Love on the Line - Deeanne Gist [43]
“His motives were less than honorable, you know.” Mrs. Yoakum patted the corners of her mouth with a hanky. The judge’s wife had slicked her dark hair back into a topknot, accentuating her receding hairline. “Mrs. Oodson ran to him straightaway after your first meeting. If you ask me, his contest is nothing short of a call to arms.”
“Well, I say we answer with a battle cry so loud, that fella won’t know what hit him.” Kathy Patrick had a big smile, a big heart, and big ideas. There wasn’t a soul in town who didn’t love her. She chaired the Ladies’ Reading Circle and had taught Bettina to read.
“What did you have in mind?” Georgie asked her.
She scrunched up her mouth. “Well, he’s chosen his weapon—a contest. All we need to do is come up with one bigger, better, and more enticing.”
“What could possibly be more enticing than a new Easter bonnet?” Heather Martin was not native to Brenham but was well respected, having married the town’s banker. “And with Easter right around the corner, we don’t have time for a contest of our own.”
“What if we had ours during Maifest?” Miss Gladstone, her voice melodious even when she wasn’t singing, had been last year’s Maifest Queen.
Excited murmurs whisked through the group. The German tradition of celebrating spring’s arrival had been observed in Brenham since 1874, making this their twenty-ninth festival. Along with the usual eating, drinking, and singing, the fair offered a Maypole, a parade with elaborate floats, and the coronation of a Maifest Queen.
“Perhaps we could hold a hat-making contest,” Mrs. Zach suggested, refilling Georgie’s coffee.
Georgie held her cup steady, watching the rich dark liquid pour from the silver spout, its aroma filling the room. “We’d have to make a rule stating the hat can’t have any bird parts on it.”
“But what would the prize be?” Miss Rachel asked, her wavy hair tucked up with fancy combs. The mayor’s daughter had been voted secretary of the Plumage League and held her pencil in readiness.
Mrs. Patrick straightened. “What if the new Maifest Queen is crowned with the winning hat?”
“That’s a marvelous idea,” Georgie exclaimed. “Mrs. Abney? Would you mind asking the fire department if we could do that?”
Mrs. Abney wore her Sunday best, though the blue woolsey had faded from multiple washings. Her husband was a member of the fire brigade, and since Maifest was put on by them, she’d have a good chance of smoothing their way.
“I’m sure they won’t mind,” she said. “With businesses squawking about the cost of sponsorship this year, I know the boys could use a show of support.”
“We should also have a float.” The doctor’s wife sat tall and elegant in a cutaway bodice fitted over a beaded blouse. “I’ll ask Friedrich if we can use the basket phaeton.”
Exclaiming, the ladies applauded with gloved hands. The basket phaeton was a sleek carriage used mostly for parks and beaches. The doctor was the only man in town who owned one, and Georgie could hardly contain her excitement.
“Let’s decorate it to look like a bird,” Mrs. Patrick suggested. “It could have wings and everything.”
Georgie couldn’t imagine how to turn a basket phaeton into a bird, but if anyone could do it, Mrs. Patrick could.
“Do I have a motion for Mrs. Patrick to be float chair?” Georgie asked.
“I so move.”
“I second.”
“All in favor?” Georgie asked.
The vote was unanimous. Smiling, Mrs. Patrick ran the rest of the meeting, forming committees, assigning jobs, and setting deadlines.
“We need someplace to hide all the hat entries,” Mrs. Lee said. “Someplace which doesn’t have children.”
“Georgie?” Mrs. Patrick asked. “Your cottage would be perfect, with you all by yourself over there.”
Though Georgie’s home was tiny, it was the envy of many in town. A woman with a job and her own place was as rare as hen’s teeth.
“Of course,” she heard