Chapter 18
Bea felt like she was walking on air. She was flying high from the success of her opening day, and her diary was filling up with bookings for the rest of the summer.
Her social media presence had grown since K.
L. Fletcher’s newsletter had dropped, and she was thinking of launching her online store early for people who couldn’t visit the book wagon in person, with monthly subscription boxes and gift vouchers too.
It would be a lot of work, but she needed to plan for a revenue stream that lasted all year, not just over the summer months.
Things between her and Lochlan were going well, too, although he was going to be in London for a couple of weeks for work, but they planned to spend some time together once he was back. And, anyway, didn’t absence make the heart grow fonder?
Bea spent the morning before her shift at the Cosy Cat browsing Rye’s flea markets and charity shops hoping to find some bookish gems, and she wasn’t disappointed.
She picked up a beautiful selection of clothbound classics, including Little Women and Emma, an early edition of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.
S. Eliot, which she earmarked for Tori, and a box set of vintage Roald Dahl’s.
Her visit to the primary school was in a couple of weeks and she needed to stock more books to appeal to the children and ignite their joy of reading.
She’d also bumped into Phoebe, giving Bea the perfect opportunity to tell her about her idea for the new cheese and wine book club.
To her relief, Phoebe agreed to supply the wine with a hefty discount off the RRP, so now all she needed to do was ask Nathan about the cheese and speak to the council about permissions and licences.
When Bea arrived at the Cosy Cat for her shift, Tori was bubbling with excitement.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Bea, ‘you look like you’ve won the lottery.’
‘No, nothing like that,’ said Tori, quickly, ‘Do you remember I told you I’d entered Nate for that local business award—’
‘Yes!’
‘Well, he’s made the shortlist, he’s down to the final four!’
‘No way!’ gasped Bea, ‘that’s amazing. I bet he’s thrilled—’
‘I haven’t actually told him yet,’ said Tori, sheepishly.
‘Why not?’ asked Bea, confused.
‘What if he’s annoyed that I entered him, you know, behind his back?’
‘Annoyed?’ said Bea, wrinkling her forehead. ‘Why would he be annoyed? It’s recognition for all his hard work, isn’t it?’
‘I hope you’re right. There’s a swanky awards ceremony in Brighton. Black tie, the works. I’m not sure if it’s his scene, and if he wins he’ll have to make a speech—’
‘Oh, crikey!’ said Bea, shaking her head, doubtful that Nathan even owned a pair of smart trousers, let alone a suit. ‘Listen, I’m sure it’ll be fine, he’ll be over the moon.’
‘Well,’ said Tori, nodding towards the window where Nathan could be seen outside unloading his truck. ‘He’s here, so I hope you’re right…’
‘Hey, Nate,’ said Bea, opening the door to help him with the boxes.
‘Cheers,’ he said gratefully. ‘I’ll just drop these, and I’ve got a few more in the truck, Tori.’
‘Great, thanks, Nate,’ Tori replied. ‘I’ve got something to tell you,’ she added, as Nathan hauled the heaviest box onto the counter.
‘Oh yeah, what?’ he asked.
‘You’ve been shortlisted in the East Sussex Business awards: Best Local Food Supplier,’ said Bea, with a little whoop of delight.
‘How? I haven’t entered any awards—’
‘Ah, that’s because I entered you…’ said Tori with a shy smile.
‘You did?’ said Nathan.
‘You’ve got such a great product, Nate, so I spoke to some of the other places you supply and a few of us got together and nominated you,’ Tori explained.
‘Well, I…’ said Nathan.
‘And now you’ve made the shortlist, isn’t that amazing?’ said Bea, giving him a hug.
‘Yeah, I suppose it is. Thanks, Tori, that’s really kind of you,’ said Nathan, processing the news.
‘There’s only four finalists in your category,’ Tori explained. ‘And the winner will be announced at a dinner in Brighton at the Grand Hotel; you’re going to get a letter with all the details apparently.’
