It was a hot lazy afternoon the next day and Mandy decided to look through the guest list for the motorhome competition celebrations that were taking place on Saturday now only 48 hours away.
She was pleased to see that many of the motor home competition entrants were bringing families and friends to swell the numbers and a few Council representatives and officials were also going to be present.
“Typical Council officials, always keen on a free lunch,” moaned Ruarc, focussing only on the cost.
“We need them on our side,” chided Mandy, gently. “They may get a free lunch but, afterwards,they are less likely to stand in the way of any plans we have. Plus we might be able to get some advice from them on what we can or can’t do to develop the motorhome business and remember they are not charging us for their advice on this occasion.”
Ruarc nodded grudging agreement, he liked the idea of getting assistance for free.
Mandy looked down the list that Gladys had prepared and saw an entry she didn’t fully understand.
‘Ruarc’s family’, it said.
“What’s this entry described as ‘Ruarc’s family’”, she asked.
Ruarc was non-committal.
“A few of the family are coming over from Ireland.” He grinned wolfishly. “They like a free lunch too!”
“How many of them will there be?” said Mandy.
“You’ll have to talk to Rita about that. She’s the one whose been doing all the telephone calls.”
“All the telephone calls? Have you a big family in Ireland?” pressed Mandy. She didn’t really want to have to talk to Rita.
“For sure, our family is big – but they won’t necessarily all come over at the same time. You’ll have to talk to Rita, she is the one who does family stuff.”
On a day that Mandy saw as being critical to the future of Ruarc’s motorhome sales and its survival through the recession, the thought of possibly hundreds of surly Ralphs, Ruarcs and Ritas with their general lack of social communication skills mingling with prospective customers and business contacts suddenly filled Mandy with dread.
Mandy had hardly spoken to Rita for weeks. Her surly attitude and open contempt for what she regarded as hired and unnecessary help made it an event Mandy didn’t look forward to. Ruarc recently had largely accepted Mandy as a driving force for the business but Rita was a different matter and, ultimately, she had a lot of influence over Ruarc.
Filled with trepidation, Mandy resolved to see Rita later that day.