Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zander
Everything moves like a whirlwind after our fake fight.
I simultaneously feel like I’m walking on air—because she believes me!
!—and am about to fall headfirst off a cliff.
I’ve never been to a town meeting before.
My parents thought they were bullshit. I’m inclined to believe they’re correct on this one thing.
“What’s the plan?” I ask as Addie parks down the street from the town hall.
She drums her fingers along the steering wheel and shrugs. “I’m pretty sure our part is just busting down the doors.”
“Dramatic.”
“Peggy can trust me with that, for sure.”
We exit the car. I grab Lucy from the backseat. She’s not used to Addie’s car and seems miffed about the lack of space, but wags her tail in large circles once she’s on the ground. Addie checks the parking metre and grumbles.
“Of course the meeting’s during paid parking hours.” She fishes in her tote for her wallet, then digs around for some change. “Do you have a loonie, by chance?”
I pat my pockets. All I brought from the house was Lucy and my empty wallet. I raise my hands, palms up.
“Great.”
She stuffs many coins in the metre until we have an hour counting down. She hesitates, then adds even more.
“I think two hours is enough.”
“You never know,” she says but puts her wallet away.
I sigh deeply as we get closer to town hall. The red brick building looms in the distance, conveniently covered by a big, black cloud. My stomach twists enough that I’m convinced I’m going to shit my pants. My very nice grey slacks I wore specifically to make a good impression.
On the steps of town hall, Addie faces me. She straightens the collar of my blue button up. Only now do I realize it’s the exact same shade as her eyes. She runs her hands down my chest, then grabs my hands.
“Let’s burn it down.”
I laugh at the fire in her eyes, the devilish smirk on her lips.
She links our fingers and drags me up the steps before I have time to let my thoughts linger.
In addition to never going to a town meeting, I’ve also never been inside town hall.
Or maybe I have on some long-forgotten field trip.
The columns outside give way to a wooden interior.
There’s a grand staircase that rivals the Titanic at the centre that splits off to either side upstairs, and doors, I presume, that lead to different meeting rooms.
Addie moves through the space without hesitation. She passes the staircase to a set of doors, firmly shut. Voices sound from behind it.
“Are we late?” I whisper.
She checks her watch and snorts. “By approximately three minutes, yes. Guess they felt like being unusually prompt today. How fortunate for us.”
I fall more in love with her when she dramatically opens the doors like she’s Aragorn swaggering into Helm’s Deep. Surprise.
Chatter in the room ceases and an old man with a stark white combover, sitting to the left of the mayor, glares at me with murderous intent.
I don’t know what to do with this attention, but Addie doesn’t hesitate.
She spots two seats at the front of the meeting room, and with her hand still in mine, sets off.
Her footsteps echo on the light wooden floors.
I feel every eye on me as we pass. The judgement ripples through the crowd, and soon, silence turns to whispers.
Addie takes her seat and pulls me down next to her. She gives the panel of elders a look of steely-eyed determination.
“Heard you were talking about us,” she says. “Thought we’d show up. Make it interesting.”
Mayor Goodwell heaves a great sigh. “I don’t even want to do this,” she says.
She shuffles through the notes in front of her and looks at the other council members.
Surprisingly, none of them look that interested in me.
“We received a letter from a concerned citizen regarding the presence of…someone new in town.”
“It’s more than just that,” the grumpy man, who I assume from Addie’s debriefing is Jordan Porter, bellows. “This is about the safety of our beloved town.”
Addie raises her hand and patiently waits to be called on. She stands and smiles, sickly sweet. Oh, bless this woman.
“Yeah, hi Jordan. I’m just wondering a few things.
First, the letter you received, did it come from someone named Acacia or Hazel?
” Jordan’s moustache twitches as he tries but fails to remain neutral.
“Cool. Second, since you’ve been here for longer than me…
Was there a motion to remove Phillip Olson when he got caught for domestic and child abuse?
Or when Maria Jones stole all those lawn gnomes?
Or back in the 80s when that guy was graffitiing gossip all over town? I’m just wondering.”
Jordan Porter stares at her, mouth agape, for a good ten seconds. Hell yeah, same. I’m not shocked to see this side of her. The quick wit and connection of the dots. It has Addie written all over it, and she’s finally standing up for herself. For us. Her cheeks glow a bright red.
“You’re incredible,” I whisper.
“See, that’s the thing,” the mayor says.
“None of that happened. We’ve never voted to remove anyone when they broke the law or played a stupid prank.
Those people were allowed to stay in town if they wanted, and aside from Phil,” her eyes linger on me as she mentions my father’s name, “everyone did stay. Hell, I’m pretty sure Maria is here today. ”
“That doesn’t mean they should be,” Jordan hisses. “Our town is too good to have scum ruining it.”
“I also don’t subscribe to the idea that people are scum.
” The mayor stands and looks at her constituents.
She opens her arms, then clasps her hands together.
“I do not want to set this precedent. Letting our residents be judged for something they did a decade ago does not embody Beaver Creek values.”
“You don’t get to be the person that decides who or what embodies Beaver Creek values. We have a council for this very reason.”
A low rumble spreads throughout the room.
I’m not sure if people agree with Jordan or Mayor Goodwell.
Either way, I feel the fist clench around my esophagus.