‘Yeah and it sounds pretty posh, too, black tie and everything—’ Bea said.
‘I won’t have to make a speech, will I?’ asked Nathan, looking horrified.
‘Well, yeah, if you win—’ said Tori.
‘Oh, God,’ cringed Nathan, screwing up his face, ‘I’m terrible at that kind of stuff.’
‘I can help you write it if you like? You’ll be fine,’ said Bea, reassuringly.
‘That would be great, thanks,’ said Nathan, visibly relieved.
‘I’m assuming he gets to take a plus one?’ Bea asked Tori.
‘I’m not sure, to be honest, maybe you’ll have to wait for the letter to come through, Nate.’ said Tori.
‘It’s so exciting. I wonder if there’s, like, a cash prize or a trophy or something?’ Bea said.
‘Hey, what are you both doing tonight?’ Tori asked.
‘Nothing,’ Nathan shrugged.
‘Me neither,’ said Bea.
‘Why don’t we go out?’ suggested Tori. ‘Just the four of us? I’ll text Leo and see if he can meet us at the pub after he finishes work,’ said Tori, grabbing her phone.
‘Love to!’ said Bea. ‘Count me in!’
‘Perfect!’ said Tori. ‘Meet you there at seven?’
‘Great,’ said Nathan. ‘Let me just grab the rest of the boxes.’
‘Nate,’ said Bea, catching his arm, ‘Congratulations again, it’s great news, you really deserve it.’
‘Thanks, Bea,’ he said.
And, as she watched him walk out the door, Bea’s heart swelled with pride for everything Nathan had achieved.
Diversifying to make the cheese at the farm had been a huge risk, and she knew he’d had to work hard and learn quickly to make it the success it was now.
If Bea’s Book Wagon had half the success of Three Acre Cheeses, she’d be a very happy bookseller indeed.
‘Bea! Over here!’ called Tori, as she walked towards the bar of the Apple Tree.
‘Hiya,’ said Bea, slipping off her jacket.
‘Pete, can I get another glass, please?’ asked Tori, holding a bottle of chilled prosecco.
‘Is Nathan here?’ Bea asked.
‘No, not yet,’ said Tori, shaking her head.
‘Tori’s just been telling me about this award he’s up for,’ said Pete.
‘I know, it’s great, isn’t it?’ said Bea.
‘Speak of the devil,’ said Tori, as Nathan entered the pub.
‘Congratulations,’ said Pete, ‘what you having, lad? It’s on the house.’
‘I’ll have a pint of bitter, thanks, Pete,’ said Nathan.
‘Actually, can you make that two? Leo’s not much of a fan of fizz either,’ said Tori.
‘More for us then,’ said Bea, taking a sip of her drink and wrinkling her nose as the bubbles fizzed in her mouth. ‘Delicious.’
As they made their way through the pub towards Leo, who was sat at a table near the back, there were shouts of ‘Congrats, Nate’ and ‘Well done, lad’, and several of the locals raised a glass towards them.
‘Crikey, news spreads fast around here,’ said Bea, pulling up a chair opposite Leo.
‘You can say that again,’ Nathan laughed.
‘I propose a toast…’ said Tori, raising her glass. ‘To Nate and his mouth-wateringly delicious cheeses.’
‘To Nate,’ chorused Bea and Leo, clinking their glasses together.
‘Let’s not forget Bea and her book wagon!’ said Nathan.
‘To Bea,’ repeated Tori and Leo.
‘It looked like you were really busy at the fête. My niece, Lara, can’t stop talking about it; she said you’re going to her school in a couple of weeks?’ asked Leo.
‘Ah, yeah! I’m looking forward to it,’ said Bea, smiling.
‘I don’t want to jinx things,’ she continued, crossing her fingers, ‘but I sold way more than I expected, I’ve already had to order more stock.
I’d have been happy just to break even after the pitch fee, but I actually made a profit,’ said Bea.
