Read Freed for Free Online

too many or too few. Although it would be very annoying if the streamers didn’t reach right across the ceiling. Are you happy with these colors? You said greens, but there are so many different shades.”
    “Oh yes. I love the way you have the bottle-green as a background color, and the grass-green and lime-green as highlights. That’s excellent. Kyryl and Damon have been so supportive and loving, I can’t believe how lucky I am to have them both. When some people go their entire lives and never find a person who is really special to them, you and I have hit the jackpot with two each.”
    “I know I’m blessed, lucky, fortunate, whatever term you want to use, in my relationships, but I just wish I could get a job. There must be employment out there somewhere. Other people have work. Fair enough, some people hate their job, and others wish they had more pay or better conditions, but I can’t even get a job to hate! Evelyn said if I got a motorbike license, she’d try to help me find some courier jobs, but that’s unfair to her. That’s her living. I’ve been almost tempted to answer one of those Internet ads for inserting advertising on websites. It’s just that Mas would never let me try it. But isn’t there something legal I can do out there!”
    Ormonde took Aurelia’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Something will come up sooner or later, you’ll see. Have you thought any more about putting together a résumé as an event organizer or party planner?”
    “Yes I have, but all I’ve done is Trevellyan’s commitment ceremony, and now yours. Two events isn’t really a résumé.”
    Ormonde shook her head. “You don’t say it like that. What you do is make a list of the things you’ve done—arranging celebrants and speakers, booking venues, planning and design of the color scheme, the speeches, the flowers, everything. Not event by event, but detail by detail. Every ceremony will be different, but they’ll all want food brought in and served, a sound system, music. Concentrate on that side of things, and you’ll soon have enough points for a decent résumé. Then you need to advertise on some of the party websites. Look at your suppliers. If they don’t have a party planner in their organization, suggest they offer your name and number as an extra service to their customers. It’s a win-win situation. Makes them look more helpful, and may get you some enquiries and even a few jobs. And don’t forget to ask the celebrants the same thing. Again, it makes them look better, as they can refer people to an expert, you.”
    “Thank you. I hadn’t thought of it like that at all. It’ll give me something to do when I’m not trolling the employment websites or compiling stupid spreadsheets.”
    “Stupid spreadsheets?”
    “Oh, it’s just a game I play with myself. Mas and Niall have me keeping records in the hope it’ll lead to work, but it’ll never make enough money.”
    “Aurelia, you aren’t making sense. What won’t lead to work or make money?”
    Aurelia laughed. “Sorry. I like to follow the financial predictions on TV each day and decide who will go up and who will go down, and so on. Mas noticed I was better than average at it, so he and Niall have had me keeping spreadsheets every day with screenshots of my predictions and what happens over a week or two. Last week, if I’d had a hundred dollars, I’d’ve made sixteen. That’s only two hours’ work as a barista. It’s not going to be a career.”
    “Honey, Mas and Niall are right. You might only have a hundred to spend, but there are companies out there with billions. Sixteen percent in a week is way beyond the investment rate they’d usually get.”
    “Yes, but companies with billions to invest have teams of financial planners with college degrees, and accountants, and who knows who else to give them advice. They aren’t going to listen to me.”
    “Generally speaking, they do have financial teams, but they also