Bia's War (8 page)

Nana refused to be drawn into
explaining this cryptic comment, but launched straight into the
next part of the saga.

“William went back to his unit
in the same frame of mind as he had been in when he arrived home.
He still didn’t agree with me running the shop, but he realised
that there wasn’t a lot he could do about it and it did relieve him
of any responsibility for Simon and I. After he’d gone, life
settled back into the regular pattern we had established since we
opened the shop, hard work and long hours, but all made joyous by
Simon’s happy presence and the comradeship of Annie, Peter and
Hannah.

An added bonus was that, for the
first time in my life, I was earning enough money to have extra
left over after all the bills were paid and I thought long and hard
about what I was going to do with this money. I had no intentions
of wasting it on fripperies or of putting it into a bank to sit and
earn little in the way of interest. It was going to have to join in
with the team and work hard for its living, just like I did. I
wanted to use it to make mine and Simon’s futures even more secure,
but I couldn’t decide what was the best way of making my money work
for me. There were a couple of options I had considered; I could
open another shop in another part of the town, but I would then
need a manager and more staff or I could invest the money into a
different type of business altogether, but I didn’t have any
experience of any other types of business.”

“You didn’t want to let go of
the reins of your shop, if you had to work in another business.”
Victoria declared. “I can understand that. I wouldn’t want to have
to pass the running of any business of mine to someone else;
because I wouldn’t think that anyone else could do it as well as I
could.”

“You are a very clever girl,
Victoria. Much cleverer than I was at your age, or even when I was
older than you. You have the very rare ability of analysing why a
person does what they do. I think you will make a very good teacher
because you will want to know how and why children learn and how to
motivate them so that they do learn from you.”

“So what did you decide to do?”
Victoria asked, uncomfortable with the praise that Nana was giving
her because she wasn’t used to being praised in any way. “Did you
decide to invest the money in another business?”

“There was a lot to consider
before I made a decision about it. We had got to a point in the war
where the enemy was going all out to sink the merchant ships which
provided our island with a lot of its food. I think the Hun had
reasoned that if they could starve us out then that would ensure
their victory, but in the end, they only succeeded in forcing the
United States into the war, because they sank a lot of American
shipping. But I had known that my income would drop if their
tactics succeeded and I had already negotiated deals with a couple
of farmers who farmed the land on the outskirts of the town, to buy
their produce as it was harvested. I had contracts lodged with Mr
Vine so that they couldn’t renege on them, but I was still worried
that, at some point, my income could drop sharply as the result of
shortages and I didn’t want all my eggs in one basket.”

“How did you decide what to do
then?” Victoria wanted to know.

“Well, one evening, Annie and I
were discussing the effect that enemy action could have on my
business when Sammy Lymer called in to collect Hannah. He had taken
to dropping in regularly when his shifts allowed and I had grown so
used to his easy presence that I included him in the conversation
as though he was a member of our little family.”

‘If I were you, lass, I’d think
on why I started selling groceries in the first place and look for
a business that would fit that same criteria.’ he said, when I
asked him for his opinion on the matter.

‘I decided to open a grocery
shop because people would always need to eat.’ I answered
immediately. ‘And also, it was a subject which I could understand
fully. I couldn’t have opened a solicitor’s office, for example,
because I’m not trained. But I don’t see where I can go from here,
apart from opening another grocery shop in another part of the town
and then I would have to get someone in to manage it, which would
mean more expense and less profit and there would still be the same
problem of supply and what would happen to my business if the
supply lines were cut off.’

‘I mean that you should continue
along the line of what will people always need?’ Sammy smiled.
‘Look around for other ways of making money that won’t depend
solely on supply but that will provide the answer to the question
of what people will always need. They will always need food to eat
and…’

‘They’ll always need somewhere
to live.’ I finished for him. ‘You’re right! And if you take that
argument to its conclusion, they will always need clothes to wear
as well.’

‘Yes, well I hadn’t gone as far
as your last point, but I was ahead of you on the subject of
housing. So much so that I’m arranging to buy a house in Cromwell
Road which I intend letting out at a reasonable rent. I’ve been
doing so much extra work since this war started and with George and
Bill away and Hannah working, I’ve got a few quid put by that could
be better spent on bricks and mortar than sitting in a bank. That
way, I’ll always have an income, should anything stop me from being
able to work.’

“I fully agreed with Sammy that
investing in property would be a very sensible thing to do and,
when he told me the price of the house he was arranging to buy and
the rental return he could get on it, it didn’t take me long to
work out that it was a bigger return than my money was earning in
the bank. The drawback was that I had never owned a property in my
life and I didn’t have the first idea on how to go about buying
one. I had never collected rents before either, but I knew that I
didn’t want to have to do that because it would make me especially
vulnerable if I was walking around the town carrying a large amount
of money. There was also the question of what I would do if a
tenant didn’t pay their rent. If someone didn’t pay for their
shopping, I wouldn’t let them take the goods out of my shop, but if
a tenant didn’t pay the rent, I would need a man to deal with
them.”

“The answer to all those
questions was sitting next to me at my kitchen table and I wasted
no time in letting him know what I was thinking.”

‘Why don’t we buy the house in
Cromwell Road together?’ I asked. ‘We could go fifty-fifty with the
cost and you could do the rent-collecting.’

“I knew as soon as I saw Sammy’s
reaction that this was what he had wanted all along and I had given
him the perfect introduction. I stopped talking and realised what
I’d said. For all I knew, he might not have been the good friend he
had always appeared to be; he could have been working himself into
my good books with the express purpose of fleecing me out of all my
money. I knew that what I was thinking would be written all over my
face because I had never been any good at dissembling, so I turned
away from Sammy because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings when he
had been so good to me. His next words had me spinning back round
to face him immediately.”