‘Tori said a famous author was there?’ said Leo.
‘Yeah, and she featured me in her newsletter too, which has definitely helped,’ said Bea. ‘There isn’t room to stock everything I’d like to in the wagon,’ Bea continued, ‘so I’m hoping I can persuade Archie to build me an online store sooner rather than later.’
‘You know…’ said Tori, thoughtfully. ‘You could always have some shelf space at the Cosy Cat if you’ve got any cat-themed books or gifts?’
‘Ooooh, that would be amazing,’ said Bea, excitedly. ‘I’ve seen some gorgeous cat bookmarks and notebooks on one of the wholesaler websites, and there’s loads of books I can think of. Not just fiction, but books about how to care for your cat.’
‘Sounds perfect,’ said Tori.
‘And look at this,’ said Bea, pulling out her phone to show Tori a picture of a tote bag with a cat sleeping on top of a stack of books underneath a slogan saying, ‘Easily distracted by cats and books.’
‘Oh my God, I love that,’ said Tori, enthusiastically.
‘I’ve been thinking about the subscription boxes too.
I’m going to have a different theme each month and, if I can sort them out in time, subscribers will get a signed copy of the book, as well as goodies themed around that month’s pick: bookmarks, chocolates, wax melts, that kind of thing.
Everything you need to create the right mood to relax and enjoy a good book at home,’ Bea explained.
‘Great idea,’ said Tori.
‘And I was thinking I could do an online book club for subscribers over Zoom, perhaps even see if I can get the authors to join?’ said Bea, her eyes shining with excitement.
‘I’m sure you’ll get loads of people joining if it’s free,’ said Tori.
‘Hopefully, yes. I just need to cost it all out. Postage and packaging is the tricky bit – the heavier and bigger the parcel, the more it’s going to cost – so I’ll need to do some research.
But I’ve seen loads of similar services, so it’s definitely viable.
I just need to work out what my USP will be,’ said Bea.
‘What’s a USP?’ asked Nathan.
‘Unique selling point. You know, what’s going to make my subscription boxes stand out from all the others,’ Bea explained.
‘Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,’ said Leo, impressed.
‘I’m trying to. Oooh, maybe I should talk to the owners of that gift shop, the Pink Ribbon, is it? Perhaps they’d be up for collaborating with me?’ said Bea.
‘Yeah, Anya and Simon are lovely, they’ve always been really supportive of the café, I’m sure they’d be up for it,’ said Tori.
‘Good to know,’ said Bea, topping up her prosecco glass.
‘And what about your book club idea? Any more thoughts about that?’ asked Tori.
‘I bumped into Phoebe in Rye the other day and she’s agreed to supply the wine at a really great price, so I just need to ask you actually, Nate, if I can buy some cheese?’ Bea asked.
‘Hang on, what’s cheese got to do with a book club?’ Nate asked, confusion etched on his face.
‘Well, I want to run a book club with a difference, you know?’ said Bea. ‘Something that feels a little bit more like a proper night out. So, I thought it could be a cheese, wine and book thing,’ she explained.
‘Ah, that makes sense. Great idea, but isn’t the wagon a bit small for that? You wouldn’t get many people in it,’ said Nathan.
‘If it was just during the summer, when it’s nice weather, we could sit outside with deckchairs and picnic blankets, though? Maybe on the village green? Or, if the weather’s bad, and in the winter, in the village hall if it’s free?’ said Bea.
‘And there’s the problem,’ said Tori.
‘Why’s that?’ asked Leo, puzzled.
‘Convincing the new head of the parish council to give Bea a permit to use either the green or the hall,’ said Tori.
‘Who is it, then?’ asked Nathan.
‘Violet Davenport,’ said Tori with a sigh.
‘Well, I think I might have come up with a plan to win her over,’ said Bea, with a knowing look. ‘If I play my cards right, I think getting the permit might be easier than you think.’