Tell Tale: Short Stories

“Yes, of course, Mr. Turner.”

“When I’ve parked here in the past,” said the zoo manager, “I’ve never had to pay.”

“And you won’t have to in the future, Mr. Turner,” said Joe.

“But now the council’s taken over the site, surely I’ll be expected—”

“You won’t be expected to pay a penny, Mr. Turner. In fact I’m going to allocate you your own private space, that no one else will be able to park in.”

“Won’t the council kick up a fuss?”

“I won’t say anything if you don’t,” said Joe, touching his nose.

“That’s good of you, Joe,” said Turner. “Let me know if I can ever do anything for you.”

Joe selected the space directly opposite the entrance to the zoo and spent the rest of the day carefully painting the words ZOO MANAGER ONLY.

* * *

When Molly left her job at Mason’s to have the baby, Joe suggested she handle the cash and keep the books.

Molly also opened a bank account with Barclays, and paid in just over £20 a week, the average wage for a council parking attendant, and placed the rest of the cash under a floorboard in their bedroom.

Although Molly kept the books in apple pie order, even she had to take some time off when Joe Junior was born. His birth only gave the proud father the incentive to paint even more spaces, and within a year, all 120 slots were in place, with a special area reserved for coaches.

When the time came for Molly to return to work, she didn’t go back to Mason’s, but joined Joe officially as his bookkeeper and secretary. She paid herself £25 a week. However, it didn’t help the cash flow problem, as they had to take up more and more floorboards, but she was already working on how to deal with that particular problem.

* * *

It was Molly who suggested that the time had come for them to take a trip to Macclesfield.

“Macclesfield wouldn’t be my first choice for a holiday,” said Joe.

“We’re not going on holiday,” said Molly, “just a day trip. If you look at your father’s latest ticket machine, you’ll see who the manufacturer is, and I think it’s time we paid them a visit.”

As the zoo was always closed on a Monday, Molly borrowed a van from Mr. Mason and the three of them set off for Macclesfield. The showroom turned out to be a treasure trove of uniforms, machines, and all the other accessories any self-respecting car park attendant needed to do his job. Joe ended up acquiring two outfits (summer and winter) with ZOO printed on the shoulder, the latest collecting machine, a peaked cap, and a small enamel badge that announced SUPERVISOR, which he couldn’t resist, although Molly wasn’t at all sure about it. Her only acquisitions were a large bookkeeper’s ledger and a filing cabinet.

It was on the way back to Barnsford that Molly dropped two bombshells. “I’m pregnant again,” she said, “but at least the council have finally offered us a house.”

“But I thought you didn’t want to live in a council house, and in any case we’ve got enough cash to put down a deposit on a bungalow on the Woolwich estate,” said Joe.

“Can’t risk it,” said Molly. “If we did that, folks might start gossiping and wonder how you earned that sort of money as a car park attendant, and don’t forget, most people think I’m still out of work.”

“But what’s the point of making all this money, if we can’t enjoy it?” demanded Joe.

“Don’t worry yourself. I have plans for that too.”

* * *

Six months later, Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, Joe Jr., and Janet moved into their council house on the Keir Hardie estate. While folks might have thought their new neighbors were living in a council house, if they’d ever been invited inside they would have discovered the Simpsons weren’t doing their shopping at the Co-op, but then they never were invited inside.

And as well as tufted carpets, a space-age kitchen, a large-screen TV, and a three-piece suite that wasn’t bought on the never-never, they still had a cash flow problem. But Joe felt confident Molly would come up with a solution.

“We won’t be going to Blackpool for our summer holiday this year,” she announced over breakfast one morning.

“Then where are we going, Mum?” demanded Joe Jr.

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