‘I wouldn’t buy anything with
you as a partner…’ he began.

“My face flamed and I drew
myself up to my full height, ready to give him one very large piece
of my mind, when he finished the sentence he had begun.”

‘…until we had drawn up a proper
legally-binding contract with that tame solicitor of yours, so that
you could be assured that everything would be above board and
legal.’ he finished.

‘Sam, I am so sorry. Was it that
obvious what I was thinking?’ I asked him, blushing again that he
knew how distrustful I was of other people.”

‘It’s obvious that you’ve been
let down by someone, lass,’ he answered. ‘It’s not my place to
question what’s happened in your life, but if we are going to go
into business together, there’s no harm in making sure that
everything’s above board and watertight, for both our sakes. I
wouldn’t take offence at anyone being sensible about a business
arrangement that’s to protect both parties. And I want you to take
time to consider what we are about to do, so that you don’t feel
that you are being forced into parting with any money.’

“Sam was right, of course, we
had to ensure that our partnership was legally set-up and that both
of us had a way out of it if we decided that we didn’t want to
continue the business.” Nana continued. “I also needed to view this
house and decide whether or not I thought it was a viable
proposition, so I made an appointment with the agent to go and look
round the house the very next day. I was pleased with what I saw,
in that the house was in good repair and, although it was only
small, it would make a good home for a newly-married couple. Sam
was waiting for me at the shop when I got back after viewing the
house and he was very eager to hear my thoughts on it. I told him
that I still wanted to join him in buying it and so we made an
appointment to go and see Mr Vine and make our partnership
legal.”

“We set up a joint bank account
and agreed that the rent would be paid into the account weekly, any
repairs that needed doing would be paid for directly from this
account and that Sammy and I would then have a half share of the
money that was left, although, in practise, neither of us wanted to
take money out on a weekly basis. Mr Vine drew up the legal
documents for this and Sammy and I both signed copies of them and
lodged them with Mr Vine. That afternoon, after we had closed the
shop for the day, Annie, Peter and Hannah joined Sammy, Simon and I
and we had a slap-up meal in the kitchen, to celebrate our new
business venture.”

‘I’m very pleased to be going
into business with you, Sam.’ I said as we sat round the range
after we’d eaten.

‘The feeling is mutual, Bia.’
Sam replied. ‘I think we should have a toast to our new partnership
to begin it in the right way.’

‘I’m afraid I’ve only got either
ginger beer or lemonade to use to toast our business with, but if
either of those is good enough for you, I will happily join you in
toasting our new partnership.’ I told him.

‘Ginger beer is good enough for
me.’ Sam smiled. ‘Come on, fill your glasses everyone. To mine and
Bia’s new business venture and let’s hope it proves to be very
lucrative.’

“And was it, Nana?” Victoria
couldn’t resist her need to know how everything had turned out.
“Did you make a lot of money from renting out the house?”

“Nobody makes a lot of money
from renting out one house, darling. But it was a good start and it
soon blossomed into bigger and better things, which I will explain
as we get through the story. But I must keep to the chronology of
the tale; otherwise I might miss important points out of it, which
may be vital in understanding the whole. I know you want to jump
forwards in time, but I’m too old to be able to cope with that.
You’ll just have to bear with me and we will both reach the end of
the tale together. But, before we go any further, don’t you think
it’s time for a tea break? I could really do with wetting my
whistle.”

Victoria jumped up immediately
to go and make tea for her Nana, but she crept down the stairs with
her heart in her mouth in case her mother was in the kitchen and
she demanded that Victoria had to work in the shop. Luckily, the
kitchen was deserted and she set the kettle to boil and was
rummaging in the cupboard for biscuits to go with the tea when she
heard the door open. She whirled round with an excuse ready on her
lips to try and head her mother off before she could get into her
stride, but it was unnecessary because it was her father who had
entered.

“It’s ok.” He said, raising his
hand to stop her blurting out the excuse she had ready. “I’m not
going to insist that you come and work in the shop. You stay with
Nana and keep her company and I promise I won’t tell your mother
that I’ve seen you.”

“Are you sure?” Victoria felt
she should ask, but she really didn’t want to work in the shop that
day.

“Yes, I’m sure. Keith’s here
today and it doesn’t seem as busy as it’s been the last few days.
Most people have got their Christmas shopping done by now, so it’s
not as frantic as it was. Don’t take any notice of your mother, she
just gets herself worked up at this time of year and she always
takes it out on us. Go on; take that tea upstairs before it goes
cold.”

With a light heart, Victoria
picked up the tray and made her way back upstairs. Nana greeted her
arrival with a sweet smile.

“I was beginning to think you’d
been waylaid by your mother.” She said, carefully choosing a
biscuit to dip in her tea.

“No, I saw Dad and he told me to
come back up here. Keith’s working today and Dad says it isn’t as
busy as it’s been the last few days. He said Mam always takes it
out on us when she’s busy and tired.”

“She always makes sure everyone
knows how she’s feeling, that’s right enough. But enough of today,
let’s go back to the war.”

“Ok, Nana, I’m ready and
waiting.” Victoria curled her legs beneath her and concentrated all
her attention on her grandmother.

“Right, where was I? Oh yes, the
first house I bought with Sam. The partnership turned out to be
every bit as lucrative as we had hoped. In the first twelve months,
we bought another three houses to go with the one we had bought in
Cromwell Road and we rented them all out to couples with young
families. Sammy always made all the arrangements when we bought
another house, although I always insisted that we both viewed them
and decided if they were right for us or not. Sammy negotiated the
price with the owners; he dealt with any maintenance work which
needed to be done and he found the tenants and collected the rent
from them.”