“Well now, could be your lucky day. I just so happen to have a heap I picked up from the old tobacco mill. They have a fair bit of age on them. Lots of nicks and dents. Come over here and I’ll show you.”
Lena followed him to another shed where he had stacked the long four inch wide beams. She crouched down and ran her fingers over the timber. It would be easy to make a plain square frame and screw it to the table top before adding legs. What a find!
Bargaining time. “How much do you want for these?” She held her breath hoping it wasn’t more than she could afford. Even though Mama had paid for the chairs, money was still tight.
“Let’s do some figuring out shall we?” For the next half an hour, Rick went through her design and measured how many beams she would need to make legs for all of her tables. He named a figure and Lena quickly calculated in her head. “Can you deliver all of this to the dairy for me, please?”
“How about you do me a deal on opening night so I can take the missus somewhere nice for a meal and it’s a done deal?”
Too easy. “One dinner for two on the house, I promise.”
They shook hands and Lena headed for home, excited at her find and nervous at the same time. The café was all coming together faster than she could keep up.
Chapter 21
Lena looked at the stacked doors and timber posts, a small wave of trepidation creeping down her spine. Had she taken on more than she could cope with?
Her father walked up and slipped his hand over her shoulder. “Not having second thoughts are you? Would hate to have to take this lot back.”
Yes, no. She gave a nervous laugh. “Not really. I’m just a little bit overwhelmed by it all.”
“Honey, you did it before so you know you can do it again.”
Her parents had helped build the tables for her first tiny restaurant so this wasn’t new to any of them. It was the thought of repeating something that kept going wrong that worried her, but how did she relay that to her father without him thinking she was being precious when they had given her so many opportunities. “Yes, you’re right of course. I can do this, I know I can.” Think the little red engine. I know I can, I know I can.
“That’s more like the girl I know.” Ben knelt down and ran his fingers over the lengths of timber. “How about I start by cutting these for you and you can have the skill saw. Once you’ve measured these doors out properly, I’ll stand them on the saw horse and you can cut them?”
“Sure, but I can set them up. You taught me how to do them last time and I don’t want to waste your day.”
“Have you tried to lift one of these? They’re solid doors, Lena. Not your normal core filled ones that a child can lift. Have a go.”
She glanced at him doubtfully and leaned down, gripping the edge of one door with her fingers. It didn’t want to budge and Lena looked at her father. “Holy cow, these are better than I thought.” She straightened up and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Right, you’re on. Let me get the saw horses and a tape measure.”
She marked out the doors, and drew a pencil line for her cut. The tables were going to be great and if she got them cut before the boys arrived, they could do the framing up and add the legs. Then it was just a matter of sanding back some of the old paint and smoothing the edges. Easiest tables on the planet.
Lena had on her earmuffs and had just cut the last door when Gail arrived with Kyle and his friends. She put the saw down, slid off the earmuffs, and then wiped the sawdust from her jeans.
“Looks like you’ve got a good start.” Gail looked at the cut down doors already leaning against the shed.
“Yes we have. Papa is cutting the legs and frames for me. How was the movie, Kyle?”
“Yeah, good.” He blushed when Mitch nudged him with his elbow. “Get out.”
“Oh man, you have it good.” Mitch whooped with laughter and ran as Kyle tried to wrestle him to the ground. Their laughter could be heard down the back of the block.
“Am I missing something here?” Lena glanced at her best friend. Don’t tell me anything I don’t want to know.
“I’m not one to dobb him in, but I think there’s a girl who thinks your boy is rather rad, according to Mitch anyway. Not that I saw anything when I picked them up from the movies mind you.”
Great. Boys and hormones. “I was kind of hoping this wouldn’t happen for a few more years yet.”
“Yeah well, I bet your mother was thinking the same thing when we were—”
“Do tell, Gail.” Sofia walked down the path to the shed and stood listening.
“Ah, nothing, nothing at all.” Gail doubled over laughing and Lena gave her mother a blank look.
“Nothing you need to know about, Mama, promise. Kyle is just finding his feet at school. Seems the girls really like him and Mitch is teasing him about it.”
The two boys in question came bursting out of the garden by the side of the shed, laughing as they tumbled to the grass.
“Too much energy is your problem.” Sofia wiped her hands on her apron and looked approvingly at the work Lena had done so far. “So what now, bella?”
“Well, coffee would be good and then I was going to get the boys to make the frames and help Papa put them on. Gail and I can probably do the edges and sand off any sharp corners. Then
