Page 32 of A New Life in Amsterdam

I learn the hard way that owning a houseboat isn’t always a bed of roses.

Then again, I did buy an old one that isn’t energy efficient and needs a lot of work.

You get what you pay for and I probably deserve everything I get.

My first instinct is to run over to Abe’s and ask him for the number of that boiler specialist he always mentions, but after seeing Camilla over there, I am staying well clear.

Instead, since I know Gerrit will be at his desk, I pick the phone up and ask his advice.

‘Hi, Gerrit. I’m sorry to bother you. I promise not to make a habit of calling you every time something goes wrong, but my boiler’s packed up. Do you know of any engineers, by any chance?’

‘Ah, of course. This is such a common problem this time of year. Shall I give the company I know a call and ask them to come round?’

‘You’re a lifesaver. I’d be so grateful.’

‘No worries. It must be cold for you. I’ll get someone around as soon as I can.’

While I wait for the engineer to arrive, I try to stay warm with my hot-water bottle and every layer I can find, while praying that I don’t have to wait too long.

Two hours later, I finally get a knock at the door. Oh, thank goodness.

The guy, who rambles in Dutch, has overalls with a company name and a toolbox with him, so I presume he’s the engineer.

I tell him I don’t speak Dutch, and he switches to English for us to converse.

It makes me embarrassed at how bad I am at Dutch and I am determined to get on with my Dutch lessons, although I’m not sure that the language books or my classes necessarily teach phrases such as ‘my boiler has broken’.

I welcome the engineer in and offer to show him where the boiler room is located but he seems familiar with the barge.

‘I’ve been servicing it for years, when the old owner lived here,’ he explains.

‘That’s great. Hopefully you know your way around it and what must be wrong, in that case.’

‘I’ll try but it’s a very old boiler. When I did the last service, I expected it to be the final one.’

I don’t like the sound of this already.

‘Okay, well, let’s hope you can fix it one last time, hey?’

The engineer doesn’t look too convinced, and I leave him to inspect my decrepit boiler.

It takes him all of five minutes to tell me that a part is not working, which he tries to describe to me. But his words mean nothing, as I don’t know enough about boilers to even slightly comprehend what he means.

‘The boiler isn’t worth saving. I’m sorry, but the time has come for a new one.’

‘Oh no. I suspected this would happen. How much do they cost?’

‘I can get one for around thirteen hundred euros. We have some back at the depot. I can fix it by tonight, and you’ll have this place warmer than before, for sure. The old boiler wasn’t economical and was unable to work hard enough any longer.’

My goodness, he makes my boiler sound like the way I feel some days!

‘If you could get that done by this evening, that would be fantastic. I’d be really grateful. Thank you.’

‘Okay, I’ll be back as quickly as I can.’

I close the front door behind him, desperately trying to keep any heat in as I wait for him to come back.

I consider doing some star jumps to stay warm, but decide that the old houseboat might not be too supportive of that idea.

Since I am feeling so cold, my subconscious gives me the urge to start knitting a jumper.

My hands are too cold to hold a needle in my hand to do any felting.

But I figure knitting might help my hands from turning blue if I can keep the circulation going.

I haven’t done any knitting since I arrived here, focusing more on my felting.

The clickety-clack of the needles feels comforting immediately.

I follow a pattern for a jumper that I think would sell at the market.

It’s something I had planned in my mind as my first trial piece to see if I still have the knack.

The first few rows feel promising, but I haven’t got the arms knitted yet.

It’s early days, and anything could happen.

I have knitted around thirty rows when there is a knock on the door.

I assume it must be the engineer returning.

I almost fling the door open to welcome him in but, as I near one of my windows, I can see that it’s Abe on the doorstep.

Quickly, I jump down to the floor and hide.

I have nothing to say to him after yesterday.

I mean, he could be asking me if I want to go on a date with him and Camilla for all I know!

Although, thankfully, I can’t imagine Camilla agreeing to that and nor would I.

The problem with the houseboat is that it is a bit like a goldfish bowl, and if Abe was to look in at one of my windows, he would easily see me.

So, I crawl under a table and stay as still as possible.

I stay mortally quiet until, eventually, I hear the sound of footsteps getting further way.

I poke my head up and sneak over to the window to see Abe leaving and walking back towards his place.

Phew. That was close. I know I’m going to have to face him at some point, but I don’t know what to say to him at the moment.

I return to my knitting and then, an hour later, the door goes again. This time, I am more cautious. I slowly creep around but see that it is the engineer.

