Chapter 9 #2
Cesca moved to a dark mahogany cabinet and ran her hand over the wood. ‘So we could reuse as much as possible, which’ll keep your costs down and keep the character. But I think I could make you some lovely, unique shelving that fits the spaces perfectly and is a bit unusual.’
‘That sounds great.’ Another fizzle of excitement sprung up in her tummy.
‘And what about the artwork?’ Marco asked.
‘So I was thinking,’ Beth said, manoeuvring around the stack of books she’d made that morning and almost falling over in the process.
She walked to the end of the barge where the armchairs sat.
This area had the fewest books and the most free wall space.
Small square windows were situated along the sides of the boat up to that point, but here they stopped, meaning she could hang items on the walls. She explained all this to Marco.
‘So you’d only be looking for one or two pieces on each side, maybe three, depending on the size?’
‘Yes, but I was also thinking about outside too.’ He balked, the idea that expensive, beautiful artworks would be displayed in the open air, shocking him, but that wasn’t what she meant.
Beth giggled at his wide-eyed expression.
‘Come with me and I’ll show you what I mean.
’ She led them outside and pointed to the cabinets on the exterior of the barge, the ones similar to those used by the booksellers on the banks of the Seine in Paris.
‘I was thinking I could display ceramics or glasswork here. At least during the day. I’d lock them in the barge at night.
And here on the deck—’ She climbed up using a set of steps at the opposite end to the entrance to the lower deck.
‘I’d like to hold events here. Mostly in the summer because of the weather, but we could have book readings, live bands, interesting talks.
We could even open late. Once it’s done up, I could do evening exhibitions here.
I don’t know what else but there must be a million options once the space is organised.
’ She righted a fallen flowerpot with the tip of her toe and turned to them both.
‘We could put a roof on that,’ Cesca said. ‘Not a wooden one. But if I added some posts, we could add an awning, like the goods barges have for transporting things through the canals. That might help if you organise something and the weather suddenly gets bad.’
‘That’s a great idea!’ Beth pressed her hands together. She should have thought of that.
Before, when she was working in the galleria, she might have blamed herself for not thinking of it.
She’d have praised whoever did, but a small part of her, the driven part that wanted her and everything else to be perfect, would have told her she should have thought of that herself.
Whether she had or not, it was a great idea, and she made a note on her phone so she didn’t forget.
Was she learning to be kinder to herself?
She doubted it and instead, watched as Marco studied the place, his eyes flicking over every inch, his hands in his pockets.
Beth held her breath, then reminded herself that regardless of his answer, she’d make it work somehow.
She had to. His help was just a nice added extra if she could have it.
Finally, Marco turned to her and nodded. ‘All right. We can start some discussions with my artists but no displaying anything until you’ve finished refurbishing. How long do you think it will take?’
Beth looked at Francesca. ‘I can start work as soon as you’ve cleared everything.’
Ah. Now this might be a problem. ‘The trouble is,’ Beth began. ‘I don’t have anywhere to store anything except for here, so I’ll clear as much as I can of the stock I don’t want to keep, but what I do keep will have to be shuffled around to make room.’
‘Can’t you store anything at your apartment?’ Marco asked and her cheeks grew warm.
‘I’m kind of living in a holiday let at the moment.
And they said I might have to move if they get a higher-paying, short-term booking.
So no, not really.’ She also had to definitely be out before the tourist season started.
Oh, and she’d checked her lease agreement, and it quite clearly said she wasn’t supposed to have pets either.
She wasn’t sure when she’d become such a rule breaker, but she was kind of enjoying it so far. As long as she didn’t get caught.
‘What?’ Francesca said, almost shouting. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
Beth shrugged with embarrassment. The answer was simple: she hadn’t thought they were that close.
But maybe she’d underestimated her friend and their friendship.
Cesca was kind and thoughtful and there was no reason to think that wouldn’t have extended to her and her situation.
Pride had kept her from saying anything.
That and she didn’t want people to think she was a failure.
Guilt spread from her cold toes to the tip of her head.
‘Life had gone a little crazy,’ she replied, not meeting her eye.
Polo had followed them outside and was winding his way around Marco’s feet. He bent and fussed the cat again, grinning in a way that made Beth’s heart melt.
‘Well,’ Marco said. ‘I have a space you can use for storage if you need it. My office isn’t too far from here, but as we can’t use cars it’ll be a lot of walking backwards and forwards.’
Venice was such a historic city, the streets so narrow with houses almost touching, that no cars were allowed.
Beth loved it. London proved what pollution could do to beautiful buildings, turning their walls black.
Venice had the right idea. But what Marco said was more than she’d been expecting.
He looked again at the barge and smiled.
She couldn’t read his expression exactly, but she thought maybe he was …
impressed? She hoped he was. She hoped they both were.
‘Thanks, that’s really kind, but give me another couple of weeks to get rid of as much of this as I can first. Then I can see what I’m keeping and get more of an idea of how much space I need. I need to plan it all out and decide where each section will go.’
‘Section?’ Marco asked.
‘Yeah, like fiction split into different genres and non-fiction too.’
‘Right, I see.’
‘I want it to look like a proper bookshop.’
‘Just a floating one?’
‘Exactly.’ There it was again: that friendly, open side to him she’d seen as they’d discussed art and history at the party.
‘So,’ Cesca interrupted, glancing between them. ‘Two weeks to make some space then?’ Beth nodded. ‘That’ll work. I’ve got a job to finish first, but it’s nearly done.’
‘Perfect! Shall we celebrate with tea?’ Her Italian friends turned up their noses and curled their lips in disgust. Tea was not a favourite in Italy. Not when there was gorgeous Italian coffee to enjoy. Beth laughed. ‘Okay, how about I take you to my favourite café instead then?’
‘That sounds better,’ Cesca said.
Marco agreed. ‘I don’t understand what you English see in tea. It’s like drain water.’
Beth stepped down off the deck and led them back inside to grab her coat. She left a window open for Polo, who had already wandered off. As she stepped onto the pavement she said, ‘Then you’ve clearly never had a decently made cup. Come on, I could do with the caffeine. I’m going to need it.’