Chapter Fifteen AE: A Table for the Next Morning
Priya stayed behind after the market closed to review the day’s problems with the superintendent and the volunteer coordinators.
The hall smelled of coffee, cardboard, and the damp coats of people who had worked since dawn.
The volunteers gathered around a folding table near the registration desk.
Priya asked each person to name one problem that had slowed the day and one change that could prevent it from happening again.
The superintendent mentioned the unauthorized audio player and recommended a sign-in procedure for anyone entering the control room.
A volunteer described the confusion caused by the false cancellation messages.
She suggested using a single official contact number for all vendor updates.
Another volunteer said the loading area had become crowded because drivers arrived without clear unloading times.
Priya asked the team to revise the schedule before the next opening.
Nobody suggested a dramatic solution.
They talked about doors, signs, phone calls, and the time it took to move a heavy table safely.
Claire sat at the end of the table and listened.
She had grown up watching Nolan present complicated plans as evidence of his importance.
The people around this table were making smaller promises that could actually be kept.
Priya asked Claire whether she had anything to add.
Claire said several vendors from the first festival still believed they had been blamed unfairly.
She suggested offering them a chance to describe their experiences directly to the organizers rather than through Nolan’s company.
Priya agreed and asked her to help arrange a listening session after the market ended.
Claire said she would.
Marla entered carrying a tray of unsold pastries Sofia had offered to the volunteers.
She placed the tray in the center of the table and asked whether they needed help moving chairs.
The superintendent said the chairs could wait until the morning.
Marla sat down beside Claire.
She told Priya that Helen had appreciated the accessible route.
Priya said Helen’s suggestions had improved the layout for everyone.
Marla looked around the table at the tired faces and half-empty cups.
She remembered Dennis coming home from the first festival and trying to explain why he had argued about the entrance.
She had been too angry about the public accusations to listen closely.
Now she understood that he had been talking about people who needed to enter a room, not about winning an argument.
Priya asked whether Marla would return the next morning.
Marla said she would help if there was useful work to do.
The superintendent handed her a roll of tape and asked her to help mark a clearer route for the loading carts.
Marla accepted the tape.
The job was ordinary and did not require anyone to forgive her.
She worked beside Claire until the last cart was parked and the doors were locked.
