A dim light flickered on.
Raphael exhaled. ‘And so on.’ Gradually the shop became slightly brighter than it had been before. ‘Do you need to make any notes?’
‘I think I’ve got it so far,’ said Jemma.
‘Next, we check the till. You press this button to open it.’ The drawer shot out with a ping. ‘Now, I usually write down how much is in the till at the end of each day, so that we know where we’re at. If it’s a bit empty in the morning, there are some bank bags of change in this drawer.’ He opened it, then closed it again. ‘But I think we’ll do.’
‘So you don’t cash up properly at the end of each day?’ asked Jemma.
Raphael looked blank. ‘Do you think I should?’
‘Aren’t you bothered about getting burgled?’
Raphael stared at her, then his face crumpled into a laugh. ‘Burgled? Us? I don’t think that’s likely. We have good security, and Folio is an excellent guard cat.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ said Jemma, studying Folio, who was washing himself in the middle of the Science section.
‘As a rule of thumb,’ said Raphael, ‘I tend to visit the bank when the till money gets above fifty pounds. That’s a nice round number.’
Jemma’s eyebrows shot into her fringe. She wanted to say many things at this point, but settled for ‘I see.’
‘Now, working the till,’ said Raphael. ‘When a customer buys a book, you check the price, then press the appropriate buttons so that the right amount comes up in the little window at the top. Then you press the Sale button, and the drawer opens. I’ll show you properly if we get a customer.’
‘What if they buy, say, two books?’ asked Jemma. ‘Do you add the number up first, then put it in? Or do you put the two numbers in separately?’
Raphael’s brow furrowed. ‘I don’t think we’ll worry about that just yet,’ he said. ‘That’s all you need to know.’
‘But what about dealing with customers?’
The blank look came over Raphael’s face again. ‘Um, I say hello to them, and then I generally let them get on with it. Obviously, if they ask me a direct question I answer them. After all, I wouldn’t wish to be rude—’
The shop bell jangled.
‘I’ll watch and learn, shall I?’ said Jemma, and took a step back. She unbuttoned her jacket and hung it on the old-fashioned coat stand next to the counter, ready for action.
‘Good morning,’ Raphael said politely to the somewhat frazzled woman who entered the shop.
‘Good morning,’ she said, looking about her. ‘I wonder if you could help me. My sister is in hospital, and her TV doesn’t work, and she’s bored out of her brain.’
‘Oh,’ said Raphael. ‘I’m afraid I’m not good with machinery. Especially not when electricity is involved.’
Jemma took a decisive step forward. ‘What does she like to read?’
‘Well, I took her my daughter’s copy of Jane Eyre, and she was enjoying that, but I had to get it back because my daughter has to write an essay on it by Thursday.’
‘Right, Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë.’ Jemma went to General Fiction and found the Bs. ‘We have two copies of that, and one copy of Villette by the same author. Oh, and one copy each of Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.’ She thought. ‘Would she like Jane Austen, do you think?’
The woman laughed. ‘I know she liked Pride and Prejudice when it was on TV. Especially the bit where Mr Darcy dived into the lake.’
Jemma moved along to the As. ‘We’ve got three of those and two copies of Emma. Oh, and a Mansfield Park.’ She put her chin on the pile to keep it stable, took them to the counter, and spread them out.
The woman looked at the books. ‘That’s a lot,’ she said.
‘Of course you don’t have to take them all,’ said Jemma, ‘but I could probably do you a deal if you buy a few.’ She glanced across at Raphael, who was watching the transaction rather as one would watch a cobra emerging from a snake charmer’s basket. ‘I take it we can do a deal?’
‘Yes,’ said Raphael, as if hypnotised. ‘We can do a deal.’
The woman brightened. ‘Oh well, in that case…’ Her hand hovered over the books. ‘That one … and those two … and that one. And that Pride and Prejudice.’ Her finger landed decisively on Colin Firth’s chest.
‘So that’s five books.’ Jemma checked the prices. ‘At two pounds fifty each…’ She glanced at Raphael. ‘Can we do ten pounds? That’s one book free.’
Raphael jumped. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say?’
‘Ten pounds for these five books,’ Jemma said patiently. ‘That’s fair, isn’t it?’
‘I’ll take them,’ said the woman, digging out her purse. ‘And I have a ten-pound note, which is lucky.’
‘Isn’t it,’ said Jemma. She moved behind the counter and pushed the 10 button on the cash register, then the 00 button. The numbers appeared in the window. ‘What do I do now?’ she muttered to Raphael.
‘Press the Sale button,’ said Raphael, pointing.
‘Oh yes, that’s it,’ said Jemma. ‘Sorry, it’s my first day.’
‘Are you enjoying it?’ asked the woman, handing over the note.
‘Yes,’ said Jemma. ‘I am. Oh, and if you need any more books for your sister, you know where we are.’
‘Indeed I do,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s funny, but I hadn’t noticed the shop before today. I think it’s because you’re set back.’
‘Maybe that’s it,’ said Jemma, vowing to establish the shop’s social media presence at the first opportunity. ‘Would you like a bag? Or a receipt?’
‘Oh yes, a bag would be good.’
Jemma pulled a paper bag off the string, then wrote Burns Books on it, and copied the telephone number from the dial of the black Bakelite phone next to her. ‘There,’ she said, slipping the paperbacks inside. ‘If you want to check if we have a book, you can phone us and ask.’
‘What a good idea,’ said the woman. ‘Must go, I was meant to be at work ten minutes ago.’ She picked up the bag and scurried off.
‘That was fun,’ said Jemma, as the shop door closed behind her. ‘Do you have any feedback for me?’
‘Er, feedback?’ said Raphael.
‘Yes, on my handling of the retailer-customer interface,’ said Jemma.
Raphael flinched. ‘You did very well,’ he said. ‘In fact, I think you’re ready for one of the more advanced aspects of working in a bookshop.’
Jemma could feel herself puffing up with pride. ‘What’s that?’ she asked.
Raphael beamed. ‘Now, don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get it right first time. Most people don’t.’
‘I’ll give it my best shot,’ said Jemma. ‘What is it?’
Raphael looked very serious. ‘Do you think you could possibly make us both a cup of tea?’
Chapter 4