Page 83 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Really well,’ said Bea, smiling. ‘I was hoping I could make it a regular event, if you’re happy to let me host it here?’
‘More than happy,’ said Pete, appearing from the kitchen. ‘We’ve doubled our takings for a normal Monday night, thanks to you.’
‘Oh, that’s great! Would the first Monday of every month be okay?’ Bea suggested.
‘Absolutely! I’ll put it on our events page on the website, with a link to your Instagram account so people can contact you to book tickets,’ said Beth.
‘Brilliant, thanks, Beth,’ said Bea, saying her goodbyes.
As she pulled on her jacket and started the short walk home, adrenaline was pumping through her veins. The event had been a success, with orders for all of the books recommended. It wouldn’t earn her a fortune, but it was another income for the business and would definitely help keep her finances afloat.
CHAPTER 23
Bea arrived at Blossom Heath Primary School just after lunch the next day, ready to welcome the children into Bea’s Book Wagon for the first time. She reversed into the car park with ease – she really was getting the hang of manoeuvring the horsebox now – and Rose was waiting to greet her at reception.
‘Bea, hi! Thanks so much for coming,’ said Rose, giving her a hug.
‘Thanks for asking me. I’ve been looking forward to it,’ Bea replied, glancing at the displays of art on the walls with interest. It had been a long time since she’d set foot in a school, and it was a somewhat odd experience. She was subconsciously waiting for a booming voice to yell, ‘Beatrice Miller, stop doing that and come here!’ A phrase she’d heard frequently while at secondary school. ‘So, how shall we do this?’ she asked.
‘You’ll be meeting the Key Stage One children today. Each teacher will bring their class out to have a look inside, see which books they fancy reading, and then, when their parents pick them up, they can buy them if they want to, or we can order them for our school library, if that’s okay? The head has been able to squeeze some budget out of the school governors, and she’s put me in charge of spending it.’
‘I’ve got my card machine at the ready,’ Bea laughed, tapping her handbag. ‘Remind me what age Key Stage One is?’
‘Ages five to seven.’
‘Perfect,’ said Bea, ‘I ordered a bunch of new books for that age group from the wholesaler I use, so hopefully there’ll be plenty to go around.’
‘Brilliant, and if we’ve got the time, there’s a couple of our kids that I think might benefit from spending a bit longer in the bookshop with you, if that’s okay? They’re on our reluctant readers programme, so they read each week to the school dog—’
‘Sorry? You have a school dog?’ asked Bea, surprised.
‘Oh, yeah, Bertie. He belongs to our headteacher.’
‘And he listens to the kids read?’
‘Yeah, I know! It sounds silly, but it really works. There’s no judgement from him; he doesn’t care if the kids stumble over words or make mistakes, he just sits and listens.’
‘Aw, I love that,’ said Bea, smiling.
‘The children adore him, and weirdly he seems to enjoy it too – his tail never stops wagging.’
‘I bet! I’d have loved to have had a dog to read to when I was at school.’
‘Me too, to be honest,’ said Rose, nodding. ‘He’s starting to slow down a bit now he’s older, but he saw Grace last week and she gave him a clean bill of health.’
‘That’s reassuring. I can’t wait to meet him! So, I’ll just get set up and wait for you to come out, shall I?’
‘Yep. I’ll bring my class first, just give me five minutes. I need you to sign in, if that’s okay? I know we’ve had your DBS check through, so we’re good to go on that front.’
‘Perfect. See you in a bit,’ said Bea.
* * *
As Bea returned to the wagon, she could see some curious little faces peering out of the classroom windows nearest to the car park. Some children were waving at her, so she waved back, smiling. She arranged all the deckchairs and bean bags under the awning, and double-checked that all the children’s books were displayed on the lowest shelves, ready for the pupils to start exploring. She’d brought a mix of titles to appeal to readers of all ages, so hopefully every child would find something they liked. She’d even ordered some book-character cuddly toys to help bring the stories to life, like the Gruffalo, the alien from Aliens Love Underpants, Peter Rabbit and Paddington.
As Bea switched on the fairy lights and plumped up the cushions, she could hear chattering voices approaching from across
the playground.
