by Debby Mayne
Bethany had to hold back her amusement at the discomfort she saw on Pamela’s face. She glanced at Naomi, who’d also noticed. Naomi winked at Bethany and lifted the stack of papers in front of her to hide her own smile.
Aunt Mary grinned and patted the seat next to her. Bethany took it and leaned in for a hug. “How are you doing, girl?”
Bethany shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
“You’ll be fine.” She placed her hand over Bethany’s and turned to look at Naomi.
Once Bethany got settled, she looked around and saw Aunt Mary had positioned herself so she wasn’t facing Andy. Bethany decided right then to have a chat with Aunt Mary about asking for forgiveness, even though Andy didn’t appear to hold her responsible for his wife’s death.
“Let’s get this show on the road, now that we’re all here.”
“Get this show on the road . . . squawk . . . What are you waiting for?”
Andy frowned at his bird. “Hush, Murray.”
“Hush little baby . . . squawk!”
“Did you hear what I said earlier?” Andy growled at Murray, who pulled his head down deep into his shoulders. “Try to behave and stop being such a bad bird.”
“Bad birdie . . . squawk . . . bad birdie.”
Naomi narrowed her eyes, scanned the room with her gaze, and then picked up another stack of papers and handed them to Gina. “Take one off the top and pass it around. I’ll wait until everyone has a chance to look it over.”
The first page was the agenda for upcoming committee meetings, and the second had an outline with blank spaces beneath categories. After Pamela looked at the information, she lifted her glasses and propped them on top of her head. “All I see are a bunch of blank spaces. What are we supposed to do with this, Naomi, and why are we here?”
“We’re here to fill in the blanks. We can’t just go through the motions without some direction.”
Pamela glared at Naomi but softened her look as she turned toward Gina and then Bethany. “It’s not like we haven’t had a festival before. I think everyone knows what to do.”
Naomi tapped her pen on the table. “This one’s different. It’s new and untried. If we want it to be a success, we have to make it different from everything else going on here in town. We’re expecting a lot more out-of-towners, as well as prizes from folks in Bloomfield. We need to put out the word that people should go ahead and rent booths so we can pay for the extra security to keep the city council from putting the skids on future events.”
Gina timidly raised her hand. Naomi turned to her and gestured for her to speak.
“Do we have one person in charge of a group of chairmen, or chairwomen, who lead each thing on here? Like someone who oversees the others who gather all the prizes and keep track of security?” She offered an apologetic shrug. “I know I’m new and all, so I should probably just sit and listen, but it seems like an awful lot for one person to be responsible for.”
Pamela shook her head. “No, we always just have one person doing all of it. It’s best—”
Naomi tapped her pen again. “Since that one person is usually me, I like Gina’s idea. I’ve had a frightful time getting everything done by myself.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying, Naomi. I’ve done quite a bit as well. Besides, you never complained about being in charge before,” Pamela said.
“And I’m not complaining now. All I’m saying is Gina has a good idea, and I think we should consider it.”
Pamela rolled her eyes, fluttered her bright purple fingernails with silver tips in the air, and nodded. “Then Gina, what do you want to be in charge of?”
Gina’s eyes filled with fear as she turned to Naomi. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Like I said, Gina,” Naomi tilted her head toward her, “your idea is excellent. I think you’d be good at organizing, promoting, and keeping track of the booth rentals.”
Bethany felt like a lump on a log. Finally, she decided she might as well offer her services. “I’d like to do something.”
“How about collecting the donations?” Pamela asked.
“Step right up and win a prize . . . squawk . . . step right up.”
Everyone laughed until Bethany cleared her throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but Naomi spoke up before she had a chance. “Anything but that. She already has way too much stuff in that little house of hers. I think she’d be good at publicity.”
Bethany felt her eyes bulging as she looked at Naomi. Was she kidding? Publicity? How could her mother even suggest something so out of character for her?
Gina grinned at her. “I agree. Everyone likes Bethany, and I think she’ll be able to get folks to help get word out.”
“I—” Bethany began.
Pamela pointed to Bethany, shushing her before she could finish. “Then you’re responsible for publicity and promotion.”
Bethany opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t want to do it in front of so many people. Instead, she slid down in her chair. “I’ll do my best.”
She really needed to have a private chat with her mother—or move out of town again to get away from her. Sometimes that seemed like the best option. Moving away from Bloomfield had given her an opportunity to stand up for herself without her mother’s shadow constantly looming over her. People assumed that since she was a cheerleader in high school she was an extrovert, but she had to force herself to appear outgoing. Deep down, she was shy.
She’d managed to form a few friendships at the church she and Charlie attended, but she never felt connected. Charlie had such a big personality that she’d shrunk back to being quiet and withdrawn after being married to him for a while. She made a mental note to work on that. She’d done it as a teenager, and she could do it again.
Aunt Mary leaned over and whispered, “I’ll help as much as I can.”
Andy spoke up next. “I’ll see about security and fire safety.”
