Chapter 7
Beth approached La Libreria delle Parole – the Library of Words – excitement mixing with nerves in her stomach, the keys jangling in her fingertips.
The paperwork was done, and the book barge was now hers, stock included.
Thanks to Signor Balbo, it had been a quick and easy process, though saying goodbye to her colleagues at the galleria (and some of the paintings too, if she were honest) had been harder than expected.
Signor Sanna had given her a beautiful book about Venetian art and Antonia had baked her some frittelle (fried doughnuts filled with cream), which had been delicious.
They’d devoured them with the rest of the team, drinking warm white wine after the doors had closed for the day, and Beth had felt a mixture of sadness and joy at the old chapter she was leaving behind and the new one she was about to begin.
After a morning gym session, where she’d secretly looked out for Marco, as she had for the past couple of weeks, she’d changed and hurried to the estate agent’s office to collect the keys to her new book barge. Marco hadn’t been at the gym and the disappointment had hit her unusually hard.
Now, as she approached the book barge, ready to start her first day as a self-employed, floating bookshop owner, the feeling of home she’d experienced the first time she’d visited filled her once more, and a smile spread over her face.
This was it!
She’d done it! For the first time in her life she’d made a rash decision and with any luck it would turn out to be the best decision she ever made.
What she was loving more than anything, though, was that she had no one else to answer to.
The cold January wind snuck under the collar of her coat, chilling the back of her neck, and she hurried closer.
The first month of the year would soon be over and February brought Carnevale, life and excitement, brightening the winter months.
Everyone loved Carnevale and the way it filled every street on the city one way or another, with music and song, dancing and performance.
Later, she needed to take the last of her stuff from the apartment the society had rented for her, to a holiday let she’d found that wasn’t too far away from the barge.
It wasn’t ideal and it had that strange feel of somewhere several hundred people had slept before, but it was clean and tidy, and it would do until she found an actual apartment she liked.
She wouldn’t worry about that now though and would instead focus on the excitement of the new opportunity in front of her.
The cabinets lining the outside with their flip-down lids needed varnishing, the wood pale and cracking.
She studied them for a moment, deciding if she’d keep them or get rid of them altogether and have Cesca design something new.
Something a little fancier. She might even do what the gondoliers did and have a carpet along the canal side on sunny days, maybe hang some lights outside to cast a soft orange light over the place and make it look more welcoming.
The keys jangled in her fingers. First she needed to get inside.
It took a moment to figure out which key fitted each lock, but eventually she had it open and the smell of leather book binding and aged paper greeted her as she walked inside.
She pulled a cord and a light, covered in an old-fashioned shade, flickered into life.
It cast a warm orange glow over the room, but cold air seeped under her coat.
It had felt so cosy the first time she’d visited and on the few times she’d come since then, but without the fire lit the barge was freezing.
She moved to the fireplace and stared at it, unsure what to do.
She’d never lit a fire like this before.
A small basket of various-sized pieces of wood sat next to it, as well as a blackened metal dustpan and threadbare brush.
She quickly grabbed her phone and searched for how to light a fire, following the instructions, cleaning out the ashes.
She laid a new fire and took the box of matches that were sat on top of a pile of books and lit it.
Slowly, it came to life and when it was roaring, kicking out heat that wove through the book barge, she pushed the glass door on the front of the fire too.
On the armchair, there was a note from Signor Balbo wishing her many happy years, just as he’d had.
Warmth and gratitude spread through her and she promised herself to make the most of this opportunity.
‘So what should I do first?’ she asked herself.
She had asked Signor Balbo for a list of his stock, and he’d laughed in her face, albeit kindly, but still.
It hadn’t been the response she was hoping for.
She’d have liked an inventory like they had in the galleria, though everything they had was on an object management system so she could just type something in the search box and find where it was in the stores.
She needed something like that for this place, so maybe her first job was to start sorting the books into genres.
Warmer now, she shook off her coat, unpacked the kettle, tea, milk and cup she’d brought with her and got to work.
She needed to start earning money soon, so she’d stay open while she sorted out stock, just in case someone popped by, but on the next market day she’d make a big push, selling whatever it was she had.