Addie and Lucy sense it at the same time.
Lucy drops her head in my lap and stares at me with her sad puppy dog eyes.
Addie grasps my bare forearm, splays her fingers, and taps out a comforting rhythm.
“Now, hold on,” Mayor Goodwell says. “This is actually my job. This is what I was voted in to do. But, okay, Jordan, if you have information I’m unaware of and a strong case for why this should be on the table, let me know. Otherwise I’m dismissing it.”
Jordan stands. He’s short and hunched, barely makes it up to Mayor Goodwell’s shoulders. His white eyebrows draw so far and furiously together they look like a unibrow.
“That man,” he says with a vicious point in my direction, “is still a danger to society.” Addie snorts, earning herself her very own glare. “He has not changed who he is. In fact, just today he was caught stealing.”
“Hey, so, that’s not true,” Addie heckles.
“I have it on good authority—”
“From Acacia or Hazel…did you know my cousin has always hated her first name? She’s used other trees as a nickname since she was a kid. So, if that’s your authority, you might want to look deeper. Because the one who stole from me today was her.”
Jordan pauses. I’m sure he doesn’t actually believe Addie, but it’s enough of a seed of doubt to get the town talking. Mayor Goodwell gestures for him to continue. I find myself…wanting him to. All he seems to be doing is digging a deeper hole.
Could this actually be working in my favour?
A voice from the back of the room calls out, “Zander is a dear! I’ve never worked with a kinder author.”
Brianna.
Eva, sitting beside Brianna and her girlfriend, shoots up as well. “My grandma keeps trying to set me up with Zander. It’s annoying as hell and neither of us wanted it, but he is so respectful.”
Simon stands, independently from Tabitha, “This town made me think that Zander was shady. We were friends in school. I liked him. But when everything went down all the adults retroactively decided he was as bad as his parents. That’s such bullshit.
No one deserves that, especially not him.
If you got to know him, you’d realize how cool and talented he is. ”
“Oh my God, he’s the guy with the golden!” A woman with blue hair jumps up. I remember her from a walk around town. “That dog loves him. Dogs don’t like bad people.”
What. Is. Happening??
Mrs. DaRosa taps on the microphone in front of her, drawing attention back to the front. Jordan Porter scowls at her and she gives him a fuck you smile.
“Zander was once my student. I always saw potential in him. I can confirm he’s exactly what these people think. He’s grown into a wonderful man. We would be lucky to have him in town.”
She gets fucking applause. Am I in a movie?
Am I being punked? Over the next few minutes, at least twenty people stand up and defend me, including my grandmother’s mystery lover.
I didn’t even know I knew twenty people here.
I cover my mouth with a hand in some shitty attempt to hold myself together. It’s hard to breathe.
What the fuck? What the fuck, Beaver Creek?
“He makes my daughter happy. He takes care of her and makes her feel worthy. I should have seen that long ago, but I see it now.”
Mr. Ramsay looks at me as he says it. He gives me a nod. It’s hesitant: an olive branch.
Addie squeezes me. She’s beaming. At her gleeful giggle, I lose it. I have to stare down at a chip in the flooring to stop my shoulders from shaking. I wipe at my tears, but they just keep coming.
What the fuck?
No one has ever been this nice to me. This is not my perception of myself. I thought I was stormy and self-reliant. Scared and alone.
But I’m talented, kind, wonderful, respectful, charming, funny, magic, witty, creative, cool.
Jesus Christ.
“I love this man,” Addie says. “And, quite frankly, I don’t care if you hate him. That’s your loss. But he deserves to be here if he chooses.”
“I agree,” Mayor Goodwell says. She bangs a gavel on the table in front of her. “Motion denied.”
A weight lifts from my chest. Holy shit.
I might pass out.
I float through the rest of the meeting. I don’t have words, or, evidently, thoughts. All I know is Addie, Lucy, and so many supporters I didn't know existed are here for me.
The meeting breaks without my knowledge, an hour has passed, as has the storm outside. The sidewalk is wet, but the sun is shining down.
“What the fuck?” I say in front of Addie’s car.
She shakes her head, then throws herself at me. Our lips meet in triumph. Her kisses are hot and hurried, her fingers twisting in the hair at the back of my neck.
“Peggy’s a genius. She got all these people who adore you. God, I love you,” she says. She looks like she’s about to launch into a big speech, when her eyes shift. “Hold on. Hey, Willow!”
My head snaps in her cousin’s direction. She’s pissed. There’s anger brewing below the surface. Anger I know all too well and am kind of concerned about turning physical. I grab Addie’s wrist. She meets my eyes and shrugs.
“Or should I say Hazel? Have you found another tree?”
“What do you want?” Willow asks.
“You. Gone,” Addie says. “I’m done this time. I’ve been too nice for too long. It’s my house and I’m sorry it got left to my mom instead of your dad, but neither of us can change that. I don’t want you here anymore. If you want to stay in Beaver Creek, you’re finding your own space.”
Willow’s face goes slack. “You don’t mean that.”
“I really do.”
“This is coming from him, isn’t it?”
Addie looks back at me, just as shocked as Willow. Shocked, but so fucking proud.
“No, it’s me. This time next week, you’ll be gone, okay?”
Addie doesn’t give Willow a chance to respond. She just finds my hand and turns away.