“But don’t you think we should let the company decide—”
“Write that down,” Bettina ordered.
Wendy lunged for her pen and began scribbling. “No death scenes,” she read back aloud.
Mimi noticed the eight p.m. slot had been left blank.
“What about the big show?” Viola asked. “Please tell me that Harry Tuba isn’t coming back.”
“That’s Mimi’s responsibility this year. Isn’t that right?” Bettina said. Tofu stuck his head out of his hiding place in the handbag and bared her teeth at Mimi. Her little beady dark eyes reminded Mimi of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings movies. Bettina giggled. “Isn’t she just the cutest baby in the world?”
No, not really. But then Toby drooled, so Mimi probably wasn’t the best judge.
Mimi cleared her throat. It was action time. “Thanks to a tip I received from Bruce,” she stopped here to smile at Bettina, because Mimi did like to give credit where credit was due, “I’ve been in contact with Billy Brenton’s assistant and we’ve been emailing back and forth but there’s nothing set yet, so, I think to be on the safe side we need to go ahead and book another act as soon as possible.”
“Like who?” Doreen asked.
“There’s a country-western band called Fatback Bubba and the Rattlesnakes out of Panama City that’s available. The reviews for them have been fantastic and almost everyone loves country music, so I think it’s a good bet they’ll be a crowd pleaser.”
“How much?’ Bettina immediately asked.
Mimi tried not to wince. “They charge ten thousand for a two hour performance.”
“Ten thousand!” Viola said. “Isn’t that a bit…much? I mean, do we have that in the budget?”
“Technically, no,” Mimi said. “And I know it sounds like a lot, but that includes their travel and set up and clean up time. And they have a CD out. Of course, they’re not a big act like Billy Brenton, but I think they’re making quite a name for themselves in the panhandle.”
“With a name like Fatback Bubba, I imagine so,” Doreen mused.
“It is kind of an awesome name, isn’t it?” Mimi agreed.
“If we technically don’t have the money, then how are we going to pay them?” Bettina asked.
Mimi hesitated to tell them about Doug’s offer. For one thing, he’d hadn’t actually promised her the money. Didn’t he need the entire city council’s approval for that? Plus, she didn’t want to get him in any trouble. Especially since he’d only been trying to help her.
Bettina continued to stare at her the way Buttercup sometimes stared at Toby. It was the classic I’m a cat and I’m so much smarter than you, dog look.
It irked Mimi that the festival committee (and most especially her) had been put in this position by Bettina’s husband, Bruce. Yes, he’d given her Crystal’s contact information, but he’d also dug the festival into a financial hole that would be difficult, if not impossible to climb out of.
“They want twenty-five percent down when I sign the contract and the rest forty-eight hours before the festival. I know our funds are pretty well tapped out, but I’m investigating some creative financing,” Mimi said vaguely.
“Creative financing? That sounds…shady,” Bettina said.
“Oh, yes, very shady,” Sherry said.
At first, Wendy didn’t say anything. Then Bettina and Sherry turned to look at her.
“Yes! I agree,” Wendy added. By the confused look on her face it appeared that she had no idea what it was she just “agreed” with.
“I think Mimi has a good idea here,” Viola said, “but we definitely want to make sure we have the money to pull this off before we commit to hiring a band. What’s wrong with some creative financing? If Mimi can pull it off then I say we give it a shot. I’ve been on the festival committee for almost a decade and this is the worst financial situation we’ve ever been in.”
The other women began clearing their throats and shuffling in their chairs. Thank God for Viola. It was hard to argue with the truth.
“Let me see what I can find out,” Mimi said. “I promise I’ll have something solid by the time we meet next week.”
“And what about advertising?” Sherry snapped, coming back to life. “What’s the budget look like on that?”
“Not good, I’m afraid,” Mimi said. “Between the police detail for security and all the rentals there’s not much left for advertising. I was thinking…I know we’ve always charged the same amount for the booths, but we might need to increase the rate. Plus… and I know this isn’t going to be popular, but I also think we need to charge for the concert.”