With a cup of tea made, Beth started outside, opening the cabinets one by and one and making piles on the canal side.
Luckily it wasn’t raining and the pale white clouds ahead were like dots of cotton wool in the sky.
There were second-hand fiction books from the last fifty years and various non-fiction titles covering every subject from history and politics to gardening and drawing.
None of them were priced at more than a few euros and even then, the small yellowing price labels had fallen off most of them.
She really needed to clear as much of this older, less attractive stock as she could before she bought anything new or she’d end up with nowhere to move, and she couldn’t bin them.
Books, in her opinion, should never, ever be binned.
She then moved inside and began doing the same. After another hour and eager to stretch the crick in her back, Beth stood, saw a face at the window and screamed.
‘It’s all right,’ came a voice she recognised.
‘You frightened me!’ she said as Marco walked inside. She pressed a hand to her heart, willing it to calm down, but his gorgeous eyes and playful smile weren’t helping it slow at all. In fact, they were probably making it worse. To her surprise, he was holding some flowers.
Shyly, he dipped his head. ‘Sorry to scare you. I brought you these as it’s your first day.’ He held them out.
‘How did you—’
‘Cesca told me.’
The book barge suddenly seemed tiny, like the stacks of books had all shifted a couple of inches closer. Beth moved forward to take the bouquet. The flowers were beautiful in sweet pinks and rich reds. ‘Thank you. They’re gorgeous.’
He shuffled a little, looking around. ‘You have a lot of tidying to do.’
She laughed. ‘Yes, I do. But I’m excited to get started.’
He nodded. ‘Of course. I shouldn’t have disturbed you. Perhaps I should—’ He pointed towards the door and turned to walk away.
‘No, I—’
Just then, her phone rang and Beth pulled it from her pocket, seeing it was Daisy and Elsa.
As much as she wanted to speak to them, she didn’t want Marco to go either. ‘Sorry, it’s my friends, I—’
Marco shook his head. ‘I have a meeting anyway.’ He checked the large silver watch on his wrist. ‘I really should go. Congratulations again.’
Before she could respond, he was gone. With her hands full of flowers and her mind racing as to what she should have said and done to make him stay longer, she accepted the video call and smiled in return at her friends’ happy faces.
‘Hey, you two! I wasn’t expecting to speak to you today.’
‘We weren’t going to miss you barging it up for the first time,’ Elsa said.
‘Barging it up? Is that what we’re calling this?’
‘I think so. So, show us it then!’
Beth had sent a few photos before, but it was difficult to take a video with Signor Balbo standing over her, trying to make her sit and chat.
She’d grown quite fond of him, though, and was hoping to invite him over for coffee sometime.
She had the feeling he was quite lonely.
She put the flowers down without them seeing – she didn’t need the questions right now – and turned the camera around.
‘Ready? Welcome to my new place of work!’ As she walked through the space, everything lit by the soft orange lighting, her friends cooed.
‘It’s gorgeous, Bethy,’ Elsa said, and Daisy added: ‘I can see why you fell in love with it.’
‘So what do you plan to do?’
Beth turned the camera back around and snuggled into the armchair Signor Balbo had left.
‘So much! I mean first of all, it needs organising and then I’m going to get that friend of mine I told you about, Francesca, to come and build me some storage.
Stuff specially designed to fit the spaces to make the most of the nooks and crannies. ’
Daisy wiped a tear from her cheek and concern stopped Beth in her tracks. ‘What is it? Is everything okay?’
‘I’m just so proud of you,’ she sniffed, taking a tissue from Elsa. ‘You’re being so brave taking this chance. Doing something new. I’m really, really proud of you!’
Beth chuckled. ‘Well I’m really proud of you too. And me – I’m really proud of me, as well. Look at me being impulsive!’ She looked around the mess. ‘I kind of wish I had a better plan for all this stock though, but hey, I can’t sort it all out today, can I? One step at a time.’
‘Yes, just take each day as it comes. You’ll get there. You’re always so focused. If anyone can do this you can.’