50. Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Seven
A t breakfast the following morning, Hugo, Phil, and Sarah convinced Nadine to attend the championship, and they strong-armed Carlton into going, too, not taking no for an answer until he finally, good-naturedly, agreed to go.
An hour before it was set to begin, Hugo and Phil received texts telling them that the competition was taking place in front of the Fine Print over on Oak Street. It wasn’t that far from the house, so Nadine clipped the lead onto Herman’s collar and walked over. Carlton joined her. It was a beautiful sunny day. She had to admit that curiosity had got the best of her, and she wanted to see what all this hoopla was about. It was all Hugo and Phil could talk about.
They’d left half an hour before the event was due to start, Hugo in his Accord and Phil in his 1972 Chevy Nova. When Hugo had first seen Phil’s vintage car, he let out a low whistle and declared, “Sweet.”
As Nadine and Carlton walked down Pearl Street, he took in his surroundings. “This is such a charming street. It looks like not much has changed in the past hundred or so years.”
“It seems like it.”
There were telltale signs of progress, with cars and security alarms and electric garage door openers, but for the most part, Pearl Street had retained its charm. Big, leafy oak trees ran along the edge of the sidewalk, and all the houses on the street were well kept. Colorful flags and banners hung from porch posts.
“There’s comfort in that, isn’t there?” Carlton asked.
“I like to think so.”
They walked all the way to Pine Street, hung a left, and crossed Main, at which point Pine became Oak Street. The two of them engaged in easy conversation the whole way.
Nadine was both surprised and pleased to see a large crowd gathered on the sidewalk in front of Lavender Bay’s only bookstore, the Fine Print. On the sidewalk in front of the store, volunteers manned two folding tables.
As Nadine and Carlton approached, there appeared to be an issue with something. There was a small crowd gathered around Frank Furniss, the organizer of the event. Nadine had never met him, but she knew him to see. Hugo and Phil were right in the thick of it .
As they sidled up to the edge of the crowd, Herman sat down next to Nadine, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Phil looked over his shoulder and with a wave, said, “Oh, hey.”
Sarah wound her way back to them.
“Is there a problem?” Nadine asked.
The young woman nodded and pointed to a car parked directly in front of the bookstore. “They had an orange cone here, but whoever parked here threw it up on the curb and took the spot.”
“What are they going to do?”
“They’ll have to either find another spot or cancel or postpone the event.”
To cancel would be a shame. Nadine knew how much Hugo and Phil were looking forward to it. But parking spots in town were a premium.
“Hopefully whoever the car belongs to will show up soon,” Carlton said.
“Fingers crossed.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Nadine spotted Edna Knickerbocker coming down the opposite side of the street, her arms laden with canvas bags. As the crowd around Frank continued to offer all sorts of suggestions and complaints, Edna crossed the street and walked over to the offending car. She unlocked the door .
The crowd silenced and parted and Frank Furniss, wearing a visor and holding a clipboard, said in a clipped tone, “Mrs. Knickerbocker, didn’t you see the orange cone in the spot there?”
Edna loaded her bags into the back seat. “I sure did. But I moved it because I needed a place to park my car.”
They all stared at her, speechless. Nadine covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh.
Edna eventually got in, started her engine, and slowly pulled out and drove away. As she did, they all clapped, and she tooted her horn in response.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Frank said. He blew the whistle that hung around his neck. “You’ve all got your numbers, so let’s go. Who’s number one?”
Number one was someone Nadine did not know. She didn’t think they were from the area. She and Carlton hung back. Frank had a stopwatch and yelled “go,” and the first car went into action. As soon as the driver completed his parallel park, Frank stopped the watch and noted the time down on his clipboard. As the driver was getting out, Frank whipped out a tape measure and measured the distance between the back tire and the curb, recording that number as well.
“They take this rather seriously,” Carlton whispered.
“I can see that,” Nadine answered. “They’re not playing. ”
Hugo was number eleven, which he claimed was lucky as he was born on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. As he pulled up his car for his turn, he opened the passenger door and called out, “C’mon, Herman, let’s go.”
And before Nadine could do anything, Herman trotted off, his lead trailing behind him, and jumped into the passenger seat of Hugo’s car. Someone standing nearby closed the passenger side door after him.
“Thanks, dude,” Hugo said.
There was a protest over the dog being in the car, and as Nadine walked over to retrieve Herman, Frank Furniss flipped furiously through the pages on his clipboard. He held up his hand and announced, “There is no rule about passengers—canine or human—in the car during the competition.”
That settled that. Herman, sitting in the front seat, looked out the window at them, and Hugo gave a thumbs-up.
They all watched as Hugo pulled forward, lining his car up to the one in front of it and, palming the steering wheel with one hand, looked over his shoulder and reversed into the spot.
All the while, Herman looked straight ahead, never moving.
When Hugo jumped out of the car, all smiles, he held the door for Herman to get out, and the dog trotted over to Nadine, who said to him, “Well, that’s a first, Herman, your first parallel parking contest.”
Frank Furniss stood, snapping his tape measure closed. “Number eleven, you are the score to beat!”
Hugo threw his arms up in the air like a referee indicating a touchdown and shouted, “Yes!”
He joined Nadine, Carlton, and Herman, all smiles. “You’re a lucky charm, dude,” he said to the dog.
Even though Phil was number thirty-seven, they decided to wait and cheer him on, too. When Phil’s time came, he called over to Carlton, “Hey, professor, you want to be my second?”
“Why do I feel I’m being equated with Herman?” Carlton asked. Despite this, he headed over and got into the passenger side of Phil’s Nova.
They stepped close to the curb and watched as Phil revved his engine and then parallel parked his car. As he backed in, he tapped the curb slightly, and Nadine held her breath.
Frank shouted, “Disqualified!”
Phil turned the car off and jumped out, arms flailing. “What are you talking about? How am I disqualified?”
“You hit the curb.”
“No way.”
Phil went around the back of his car and saw what they all saw: his tire parked right up against the curb. He let out a groan .
Sarah was at his side. “It’s all right, hon. We’ll come back next year and win it.”
Despite staying out late to celebrate Hugo’s win as the champion parallel parker of Lavender Bay, all three of them were up early the following day, planning to leave right after breakfast.
“We’ll see you next year, Nadine!” Hugo said as he heaved his backpack over his shoulder and rubbed the top of Herman’s head. He’d already belted his large trophy into the passenger seat.
“I’ll look forward to it!”
He poked his head around the corner of the parlor and called back to Carlton. “Goodbye, professor! Can’t wait to read your book when it comes out. Thanks for your email address.”
“All the best, Hugo,” Carlton called back.
Phil shook Nadine’s hand and thanked her for everything. And Sarah hugged her goodbye.
For the next few hours, Nadine cleaned the now-vacant rooms. There were beds to be made and rooms to be cleaned and restocked. The washing machine and dryer were going all afternoon. Check-in was at four o’clock and by the time that rolled around, the rooms were ready for the next round of guests.