Page 111 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Really?’ said Bea, relief flooding through her.
‘I agree,’ said Simon, nodding. ‘But what will you do with the wagon? You worked so hard doing it up,’ he continued.
‘I’d still use it for events and fêtes, that kind of thing, and I’d need it for my school visits, too, now they’ve become a regular thing,’ Bea explained.
‘Ah, well it’s great that you can still make use of it. Do you want us to go through some of our costs? So you know what to expect?’ Anya suggested.
‘If you don’t mind, that would be really helpful,’ said Bea, relived. ‘I don’t have a clue what to expect, to be honest.’
‘Why don’t you come up to the flat?’ said Anya. ‘Simon can manage here for a bit. I’ll run through everything with you and give you the landlord’s details so you can get in touch with him direct. We’ve been really lucky, actually; Mr Pritchard’s a nice guy,’ said Anya.
‘Thanks so much,’ said Bea. ‘Even some rough figures will be a good starting point. It might all come to nothing, but I feel like I’ve got to—’
‘Try?’ said Anya.
‘Exactly,’ said Bea.
‘Come on, let’s go,’ said Anya, heading towards a door at the back of the shop.
‘Can I just pay for these, please, Simon?’ Bea asked, on her way past the till, handing two huge vanilla-scented jar candles to him.
‘Of course,’ said Simon, ‘I’ll wrap them up for you.’
As Bea followed Anya up the stairs to the flat above the shop, she felt as though every step was taking her one inch closer to making her dream of opening a bookshop a reality.
* * *
Bea was excited when she picked up the phone to call Lochlan that evening. Actually, excited didn’t even cover it. She was ecstatic. Going through the figures with Anya had been a revelation. Yes, it would be a stretch, but if she managed to secure a small business loan, maybe, just maybe, she could make it work.
‘Hey, babe,’ he said, picking up on the first ring. ‘How’s things?’
‘Good! Great, in fact,’ said Bea, struggling to contain the excitement in her voice. ‘How’s London?’
‘Yeah, it’s going good. Clients are happy, boss is happy,’ he said. ‘I can’t wait to show you the site; the building work is right on schedule, and believe me that never happens. The views from the penthouse flat are something else. You can see right across London. You’ll love it.’
‘Wow, sounds brilliant,’ said Bea, imagining herself wandering around the development in a hard hat and fluorescent tabard.
‘How’s your day been?’ he asked.
‘Pretty exciting, actually,’ she paused, nervous all of a sudden. Would Lochlan think she was crazy to take on a shop?’
‘Oh yeah, what’s happened?’
‘Well, you know the Pink Ribbon, the gift shop on the green?’
‘Erm, not really, but carry on.’
‘Well, the owners, Simon and Anya, are moving away, so the shop and the flat above are going to be vacant, and…’ she trailed off. ‘I’m not sure yet, but I’m hoping I might be able to take over the lease and open a bookshop!’
‘Wow! Open an actual shop?’ said Lochlan, and she could hear the surprise in his voice.
‘Yes! I know it’s a big step, but, well, it seems like too good an opportunity to miss.’
‘No, I get that. Sounds, erm… interesting,’ he paused.
‘It is. Imagine what I could do there? Author talks, signings, poetry readings, children’s events! The sky would be the limit,’ said Bea, her mind fizzing with ideas.
‘Sure, so it’s the shop and one flat, yeah?’ he asked.
