A Good Runner: Part Fourteen

~ beetleypete

This is the fourteenth part of a fiction serial, in 739 words.

Within six weeks, Trevor had become relaxed and experienced as a taxi driver. Some customers had begun to ask for him by name, and Ken was very pleased indeed. One evening, he called Trevor into his tiny office near the back door. “I have heard you mention that you want to move out of your gran’s. There is a small flat upstairs you know, and I own it with the building. If you want, I will rent it to you at a fair price. You will get to park your car in the yard at the back, and have your own entrance using the metal staircase. Want to come up and have a look at it?”

He had never been further up the stairs than the toilet on the half-landing, and Trevor was surprised to find a door on the left, which Ken opened with a key. “There is a double bed they left here, but no other furniture. The bedroom is separate, and you have your own bathroom at the back”. Trevor was surprised how spacious the main room was, with two large windows overlooking the street, and a small kitchenette along one side. The bathroom had an Ascot to heat the water, and there was a thre-bar electric fire in the fireplace of the main room. Ken was realistic. “It needs a touch of paint or new wallpaper, but the lino is in good nick, and you can get some rugs or whatever. What do you reckon, Trev?”

There was no hesitation. “I’ll take it”.

Back downstairs, he couldn’t wait to tell Stella. He had developed a real crush on her, and had become convinced that she felt the same way. “So now you’re living above the shop. Don’t forget it is open for most of the night with drivers coming and going and the phone ringing. You won’t get much peace”. There were only three drivers who worked the night shift, and there was little demand for taxis that late, except at weekends when some part-time drivers made up the numbers. Trevor laughed. “Then I will have to work at night too, earn even more money!”

Then he had to go home and tell his gran.

Her reaction surprised him. “About time you got your own place. You can take what you need from here, as I will be telling the Council I am giving up this house. I will go and live with your Aunt Marion in Cirencester. Since she lost her husband she’s been rattling around in that big house. I only stayed on here because of you and Shirley, and when she scarpered I thought you would find your own place”. Trevor nodded, relieved that she wasn’t annoyed, and happy to solve his furniture issues. His old boss at the roofing company would surely let him have use of a lorry and driver one weekend, and he could give the man a few quid for helping him carry up some things.

His first night in his own flat felt strange. He bought fish and chips in town as he hadn’t connected the gas cooker, and then all the lights went out when he forgot to put any shillings in the electric meter. He didn’t mind though. It was a fresh start.

Two weeks later, he summoned up the nerve to ask Stella out. “You were right about the phones, Stella. I do hear them ringing, especially at weekends. By the way, would you like to go out with me one night, to the pictures, or into Oxford maybe?” He knew it was clumsy, but she was smiling. “Trev, I have a seven year old daughter, I thought someone might have told you that by now. And I’m thirty, a fair bit older than you. My mum looks after Amy when she finishes school, and in the holidays, so I don’t like to leave her in the evenings”. He knew his face was registering disappointment. “Sorry, I didn’t realise you were married. You don’t wear a wedding ring. Sorry for asking”.

Stella shook her head. “I’m a widow. My husband was killed in a road accident on his way to work on a motorbike when I was six months pregnant. Amy never knew him. So I don’t go out in the evenings”. Trevor nodded, and turned to leave. Then she spoke again.

“But you could come and have dinner with us one night”.

38 thoughts on “A Good Runner: Part Fourteen”

    1. It refers to linoleum (vinyl) floor covering being in good condition.
      ‘In good nick’ can refer to anything quite old that is still in very good conditon; from flooring, to a car, even a person. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  2. Pingback: A Good Runner – Serial by Pete Johnson – Part Eight to Fourteen – DEEZ – News about Art, Books & more

  8. (1) Does Trevor’s boss rent Kenworth trucks?
    (2) Does Trevor’s gran drive a Gran Torino?
    (3) Does Trevor’s new girlfriend drive a Stella solar racing car?
    (4) A kitchenette is small by definition. I have to wonder about the size of a small kitchenette! #MicroMeals
    (5) Overheard:
    Trevor: “Is there a bathroom at the back?”
    Ken: “Well, uh, let’s just say that it’s not a good idea to park under the window.”
    (6) Aunt Marion is an old bag of bones. She’s been rattling around in that big house of hers forever.
    (7) Shocking family revelations:
    Amy: “Mum, how old are you?”
    Stella: “I’m thirty, a fair bit older than you.”
    (8) Overheard:
    Trevor: “You don’t wear a wedding ring. Sorry for asking.”
    Stella: “I wear it, but you don’t see it. I have a piercing…down there.”
    Trevor: “I suddenly have a craving for fish and chips! Gotta go!”

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