“The banquet will go ahead, but Rachel will help organize it.”
“Her?
Absolutely not!”
“Then I’ll explain to the board why I withdrew my recommendation.”
“You’re blackmailing me!”
“I’m giving you a chance to prove you care about charity.”
Beatrice glared at me. “Fine. But no public humiliation.”
“Then you’d better behave.”
She hurried away to telephone her husband.
Looking at her banquet brochure, I noticed her smiling photograph dominating the cover.
“Compassion Begins With Us,” I read aloud. “Quite a slogan.”
Walter chuckled.
“Especially after this morning.”
“Trust me, tonight’s going to give it a whole new meaning.”
He smiled. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
Beatrice returned, visibly irritated.
“Are we done here?”
“For now,” I said.
She’d tried to demonstrate her importance by hoarding twelve discounted turkeys. By evening, she’d regret that shopping trip.
That afternoon, Beatrice posted online:
Caption: Tonight, we celebrate generosity, compassion, and exciting new beginnings!
I showed the post to Mom.
“The turkey
woman?”
“Yep.”
“What’s happening tonight?”
“She’s learning humility.”
Mom grinned. “Can I come?”
“Doctor’s orders say rest.”
“Doctors ruin everything.”
By five o’clock, I’d arrived at Beatrice’s restaurant with Walter’s permission to coordinate the charitable activities.
Daniel, the restaurant manager, greeted us near the kitchen.
“Beatrice ordered champagne towers and imported desserts,” he said.
“And the charity contribution?”
“A percentage of tonight’s proceeds.”
I looked at Walter. “Seriously?”
He sighed. “Daniel, can your kitchen prepare two hundred meals with extra staff?”
“Absolutely.”
“We’ll pack grocery boxes too.”
Walter agreed to finance the supplies and transportation.
“One more thing,” I told him. “Introduce me to your biggest donors. I want to fund something beyond tonight.”
He smiled. “I know just the people.”
I personally telephoned Margaret.
“Rachel? Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“A favor? After what you did for me?”
“It’s a
little unusual.”
“Well, now you’ve got me curious.”
I explained my proposal.
Margaret hesitated.
“Will that woman be there?”
