Page 87 of The Cosy Travelling Christmas Shop

‘Stop that, you look like a guppy. It’s not a look you want to cultivate.’

Seren cleared her throat and tried again. ‘I’m not sure I heard you right: I could have sworn you saidyoubought the van.’

‘That’s because I did. I told your father about my idea and when he found it on that Bay thing on the computer, I gave him the money to buy it. Foryou. But I thought you might get cold feet, so I told him he had to put my name on the papers.’

‘The logbook?’

‘I don’t know what book it is, but it’s got my name on it. Not yours, not your father’s,mine. So there.’

Seren’s initial reaction was shock, but as her aunt’s words began to sink in, the shock began to turn to anger. She’d been manipulated by an old lady who had scant idea how tough it was out there, and who had tricked Seren into spending a fortune on having the ice cream van converted into a mobile shop that she was now refusing to sell, so Seren couldn’t recoup the money she’d wasted turning it into a travelling gift shop.

‘Before you say anything you might regret, think about your future,’ Nelly added calmly.

‘That’s what Iamthinking about,’ Seren retorted through gritted teeth. ‘I’ve just lost my job because of that stupid van, and all my savings, and the man I love.’

Nelly stared at her over the rim of her mug, then slowly placed it on the table with an age-spotted gnarled hand. ‘You’d better start at the beginning,’ she said.

So Seren did.

‘Can they do that?’ Nelly asked, when Seren finished telling her about the gross misconduct charge hanging over her head.

‘They can and they did. They’re well within their rights, apparently.’

Nelly screwed her face up. ‘It’s their loss. You’re a good little worker.’

‘I’m also in competition with them and I more or less said they sold rubbish, so I don’t think they would agree with you.’ She rubbed her hands across her face, feeling weary to her bones, and so sad she could curl up in a ball for the next six months and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.

‘If they do sack you, I think it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you. You were wasted there, and they didn’t appreciate you.’

‘Really?’ Seren sent her a despairing look. ‘You do realise I won’t get a reference, and without a reference I’ll find it hard to get another job.’

‘Why would you need another job? You’ve already got one.’

Seren was about to argue when she understood what her aunt was referring to. ‘If you’re talking about that van…’ she warned.

‘I am. That’s your job. Your father tells me it’s going well.’

‘It is. It was.’

‘So why on earth would you want to go back to a place where you are just a number and they couldn’t care less about you? Being your own boss must be so much more rewarding, and you’ve done the hard bit. Your van is up and running, so all you’ve got to do is to go out there and sell stuff.’

‘That’s easy for you to say,’ Seren muttered. Her aunt didn’t have a clue what it was like nowadays. Competition was tough, and although Seren wasn’t scared of hard work, she was scared of failing.

‘Is it?’ Nelly asked, eyeing her critically. ‘Are you thinking that I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m old? Because I haven’t worked for over thirty years? You might be right but what have you got to lose? Give your travelling gift shop your best shot – if, after say six months, you’re not making enough of a profit to pay yourself a wage, then I’ll agree to sell it.’

‘What am I supposed to live on whilst I’m giving it my best shot?’

Nelly snorted. ‘There’s something else you need to know, so listen up.’

Seren froze. Oh, God, please don’t let Aunt Nelly be ill, she prayed. She might be shrunken and frail, have trembling hands and not be able to walk far, but that was down to old age. Her aunt had hardly suffered a day’s ill health in her life, and Seren had an urge to shove her fingers in her ears so she didn’t have to hear any more bad news, because she didn’t think she could bear it.

‘You haven’t lost your savings,’ Nelly said.

It took Seren a second or two to divert her racing thoughts away from more disastrous news and onto the subject of her depleted bank account. ‘Pardon?’

‘I said, you haven’t lost your savings.Ipaid for the work on the van. You don’t owe the garage a penny.’

For the second time in as many minutes, Seren was speechless.

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