and sell not just coins but tokens and perhaps paper money as well. Maybe help a customer begin a collection, or fill in some . . . gaps. Is
gap
the right word?”
“Yes,
gaps
means holes or spaces.” Godwin was thinking, squinting down the fairway at the golfers on the green. One made his putt and waved his putter in the air. Another pointed his at the man in a fencing pose, goofing off, further delaying the game. “What advice do you want from me?”
“Actually,” said Rafael, sounding unusually diffident, “I want more than advice. I would like you to join me in the business, as a partner.”
Godwin’s heart sank into his shoes. “You
do
? Wow, Rafael, I’m honored that you ask me! But you know I wouldn’t have time for that. To do it right would be a full-time job, and I already have a full-time job at Crewel World.” Besides, Godwin’s money was tied up in a trust he didn’t have free access to, so he wouldn’t be able to invest his share in Rafael’s business.
“Yes, well . . .” Rafael fell silent.
Godwin stared at him. “You want me to
leave Crewel World
? Abandon
Betsy
?”
“No, of course not! Well, not all at once. Just back off a very little. She works you very hard, you know. Expects you to step up whenever she needs time off to sleuth. There are weeks when you actually work more than forty hours.”
“What she’s doing is important,” Godwin pointed out.
“Not to you. And the pay isn’t very good.”
“Oh, Rafael, I thought you understood about me and Betsy. It’s not about the money. I would rather die than disappoint her.”
“I do understand. But I need you to help me. Think how we would be spending more time together.”
Godwin looked down the fairway. The quartet had quit clowning and finished. “That’s a very tempting idea. But come on, we can go now. I need time to think about this.”
“Of course,
mi gorrion
.” Rafael remained unusually silent the rest of the game, while Godwin, badly rattled, couldn’t make even a double bogey on a single remaining hole.
* * *
I T was a little after ten on Tuesday, opening-up time. Betsy and Godwin were going through the well-rehearsed motions of preparing to unlock the door. After a few minutes Betsy said to Godwin, in a curious echo of his conversation with Rafael, “You’ve been awfully quiet. Is something on your mind?”
“No, no,” he said, a little too hastily. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” she persisted.
“Well, Rafael kind of surprised me yesterday on the golf course. He said he wants to open a shop of his own, selling rare coins. And maybe collectible paper money, too.”
“Could he do that? I mean, and make a success of it? What experience does he have in retail?” asked Betsy. She remembered her own fumbling and bumbling when she unexpectedly inherited Crewel World from her late sister.
“That’s just it, he doesn’t know very much about owning his own business.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Sort of. I mean, we talked about it some more last night and I told him he needs to get a job in retail and work there for at least a year. He’s very clever and a hard worker. I think he could get promoted to store manager, and then he’ll really learn something.” Godwin stooped to turn on the radio, tuned to a light jazz station.
“What brought on his desire to open his own shop?”
“I don’t know. He has this enormous coin collection, with some of just about everything in it, and he’s always buying and selling things over the Internet. He hasn’t been doing it for very long, but he really knows a whole lot about coins, so that’s not a problem. And I guess his experience with trading and buying and selling means he knows that end of it, too. He just doesn’t know very much about the nuts and bolts of owning an actual business. Taxes and rent and hours and employees. I mean, I could tell him a lot—in fact, I
have
told him a lot about working here—but
gap
the right word?”
“Yes,
gaps
means holes or spaces.” Godwin was thinking, squinting down the fairway at the golfers on the green. One made his putt and waved his putter in the air. Another pointed his at the man in a fencing pose, goofing off, further delaying the game. “What advice do you want from me?”
“Actually,” said Rafael, sounding unusually diffident, “I want more than advice. I would like you to join me in the business, as a partner.”
Godwin’s heart sank into his shoes. “You
do
? Wow, Rafael, I’m honored that you ask me! But you know I wouldn’t have time for that. To do it right would be a full-time job, and I already have a full-time job at Crewel World.” Besides, Godwin’s money was tied up in a trust he didn’t have free access to, so he wouldn’t be able to invest his share in Rafael’s business.
“Yes, well . . .” Rafael fell silent.
Godwin stared at him. “You want me to
leave Crewel World
? Abandon
Betsy
?”
“No, of course not! Well, not all at once. Just back off a very little. She works you very hard, you know. Expects you to step up whenever she needs time off to sleuth. There are weeks when you actually work more than forty hours.”
“What she’s doing is important,” Godwin pointed out.
“Not to you. And the pay isn’t very good.”
“Oh, Rafael, I thought you understood about me and Betsy. It’s not about the money. I would rather die than disappoint her.”
“I do understand. But I need you to help me. Think how we would be spending more time together.”
Godwin looked down the fairway. The quartet had quit clowning and finished. “That’s a very tempting idea. But come on, we can go now. I need time to think about this.”
“Of course,
mi gorrion
.” Rafael remained unusually silent the rest of the game, while Godwin, badly rattled, couldn’t make even a double bogey on a single remaining hole.
* * *
I T was a little after ten on Tuesday, opening-up time. Betsy and Godwin were going through the well-rehearsed motions of preparing to unlock the door. After a few minutes Betsy said to Godwin, in a curious echo of his conversation with Rafael, “You’ve been awfully quiet. Is something on your mind?”
“No, no,” he said, a little too hastily. “I’m just thinking.”
“About what?” she persisted.
“Well, Rafael kind of surprised me yesterday on the golf course. He said he wants to open a shop of his own, selling rare coins. And maybe collectible paper money, too.”
“Could he do that? I mean, and make a success of it? What experience does he have in retail?” asked Betsy. She remembered her own fumbling and bumbling when she unexpectedly inherited Crewel World from her late sister.
“That’s just it, he doesn’t know very much about owning his own business.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Sort of. I mean, we talked about it some more last night and I told him he needs to get a job in retail and work there for at least a year. He’s very clever and a hard worker. I think he could get promoted to store manager, and then he’ll really learn something.” Godwin stooped to turn on the radio, tuned to a light jazz station.
“What brought on his desire to open his own shop?”
“I don’t know. He has this enormous coin collection, with some of just about everything in it, and he’s always buying and selling things over the Internet. He hasn’t been doing it for very long, but he really knows a whole lot about coins, so that’s not a problem. And I guess his experience with trading and buying and selling means he knows that end of it, too. He just doesn’t know very much about the nuts and bolts of owning an actual business. Taxes and rent and hours and employees. I mean, I could tell him a lot—in fact, I
have
told him a lot about working here—but
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