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‘How hard can it be to sell things?’
‘You’d be surprised.’ Seren squinted at him. ‘Whose side are you on?’
‘No one’s. And before you get your knickers in a twist about me touting for work, I’ve got more than enough to be going on with. You’re probably right about it not being ready before Christmas. It would be a squeeze to fit you in.’
‘Good. That’s another nail in the coffin. Not only will it cost an absolute fortune, but it won’t be ready in time, which was the whole point. My dad will have to put it back on the market.’ Mild disappointment stirred in her tummy but she ignored it. Her running a travelling Christmas gift shop was a ridiculous idea.
‘Do you want to know how much it’ll cost?’ Tobias asked.
‘Go on then. Hit me with it.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What do you mean,you don’t know? Surely you must have some idea?’
‘It depends on what you want.’
‘I don’tknowwhat I want. Apart from wanting it out of my life. Can’t you give me a ballpark figure? I’ll have to tell my father something,’ she added.
He sighed. ‘Just for you to know, I think your idea is a brilliant one. There must be loads of people, and not just in care homes either, who can’t get to the shops easily and who don’t like, or can’t use, the internet.’
‘Hmm… If you say so.’
‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter what I think. If you don’t fancy doing it, or you feel it’s too risky, then that’s up to you.’ He sighed. ‘Leave the van here and I’ll do a proper quote for you.’
‘Thank you so much.’ Once her dad saw how much it would cost, she’d have no trouble persuading him to sell it.
Just then a car rolled onto the forecourt and came to a stop, and when the driver alighted, Seren’s eyes widened. It was Daniel, the guy whose grandfather had just moved into Tinstone Care Home.
‘Are you converting this into a camper?’ he asked Tobias, his attention on the ice cream van. He didn’t seem to have noticed her.
‘A travelling gift shop,’ Tobias supplied. ‘Or we would be if Seren, here, wanted it to be. She’s not keen on the idea.’
Seren’s attention was on Daniel while Tobias was speaking, and she saw him start at the mention of her name.
When his gaze shot to her, she smiled widely at him.
‘Hi,’ Daniel said, smiling back. ‘A travelling gift shop, eh? Neat.’
‘Seren’s not convinced,’ Tobias said.
‘Do you really think it’s a good idea?’ she asked, addressing her question to Daniel. She didn’t trust Tobias to give her an unbiased answer since he’d be benefitting by way of being paid to convert it.
‘Yes, I do,’ he replied. ‘My grandad mentioned that your Aunt Nelly was complaining about how few options some people had when it came to present buying. I, for one, think there’s a market for it.’
Seren was torn. Itwasa good idea, but… ‘It’s just, I don’t know where to start.’ Her eyes narrowed and she stared critically at the van. ‘That cone would have to go.’
‘You could put a present up there instead,’ Daniel suggested.
‘It plays “O Sole Mio”!’
Daniel burst into laughter. ‘The “just one Cornetto” song? Nice.’
‘It really isn’t,’ she giggled, then sobered as she thought about what her dad had said. Could this be the start of a new career? Did she have the courage? ‘I can’t properly consider it until I know how much it’s going to cost me.’
Tobias sucked his teeth. ‘Let’s have a chat about what’s feasible and what isn’t, then I’ll have a better idea. Dan, I expect you’ve got things to do. The keys are in the truck. It was only a spark plug, this time.’
‘Cheers. Thank God for that. When it started misfiring, I had visions of it being something serious. What with that and the exhaust the other week…’ He trailed off.
