Winnie of the Waterfront (30 page)

She wished Sandy wasn’t sleeping so soundly, but it seemed mean to waken him simply to talk about something that they could discuss equally well next day.

When she finally fell asleep her mind was made up. Both ideas were so good that it was merely a case of deciding in which order they should be done.

First thing the next morning she reminded Sandy of their discussion. ‘I think we should do the ice-cream first,’ she told him. ‘We should do it now, at the beginning of the summer, so that we can make the most profit from it.’

‘What about my idea for a van?’

‘The money we make from selling ice-cream will then pay for a van and we’ll be able to invest in
one
before the winter starts. That way we’ll have the best of both worlds.’

They went on talking about it all day. Winnie was firmly in favour of making the ice-cream the priority. Sandy wanted them to buy the van first because he felt it would be safer than the wheelchair for Winnie to get about in.

Finally, they both agreed that the only way to reach a conclusion was to let Peg have the deciding vote.

Peg could also see the benefits of both ideas. However, like Winnie she thought they should start selling ice-cream right away so that they would catch the summer trade.

‘What about my idea for a van?’ Sandy argued. ‘All of us would benefit from that, remember! You two won’t have to walk all the way from Skirving Court when it’s blazing hot or pouring down with rain. Also, we’ll be able to save time when we need to collect things from St John’s Market because we’ll only have to make one journey instead of two or three like Winnie has to do in her wheelchair, or I have to do when I’m carrying stuff.’

‘You know, the easiest way to settle this problem is to do them both together,’ Peg told them.

‘Buy all the ice-cream-making equipment and the refrigerators for storage, and buy the van, all at the same time? Impossible!’ Sandy exclaimed impatiently.

‘Why, if they are both going to be so good for business?’

‘We’d be in the red, that’s why! I’m not sure that the bank manager would be as confident about
our
plans for expansion as you seem to be.’

‘Then don’t ask him,’ Peg retorted.

‘How else are we going to manage to get a loan to cover all the costs?’

‘We don’t need one. I still have some money tucked away for my old age. We’ll use that.’

‘Peg, that is all very well, but we haven’t finished paying you back all the money you’ve invested in equipment and stock so far, now, have we?’

‘Exactly! So what’s a bit more added on to it!’ she said glibly. ‘I’m enjoying this venture as much as you two are. I’ve worked all my life and seen the bosses raking in most of the profit. Knowing that every penny we earn here is ours, in one way or the other, pleases me more than you could ever understand.’

Winnie and Sandy looked at each other, nonplussed. It was the immediate answer to their problem yet neither of them liked to think of Peg putting any more of her savings into their venture. They were both quite sure that there was no real risk involved because they were more than happy with the way their business was progressing. Even so, they didn’t want to take too many chances.

‘Come on, Sandy, I’m sure you’ve been putting some figures down on paper, so let the three of us go over them just to make sure we know what we’re doing. If we still agree that both ideas are feasible then let’s get on with it and cut the cackle.’

Sandy didn’t need any further persuasion. A week later a refrigerator was being installed in the
café
and he’d made an appointment to go along to a garage in Scotland Road to have a look at an Auto carrier.

‘They’re very sturdy and reliable,’ he assured Winnie and Peg. ‘In fact, their earlier three-wheeler versions were used by the military during the war. Since then they’ve been making four wheelers and they have both saloon car and van versions.’

‘Do you want one of us to come with you?’ Peg asked him.

Sandy looked uncomfortable. He ran a finger round the collar of his shirt and straightened his tie. ‘I think I might be better going on my own. You don’t mind, do you? The details are all rather technical.’

Winnie raised her eyebrows at Peg. ‘You think it might be above our heads, do you, Sandy?’

He scowled, knowing they were laughing at him.

‘You cut along and make sure you don’t let them blind you with science, my lad,’ Peg chuckled.

An hour later when he returned he looked glum.

‘What happened?’ Peg asked. ‘Didn’t you like the colour?’

‘The colour was all right. It was the price I didn’t like. They’d sold the second-hand one that they’d told me was for sale, and the new one they had there costs twice as much as I expected to pay!’

‘Then we’ll just have to leave it for the moment,’ Winnie told him.

‘They said they’d let me know if they get another
second-hand
one, but that might not be for ages.’

