She knew perfectly well that the three of them were the younger generation of the group known around town as the Sweet Magnolias, which meant they knew every mover and shaker in Serenity. They could get things done. This year’s festival had more official sponsors, vendors and music than ever before. Sarah’s husband had even called in a favor to get a couple of up-and-coming country singers to perform.
“Okay, I know you ladies are used to margaritas at your gatherings, but I thought we probably needed to stay stone-cold sober while we go over this final checklist,” Laura said.
“I, for one, couldn’t be happier,” Annie said. “I have no idea how my mom, my mother-in-law and Helen have survived drinking those things.”
“Amen to that,” Sarah said. “Laura, you need to get together with us and try one.” She glanced around at the others. “It would be okay, don’t you think so?”
“Absolutely,” Raylene said. “The next time there’s a Sweet Magnolias margarita night, you’re invited. They tend to be spur-of-the-moment when there’s a crisis, but we do at least a little planning ahead for a celebration. We’ll give you as much notice as we can.”
Laura understood that it was a huge mark of acceptance in Serenity to be included with this group of women. The Sweet Magnolias might not be an official organization, but they understood the true meaning of friendship. She was touched that Sarah, Annie and Raylene thought of her as a friend.
“I’d love it,” she said simply. “But when your kids are old enough to be in my English class, don’t be expecting me to do them any favors.”
“My stepdaughter is already in your class,” Raylene reminded her with a grin. “Believe me, I hear all about how tough you are. Every time Carrie moans about it, though, she also adds that you’re fair and that she’s learning a lot. You’ve even inspired her to keep her grades up, something I think Carter had despaired of accomplishing.”
“An outstanding tribute, if you ask me,” Sarah said.
“I’ll definitely take it as a compliment,” Laura said. “Now, let’s go over this list before my head explodes just thinking about everything we need to have ready by Saturday. Sarah, how’s publicity going?”
“Travis and I have been talking on-air about the festival nonstop and about the musical performances. We’ve gotten mentions for the singers on the air at country stations all over the region. There have been calendar listings and a couple of stories in the papers, too.” She grinned at them. “I predict we’re going to be swamped with folks who never even knew Serenity existed before this. I am so glad we decided to move everything over to the high school. We couldn’t have managed it all on the town green.”
“I’m still taking flak over that from the downtown merchants,” Laura admitted. “They say we’re toying with tradition and taking business away from them.”
“The football field is a few blocks away,” Annie said. “There’s bound to be an overflow into town and even if there’s not, if people have a good time, they’ll come back.”
“I agree,” Raylene said, “and I’m one of those downtown merchants. Sometimes it’s important to shake things up.”
“And our vendor list?” Laura asked Raylene. “How’s that shaping up?”
“Not to toot my own horn or anything, but thanks to all the extra publicity those country performers are getting, our vendor space is sold out. This is going to be the biggest fall festival the town’s ever had. We have a really nice balance of people who’ve come before and people who are new. We’ll have food, crafts, art, jewelry, a little bit of everything. One of the farmers is even putting out pumpkins.”
Laura turned to Annie. “How about demonstrations? As long as we have that stage set up for the band, are we going to be able to keep it busy the rest of the day?”
“The garden club’s talking about planting for fall color,” she said, consulting her papers. “I lined up a local chef for a cooking demonstration. That would be my mom, in case you were wondering.” She gave them a triumphant look. “And, ta-da, Ty says he and a couple of the other Braves players will come in to sign autographs for an hour in the morning and again in the afternoon.” She turned to Sarah. “Can you get the word out about that? Is there still time?”
“Absolutely,” Sarah said eagerly.
“This is going to be such a success!” Raylene enthused. “Laura, you’re amazing.”