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‘You can settle up with me next time I see you,’ Tobias said, jerking his head towards a truck with the words Daniel Oakland Gardening Services emblazoned on the side.
Seren saw Daniel raise his eyebrows at Tobias and give him a knowing look. Then she watched him walk over to the truck and get in. As he drove off, she wondered if she’d see him again any time soon, and she hoped she would: out of the two men, Daniel was more her type.
Tobias cleared his throat, bringing Seren out of her reverie.
‘It needs a paint job,’ she said without hesitation, forcing her attention back to the matter at hand. ‘I refuse to drive around with cartoon pictures of ice cream cones plastered all over it.’
‘OK. What else? How do you envisage the selling part working?’
She moved to the side of the van and stroked the sliding window. ‘I’d like to keep this.’
‘I think you should. You’d have difficulty fitting any customers inside, so you’re probably going to have to do the selling via the hatch, so you’ll need shelves that are clearly visible from the outside.’
She still wasn’t convinced of the van’s feasibility as a travelling shop, but she’d hold fire for now. It wouldn’t hurt to get a quote and maybe it wouldn’t be too hideous. So she spent the next half an hour batting ideas around, listening to what was, and what wasn’t, doable, until finally, a clear picture emerged of what it was that she wanted.
It was surprisingly simple – clean lines, neutral interior, cream bodywork. Classy, almost, but with a hint of quirkiness. She liked it, and the spark of excitement fanned back into a flame as she imagined how good the old van would look once it was done.
Maybe her dad was on to something after all.
What on earth was she doing? Where did she intend to go with this? How much was it going to cost? Who’d buy her goods? Was she being a fool? What did she know about selling anyway?
Seren straightened up and arched her back. She’d been poring over the laptop for hours and she didn’t think she was much further forward than she’d been at the start.
She’d arrived home from dropping the van off at T&M Conversions with her head swirling with questions, and after spending ages on the internet, she still didn’t have the answers to many of them. To be fair, some were unanswerable, although she had discovered that she would need a licence if she wanted to be a mobile trader. When she’d phoned the council, she had been informed that it would take a couple of weeks but she could do it online. She also found out that she could purchase a temporary one, which covered her for up to twenty-eight days, which was considerably cheaper than buying a permanent one.
She checked the calendar and calculated that for her to make full use of a twenty-eight-day trading licence, the van would have to be ready to go by the last week in November, which didn’t give Tobias from T&M Conversions much time.
Gah, what was she doing?
She must have asked herself the same question at least ten times in the previous hour, and she still didn’t have any idea.
‘Are you all right, love?’ Her dad was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, a look of concern on his face.
‘Not really.’
‘I’ve caused you a bit of a headache, haven’t I? I’m sorry.’
‘It’s fine. At least it’s given me something to do on my day off, other than clear out the cupboard under the stairs, or fill my face with chocolate while watchingCountdown.’
‘It’s going to be hard work, isn’t it? I should never have bought it. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.’
‘It’s done now, so I should at least give it some serious consideration. Tobias is getting back to me with a quote for the conversion, plus I know what needs doing when it comes to all the rules and regulations surrounding street traders. And I’ve done some research into care and residential homes within a thirty-mile radius. I’ve even phoned a couple of them to gauge their reaction, and they’ve all been positive.’
‘I should have thought about doing market research before going off half-cocked and bidding for the van on eBay.’
Seren agreed with him but saying so would only make him feel bad. ‘We guessed there would be a demand for it,’ she said, instead. ‘My main problem, though, is what to sell and where to get it from.’
‘How about the garlands and wreaths you make? I’m sure they’ll go down a storm.’
Seren wrinkled her nose. ‘I only make them for us.’ She always made a new wreath for the front door every Christmas, using fresh holly, ivy and mistletoe, and she made garlands, too – one to twine around the stairs and another to drape around the mantelpiece. She was always pleased with them and they were often admired, but she wasn’t certain how she felt about selling them. She honestly didn’t think they were good enough.
‘What about the craft fair at the town hall on Saturday?’ Patrick suggested. ‘There are bound to be some local sellers. You could ask them if they’d be interested in supplying you with stuff to sell. You could either buy it outright at a reduced rate, or – and this is the better option for you – ask them if they’d be willing to display their stock in your van for free. They name the price they want to receive for their goods, and you charge a percentage on top of that when you sell it, which you get to keep. That way, everyone wins.’
Seren was stunned. What a brilliant idea!
If it worked.
She’d be a total stranger to these people – why would they trust her with their stock? But the more she thought about it, the more feasible it sounded. There was no harm in asking. If all of them said no, she’d have to go back to the drawing board.
Seren felt her father’s reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she tilted her head to rest it against his forearm.
‘This could be the start of something special,’ he said. ‘I know you can make this work; I have every faith in you.’
Seren wished she had even a fraction of his faith. But there was one consolation – she didn’t have to give up her job to give this a go. She’d be able to fit it in around her shifts in the shop for the time being. And if it didn’t work out, all she would have lost was her time (and her savings, but she didn’t want to think about that), and at least she’d have given it her best shot.
