Page 57 of Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe

‘Are you sure about this?’ she asked. ‘Can I afford to open up in the morning as well?’

‘I think this could be the start of something big,’ he told her.

She grimaced to which he laughed.

‘You want it to be a failure?’ he asked.

‘It’s not that,’ she told him, giving him a playful shove with her hand. ‘But what can one small group of Grandma’s friends do?’

‘I think a group like that could take on the whole world,’ said Alex, in playful alarm.

‘You know what I mean,’ she muttered.

‘And think how you’d be disappointing your grandmother if there wasn’t somewhere to warm up immediately afterwards,’ he told her. ‘Let alone the worry about what the extreme temperature differences could do at their age.’

‘That was below the belt,’ she replied.

‘But it’s worked, eh?’ he said, with a wink.

And so the decision was made to open up the Boathouse Café all day. She just hoped that there would be enough customers to fill it.

31

Later that afternoon, Hannah looked around the coffee shop and decided that she was about set for the opening.

Alex had shown her the complicated coffee machine which she was hoping would become easier in time. The fridge had been stocked and all she needed to do was get up early to complete the baking of the items on the menu.

She looked around the café, pleased despite her nerves at how great it looked. Each table was set and laid with a small glass of wildflowers, which her mum had provided. The cutlery on the table sparkled and the turquoise chairs were the pop of colour that she had imagined.

But no décor could match the amazing view as the lake sparkled in the May sunshine outside.

‘So? Are you all set?’

She spun round to find Beth and Ella standing in the doorway.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, rushing over to give them a hug.

‘You’d think we’d miss the grand opening?’ asked Ella.

‘We wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ added Beth.

Hannah was tearily grateful that her friends had decided to come and stay that weekend as a surprise.

‘Besides, we have a surprise for you!’ announced Lily with a flourish as she joined them.

Hannah looked past her friend to where the door to the Boathouse Café was wide open.

‘A surprise?’ she asked. ‘An open door?’

Ella rolled her eyes. ‘Come outside and see. We’ve been working hard on your secret project all morning.’

‘You have?’ Hannah was amazed that they had kept a secret from her.

So she followed them outside and was taken aback to see an old bicycle leant up against the back wall of the boathouse.

‘Is this supposed to be part of the wellness stuff for the hotel because I’m not sure it’s particularly road worthy,’ she said, making a face.

The bike was full of rust, despite the pretty pale blue paint that appeared almost new. The basket on the front had been filled with flowers which did make it more attractive.