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The crowd was nodding again now. Charlie glanced behind him again, and saw Mia return to the microphone.
“Give me the month,” she said, her face clear and honest as she looked out at the crowd. “Give me the festival. And if I can’t deliver what you need...” She looked back at Becky and Tony. “Then you know you’ve got a second option.”
From the way she said it, Charlie knew that if the Fish Festival didn’t turn their fortunes round, Mia wouldn’t be staying in town to see how the new Aberarian panned out.
Mayor Fielding took the microphone again. “All right. I think in these circumstances, a vote might be in order. All in favour of Mia’s plan...” Just over half the hands in the room went up. Close, but enough. “Well, then. I think that settles it.”
Tony wasn’t looking happy. “I’m sure you won’t mind if we keep moving on the other preliminary stages of our plans. Just in case, you understand.”
“Of course,” Mayor Fielding said, but Charlie rather thought she was hoping it wouldn’t prove necessary.
Mia, on the other hand, was looking more nervous than when she’d started.
“Since there’s no time to waste,” she said, her voice sharp, “the first proper planning meeting will be Monday morning at StarFish.” She looked down at Charlie, who jumped. “If that’s okay with Charlie,” she added, and he nodded. He never had been any good at telling her no, anyway. Why start now? “Then I look forward to seeing anyone who wishes to join the committee there at ten.”
Charlie stood to follow Mia as she swept out of the church hall and couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to feed whoever showed up. And if they were actually planning on paying.
Magda would be happy, anyway. She’d been wanting to serve breakfasts for ages.
* * * *
It wasn’t until she was standing outside StarFish two mornings later, decked out in her best tea dress and Ditsy’s pearls, that Mia stopped to think about Charlie. She hadn’t seen him since the meeting, their usual Saturday night sacrificed to festival planning with Ditsy. She’d really dropped him in it, hadn’t she? She winced and hoped he’d be grateful for the custom rather than cross she’d landed him right in the middle of the biggest town gossip fest since...well, since her father left. As a rule, Charlie ignored all and any rumors, and they mostly avoided him. It had worked well enough so far, but Mia had a horrible feeling that was about to change.
Well, he’d spoken up for her idea, hadn’t he? Even if he hadn’t actually volunteered to be Festival Central, he was at least on board with the plan.
Shaking her head, she tried to concentrate on mentally preparing herself for the committee meeting, running through all the things she’d discussed with Ditsy the night before. But Ditsy was stuck in the shop, and Mia had to do this alone. What if nobody shows up? A worse alternative occurred to her when she pushed open the restaurant door to see Becky perched at the bar counter, sipping coffee and looking like she’d always been there.
Charlie had pushed together a number of square tables in the center of the restaurant. Most were empty, but Mrs. Susan Hamilton and Enid Jones were already sitting stiff-backed on opposite sides of the table. Not seeing Charlie around, Mia took a deep breath and was about to head across when Becky spotted her. Jumping to her beautifully heeled feet, Becky bounced over, looking perkier than anyone had a right to at a committee meeting, and grabbed hold of Mia’s hand.
“Mia! Such a great thing you’re doing. I was just so...inspired by your words on Saturday.” Mia blinked. Becky was actually gushing. What does she want? “Don’t worry, I’m not staying–not the right vibe, really, is it. But I just wanted you to know I’m sure the town will appreciate what you’re doing, eventually. I mean, I know Aberarian as well as you do, and they’re always resistant to change. Have to feel they’ve tried everything before they bow to the inevitable.” Becky hadn’t lowered her voice at all, and she seemed unaware of Enid and Susan glaring at her from across the restaurant.
Too stunned to say anything much, Mia found herself nodding even though she disagreed with everything Becky was saying.
Still smiling, Becky winked. “Tell Charlie I’ll see him later,” she said, and headed out into the street.
Mia turned to the committee table, where the two older women were staring at her. What was she supposed to say now? Was this it? How were they ever going to manage a festival with three people? And where was Charlie? And...