“Yes, of course, you will,” Pamela said. “That goes without saying.” She paused, glanced at Naomi, exchanged nods, and smiled at Gina. “Now that I’ve seen you in action, I think you’d make an excellent coordinator of the whole festival. Naomi and I have already discussed it, and she says it’s time to bring in some fresh, new people who can take over after we step down. You can oversee all of the other chairpersons. I’ll find someone else to take over the booth rental. How about it?”
Gina’s eyes practically bulged out of her head. Bethany started to speak up and ask folks to give her a chance to get her feet wet when Gina spoke up for herself.
“Seriously? You’d actually let me be the coordinator?” Her chin quivered as she swallowed hard, placed her hand over her heart, and grinned. “Absolutely!”
Chapter 12
After the meeting, Naomi asked Gina to stick around to get more information about how to prepare for a festival. Aunt Mary hovered by the door, so Bethany approached.
“How’s your visit going?”
“So far, so good. Are you going straight home?” Aunt Mary asked.
“I left my car at the Maples’ house, and Gina and I walked here.”
“Fine.” Aunt Mary turned toward the street. “I’ll walk with you, then.”
Bethany glanced over and spotted Andy and Pamela at the door. “First, I want you to talk to Andy.”
“Not now.”
“When?” Bethany planted a fist on her hip. “Now is just as good a time as any. If you don’t go ahead and talk to him, it will just keep getting more difficult.”
Aunt Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Would you like for me to go with you?”
“No, this is something I need to do on my own.”
Bethany smiled and gave her aunt a gentle nudge. “I’ll be right here waiting.”
She watched as Aunt Mary approa
ched Andy and Pamela. After she said a few words, Pamela hugged her and left. Bethany glanced away, but every now and then she snuck a glance toward them to see how things were going. Relief flooded her as she saw that Andy wasn’t angry. He actually put down Murray’s cage and gave Aunt Mary a hug.
When Aunt Mary walked back to Bethany, a slight smile played on her lips. “I gather it went well?” Bethany said.
“Yes, very well. He said he never held me responsible for what happened and told me I should move on. This conversation was long overdue.”
“I agree.” Bethany gestured toward the door. “Ready to go?”
They’d barely gotten twenty feet when Aunt Mary started in on her mission. “I hate to do this to you, but I promised Naomi. Have you had a chance to go through more of your stuff yet?”
Bethany sucked in a breath and pondered what to say next. All the events and surprises over the past few days had worn her out. She needed some time to regroup. She wanted to tell her aunt—and everyone else who nagged about her clutter—to leave her alone and let her deal with it in her own time. But that would hurt the feelings of the people she loved most.
“No, but I will.” She maintained a steady pace and kept her focus straight ahead.
“You didn’t really plan to, did you?” Bethany met her aunt’s gaze and slowly shook her head. “I didn’t think so.” Aunt Mary draped her arm over Bethany’s shoulder. “But that’s okay. I’ve decided that you need me to help and cheer you on.” She grimaced. “Actually, that’s not true. My arm has been twisted by you-know-who, and I sort of agreed to do it.”
Bethany hated that her mother left the dirty work to her aunt. “If I tell you no that lets you off the hook. I still haven’t pulled everything down from the attic.”
“Please don’t tell me no.” Aunt Mary’s quivering chin surprised Bethany. “Not only do I want to be part of your life while I’m here, I want to do it with your mother’s blessing.” She held her arms out to her sides. “She’s given it.”
“That’s only because you offered to help, right?” Once Aunt Mary nodded, Bethany sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll take care of the attic next.”
“Want me to start there, then? Since your things are still stored in the attic, you obviously don’t need any of it. I can get the boxes down and take them straight to the—”
“No.” The harshness of her own words stopped Mary. “I mean, thank you, but I’d like to go through it myself.”
“If the boxes are as full as I think they are, that could take you all day, every day, for months.”
Bethany shrugged. “What else do I have to do with my time? I’m home all day.”
“That’s another thing we need to work on. Even though you’ve been out with Pete a few times, you’re still home alone way too much. You need to socialize more.”
“I enjoy being alone,” Bethany argued. “As long as my mother is still living, I’ll have plenty of human contact. She’s pretty good at seeing to that.”
“Your mother doesn’t count.”
“Tell her that,” Bethany said.
Aunt Mary’s lips twitched. “I wouldn’t dare, and I don’t recommend you telling her either.”
Bethany changed the subject to something she knew would interest Aunt Mary. “I’ve heard there’s a folk music tour going through the area.”
Aunt Mary’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you think they would play at the festival?”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but it wouldn’t hurt to see if they have room in their schedule.”
“We need to contact their management company and get them here.” Aunt Mary’s face scrunched up, and her pace quickened. “I wonder if Peter, Paul, and Mary are in this tour. They’ve done the folk tour before.”
“I don’t know, but that’s something else you can ask.”
Bethany had to hold back her amusement as Aunt Mary chattered with excitement. She’d clearly scored a surefire way to get the focus off of herself and on to one of Aunt Mary’s other passions.
