Chapter 32
‘And so I declare this Boathouse Café open!’
With a flourish, Ben popped open the champagne and the group of family and friends all gathered around so that their empty glass flutes could be topped up.
Hannah looked around, enveloped in the warmth and support of everyone she loved. But there was no denying the nerves still rattled inside of her.
In actual fact, she was almost relieved to finally have the café ready and the wait was hopefully going to be worse than the actual opening. Or so she was really hoping.
‘Cheers!’ said Alex, clinking his glass against hers.
‘Do we really need all this fuss?’ she murmured, so that only he could hear.
‘Yes,’ he told her. ‘Because it’s an amazing thing that you’re doing and it needs to be honoured.’
So Hannah fixed a smile on her face and let her loved ones celebrate the moment. She knew it was a big deal for the hotel to have an extra source of income and so everyone was in a hopeful mood.
‘How many have you got booked in for afternoon tea later?’ asked Ben, coming to join them.
‘Four.’ Hannah gave a shrug. ‘It’s not many but at least that’ll help me iron out any kinks before it gets busier, I guess.’ She was hoping that, with Lily’s prompting from behind the reception desk, a full hotel at the weekend might mean they received a few more customers.
‘I’m sure it’ll go brilliantly,’ said Alex, ever supportive.
As usual, Alex was right. The afternoon tea was a success and Hannah was pleased with the feedback from the hotel guests.
They raved about the pretty chinaware and declared her cakes delicious.
The relief she felt was immense and she actually went to sleep with a smile on her face that evening.
Maybe she could do this after all, she told herself.
Her positive mood continued through the long weekend as a steady stream of guests popped in for coffee, enjoying the view and, from their feedback, all of her food as well.
The only trouble was that apart from the hotel guests, and the members of Dotty’s swim club coming along to support her, the café stayed quiet for the rest of the weekend.
‘I’m sorry we’re leaving,’ Ella told her on the bank holiday Monday as she and Beth came to say their goodbyes. ‘We were hoping to help out with the rush.’
‘What rush?’ joked Hannah, forcing herself to sound more jolly than she felt. ‘I dream of having a rush.’
‘Things will pick up, I’m sure,’ said Beth, giving her a hug.
‘In the meantime, I’ve got a parting gift for you both,’ Hannah told them.
So she packed off her friends with a box of leftover cakes which they were thrilled with.
‘We get to take a little of Hannah home with us,’ said Beth, with a smile.
‘Don’t worry,’ murmured Ella, as she said goodbye. ‘Business is always slow to begin with.’
The trouble was, thought Hannah, that it wasn’t just slow. It was glacially slow. By Monday evening, many of the weekend hotel guests had left and so it was an extremely quiet day. So much for a successful business, she thought, beginning to get worried.
At least Tuesday would see some customers, she reminded herself. Because the swimming club was set for the morning and, to her amazement, four hotel guests had booked an afternoon tea as well.
So on Tuesday, she tried to find some positivity from somewhere. She looked around. At least it was all ready to go.
The tables all shone under the thankfully sunny skies outside. The glass jars filled with wildflower posies gleamed, as did the new patio doors. She had hung bunting across the oak frames, along with fairy lights and streams of fake flowers to give it an ethereal feel. It was perfect.
She felt the tears prick her eyes. Whatever happened in the future when, inevitably, it closed due to lack of customers, she had achieved her long-held dream and seen the idea that she had held on to so tightly as a dream come to fruition.
Her life goal had been achieved. She had to remind herself of that, she decided.
Just after ten o’clock, Dotty’s swim club staggered in, full of lively chatter and laughter about their exploits in the lake during the previous half an hour.
They insisted on sitting outside so as not to drip all over the floorboards, they told Hannah.
She wondered whether she should set up a table and chairs on the beach by the lake but then realised that the place would remain completely empty and what was the point in that?
At least it looked as if she had customers.
Mavis had brought along her great-niece Aimee as promised.
‘That swim was amazing,’ said Aimee, with a wide smile. ‘I’m definitely going to try and make this a regular thing.’
‘I knew you’d enjoy it,’ replied Mavis.
Hannah smiled at Aimee, trying not to recall her knee-jerk reaction to Aimee flirting with Alex which had resulted in her drunkenly kissing him.
She also tried not to notice Aimee giving Alex a wide smile when he arrived as the group of swimmers, fuelled and warmed up by their coffees and cakes, were leaving.
She left them chatting and went to tidy up the table.
A little while later, when she and Alex were alone in the café, she crouched down to stroke Tiny and asked, ‘How was your walk?’
‘Great,’ said Alex, nodding. ‘A bit of pain here and there but another week and I’ll be fighting fit again.’
He smiled at her and she realised that he had caught the sun over the past couple of weeks of good weather and his skin was beginning to turn a pale gold, meaning his blue eyes stood out even more. No wonder Aimee had been flirting with him again. He looked great.
She quickly looked away once she realised she was staring at him. ‘Coffee?’ she asked.
‘Please.’ Alex brought out his phone. ‘I’ve had confirmation of all the public liability and food hygiene certificates,’ he told her. ‘I’ll get them printed out for you later and put it in the business file behind the counter.’
‘It’s all gobbledegook to me but OK,’ she said, shooting him a grin across the counter.
Hannah mentally crossed her fingers but, to her relief, the afternoon tea was a success. The feedback she received from the customers that they would definitely be back.
‘That’s great news,’ said Lily over dinner later that evening. ‘You’re going to need staff to help you before too long.’
Hannah laughed. ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ she told her friend.
Lily shook her head. ‘Just wait and see,’ she said, with a wink.
But, for once, Lily’s optimism seemed a little misplaced.
The longed-for customers never appeared and by Friday of that week, Hannah stared across the kitchen table at the vast amount of leftover cakes that she had brought back with her from the café.
Some were two days old and were in danger of going to waste so she gave them to the family to enjoy.
‘Wonderful,’ said Walter, halfway through a large slice of chocolate cake.
Hannah had kept the menu short, full of her favourite bakes. But the leftovers only served to remind her that she was severely lacking customers.
‘I’m sure it will pick up again now that the weekend is here,’ Faye told her, giving her daughter a reassuring hug.
‘Absolutely,’ said Alex, who was sitting next to her. ‘We have every faith in you.’
Hannah tried to smile at him but the truth was that her heart was breaking. The café had not been the success that everyone had hoped for. Perhaps she couldn’t do this, no matter how much her friends and family tried to reassure her, she thought with a heavy sigh.