With truly excellent timing, Magda appeared from the kitchen, carrying two trays of teas and coffees and croissants with jams and, spotting Mia, veered closer and whispered, “Don’t worry,” in Mia’s ear before saying louder, “Mia, great that you’re here. Could you just come and...”
Mia took hold of a tray and followed gratefully. Then, as Magda put down her load, the young Polish woman made an announcement cementing her best friend status for life. “After yesterday’s meeting, I’ve been inspired by Mia’s determination to serve our community.” She sat down in one of the empty seats. “I, too, will join your committee.”
She beamed at the other women and, after a moment, they smiled back. Mia let out a breath, relieved to have someone on her side in the room, and put down her tray to take her seat.
She sat, noticing too late that she’d chosen the head of the table. It took another long moment to realize that, as self-appointed head of the committee, she was in the right place.
Magda gave her an encouraging nod from three seats down, and Mia took a deep breath and began. “Okay. Well. Thank you all for coming. Probably the best place to start is with what’s been done in the past.”
“I need to say something first,” Susan Hamilton said. “I know people think I’d be thrilled to be rid of that damn cinema. But the truth is, Walt loves it. And, more importantly, and I want to be very clear here, I hate that Becky Thrower. Always have. I know everyone always thought she was sweetness and light, but she made my daughter Cassie’s life hell in high school.”
Mia bit her lip to stop a smile. Finally, something they could all get behind.
“Secondly,” Susan went on, “you want to ignore everything they’ve done in the last five years.”
Mia glanced across the table. Enid Jones was nodding. “I’ve been on the festival committee for over a decade. It’s been a pile of horse muck for at least the last five. Maybe six.”
“Okay...” Mia looked down at the notes she’d made with Ditsy, then turned to a blank page. What did she and Ditsy know about the festival anyway? These were the women who’d been running the damn thing. “So, what do you suggest?”
Enid and Susan both started talking at once. “Um, if we could, one at a time, please?” Mia asked, and the women slowed and obliged, after an extended ‘you first’ pantomime.
Mia hadn’t even noticed Charlie come out from the kitchen until he bent down from behind her to whisper in her ear. “See? You’re a natural.” With a smile, he slid into an empty seat.
And suddenly Mia relaxed, and started listening and making notes and trying to figure out how the hell they were going to save this festival.
It wasn’t long before it became obvious that what had been done in recent years was more constrained b
y budget than enthusiasm. Mia sighed. “Okay, well, obviously the first port of call is fundraising.”
Around the table, the committee members–Enid, Susan, Magda and now Charlie–were nodding.
“Well, we can do the usual pre-festival raffle, of course,” Enid said, and Mia scribbled it down. “Maybe some sponsored activities, too. But we need something more.”
“I might be able to help a bit,” Charlie said, raising his hand tentatively. “Maybe some sponsorship from suppliers or selling ad space in the festival program.”
“It’s worth a try,” Mia agreed, adding his ideas to the list. “I guess maybe we’ll need to go farther afield than before.” Last year’s festival, Mia recalled, had been sponsored by the Crooked Fox, which meant a large sign pointing to the pub, away from the festival itself, and all the men over eighteen drinking all day. Not quite what they were looking for.
“What about fireworks at the end?” Susan asked, sounding wistful. “It’s been years since we had fireworks.”
Enid jumped on board. “And a concert? Oh, but how will we pay the bands?”
“Maybe we could ask local bands to play for free, just for the exposure? And perhaps we can get someone to lend us the AV equipment for free advertising?” Mia was thinking on her feet, but as the words came out, it sounded pretty reasonable.
“My question,” Magda said, “is why do people want to come to this festival? I’ve not been before. Why should I come?”
There was a pause. “Well, it’s...” Susan started, then stopped.
“It’s a celebration of Aberarian,” Enid said.
“It’s a celebration of fish,” Magda countered.
“You’d think you’d have a better opinion of them, given that you work in a seafood restaurant.” Mia suspected Charlie had meant his words to only be heard by Magda, but Enid and Susan were both hiding grins too.
