xx

Open All Hours by Christine Sparks PDF

Granville looked down at his short, undistinguished person, wrapped round in a large white pinny. Here he was, a young man in his twenties already at work in the shop at six thirty in the morning. What did the future hold for him? A continuing occupation as a shop assistant?, warehouse attendant?, delivery boy?, window cleaner?, and general underpaid dogsbody to uncle Arkwright?

Uncle Arkwright didn't see it that way. He thought that Granville was a lucky lad with no appreciation of his good fortune in being born to an inheritance, always knowing he was secure and need never fear unemployment. Wasn't Granville on the threshold of a satisfying career, learning the trade from the bottom up, all found, and wasn't he, in the due process of inheriting this thriving grocery business?, Arkwright's life work and his sole reason for being.

Well, his sole reason as long as nurse Gladys Emmanuel remained adamant to his advances. Even lavish gifts like half a pound of out of date butter or one of last years unsold Christmas trees from the stockroom couldn't tempt her.

Here they were, Arkwright and Granville, both trapped in a corner grocery shop that sold everything and stayed open all hours to do so.

xx