Page 41 of Everything Has Changed
“For starters, we don’t want to mess with the silent auction,” she begins. Her voice is strong and unwavering.
“No, I think the town would riot if they couldn’t bid for one of Bernie’s excursions. We get a bulk of our event fundraising just from that donated vacation alone.”
Gwen nods. “Absolutely, and I’ve already talked with him. Confirmed he’s good to go as well.”
I push to the edge of my seat. “I talked to Killian this weekend about some signed gear, and he’s on board, too. That should bring some good donation dollars in.”
Mom shares a smirk with Gwen that makes me think I’m not in on some secret they share. “We might have to go in on a bidding war for that one.”
Gwen laughs. “You’re on, Margot. But I bet we won’t be the only ones gunning for that one.”
I furrow my brows at her. “I don’t think I like the way this conversation is going.”
Mom shoos her hand in my direction with a chuckle. “What other items can we get this year?”
“Kennedy has her backlist of special editions signed and ready to ship down here.”
“Derek Simpson,” name-dropping a well-loved artist in our area, “has agreed to a one-of-a-kind landscape of the willows.”
Mom’s eyes light up at that one. “Scratch the thought of bidding on Killian’s jersey, if that’s the case. I’m ready to go all in on that one.”
I chuckle. “I thought so.”
“We are still working on a few more. If you have any other leads, we can add them to the list.”
“The more the merrier, I say. Let me go through my phone book and get back to you. I think I have a few contacts that might owe me something for sweet-talking your father at one point or another.” She raises her eyebrows at me, and I know exactly what she means.
Mom jots down the idea on a sticky note, placing it on her keyboard so she won’t forget later. “What about Holly’s Vineyard? They usually donate to the event every year.”
I share a knowing look with Gwen. “We will get to that.”
She hums with obvious interest. “This is already sounding great, but I’m more intrigued by the other ideas you have that Logan hinted at.”
Gwen’s cheeks pinked slightly as she clicks to the next screen, though I know it’s not for the one on the screen. No, she’s already anxious about the last two ideas.
“The dunk tank and other classic fair games like a pie-eating contest are always a hit, so I think we should keep those. I mean, we already have the tables and the tank ready to go. The contest would be included in the festival ticket fee, but the dunk tank we could charge a couple of dollars, depending on who it is.”
I jump in as soon as Gwen’s eyes land on mine. Even without a word shared, I immediately know she wants me to continue the pitch.
“Well loved members of the community, like Bernie, of course can be a couple of bucks, but what if we had Dad in on it? Who wouldn’t want to pay five or ten dollars to dunk him?”
Lips tucked to the side, Mom bites back a grin. “I would, for sure. But how do you know your father would agree to it?”
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about that.”
She nods, though her eyes tell me not to get my hopes up.
“And now,” Gwen breathes deeply. “The pitch you’ve been waiting for.”
She clicks the keys to flip to the next screen, where our plan is beautifully laid out. We nixed the kissing booth idea over text this weekend when we realized all the people who would participate would be doing this one as well.
“A date auction with the town’s most eligible bachelors,” I present the title.
“And bachelorettes,” Gwen cheekily adds.
“You asked about Holly’s Vineyard,” I point to the screen in front of us. “I reached out to them this weekend, and they are willing to extend their donation. Instead of just one date basket to auction off, they are going to give us enough to cover each date up for bidding.”
Gwen’s foot bounces with excitement. I know she’s been pouring over these details to make sure they were perfect, and now was the time to lay them out for approval.
