Chapter 7 #2
“I get to play with her? Yay!” Lou claps his hands together.
“C’mon, Bear!” He pats his leg, and the dog looks quickly between me and Milo.
We both give her a nod, and she follows Lou past the campfire into an open space of grass that’s somewhere between the shamrock color of summer and the mud-brown color of fall. Gabe laughs.
“Looks like one of you has a dog. She looked right at you both before she followed him.”
“I really love having her around,” I blurt out. She slept on my bed last night, curled up next to my feet while she stared down the door like she was protecting me from all the evils of the world. She reminded me a little of Milo in front of Ezra.
“I do too,” Milo says slowly. He looks across the fire, and our eyes meet.
He glances away quickly.
“I’m glad. We’ll have to be careful about where she goes, since I’m sure some of our patrons will have allergies,” Gabe says.
“But this place was supposed to be a safe haven, right? A space in Devon Falls that belongs to everybody.” He grins as he watches Lou carry the ball slightly above his head, with Bear eagerly following after him.
“I guess it makes sense that the motto would include pets.”
The grin falls from his face as he looks back at me.
“Milo and I were going to talk to you about this tomorrow, Noah, but since all of you are so involved in this place, I may as well just tell everyone at once what’s happening.
Here’s what’s going on. We’re running into some minor money issues.
We’ve applied to the state for a few big grants, but we haven’t gotten any of them.
The whole idea of opening this place the weekend of the leaf festival,” he goes on, “is to snag as many outside donors and benefactors as we can while we’ve got big crowds in the area.
We’re hoping to show everyone the potential of the center to support the entire county, but especially underserved populations in the area. ”
“And the more people who see that potential right away, the better,” I murmur.
“Yup. Tom and Colin have been really generous with fronting the money to get this place up and running. But their funds aren’t limitless.”
“Sad but true,” Tom says lightly. “I left my oil refinery back in Abu Dhabi, unfortunately, and Colin’s only got that one world driver’s championship. Embarrassing, really.”
Colin snorts and drops a marshmallow down Tom’s shirt, making him squeal.
“Anyway,” Gabe goes on. “We’re going to need either a lot more public or private support to keep this place going long-term, and I’m not sure why our grant applications aren’t working out. But Milo had this other great idea.” He smiles at Milo.
“It’s not that groundbreaking.” Milo shrugs as he sits up in his camping chair and laces his hands together.
“I just figured, why not start holding some fundraisers right away? A few of them. Nothing very big, but we raise a few dollars and we start to up the social profile for this place.” He nods over at me.
“You know, like the kind of local fundraising events our parents are good at. They both know how to get a crowd together for a good time and then convince them to support a good cause.” He lets out a small laugh.
“Heck, we’re about to see which one of them can do that whole fundraising thing better, aren’t we? ”
My stomach drops slightly as I think of Uncle Stan’s unanswered text in my pocket.
He still hasn’t announced any intentions to run in the primary race, but then again, I’ve hardly talked to him this week.
Now that I’ve finally worked up the nerve to leave Uncle Stan’s nest, I really have been trying to stand on my own two feet.
I’m determined to prove to myself that I’m not as needy or co-dependent as people like my ex-girlfriend and Ezra think I am.
And maybe I’m also a little determined to prove the same thing to Milo. Powerful, self-assured guys like him? No way they’re impressed by co-dependency.
But here’s reality, right back in my face again. Milo’s mother and Uncle Stan are political opponents, even if they are in the same party. Or they will be very soon, anyway. And all the silly, ridiculous feelings I have for Milo are only going to blow up in my face if I keep letting them fester.
I clear my throat. “What kind of fundraisers?”
Gabe grins and points his soda can at Milo.
“He brought some great ideas. A big gondola opening, where we’ll open up the gondola for the first time and ask for donations for rides.
That day camp test we’ve been talking about with you, Noah, the one planned for Labor Day,” he goes on.
I nod. “We can make that a donation-based event for the center. Oh, and Tom’s planning a talent show. ”
Tom takes a small bow.
“But the idea we’re most excited about,” Gabe adds, “is the one I want to get the town’s permission and buy-in for. A giant, town-sponsored ‘Prom Is for Everyone’ event. You know, an all-inclusive prom for everyone of all ages.”
“Like for adults who didn’t feel safe being their full selves at their own proms.” Colin sits back in his camping chair and smiles widely. “Wow. That’s a great idea”
“We think so.” Milo looks over at me. “What do you think, Noah?”
What do I think? Now there’s a loaded question.
I think all the events they’re talking about could draw a lot of attention here—the kind of attention I don’t love, and the kind of attention Ezra warned me about before I left to take this job.
“Don’t cause your uncle any problems. He needs to run in this primary race, and he needs to win. He’s going to do good things for this state.”
But Uncle Stan would think this prom is a great idea, I’m sure of it. He’d love all the fundraising ideas Gabe’s talking about. And if the center needs to raise money, then Milo’s right: we need to hold events like this.
I may not like being noticed very much, and Ezra may live in fear of me messing up Uncle Stan’s image, but I came here to do one thing: help open this center. I’ve only been here a week, and I already believe in all the good this place can do for Devon Falls and the surrounding community. So.
I open up my mouth, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I say something I’m a little afraid to say in front of people I barely know.
“I think it’s a great idea,” I tell the crowd of people around the firepit.
“The prom, the other fundraisers, all of it. I think it’s a brilliant plan.
” I turn to raise my soda can to Milo. “You’re right.
Our parents would think that bringing the community together is exactly the right thing to do.
My Uncle Stan always says a community of people working together for the same cause has more power than it realizes. ”
Milo’s staring at me, his facial expression unreadable. I wish I knew what he was thinking about me right now. I wish I knew so many things, actually.
He raises his arm, locking his soda can high above his head. “Here’s to community,” he says loudly and clearly.
“Yes!” Tom raises his can, and everyone else follows, cheering loudly as we all toast around the fire. Milo catches my eye and winks.
I blush and spend at least thirty seconds internally debating whether I should wink back. By the time I’m ready to do it, he’s already looked away.