Page 63 of Saving Veronica
“Son, you do realize that she has a lot on her plate, right?”
Finn only shrugged. “Don’t we all. Anyway, I’m picking her up at seven tonight for a date.” Finn held up his hand. “Don’t worry, she said it was okay.”
“If you’re sure. You’re a grown-ass man and I don’t want to tell you what to do, but Veronica Parker is a very independent woman with a lot going for her. Not only that, she’s juggling a lot of balls right now. I’m only saying this, because I don’t want you to get upset if she doesn’t jump at the chance to date you.” Eric studied his grandson intently. “So, how did the meeting go this morning?”
“Terrific.” Finn grinned. “Why don’t we go home and I can tell you all about it?” They agreed, and Finn didn’t know if he was upset or happy when Major decided to ride back to the house with Eric instead of him.
After Finn arrived home, he changed into jeans and a tee and joined his grandfather and father for a beer in the kitchen. It was only one in the afternoon, so he had plenty of time before he had to pick up Veronica.
“So?” William asked, as he placed several plates of sandwich fixings on the island. As everyone began to make their own sandwich, he sighed. “How did the meeting go this morning?”
“Excellent.” Finn grinned. He finished making his sandwich and settled in his seat. “As you know, Lorna, Marc, and I met this morning to go over the financials from the fundraiser. All the checks have cleared, and all the bills have been paid.”
“And?” Eric encouraged, when Finn paused to take a bite of his sandwich.
Finn chuckled at his impatience. “And…” he said, after his mouth was clear. “We cleared a little over a quarter of a million dollars.”
“Holy shit, that’s awesome.” William laughed, and high-fived his son. “Not to be a stick in the mud, but don’t expect these results for every fundraiser you give in the future. Some of our regular fundraisers are sit down dinners at a thousand dollars a plate.”
“Why? Why do they have to be like that?”
“It’s just the way we’ve operated in the past.” William shrugged as he ate his own sandwich.
“I think I might change some of that. You saw the crowd we had last weekend. As you said, the Andersons were there rubbing elbows with Norm and Patty. Wouldn’t their ten dollar donation be just as good as the Andersons’? Aren’t you limiting your attendance by charging that much a plate?” Finn studied the two men intently, then grinned. “Was the food really worth that much?”
“Well…” William drew the word out. “To be honest, Simon and Janet were in charge of those fundraisers.”
“See, case in point. Look at those two, they wanted to rub elbows and hob-nob with the rich. Look what Lorna and Marc pulled together. Everyone from all walks of life was there and contributed. From what I saw and heard, everyone had a wonderful time. If they didn’t donate extra money, their entrance fee into the party was their contribution. I think from now on, we should look into opening our fundraisers for every walk of life. Who knows? We might even be able to make more than if we only cater to the rich.”
The three of them were silent as they finished their lunch, and it was Eric who spoke next. “I’ll admit that it was great not having to dress up for the party last week. I’m not saying that I’d approve of all our fundraisers to be that casual, but it was nice not to have to wear a tux.”
“Why don’t we pick fundraisers that are more down to earth?” Finn asked.
“What do you mean?”
Finn sipped his beer and sighed. “I don’t want to step on you guys’ toes, you’ve been doing it a hell of a lot longer than I have, but when I had my first meeting with Maggie, I saw that you have fundraisers for the art museum, but it was held at a swanky hotel. I’m just throwing things out there, but what about having one for a zoo, and have it there? Or one at the aquarium, and have it there. This way, the people donating can actually see where their money is going.” Finn cringed when neither his father or grandfather said anything for a long time. He was about to apologize for stepping on their toes, when Eric spoke.
“I like that idea. I think we should look into that for the next one. William, have we picked any charities for the big one in December?”
“Not yet. Maggie is supposed to get with me this next week to go over the candidates. Son, why don’t you join me for that meeting?”
“I’d be happy to,” Finn said, relieved that his family wasn’t mad at him for making the suggestion in the first place. To finish the conversation his father had started earlier, he said, “I have to talk to Grady about the amount. When I called him he said he was on the road. Lorna, Marc, and I all agreed to talk to him first, before we approach Veronica.”
“That would probably be for the best.” William chuckled. “From what Maggie’s said over the years, Ronnie’s a stickler when it comes to money.” At his son’s frown, he sighed. “As in she wants to pay her own way in everything. Maggie said once that she felt she owed her great-grandparents to do the best she could to prove she was worthy of them leaving her the farm, and the money to go to school.”
“Oh, wow,” Finn said. “I did not know that.”
“Just keep an open mind, Son.” William said as he helped clean up the kitchen, and all three men went their separate ways.
Chapter 21
The first thing Ronnie did after she arrived home was dig out the information packet Grady had left her weeks ago. Instead of making a mental note, she wrote on a sticky and placed it on the front of the folder.‘Call Grady’With that done, she changed into her barn clothes and went out to check with Hector on the progress of the horses.
“Hey,” she said, as she entered the barn. As soon as she spoke, Sarge and Paige put their heads over their doors and whinnied at her. Laughing, she walked up and gave them neck rubs and kissed them on the forehead. After talking with them, she turned her attention to Lady, Paige’s baby. Ronnie turned when she saw Hector and frowned at his expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have you given any thought as to how we’re going to house all the horses for the winter?”
