“No, of course not. That’s why Maxine and I started it.” Beverly glanced over at the bookshelf. “Maxine, she’s my best friend, and she works here. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon.”
Just then, the woman from the other day—Eleanor—walked up to the table. “Beverly, you find someone to run the festival yet? We’re running out of time.”
“I… uh… I didn’t know I was supposed to be the one looking for someone.”
Eleanor frowned. “Of course you are. We all are. Otherwise, the festival will be canceled and we don’t want that, do we?”
“No, we don’t.” Beverly agreed.
“I could help.” The words came out before she had a chance to stuff them back in. But then, she had been wondering how to fill her days. And how hard could a small-town festival be to organize after all the huge events she’d run in New York?
“You want to help organize the festival when you came here to escape all that?” Beverly’s eyes widened, and she turned to Eleanor. “Tori told me that Amanda here is one of the top event planners in New York City. She’s highly sought after.”
“And you want to help plan our little Heritage Festival?” Eleanor’s eyes narrowed.
“I do.” She shifted under the woman’s unrelenting gaze. “I have… well, I have wonderful memories of the festival. I’d need help, of course. Someone to tell me what all you want for the festival. But then, I could arrange it.”
“I’ll help her. So will Tori, I’m sure.” Beverly acted like she was waiting for Eleanor’s approval.
The woman nodded decisively. “Okay then. It looks like the festival is back on track. I’ll be gone a few weeks, but I’ll see what I can do to help when I return.”
Amanda didn’t know why Eleanor’s approval meant so much to her. She didn’t even know the woman. But it appeared Eleanor had the final word on this.
“I’ll have my coffee now.” Eleanor turned and headed to the last table in the back corner.
“Better go get her coffee and cream.” Beverly reached out and touched Amanda’s hand. “Thank you for this. The town needs this festival. Some traditions are just meant to be kept.”
CHAPTER 6
Amanda met with Beverly and Tori the next day, and her notebook rapidly filled with a growing list of things to do. Just like in New York. But this was refreshingly different. Not only had she picked up a cute notebook with seashells on the front instead of the heavy leather binders she used back in the city, but nobody was making demands or piling on pressure. Their appreciation was genuine, and their suggestions were offered freely. As she reviewed the checklist, the workload seemed surprisingly manageable, even with the short five-week timeline.
Luckily Judy, the previous organizer who’d been sidelined with an injury, had already nailed down a few musicians and food vendors. She’d need to get more options for food. And nothing had been done about the arts and crafts sale, but Beverly gave her the names of local artists, and they did have a small gallery on the island. She made a note to visit with the owner. Her mind buzzed with ideas and tasks.
After a few days of phone calls and meeting with locals, she realized not all the townspeople were on board with an outsider planning the festival. Even though she assured them that she wanted it to be just like she remembered from her childhoodvisit, they were skeptical. But she was determined to bring it back like it used to be or even better. Not everyone in the close-knit island community was convinced.
Beverly put up flyers in the cafe announcing the festival was on and took it upon herself to rally support for Amanda. She heard Beverly talking it up to her customers and saying that Miss Eleanor had strongly approved Amanda for the job.
Despite these efforts, a smattering of the locals were vocal with their doubts. She did her best to ignore it and tried to use her usual charm to win people over. Although it wasn’t totally working…
She went into Coastal Coffee, hoping to see a friendly face, someone who was actually pleased she was working on the festival. Beverly didn’t disappoint. She looked up from where she was wiping off the counter and waved her over.
“Amanda, there you are.” Beverly motioned for her to sit on one of the stools lining the counter. “I’m glad you’re here. Now I can introduce you to Maxine. My very best friend since we were kids. Maxine, this is Amanda, the event planner I was telling you about.”
“Oh, it’s great to meet you. And Beverly told me how much you’re doing to help organize the festival. I know we usually have an auction that will benefit the next year’s festival so we always have funding in place. Are you still doing that?” Maxine’s smile was warm and friendly. Not tentative like so many of the locals when they talked to her.
“We are. I only have a few items though. I’m afraid not all the townspeople trust me. But I can understand their hesitation. I am an outsider.”
“An outsider with event-planning experience is just what the island needs to breathe fresh life into the festival. Don’t you worry. I’ll talk to some people and they’ll all come around.” Beverly’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
“And you can count on me to donate one of my pieces. I refinish furniture. I have this cute desk I’m redoing now. I’ll donate that,” Maxine chimed in. “And if I get enough time, I’ll donate this small side table I found. It needs a lot of work, but I bet I can finish in time.”
Beverly slid a piece of pecan pie over toward her. “Here, on the house for all your hard work. How about some coffee with that?”
“Thank you.” She picked up her fork and took a bite, savoring the rich buttery flavor and the flakiness of the crust. “Oh, my. This is the best pecan pie I’ve ever tasted.”
“Get it from Julie over on Belle Island. She does all our baked goods. I get them delivered daily on the first ferry of the day.”
“Well, Julie is a master at her craft. I’ve been trying out some new recipes with my free time, but I’m sure not up to this caliber. I burnt the crust edge on an apple pie a few days ago. I’m going to try again, though.”
