A car going the other way, well pickup actually, gave us a toot, we both waved back but it was gone before I realised it was Marty. I really should see what’s happening with him and Bern, well and the baby of course – geez she’s nearly a year old! We’d barely made the turn to Altenahr before Manda took off for the name board, what’s got into her tonight?

All the way along past the camp ground I chased her, something, well actually a rather out of place old car at the service station distracted me and that was that. We trundled over the level crossing and freewheeled round towards the bridge.

“The kiosk looks good,” Mand offered.
“Cheers,” I allowed, yeah it does look pretty good. I didn’t see it from any distance earlier and I thought it looked pukka, the whole picture from over the road is brill.
“So when do you open?”
“Week on Monday.”
“You gonna be ready?” my companion asked as we crossed the bridge.
“Should be, all the gear’s coming on Monday, we should have time to spare.”

We singled out through the Altstadt which as usual this time of year was full of Grockles and parked cars. A turn into Tunnelstraße lost the tourists if not the cars but by the park we were clear and* prepared to drop through the tunnel to start the final thrash down the valley to Bond Towers. The Express was going the other direction so we had nothing to chase – well apart from an old guy on a mofa who we caught coming into Rech much to his surprise.
 
I stared up at the moon through the rooflite, almost full and shining brightly in the clear night sky. Sleep doesn’t want to come and all I can think about is flippin’ tractors – uurgh! Am I losing my nerve? Well lost it if tonight’s anything to go by – let’s face it, if I can’t go along the road without panicking every time I cross a tractor I might as well give up.

My arm swung out, located the open bag of apricot flavour gummi bears I bought last weekend and dropped a couple into my maw. Maybe I should speak to Mum about this tractor phobia? Change the subject, yeah, good idea, hmm what should I get Drea for her birthday? Probably not sweets, a doll or something?
 
“Gaby!”
“Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.”

Of course I couldn’t sleep last night so I overslept this morning and Dad’s like ‘you know we’re picking up Connie in fifteen minutes’. As if Con’s that bothered. Whatever, now then, phone, purse, dance bag – right best go and shut him up.
 
“Will you get the fence done today, Mr B?” Con enquired as we made our way up the valley.
“I should do, it’s mostly assembly today.”
“No more screaming saw,” I suggested.
“Well not until this afternoon at least.”
“Pity,” Con opined, “it was drowning out uncle Jo’s singing.”
“Yeah, he’s not exactly Elvis is he,” I noted.
“In his dreams and heaven forbid him and Dad get going.”

I rolled my eyes, our chauffeur is just as bad.

“Oh Mum said she’ll take us to the wholesalers next Wednesday.”
“Will everything be ready by then?” Dad queried.
“We won’t collect stuff Wednesday, they’ll deliver Friday or Saturday,” Con told us.
 
“So if you make a start on the woodwork, Gaby, Con can give you a hand when she’s finished the walls,” Jo suggested.
“’Kay,” I agreed.
“Well if you two are okay I'll go give Dave a hand.”

Our head of construction headed back outside leaving me armed with a forty mil brush and a tin of white gloss.

“Best open the server, Gab,” Con’s voice suggested from the store room.
“Er yeah, good idea.”

To be honest I'd expected we’d be painting the render today but I guess that's less important than having the inside ready for Monday’s delivery of fixtures and stuff. I slid the windows open and was soon humming along to Jo’s radio as I applied paint to the woodwork.
 
“Any news on the ‘Grand Opening’,” Con enquired a couple of hours later over our early lunch.

Early because we’d finished inside and to be honest, painting was fast losing its appeal.

“Nothing concrete,” I admitted.
“It’s getting a bit close,” my partner in crime stated.
“I know, it’s sort of in hand.”
“Sort of?”
“Well Mum said she’d get someone for us.”
“Who?”
“Didn’t say,” I admitted.
“Probably Frau Holdorf.”
I nearly sprayed her with a mouthful of tomato and mozzarella, “Can you imagine, Fritzy running around yapping.”
“And peeing everywhere!”
“Ew!”
“Best tell your mum to scrub that idea,” Con chortled.
 
“You two ready to start again?” Dad prompted.
“Really?”
“This stuff won’t get done on its own,” he pointed out.
“So what’re we doing?” Con asked with more enthusiasm than I felt.
“The fence needs sanding before we treat it, nothing too special, just taking the edges off.”
“With the sander?” I suggested hopefully.
“’Fraid not, I forgot to bring it up.”
“Da-ad!” I groaned.