‘We could look in the
Liverpool Echo
. They advertise second-hand cars in there from time to time,’ Peg reminded them.

‘Yes, but it wouldn’t be one of these Auto carriers, and unless it can be adapted so that Winnie can drive it then it’s not a lot of good to us, is it.’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Winnie could go on using her chair until you could get it converted,’ Peg suggested. ‘In the meantime you’d be able to drive it and fetch and carry. You can still bring us both to work when the weather is bad.’

Chapter Thirty-two

THEIR SALES OF
ice-cream were phenomenal. June and the beginning of July were exceptionally hot and this helped. Even when they were followed by a couple of weeks of solid rain the sales of ice-cream barely diminished.

‘What’s so good about it,’ Peg pointed out, ‘is that it doesn’t need any more tables, and it’s hardly any extra work since whoever is on the counter can serve ice-cream.’

‘No washing up to do afterwards either,’ Winnie agreed. ‘You know,’ she added thoughtfully, ‘if we could get some sort of small freezer that would fit on top of my wheelchair we could increase sales even more. I could wheel myself along the landing stage and be right on the spot when people come off the boat. And I could also serve people who are standing there waiting for a boat.’

‘Why make extra work for yourself? There’s nothing to stop them popping in here to buy their ice-cream, is there?’ Sandy argued.

‘Well, there is really. A lot of people are afraid they’ll miss their boat if they come along here and then find that there’s a lot of people in front of them waiting to be served.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Common sense, isn’t it.’

‘You’ve made it up so that you can prove your point,’ he laughed. ‘You might be right, though.’

‘So you’ll see if we can get a refrigerated box to fit on my wheelchair?’

‘Oh I don’t know about that, leastwise not yet,’ Sandy prevaricated.

‘Why not?’ Winnie frowned.

Sandy raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Our next priority is to buy an Auto carrier, or have you forgotten?’

‘Of course she hasn’t, nor have I,’ Peg butted in. ‘I look in the
Liverpool Echo
every night. I’ll find a second-hand one for you in the end,’ she assured them confidently.

‘I doubt if you will, Peg. It’s not like buying a chair or a bed or something like that.’

Peg waited until she was on her own with Sandy. ‘You haven’t given up completely on the idea of eventually buying a van of some kind, have you?’ she asked in a whisper.

He shrugged. ‘At the moment there are other things that are far more important.’

Peg gave him a sharp look. ‘Then why have you been taking driving lessons?’

‘How on earth do you know about that?’ he asked in astonishment. ‘Does Winnie know?’

‘Not unless you’ve told her.’

‘No, I haven’t said a word. I wanted to be prepared in case something suitable turns up.’

‘So how are you getting on?’

‘Great! I got one of the chaps that I used to know when I worked at Paddy’s Market to let me have
a
go in his van. I suppose you know all about that as well,’ he grinned.

She nodded. ‘I hear you took to it like a duck to water. He said you’re a natural.’

A couple of weeks later Peg did find a van. It wasn’t an Auto carrier, which was what Sandy had said he wanted, but in Peg’s opinion it was just the sort of thing they needed.

‘Was it in the
Echo?
’ Sandy said in surprise. ‘I must have missed it!’

‘No, I heard about it from a chap from Paddy’s Market.’

‘You mean you’ve been putting feelers out on the sly,’ he grinned.

‘Something like that!’

‘You’re a caution!’ he said admiringly.

‘Perhaps you’d better go and take a look at it before you say anything else,’ Peg suggested.

‘You mean it’s not quite what we wanted?’

She shrugged. ‘You said we needed one that could be converted to hand controls, but I’m not sure that this one can be.’

‘In that case then perhaps I’d better hang on a bit longer and keep looking,’ he said worriedly.

‘Go and see what it’s like,’ Peg insisted. ‘There’s no harm in doing that, is there?’

‘No, I suppose not. Where is it?’

‘Tatlock Street off Limekiln Lane,’ Peg told him. ‘I’d get over there right away if I were you, before it’s sold.’

‘Is there a price mentioned?’

‘Yes, seventy-five pounds, and I’ve got the
money
here all ready, so no excuses, Sandy. You get going!’