‘I’m so glad you’re back. I don’t know how much more of the cold I can take. I’d have had to stay in a hotel tonight if you couldn’t have returned today.’

‘It’s okay. We have priority for older people. We won’t let you get cold.’

Older people? Does he think I am a pensioner?

The engineer whistles happily away to himself as he heads off into the boiler room. I was going to ask him if he wanted a coffee, but now he can stuff it! If I wasn’t so desperate to have heating in here, I’d find someone else. Do the Dutch have to be so direct? There was no need for that.

I sit on my bed and look at my reflection in the mirror.

It’s true that I don’t look my best today.

I mean, I couldn’t shower because I have no hot water, so my hair is a little limp and the grey streaks perhaps show more noticeably, but still.

Where did my youth go? It feels like it all went in the blink of an eye.

My reflection is like a reminder that for my next big birthday I will be sixty, even if I do have a few years to go yet.

As always though, I like to think of myself as a positive person and so, instead of dwelling on this fact, I resolve to make the best of my life.

I’ll go into one of the fancy department stores and find a new eyeliner, have a bit of a makeover and get my small business off the ground.

I can’t do anything about ageing, but I can do something about fretting about it.

Having calmed down over what the engineer probably thought was an innocuous comment, I finally offer him a coffee as I make one for myself.

He gladly accepts and then tells me that he has to go to his van that is parked by the canal to get something.

Unfortunately, when he returns with some extra tools, he isn’t alone.

‘Someone’s here to see you. He was outside,’ he says.

I look up at Abe. Why did the engineer have to let him in?

‘Hi, what’s happened here?’ he asks.

‘Oh, nothing I can’t cope with. The boiler’s packed up. No big deal.’ I don’t admit that I was almost having a breakdown this morning. He doesn’t need to know that.

‘Ah, no. I promised you the number for my guy. Sorry, I forgot.’

‘It’s no problem. I can arrange things by myself, thanks.’

‘I’m happy you found someone. It’s needed replacing for years. It’s probably best before the worst of the winter weather comes.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s done now. Anyway, did you want something?’ I might sound sharp, but I can’t hide yesterday’s disappointment at seeing Camilla.

‘I came to apologise about Camilla answering the door. I hope you don’t think she makes a habit of it.’

‘Oh, no. I don’t know what I thought.’

‘Her husband left her a few months ago. I think she’s a bit lonely on her own, and so she’s always calling over. I’m sorry, I don’t think I thanked you properly for the lovely dog. It’s so thoughtful of you. It’s the most beautiful gift. I told you before how talented you are.’

‘Oh, well, thanks, but anyway, I’d better be getting on here. In case the engineer needs anything.’

‘I don’t need anything,’ shouts the engineer. Oh my, does he listen to everything?

‘Of course. Yes. Well, it’s just that I came over to say… how do I say this… to make it clear that Camilla is only a friend, but perhaps it didn’t look like that because she answered the door.’

‘It’s fine. I don’t know what I thought. It’s no problem. You’re free to do as you please.’

‘Good, because she was just trying to be helpful while I was in the bathroom.’

‘Right. Helpful.’ That sounds so wrong, and I can think of other words more suitable than helpful for her.

‘She just wanted to offer me some special dog food she found. Ted has some pain in his leg, and she said it could help his joints. She came over with it and I offered her a coffee.’

‘Well, I hope it helps him. That was very nice of her. Yeah.’

‘So, anyway, I was hoping that you’d come over yesterday to tell me you’d decided to go on that date that I asked you for? I guessed perhaps you didn’t want to bring it up with Camilla there.’

‘No, you’re right.’

‘Well, I’m so sorry it was a bad time. Can I ask you now? Or do you want to take a rain check?’

As Abe asks me the question, the engineer drops a wrench, and the vibration reverberates around us. Is he still listening? I lower my voice in case.

‘You know what, Abe. Yes. Okay. I’d love to go on a proper date with you.’

‘Really?’ Abe’s face lights up and we smile at each other. All the chemistry between us, that I sometimes try to deny exists, is clear to see from the look on both our faces.

‘Yeah. Life’s too short to worry about what can go wrong. Let’s go on a date and see where it leads.’

‘I’m so happy to hear that,’ says Abe, smiling.

Then, we both turn our heads as a loud hissing sound comes from the boiler room and water and steam spurt everywhere. If only the engineer wasn’t so busy listening, he might not have opened the wrong valve.

It isn’t the most romantic moment to agree to a date but, then again, Abe and I are hardly conventional people, and we both see the funny side as the steam begins to surround us and we start coughing and spluttering.