Manon finds the email from JP and reads. ‘Told you so.’ She gives me a triumphant smile. ‘It’s less than the other quotes. But still far more than you budgeted.’
‘Damn. And honestly, I’m not surprised, because how can I budget for such a thing when I have no idea what I’m doing!’ My voice gets a little high as I wonder again if my life is really going to implode this time. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t be renovating a hotel!
‘He says he’s had a cancellation and can start soon. He can do four suites before Christmas, plus a quick nip around ours, just swapping the sinks and taps. He will do the majority of the noisy, messy work before our soft launch. But, overall, the other moretime-consuming work will take months but he’ll stay on and do that alone, without the team.’
‘OK.’ I talk myself down.
‘He’s given us the option of saving even more if we do some of the painting ourselves. Although, he’s said they’ll paint the ceilings and cornices because they’re fixing the damage on those.’ Manon steps away from the computer and stretches her arms above her head. ‘I’m so glad we don’t need to do the ceilings; can you even imagine? I’d die.’
I pull the computer onto my lap and scroll down the list of work and the relevant costs. ‘It’s a reasonable quote considering, and the timeframe works, so we won’t be disturbing our Christmas guests if he does most of the noisy work now.’
I take a breath. This is doable, if I had some more funds…
JP’s also made copious notes of what we’ll need to achieve down the line, including fixing the wrought-iron balconies that are damaged in a few of the suites. Let’s hope that’s a cost for the new owners.
‘There’s obviously going to be some noise and mess as we do up other parts of the hotel as we can afford to,’ I say, ‘but we’ll make that up to our guests by reducing the rate somewhat and wowing them with our happy sunny dispositions.’ I give Manon a toothy grin.
‘Please don’t smile at them like that. They’ll run away screaming.’
‘I’ll work on my happy sunny smile.’ Manon drags the computer back her way. ‘He can do the lobby, guest lounge, library and four suites in about four weeks’ time as long as nothing untoward crops up. Or, we also have the option of less trades but a longer completion time. February, March timeframe.’
‘Let’s go with the extra trades. When did he say they will start?’
‘Monday November eighteenth. That means they’ll be finished around December eighteenth. We could partially open a week before Christmas.’
‘Oui.But with that quicker timeframe comes a heftier cost because of the extra tradespeople.’
‘Right. And dipping into what’s left of my savings is a huge risk. I need to keep a buffer for the monthly mortgage until we have a steady income when the hotel is fully open and paying its own way.’
‘There’s no getting around it, Anais. You’re going to have to ask the bank or your parents to loan you the money.’
‘Hmm. Let’s take a visit to the vintage shop in the 5th and meet the vendor I emailed about the finds in the storage cupboard. They’re especially keen to see what condition the two wine bottles are in.’
‘That’s avoiding the issue. You need to sort this first.’
I scrunch up my nose. ‘I know, I know, I’ll figure it out. We need to clear out as much as possible before JP and his team start anyway, and whatever money we raise can go towards buying books. I can’t help but worry the library is going to look bare and not as appealing as I imagine it to be for a so-called boutique literary hotel.’
Look at me, avoiding my problems!
‘There won’t be a library if we can’t pay for the renovations.’
‘When did you get so sensible?’
‘About ten minutes ago when I read those quotes.’
Manon is right. Not only do we need to come up with the money for the work, but we also have to do so much ourselves in a short amount of time if we’re to make our goal of a Christmas opening. ‘We need a detailed list of jobs that are up to us, items we need to buy.’
‘You and your lists. Do you want me to make a spreadsheet? We can keep track of expenses that way too.’
‘You’re so very handy, Manon. Really.’ Often Manon’s brilliance is overlooked in our family because she pivots from one thing to the next, and while I joke about her being fickle, I admire her for living life on her own terms.
‘I’m actually enjoying this more than I imagined. But that’s subject to change.’
‘We better work fast then.’ There’s writing time to factor in too. I’ll have to stick to a routine. Hotel work during the day, writing in the evenings.
‘What about suite nineteen? There could be untold riches in there.’
‘Oui,hopefully a treasure chest full of gold! The locksmith is coming today. Soon we’ll know what lies behind that door.’
