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“Excellent. Should be pretty easy then. She’s a beauty. I keep bugging Ruby to get a boat since we have a house on the water, but she likes looking at the lake more than being on it.” Lucky stepped onto the deck and turned to help Emma, but we already had a shorthand for onboarding.
Emma gripped my forearm as she held the baby close and stepped over the small gap to the deck.
Lucky gave me a smirky glance and then picked up his tool case.
Emma ignored Lucky, or missed it entirely, and started chattering about where she wanted the lighting. And if she could have extra plugs around on each level for future needs.
The more events we had, the more we’d figure out what the MJ2 needed, and she was smart to think ahead. Exactly why I’d wanted to hire help for this venture.
When I’d commissioned the overhaul on the boat I truly hadn’t known what the hell I was doing. It was delivered, pretty as a picture, but it was a bare bones operation inside, that was for sure.
I was glad the first party would be with family who wouldn’t give me too much shit for any missteps we’d make.
Lucky listened intently to Emma’s directions and made a few suggestions of his own. Within an hour, Lucky had his tools out and the drill going.
I broke down the pack and play crib we’d set up on the second floor while Emma oversaw the first light installation.
She’d been busy. A table was set up in the corner of the second floor with a sign-in station for people to grab a mason jar for their glass. Waterproof black stickers that looked like a chalkboard adorned the front of each glass. A sign behind the glasses said:
Your glass for the night for whatever tastes right!
The wedding party and immediate family glasses were already filled in with fun block lettering, with a bunch of blank glasses set out. I spotted a crate full of more jars peeking from underneath the burgundy tablecloth.
She’d also decorated the table with cedar wood rings to create levels for battery operated candles. Thin wired fairy lights coiled around the wood to hold them together in groups of three.
She’d also tacked a bit of wood around the edge of the table to prevent anything from sliding off from the motion of the water.
Amazingly, the woman thought of damn near everything. I made my way over to where Lucky was working and the two of them were chatting about sleep deprivation.
Emma smiled at me. “I wondered if there was a way to keep the tables from sliding around and Lucky said he could put a few braces either on the floor or the wall where we could lock in the tables.”
“I don’t know if I want holes in the new teak floors.”
Lucky was drilling in one of the sconces. “Or I can build collapsible tables into the wall, then you can just tuck the legs under and lay them flat against the edges of the boat walls.”
“Could you do that this week, or do you need to do that in the future?”
“Since I’m holding my butt for those counters, I’m open.”
“Go for it then. Just write up the materials for me.”
“Excellent. I should have enough pine at Gideon’s shop. If you want nicer wood, you’d have to order it though.”
“Can we seal it against the elements?”
“I can clear coat it with a few layers of varnish, but it might not be dry in time with how freaking hot it is.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, we’re running into that with quite a few things.”
Emma swayed with the baby for a few seconds before she answered. “How about we put them up and use a tablecloth for the party, then we can treat it between the next parties?”
I nodded. “Next party isn’t until the holiday. Does that give you enough time, Lucky?”
He dug out a microfiber cloth from his pocket and wiped off the fingerprints on the brass. “Yeah, five days should be good with the industrial fans we’ve got.”
“Then write it up. Good ideas, both of you. When I got the barge rehabbed, I assumed it would be easy to set up tables when I needed them.”
Lucky picked up another sconce. “The lake isn’t exactly rocking like the ocean, but we can get some swells when the wind gets moving across the water.”
