Chapter 6

Anh went back to work. Terry visited the office to explain his change of status.

"I don't think there'll be a big problem," Janice said thoughtfully. "Have you got a date yet?"

"We haven't thought that far ahead, but I think we'd like it sooner rather than later."

"What about Amy and the arrangement we made that she'd be around for the first couple of weeks of Tom's work experience? We got her CRB check."

(The CRB is the Criminal Records Bureau. Persons wishing to work with minors or vulnerable adults have to consent to a Police check on their history; they are then issued with a certificate. You'd think once would be enough, but the same process has to be gone through for each different situation a person wishes to work in.)

"I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.

"Your fiancée ... Annie," she began.

"Nguyen Anh," he said, "though we'd say Anh Nguyen."

Janice nodded, "fine ... but I'll just say Annie for now, if you don't mind. Does she have any qualifications? She's working in sales in a bicycle shop, you said?"

"Yes, but she's working on a degree in business studies. I think she's about into her second year."

"So ... do you know if she has any office experience? Accounting, spreadsheets, that sort of thing?"

"I couldn't say ... I would think so, though."

"Well..." Janice drawled, "we never replaced Beth, you know, in the office. While you've tried hard, you are not office-worker material. Do you think Annie might be interested? It might not mean as much money, but she'd get time with you, even ship as third hand if she wants. I'd guess the bike shop would be open six days ... maybe part of Sunday too. She'd average four days in the office..."

"I don't know..." he frowned, "but I'll ask..."

"Ask her to come to see me," she said, "but don't tell her why..."

When Anh arrived back at Emily Jane, she'd had a very long, hard day. For some reason the 'world and his wife' were looking at bicycles – mostly for their offspring, but in some cases for themselves in an attempt to begin a programme of exercise. Terry waited until they'd eaten and were cuddling on the sofa before he mentioned his visit to the office.

"Janice would like you to call in at the office when you've time," he said.

She looked nervous. "Why?"

"Oh ... nothing unpleasant. But perhaps she wants your permission to run a CRB check if you're going to be around here a lot. Just give her a call and tell her when you've got a day off."

It was almost a week later when Anh nervously shook hands with Janice.

"Take a seat, Annie, and try to relax... " She asked Anh a lot of questions about the course she was undertaking and what she was hoping to achieve, which Anh, puzzled, tried to answer honestly. After half an hour, she smiled, "I'm ready for a cup of coffee; would you like one? Or tea, if you prefer?"

"I'd like tea, please ... but weak, without milk."

A little later as they sipped their drinks, Janice continued, "here's the deal, as they say. When Beth left to have her baby, we didn't immediately look for a replacement, though we did ask Terry to take over the role of Mate on Emily Jane. This is a small office and we need to ... get on well together. We have, however, been looking around for a ... congenial ... colleague. Beth has been coming in as volunteer, but it's not fair on her for us to continue to depend on her. I'm offering you a job here, basically as my assistant. It'll involve some accounting, correspondence, filing ... you'd have to communicate with clients and promote the charity in various ways. From our chat this morning, I'm convinced you are capable of doing an excellent job. Part of Beth's job involved shipping as Mate on Emily Jane, so you'd be working only four days here. Terry has taken over the role of Mate, but also has more responsibility because our Skipper has retired. Now, if you are interested, you can sail with them as Third Hand. That would be unpaid, but you would gain experience, both with the ship and with the clients."

Anh was silent and a little wide-eyed.

"I can give you a few days to think it over," Janice said, "but if someone else comes along that's suitable, I'd have to appoint them."

"No! I mean, yes! Yes, please, it sounds ideal!" Anh stammered out a response, "I need to give notice at the shop, though."

"That's fine. Just let me know when you can start. We can get some of the formalities out of the way now, if you like..."

Back at Emily Jane, Terry had a casserole in the oven and his head in a book when Anh returned. Looking up as she entered the saloon, he stood and walked toward her. She stopped and tried to glare at him (without, it has to be said, much success) and, when he got within arms' reach poked him, hard, in the chest.

"You knew! Don't try to deny it! You knew what she wanted to talk about!" She stood, hands on hips, looking at him.

He shrugged apologetically, "I knew. Janice asked me not to warn you. I think she had several reasons for that." He shrugged again. "I'm sorry. How did it go?"

She relaxed and hugged him. "I'm to start as soon as I finish at the shop. And ... I get to learn to sail a barge!"

Four days after that, the snow came. I need to explain something here. England's on the same latitude as Newfoundland, but because of the Gulf Stream (actually, the 'North Atlantic Drift') has quite a mild, damp climate. The prevailing winds are westerly, meaning the East coast is relatively dry; the annual rainfall can be as low as twelve inches a year. Although the North Sea is cold it has a stabilising effect on the land temperature. The wind-chill can be extreme, but the air temperatures rarely get much below freezing. All of which means a significant fall of snow is unusual ... it takes a particular combination of weather patterns and, usually, North-easterly winds from Siberia. As a result, of course, the area is unused to much snow, and unprepared. It doesn't take more than a couple of inches to bring the towns to a standstill.

Anh tramped to work, setting off early, but still arriving only just about her usual time. To say business was slow would be an understatement. It would be more accurate to say at a standstill. The manager called her into the office after lunch; a short, amicable chat later, she was on her way back to Emily Jane and Terry's arms.

"He was going to pay me in lieu of annual leave, but in view of the slow-down in the business, I'm on holiday now until I officially finish. Whatever are we going to do with ourselves for three weeks?"

About the time Anh was drinking her mid-morning cup of tea during that last day in the bicycle shop, Amy was tramping along towing the sledge she'd extracted from its storage place in the garage. That hadn't been easy, it hadn't been moved for at least ten years. Andrew and Lucy were sitting on the sledge; each taking (short) turns at being the sled-dog for each other. They were on their way to visit Auntie Beth. It was a long walk, especially in the snow; it was just as well she'd rung ahead to warn her so a lunch of hot soup and fresh, home-made crusty bread was waiting for them when they got there. After lunch the twins disappeared into the garden to make a snow-man while Amy talked to her friend.

"I'm ... going to cry off the arrangement with Terry on Emily Jane."