That Hippy Chick

During the next few days, various small companies and street vendors volunteered their services to Matilda's picnic in the park with all proceeds going to the Mangrove Boardwalk Project. On the Friday twelve copies of "Good Food Idea's" were delivered for April who screamed and ran around in circles before anyone realised the page she held open had a review of their cafe in it. Pandemonium ensued over the weekend as Cooper, Nate and Wing were all pressed into service as make shift waiters.

Having hired two of Penny's friends and one of Heather's daughters to cover the rush that came with the review, Nate at Matilda and April's request invited his parents to dinner at the cafe to thank them for the support they had given the business and the picnic in the park event. They had declined the invitation submitting one of their own for dinner after the event the following weekend. Nate shook his head and laughed, "Dad wouldn't voluntarily come to a vegetarian restaurant. The thought alone would terrify him that he might lose some of his manliness."

The rest of the week went by in a blur as April held down the cafe and Matilda devoted herself to the picnic in the park. Even that had become bigger than Ben Hur when local breakfast radio shows got involved. Earth day finally had some publicity, but the event was getting out of her control fast.

The night before the event they stayed in the park marking out the areas for stalls and placing signs near them so they could be easily found. A small stage and sound system arrived at four in the morning just before the street vendors and the food stalls. The small group offering a farmer's market and craft stalls arrived soon after and the hive of activity didn't stop from that point on as people came and went at various times during the day.

Matilda had set herself up a main base near the stage. She knew late in the after noon, she would need to make some sort of speech, and she was terrified. She was more the behind the scenes type of worker, and while she led this event, she had never been part of something so big. "Nate, I can't do it. I can't get up there in front of everyone. You have to do it," her eyes begged for him to help her.

He stroked her cheek and kissed her softly, "I'm really proud of you. You pulled this off, not me. You have to get up there, but I will come and stand beside you. How does that sound?"

"Just awful," she mumbled. The day had been a huge success. She looked around as with the approaching dusk some stalls had begun to pack up, and she walked unsteadily up onto the stage with Nate behind her.

Nervously she looked out over the crowd, the microphone squealed, and she stepped back as everyone looked to the stage. "I just wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for making this day such a success, the sponsors, the vendors the people who helped organise it all. Thank you all so very much. I have to especially thank you, the people, for coming out in support of such a great cause. It is only when people like you make themselves heard that the government listens and makes changes to protect the environment." She swallowed hard looking out at the sea of faces, "Thank you all so very much. Keep your eye on the website for updates on the project." She finished lamely, and the crowd burst into spontaneous applause.

Nate moved forward wrapping an arm around her waist and guiding her from the stage, "Everyone loves you. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

She looked up into his eyes and smiled, "No, I guess not."

He leaned down and kissed her, "Ready for the media?" He nodded his head over her shoulder, and she turned slowly seeing a local news crew. The woman was walking toward her.

"I think we have everything we need, but would you like to make a statement on camera?" The glamorous looking woman asked.

"I really wouldn't," Matilda said softly, "I am sure the publicity from your story alone is quite enough." She smiled and shook the woman's hand thanking her.

They stayed late into the night cleaning up the park until totally exhausted they headed for home. They had closed the cafe for the entire weekend. It was a risky move now with all the sudden popularity, but they agreed that they all needed the break. It was the first time Matilda and Nate had actually been able to sleep in without out one of them rushing off the work leaving the other alone. They made the most of staying in bed long into the day until the need for fresh air finally drove them out of bed and up onto the deck. They lay in each others arms on a deck chair watching the sunset, content that events like yesterday were few and far between.