When they reached Bethany’s car, Aunt Mary got in and continued talking about all the ways Bethany could promote the festival. “You can make flyers, send press releases to all the neighboring towns, and maybe we can even talk Pamela into letting go of some of the money from the garden club treasury to pay for ads in the nearby big cities.” Aunt Mary paused to take a breath. “I’ll work on getting free signed albums from the artists and maybe even some T-shirts and other souvenirs. This will be the best festival Bloomfield ever had. We might even get on Good Morning America if we can talk the folk tour into playing.” She smiled at Bethany and sighed. “This is the kind of thing that really revs my engines.”
“I can tell.”
“I have a bunch of old clothes I’ve been dying to wear again. Naomi always said they looked silly on me, so I put them away.”
Bethany feigned shock. “You saved them? I would have thought you’d get rid of anything you didn’t use anymore. I mean, after all the nagging about my junk.”
“Touché. They’re at the Storage Locker past the Village.” Aunt Mary leveled her with a head-tilted gaze. “But don’t think that lets you off the hook. I still plan to sort through all your stuff with you and donate or toss out whatever you don’t use.” She folded her arms and jutted out her chin. “You can call me a hypocrite all you want, because quite frankly, I don’t care if I am.”
“I never said you were a hypocrite.” Bethany smiled as she rounded the corner to her house. “Tell you what. We can go through my stuff as soon as we get to the house. I’ll carry the boxes down from the attic and stack them in the spare bedroom. If you want to separate things into piles, I’ll work on sorting and discarding some more of the decorations in the rest of the house.”
“Fair enough.” Aunt Mary got out of the car and waited for Bethany. “I might even overlook some junk in exchange for your tip on the folk tour.”
“We make a great team, don’t we?”
Three hours later, Bethany and Aunt Mary stood back and admired their progress. “Whoa, girl. I had no idea you’d be willing to purge so many things all at one time.”
Bethany was surprised too. “It’s strange, but I have to admit, it’s also invigorating.”
“Good. When do you want me to come back?”
“You’re not ready to stop now, are you? Because I’m just getting started.”
Aunt Mary smiled. “Are you serious?”
“As my mother would say, serious as a heart attack.”
“I’ve heard that more times than I can count.” Aunt Mary pointed to the stack of still-sealed boxes. “Okay, then. Grab the one off the top and set it over here.”
Pete had just walked in the door of his apartment when the phone rang. “Come quick. I need your help.”
“Naomi?”
“Yeah. I need you to come over to my place right away.”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
After a pause, she said, “No, I’m not hurt. I need a plumber and fast.”
That made no sense. Naomi lived at the Lake Bliss Retirement Village, and he knew all the guys on the maintenance crew. Occasionally, they needed his family’s plumbing company to come out with their large equipment for big problems, but they were all perfectly capable of taking care of most of the residents’ emergencies.
“Are you coming or not?” The impatience in her voice amused him.
“I will if you come clean and tell me what this is really about.” He rocked back on his heels and waited to hear what kind of story she’d cook up now.
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“Naomi, you have maintenance men right there at the Village. Now tell me why it’s so important I drop everything right this minute.”
She made some coughing sounds, and he heard her mumbling something to herself, but he couldn’t make out what it wa
s. Finally, she chuckled. “Okay, you’ve caught me. We’re having a variety show in the recreation room here at the Village, and I thought it might be fun for you and Bethany to come as my guests.”
“Have you asked Bethany yet?”
“Well, no, but what would be the point if you couldn’t make it?”
“You’d have some quality time with your daughter,” he replied.
“I have plenty of quality time with my daughter. Now it’s your turn.”
He couldn’t deny that Naomi’s persistence could wear down a brick wall. “Tell you what. You call Bethany and tell her what you just told me—that you want both of us to join you for the show—and if she agrees, I’ll be there.”
“I like to surprise—”
“I know you do, but this time, no surprises. Tell her the truth, and then call me back.” He paused. “Or better yet, ask Bethany to call me.”
“Aw, c’mon, Pete. You know she’d never do that.”
Pete thought about it for a moment and realized Naomi was right. “Okay, you call me then.”
“Hang tight, and I’ll call you right back. Don’t go anywhere.” The sound of her hanging up made him chuckle. Naomi not only made sure things went her way, but she had a sense of urgency that matched Pamela Jasper’s.
He waited for about ten minutes before he came to the conclusion that Bethany had turned Naomi down. No matter how much he tried to tell himself it didn’t matter, the fact remained, it did. He cared about Bethany, and he wanted the feelings to be mutual. Sure, he knew she liked him, but from what he’d seen, only at arm’s length.
Pete wanted what Charlie once had—a loving relationship with a woman whose glance could make his insides go all funny. He’d just about given up on hearing back from Naomi when his phone rang. It wasn’t Naomi.
“Mom asked if I’d like to go to the variety show,” Bethany said. “And she told me she asked you first.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to decipher her tone and figure out if she was upset. “Are you going?”