Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
‘ I can’t believe it,’ said Mason. Bertha was magnificent, and practically every surface now reflected the sunlight that shone through the windows around the bar. She was transformed and for a moment it stunned them to silence, even though they’d all been part of the refit.
‘I added some finishing touches,’ admitted Maya as she ran her hand along the new black granite bar that was an off-cut that a kitchen shop situated at the top of the hill in town had donated. The local community had gotten behind the makeover and they’d turned up with coffee and sandwiches for the workers. Maya hadn’t let them on board, but a few had craned their necks to get a glimpse. She worried that someone might let slip and tell Joe, but the community was pretty tight-knit and she knew they all loved Joe and Olive and were excited about this surprise.
‘It really is mind-boggling and I bet Alex and Luca have been trying to see what you’ve done,’ said Leah as she and Matt handed out glasses of fizz or orange juice, and Penny distributed cupcakes that filled the air with toffee and the spicy cinnamon that was dusted on top, which made Maya’s mouth water. Someone switched the radio on and the smooth jazz playing seemed to fit with Bertha ’s new look. The interior had plush velvet seats in green and matching cut-glass vintage glasses were lined along glass shelves at the back of the mirrored bar. As the sun filtered through the windows, ripples of colour reflected on the completely refurbished bar.
‘They have popped by a couple of times,’ Maya admitted, then felt her cheeks go warm at the mention of Alex’s name, but she‘d also seen him around town with three different women and she wasn’t about to become number four this week.
The interior walls of the bar nearest the seating were painted a deep green and smart black and gold inlaid panelling had been added to match the theme of the boat. The grandiose interior had windows everywhere but still felt sumptuous and welcoming – now the inside was just as beautiful as the view of the river would be. It was like stepping back in time to an art deco masterpiece with chandeliers, lush greenery and sophisticated, rich colour schemes. ‘To Maya!’ they all chanted as they raised their glasses. She blushed and brushed the compliments away.
‘To teamwork!’ she exclaimed, raising her glass back to them all as they burst into chatter and the team arrived to get the boat back to the riverside. ‘Joe’s returning in the morning and I’ve heard from Gran and Pops that Olive is healing well,’ Maya sighed in relief.
‘I’ve sent Joe a few images of the river that I took weeks before and told him everything was fine,’ added Roman, who was walking around and opening cupboards behind the bar to find out where everything was stored. ‘He’s not asked about Bertha or discussed ticket sale numbers, so maybe he’s finally realised that he needed a rest.’ He shrugged, brushing his long hair from his shoulders and grinning at Maya.
Bertha looked film star glamorous, and stepping aboard now was an experience. Over the years, quite a few famous people, including local actress and national sweetheart, Dame Rosalie, had cruised along the river on Bertha in her heyday and signed their names above the bar. Maya had highlighted this with lots of tiny gold stars in between the names and left the room for lots more. She hoped that when people saw who had been there before them, they might spread the word, or come in and pose for a social media post in front of it.
As they all jumped off the boat and prepared to welcome Joe back to the other love of his life, Maya felt sick. Leah leaned in and gave her a warm hug. ‘It will be okay’, she reassured. ‘How could anyone not love this?’ Maya looked around the inside of the boat that was almost unrecognisable and prayed that Leah was right.