To be fair it isn’t too bad, the saw cuts were pretty clean and the course paper makes short work of the rough edges. It’s just, well there’s quite a lot of fence, we’ll be at it all afternoon.
 
“Gab, Connie, can you break off for a minute,” Dad requested sometime later.

Even Con was more than ready to stop, we’ve both got a layer of sawdust in places you don’t want to know and my nails are wrecked – cheers Dad.

“Wassup?”
“We need some extra hands for a couple of minutes, Con can you take over from Jo over there please.”
“Sure.”
“Gab, if you can hold this one for me.”

I took control of the post from Dad, it must be like two and a half metres high.

“What’re these for?”
“Patience,” Jo suggested as he adjusted a set of ladders mid way between me and Con.
“Ready Jo?” Dad enquired.
“Think so, I'll just get the bolts.”
“I'll fetch it round then.”
‘It’, when Dad returned, was a board as long as the uprights and about thirty centimetres wide along its curving length.
“A name board?”
“Could be.”

There was no could be to it, once in place we’d have an archway leading into our little garden and, by default to the kiosk. Dad passed one end up to Jo at the other end before carefully climbing the midpoint steps himself. I won’t bore you with the whole operation but the pair of them took about ten minutes to bolt the board to the uprights and a further ten to secure the uprights.

 
All four of us crossed the road to get a better view of ‘our’ installation endeavour.

“Kewl!” Con allowed.
“You knew and didn’t say anything,” I accused of my father.
“I asked him not to,” Con’s Dad advised joining us, “so what do you think?”

What do I think? Never in my imagination had I thought something like this would come to pass, ‘Wilkommen bei Gab’s Garten’ would greet all our customers.

“It’s pretty cool but what about Con? we’re both part of this, Con back me up.”
“It wouldn’t slip off the tongue the same with Connie on there too,” my friend observed.”
“But it makes it look like it’s just me.”
“It won’t when we get the other board up,” Dad suggested.
“Other board?”

He pointed back across the road, there, leaning against the fence was a second board with the script ‘Wilkommen bei Connie’s Kabin’ emblazoned along its length. I guess it does have a certain ring to it.

“It goes up on the edge of the roof,” Mr T advised, “so you’ll see it coming over the bridge.”
“At least we’ve got a name now,” Con noted.
“We’ll cover them up until you open, I'm looking forward to this ‘grand’ opening of yours, Gaby,” Tomas Thesing mentioned.
“Er yeah, me too,” not!
“Well let’s crack on, this stuff doesn’t finish itself,” Jo advised our party.
 
“Pizza after?” Dad suggested as I climbed out of the bus, we’re having a last cheer practice tonight before Garde, I'm gonna be well kerknackered!

We did get the fence finished – well ready to stain, the second sign was installed and the place tidied up. Dad and Tomas are coming up tomorrow to finish the fence and the hut walls so everything’ll be ready for the fridges and stuff on Monday.

“Pia?”
“Pia too,” Dad allowed, “pepperoni?”
“Chilli beef?” I suggested in turn.
“It does eat something other than sliced sausage!”
“Dad!”
“Alright, chilli beef it is, see you later.”
“Laters,” I allowed as he swung back towards the road.
 
“Fun day?” P asked a couple of minutes later when she and Mand arrived courtesy of her sister Ingrid running the taxi service up the valley.
“If you call painting and sanding fun, just look at my nails,” I offered my hands for inspection.
“Now they’re gonna need some major surgery,” Mand noted inspecting the damage.
“Later,” I agreed, “it’s nearly finished after today, well apart from the fryers and stuff.”
“I still can’t believe you and Con are gonna be running it,” Mand stated.
“Yeah, it’s a bit weird,” I agreed.
“I hope we’re invited to the opening,” P hinted.
“Maybe,” I allowed, “more pressing, pizza tonight!”
“Oh yeah!”
The three of us exchanged high fives.

“Come on you three, we haven’t got much time,” Han called from the Tanzklub’s door.
 
By the time I'd had a quick wash and changed into some more suitable clothing Hannah had the All Star Cheer warming up. I hope all our extra practice has paid off, the girls look, I dunno, leaner and certainly have more 'suplesse' than a few weeks ago.
“Right, let’s start with the floor,” I suggested.

Maddy Bell © 11.02.17