“Vanilla.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it. Phenomenal job. I sure hope you’ll be serving these at the soiree.”
“They’ll be my signature treat but I’ll also have mini cakes, cookies, and some individual, handheld pies. Something to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.”
Jack, the older gentleman who ran the sound booth at the local church and had volunteered to take on the tech part of the soiree, grinned beneath his thick mustache. “I’m just going to go ahead and move up my dentist appointment because all of this sugar is sure to give me a cavity.”
He likely intended for it to be a compliment, but insecurity instantly swept through Faith. “I can do my best to come up with some sugar-free options. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“That wasn’t a criticism, dear,” he assured as he popped another meringue into his mouth. “In my opinion, the more sugar, the better.”
Faith remained standing while the rest of the committee snacked on their bite-sized treats, seated in their chairs with their notebooks open and pens placed aside. She took the moment while they were otherwise engaged to flip through Josephine’s big binder one last time. The meeting was wrapping up, and she didn’t want to leave anything off.
A tab at the back of the binder drew her attention, the wordsPermit Detailsstanding out like a flashing red light.
Hastily, she flipped open to that section, only to see a pocket envelope with absolutely nothing inside it. Panic flooded Faith’s veins. She scoured the next few pages detailing the permitting process but came up short when it came to the physical copy of the document.
“One last thing.” Mustering her voice, Faith coughed softly into her palm to gain the attention of her fellow committee members. “Does anyone happen to know where the permit for the event might be?”
Trinity scooted back from her table, the chair legs scraping along the linoleum. “It should be in the back of the binder.” She peered over Faith’s shoulder. “That’s where Josephine has kept it in previous years.”
Unclicking the three-rings, Faith withdrew the empty pocket and waved it. “In here?”
“That’s where itshouldbe. Is it not in there?”
“I sure don’t see it.” She flipped the envelope upside down and gave it a good shake.
Holly came over. “Are we even sure a permit has been applied for?”
The very thought made Faith’s knees weak. She clasped the edge of the table, feeling like she could double over. “You think we don’t have a permit yet?”
The soiree was just over one week away. This was the closest Faith could come to envisioning a worst-case scenario—worse than all of her imagined baking disasters combined.
“I think there’s a decent chance that minor detail might have been overlooked.” Holly’s mouth flipped down, sympathy written all over her face. “But we have time.” She squeezed Faith’s shoulders. “Don’t panic just yet. All we need is to contact the county and fill out our application to get the ball rolling.”
“And then we just need to get the inspections done,” Trinity pointed out. “The firehouse is in charge of those. I’ve actually been wondering who was assigned to it this year because I had a few questions of my own.”
“Hey, if we play our cards right—maybe even throw in a few of those delicious cookies of yours—we can still get everything signed off before the big night,” Holly assured.
But it wasn’t any assurance to Faith. She could feel every muscle in her shoulders bunch, every nerve in her body begin to tremble.
“Don’t you have a few connections there?” Holly asked, her train of thought still on the permitting process. “Isn’t that new neighbor of yours a fireman?”
Mitch was thelastperson Faith wanted assigned to this particular task. With his overly strict adherence to codes andregulations, they would be lucky to have a permit issued by the time the snowpack dried up in May.
“I don’t mind reaching out to Mitch again to see what he can do,” Trinity chimed in. “We’re friends.”
Suddenly, the image of Trinity and Mitch deep in conversation at the coffeehouse commandeered all of Faith’s focus. She doubted anything was truly going on between them, but she certainly didn’t want to push them into one another’s arms if she could help it.
“I’ll reach out,” she interjected louder than she wanted it to come out.
“Great.” Trinity smiled innocently. “See? Things will come together. It might be a little rushed, but who says it has to be perfect?”
Oh, this was far, far from perfect in Faith’s eyes.
She spentthe following morning filling out the appropriate paperwork at the county office, waiting in a meandering line that rivaled an amusement park’s, but without the fun promise of a rollercoaster ride at the end. Though she supposed thiswasa rollercoaster in a way. One of emotion, at the very least. Woefully few smiles were exchanged as she passed from one clerk to the next, shuffling around until she finally had the correct forms in her possession.
It had crossed her mind a time or two to phone Josephine, just to make sure she was doing this right. But the woman had bigger things to deal with than Faith’s concern over the permitting process. Faith could figure this out on her own. It would be a good test of her skills…and her patience.
