Page 56 of Love Hollow at Last
Noah
Noah stood in front of a line full of temporary workers.
Grace was good at rallying the troops, efficient but ruthlessly so.People always respected her without quite knowing why.And Amanda, the temporary site manager, had an ease of manner that made you know instantly she was a pro.Her hair might have been dyed a strange shade of pink, but if anything, that just enhanced her credibility.She didn’t even have to raise her voice to give instructions.
The stages were all set up, even the one that the crew had struggled with the day before.Lots of barriers had been set up along the outside, and the main entrance and exit had huge signs in place.The first aid tent was ready, trailers were waiting for temperamental musicians, and they had scanners for the tickets and backup scanners in case those failed.And since Noah was there, in front of the main stage, his very presence caused excitement and whispers in the ranks.
But there was a piece missing.
“So,” Grace said.“What’s happening with the food trucks?The maps you gave me didn’t show them.”
Noah looked around.The temporary site didn’t have a good place for them.If they had been able to use the fairgrounds as originally planned, there would have been lots of space for the picnic tables and the food.But in the current location, they were either going to have to cancel that part of the event or think of a creative solution.
Though there was a bit of a breeze, the weather was warm, sunny but without humidity, so it wasn’t going to be incredibly hot.In two and a half days, the festival would be in full swing, and everyone who was shuffling in the crowd before him would be run off their feet, making things happen.It should have been a proud moment for Noah.After all, though he’d released an insane number of albums and worked a ton of hours in many jobs, he’d never brought people together like that.He remembered how Nami had given him the idea a year and a half ago, just when he needed something new to boost his confidence.His sister had some great ideas.
“Noah,” said Grace.“What’s it going to be?People need to eat.”
“I know.One s-second.”
Of course, it was technically possible to get to the town of Love Hollow from where they were.But they were all counting on the festivalgoers being a captive audience.You wouldn’t expect a baseball fan to leave the stadium, miss the game, and go get a better deal on fries in some fast food joint a mile away.Music fans were similar.They might not mind tapping their feet and humming as they waited in a line, but they wouldn’t want to go off-site for food, especially since the parking situation was going to be tricky at best.
He stood frozen, listening to the workers speaking, and wondered if he would have to address them.Grace and Amanda were supposed to be helping him avoid stuttering in front of a crowd.
Grace handed him a document, which fluttered in the wind.He knew what it said even before he saw it.
“I thought you wanted me to handle things,” he said.
“This is one way of handling it,” she murmured.“Otherwise, with no food?That’s it for us, financially speaking.”
Noah sighed.In many ways, the festival was no different from the events he used to be forced to volunteer for, back when he was an A-Wing kid in high school.Sure, it was all well and good that neighboring cities brought their marching bands to the “Bonanza of the Bands”—someone had complained that “Battle of the Bands” was unwelcoming.But it wasn’t really about all the bands playing their bizarre versions of pop hits.It was about the nachos that the visiting band members, their parents, and their bedraggled younger siblings purchased.Those nachos funded the Love Hollow High band budget for the coming year.Without the food, the event was worthless.
That was going to be the case for the festival too.They simply couldn’t afford to skimp on the food trucks.Still, he hesitated.
“Is this going to cause problems for you?”asked Grace.“Do you want us to wait for a minute while you call Aya?”
He looked down at his phone.She could have texted him back.Instead, she hadn’t even responded to confirm whether she needed a ride to Nobu’s engagement party.
“No,” he said.“This is going to work.It has to.”
48
The Katos’ home was overflowing with people.Half of them, Aya didn’t even know.The glamour they exuded indicated they were probably friends of Nobu and Justin, yuppies who had flown in from Denver for the event and would be nursing their hangovers the next day with iced coffee as they went antique shopping and gushed over Love Hollow’s “quaint” series of shops in its historic downtown.Most of them were in outfits that were both more expensive and less fancy than hers.Cocktail attire encompassed a wider range of clothing than she’d thought.
Then there were the people Aya did know.She caught sight of Carson Cobb.Apparently, black was an appropriate color, and it looked really good on Carson.It accentuated the blond in her hair.Carson’s dress had one of those necklines that would never work on Aya.She could never even remember the name.It went all the way down past Carson’s pierced belly button.Aya had heard dresses like that had to be held on with some kind of tape, which had always seemed painful to her.But seeing Carson, she could see why people went for it.
Noah was going for it, apparently.He was standing in a corner, clinking glasses with Carson and taking big swigs of champagne.Her laughter was audible even over the noise of the crowd.Aya didn’t know what to say to either of them, so she attempted to escape to the kitchen, where Nami was wearing an emerald-green dress underneath a sweatshirt.
“Hi,” said Aya.
Nami raised her eyebrows.“Hey.“I thought you’d be too busy to come.”
“No.I mean, things are busy, but I didn’t want to miss this.”
Nami’s smile was strained as she whisked an impossibly small spoon through a little glass container of soup and rice.Hana, in her high chair, was adorable.Aya was glad to see that she could look at the baby and not think too much about Byron.Hana had probably gotten some features from both parents, but with her round face and lopsided grin, she really just looked like herself.
“You and Noah are funny,” Nami said.“Miss all the baby stuff but go to the engagement party, huh?”
When Aya didn’t respond, Nami shook her head.