‘I ought to talk to Winnie first. Make sure she agrees with what we’re doing.’

‘You cut along, I’ll tell her what’s happening.’

He was gone for such a long time that Winnie started to become anxious. ‘Perhaps he’s having trouble finding the place,’ she said tentatively.

‘Not him, he knows his way round that part of Liverpool like the back of his hand,’ Peg said confidently.

‘Then why is he taking so long?’

‘They’re probably taking him for a ride in it. He’s bound to want to find out what it’s like on the road.’

Winnie looked worried. ‘He wouldn’t know if it was going properly or not, he’s never had anything to do with vans.’

‘Of course he has! He used to mix with all the van drivers when they were delivering to Paddy’s Market!’

‘Only helping to unload or load up! I meant that he wouldn’t know whether the engine was running right, or any mechanical stuff like that.’

‘He’s a man, isn’t he? That’s the sort of thing they talk about when they get together.’

It was almost another hour before Sandy returned. Peg and Winnie had already put up the ‘
CLOSED
’ sign and were about to lock up and make their way home when he turned up. His face was wreathed in smiles.

‘No need to ask how you got on,’ Peg smiled. ‘Bought it, have you?’

‘Too right! It’s a bargain. Runs like a dream. Come and see it for yourself.’

‘You’ve driven it here?’

‘You bet! If you are ready for home then I’ll give you a lift,’ he said proudly. ‘I’ll take you home first, Peg, and then I’ll come back for Winnie.’

‘Take Peg, but don’t bother about coming back for me. I can get home under my own steam,’ Winnie told him.

‘No! You wait here. It’s late for you to be out on your own. It will only take a few minutes and I’ll be back for you!’

‘What about my wheelchair? I don’t want to leave it here overnight.’

‘You won’t have to! That’s the beauty of having a van,’ he told her jubilantly. ‘Your wheelchair will go in the back!’

‘Come on then, Sandy,’ Peg said decisively. ‘Let’s see how this magic machine works.’

They had barely finished their meal when the double rap sounded on the front door.

They looked at each other in surprise, wondering who on earth it could be. Because all three of them were working long hours down at the café they had very little to do with any of their neighbours, apart from passing the time of day with them.

‘You go and see who it is, Sandy. Strange that anyone should be calling at this time of night,’ Peg said worriedly.

They heard the mumble of men’s voices and the next minute Sandy came back into the room followed by two policemen.

‘Whatever is wrong now?’ Peg asked, the colour draining from her wrinkled cheeks. ‘Has something happened down at the café?’

‘No!’ Sandy shook his head. He looked haggard. ‘It’s much worse than that.’

Winnie frowned. She looked from Sandy to the two uniformed policemen standing in the doorway. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘They need me to go with them to answer some questions.’

‘What sort of questions? Why can’t you tell them right here whatever it is they want to know?’

‘Because your husband is under arrest,’ the sergeant told her. His gaze fixed on Winnie. ‘You remember me, I’m sure. We meet often enough,’ he added cynically.

‘Sergeant Baker?’

‘Begging when you were a child, suspected of breaking into a bonded warehouse, and now this time it’s smuggling and drugs.’

Winnie’s heart gave a sickening lurch. ‘What on earth are you talking about?’ she gasped.

‘Are you telling me you knew nothing about it? Perhaps we should take a look at your wheelchair to make sure that it’s not been used again this time.’

‘Again?’ she snapped. ‘We weren’t the ones who used it before, if you remember correctly.’

‘It might be more correct to say that we had no direct evidence to prove exactly who had used your wheelchair,’ he told her sternly.

She shook her head vigorously. ‘You caught the culprits and you know that Sandy wasn’t involved,
and
he hasn’t been involved in any smuggling either,’ she defended stubbornly.

‘We’ll decide on that after we’ve asked him some questions about what he’s been doing hanging around Paddy’s Market over the past few weeks,’ Sergeant Baker said curtly.

‘Don’t wait up for me, luv,’ Sandy said quietly as he kissed Winnie goodbye.

‘No, don’t wait up, Mrs Coulson,’ Sergeant Baker repeated. ‘I doubt if your husband will be coming home for quite some time.’

‘What do you mean? We have a business to run, we need him there first thing tomorrow morning,’ Peg intervened.