill looks puzzled.
‘Bob the Builder?’ she continues. ‘That was one of my favourites when I was a kid. Scoop, Muck and Dizzy?’ she suggests. ‘No? Roly and Wendy?’
‘Er, yes,’ Bill says, stopping her before she goes any further. ‘I am familiar withBob the Builder. And you’re not the first to make that joke.’
‘I bet she’s not,’ I say quickly. ‘Now then,Bill, to business. As you’ve probably guessed, these stables are where we’d like to put our new tea room and gift shop. So the first question is, do you think it’s possible?’
We spend the next three-quarters of an hour talking Bill through our ideas. He makes lots of builderish sounds – sharp intakes of breath and tutting interspersed with ooh and ahs – then occasionally he gets out his tape measure and takes a few random measurements, followed by more noises of consternation.
‘So what’s your verdict, Bill? Can we do it?’ I ask eventually when this has gone on for some time.
‘Yes, and no,’ he says, cautiously pocketing his tape measure.
‘Yesandno?’ I ask.
‘Yes, it’s doable, but you’ll have to do some major reconstruction work in here.’
‘Like for instance?’
‘Like you’re going to need secondary walls constructing, so we can insulate between the two, otherwise you’ll never be able to heat the place, or keep draughts out.’
‘Sure.’
‘And we’ll need to put in several RSJs to reinforce that old ceiling and the new one that will have to be erected under it, and that’s only the big stuff.’
‘Right . . . I see. But when you’ve done all that, we can have our new tea room and gift shop? You can do it?’
Bill nods slowly. ‘Yes, I can do it.’
‘You mean you can fix it!’ Tiffany says with delight. ‘Can we fix it? Yes, we can!’
Bill scowls at her.
‘Enough now, Tiffany,’ I say kindly. ‘I think we’ve all got the joke.’
Tiffany nods huffily.
‘I realise you’ll have to get me a proper quote together and everything,’ I say, turning back to Bill. ‘But can you give me aroughtimescale of how long this all might take?’
‘Ooh . . . ’ Bill says, pulling another pained expression. ‘Six . . . maybe seven months – depending on—’
‘We have three,’ I say, cutting him off. ‘I want this up and running by peak tourist season, and peak season begins in July.’
‘No chance,’ Bill says matter-of-factly.
‘Not an option,’ I reply resolutely, seeing where this is going. I’d dealt with builders before in our old house – you gave them an inch and they’d take a mile where timescales were concerned. ‘I’m sure there are other builders I can get quotes from if you feel this is a bit beyond your capabilities . . . ’
I may as well have punched Bill in the face, he looks so wounded by this suggestion.
‘I’ll have you know I’m the most well-respected, in-demand builder this side of Hadrian’s Wall. You won’t get better.’
‘I know; Arthur said as much when he recommended you,’ I tell him, even if it was grudgingly, I think. ‘And that is exactly why I’ve offeredyouthe opportunity of taking on this job first. I’m sure working at Chesterford Castle will look very impressive on your builder’s CV, won’t it?’
