Free Two of a Kind by Susan Mallery

was also physically and mentally exhausted. “I hope I can do as good a job as you,” she said, wondering if it was possible.
    “You’ll do better,” Pia told her. “I suppose the good news is you can set up the next office however you like it.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. “The address and the key. Seriously, it’s just sitting there. The landlord said to let him know when I was ready and he’d paint the place. I guess I should call.”
    “I’ll do it,” Felicia told her. “From now on, you tell me what needs to be done and I’ll take care of it.”
    Pia sighed. “Can you do that for me at home, too? It sounds wonderful.”
    “I think you’d find me too detail-oriented.”
    Pia grinned. “Is that possible? I’m not sure it is.” She glanced at her desk. “Okay, let’s do this. Brace yourself and I’ll begin the info dump.”
    She turned and pointed to the dry erase board dominating the largest wall. “That is the master calendar. It’s in computer form, too, but I find this is easier to work with. I can physically see everything happening.”
    She went over to the file cabinets. “Starting at this end we have information on previous festivals. Next is vendor info. There’s a whole section on vendor disasters. You’ll want to cross-check that info whenever we have a new application. Permits are in the third cabinet.”
    Felicia had been taking notes on her laptop. She glanced up. “Permits are done on paper? By hand?”
    Pia winced. “We have a process for filing online, but I never really got into it. We tend to have the same people coming year after year, so I just make a note that the information is the same and let it go. Are you judging me?”
    “Of course not,” Felicia said automatically, even as she started a “to do” list. Right under notifying the new landlord was starting a vendor database.
    “I want to believe you,” Pia murmured. “Okay, festivals.” She returned to the dry erase board. “We have at least one every month. Most months have two, and December has a million. From mid-November through the Live Nativity, it’s crazy. Fortunately, this office isn’t responsible for the Dance of the Winter King, which is Christmas Eve, so once the animals are back home after the Live Nativity, you’re done for the year.”
    Pia grinned. “Of course it starts up again in January with Cabin Fever Days.”
    She stood and walked to the small bookcase by the front door. “Notebooks,” she said, pointing at the thick binders. “One for every festival. What it’s about, how long it takes, is it the kind of event that generates heads in beds?”
    Felicia looked at her. “Heads in beds? Nights in a hotel?”
    “Right. The longer tourists stay in town, the more money they spend. In addition to meeting monthly with the city council, you meet quarterly with the hotel, motel and B&B owners. They’ll want to know any changes to upcoming festivals. They’re also a good source of advertising. The festivals are mentioned in their printed materials and on their websites.”
    Pia returned to her seat and began to explain the logistics involved. There were more notebooks and a very large, slightly tattered Rolodex filled with names and phone numbers.
    She flipped through it. “You’ll probably want this in a database, huh?”
    “It will be easier,” Felicia said.
    “We have one. A database. It’s supposed to be great. I never actually learned how to use it.” She sighed. “There are also checklists of what needs to be ordered and how far in advance. Porta-Potties are now on a yearly contract, which is much easier, let me tell you. But there are things like decorating and—” Pia shook her head. “You have to get on the city schedule for things like decorating and the move. Which is another problem. They’re really busy in the summer. I know there’s not that much to move, but still, it could be a while. I’m sorry. I should have thought of