The thought should terrify me. Instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
Me
Strategic planning. It's important for long-term happiness.
Mason
I'll make a note in my files. Engagement … high priority item.
I'm grinning at my phone when the barn door swings open and my mother strides in, casserole dish in hand, wearing that unmistakable "crisis management" look I know all too well.
"Mom?" I stand up, every alarm bell in my head going off at once. "Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, sweet pea," she says, but there's a tone in her voice, a careful neutrality that suggests everything is decidedly not fine. "Though we may have a situation developing."
"What situation?"
Instead of answering directly, she sets the casserole dish down with more force than necessary and pulls out her phone. "I got a call from Janet at the hardware store. Seems a well-dressed gentleman stopped by this morning asking pointed questions about our festival permits and vendor insurance requirements."
My blood runs cold. "Richard."
"That would be my assumption. He was polite, professional, and interested in whether all our paperwork was properly filed." Mom's expression is grim. "Janet said he mentioned ensuring community safety and 'preventing unfortunate liability issues.'"
I sink back into my chair, my mind racing through implications. "He's not threatening us with a lawsuit. He's actively trying to sabotage the festival."
"It gets worse," Mom continues, consulting her phone again. "Betty from the flower shop called twenty minutes later. Same gentleman, same questions, plus some specific inquiries about whether she was confident her delivery trucks could navigate our setup without 'compromising emergency vehicle access.'"
"He's planting seeds," I realize, the full scope of Richard's strategy becoming clear. "Making people doubt whether the festival is safe, legal, properly organized. Getting them to second-guess their participation."
"And it's working," Mom says. "Betty sounded genuinely concerned. Started asking me whether we'd thought through all the safety protocols, whether maybe she should scale back her floral installation to be safe."
My phone buzzes with another text from Mason.
Mason
Mrs. Kitts wants legal protection for her parrot's inheritance. Winston is to receive her jewelry. I have questions.
On any other day, I'd laugh. Today, it reads like a reminder of everything we're fighting to protect, a town where parrots inherit heirlooms and neighbors take it seriously.
Me
That bird has impeccable taste. Treat this with legal gravity.
Mason
Already researching avian trust funds. May need a specialist.
I show the exchange to my mother, who manages a small smile despite the circumstances.
"That boy's learning fast."
"Too fast. Richard's trying to turn the community against us." I stand up, pacing to the window that overlooks the parking area. "How many other vendors do you think he's contacted?"
"Hard to say. But Maddy..." Mom's voice carries a note of warning that makes me turn back to face her. "If he keeps this up, if he plants enough doubt, you could lose half the vendors before the weekend. And once word spreads that people are backing out, it becomes a cascade effect."
"No." The word comes out sharper than I intended. "No, we're not letting him win by making us afraid of our own shadows."
"Sweetheart, I'm not suggesting we give up. I'm suggesting we need a strategy that accounts for what he's doing, not what we wish he was doing."
