3
Charlotte
“We’ve got a committee, now what?” Johnny asks.
The emergency town meeting ended only a few minutes after we formed the committee.
We’ve arranged the chairs into a circle.
I’m sitting next to the Lisas, the elderly couple, with Nicole is on my other side.
Across from me in the circle is Aidan, flanked by Johnny and Xander.
A notepad and pen rest on my lap that I borrowed from the librarians.
My gaze keeps shifting over to Aidan, trying to hide the obvious fact that I’m checking him out.
I groan inwardly at the thought of playing, “He loves me? He loves me not?” over the next six weeks. The last time I mentioned my crush to Nicole, she told me to, “grow a uterus and just ask him out already.”
Except how am I supposed to do that if I have no idea how he feels about me?
He’s polite, but based on my observations, he’s polite to everyone. He’s polite to the other customers, my employees, the baristas at Triple C.
Politeness doesn’t equal attraction.
I don’t want to make things awkward for the next six weeks, or risk losing a good customer.
I redirect my focus to Johnny. “You’re already on the Summerville Events Committee. With me.” My eyes narrow at him. “How do you not know what happens on a committee?”
He shrugs. “That’s been led by Mayor Harrinton, and she just tells me what to do.”
“Well, we need someone to tell us what to do,” says Nicole before gesturing toward me. “Why not you? You seem to know what you’re doing, and you’re on all the committees.”
I let out a low chuckle. “I’m not on all the committees.” Just the Chamber of Commerce and the Event Committee. Occasionally I go to the Beautification Committee. “I’ll do it if no one else does.”
No one volunteers.
Nicole raises her hand. “All those in favor of naming Charlotte as our fearless leader?”
“It’s called the Committee Chair,” corrects Lisa G.
“Whatever.” Everyone raises their hands. “First decision down,” Nicole declares with a grin.
Johnny crosses his arms again and his eyebrows form a deep groove. “So, we’ve got a committee and a chairperson. What do we do now?”
I blink. “What do we do on the Events Committee?”
He ponders the question for a few seconds. My gaze flits over to Aidan and Xander. The former is sitting straight in his seat, watching me with a careful gaze, but he looks away once we make eye contact. The latter yawns.
Lisa W. rolls her eyes and speaks before Johnny gets a chance to. “I think we should talk about what we’re going to do to try to keep the library open,” she mocks.
My mouth presses a into smile. “Exactly. We’re all going to speak at the Public Comment meeting on June 23, right?”
Heads bob.
Xander clears his throat. “Would it help if we got more people to speak?”
“Instead of just us?” I inquire. “Yeah, that is a good idea. Problem is, how can we get more people to speak up? Not everyone can go to the meeting.”
Lisa G. leans over her wife’s lap. “What if we did a petition? They’re all the rage online.”
“Like ?” I ask. My pen flies on my notepad.
Nicole shifts in her seat. “We can make flyers with a QR code to connect to the petition. We’ll set up those flyers in all the local businesses.
The bookstore, the pizzeria, Triple C, etc.
We’ll talk to people and convince them to lend their support.
” She grins. “I’m sure I could get a dozen people to sign in tomorrow’s morning rush. ”
Lisa G. volunteers, “I can draw the designs.”
“Wonderful!” I take even more notes. If I keep this up, my hand is going to cramp. “Weekends are always busy. We can canvass people too. It doesn’t matter where they’re from. Out of towners use the library too. Xander, why are you raising your hand?”
“Because Aidan’s a teacher,” he says with a grin. “What’s canvassing?”
Lisa W. answers before me, “It’s when we go out into the community and talk to people. We could either walk around downtown when it’s busy, or we could go door to door.”
Aidan shrinks in his chair.
Interesting. He still hasn’t said anything during the meeting. Why would he be nervous about canvassing?
“So, Aidan, you are a teacher,” Johnny remarks, interrupting my thoughts. “What do you teach?”
Aidan replies in a soft voice, “I teach English at Summerville High School.”
I write something on my notepad. “Oh, could you help us with educational outreach? Maybe see if any of the teachers or parents would be willing to speak.”
“Or a student,” Nicole suggests. “That might be pretty impactful.”
Pointing my pen at her, I say, “Yes, all three would be great. Teachers, parents, and students all use the library. I certainly spent nearly free afternoon here.”
Nicole chuckles. “I would not have passed US history if it wasn’t for Mrs. Henderson.”
Aidan opens his mouth. “Uh possibly. There are rules regarding outreach. I have to ask my team lead.”
I nod. “That would be great.” I study the notepad in front of me. “Do you think you could help me with writing the actual petition too?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.” I twirl the pen in my hand. “You free tomorrow? We should get that petition done and out ASAP.” I’m met with nods and words of agreement.
He swallows. “School has half day tomorrow. I can do any time after twelve.” He adds quickly, “It’s a professional work day.”
“A what?” Johnny inquires with a scrunched nose. “What the hell is a professional work day?”
Aidan’s mouth opens but no sound comes out for a second.
I speak up before too much time has passed, “They close schools early for teachers to catch up on all the grading and lesson planning they have to do.” I tap my pen against the notepad. “How about one, at Triple C?”
“I’ll keep a table open for you,” Nicole adds with wink.
“Appreciated.” I stare down at the notepad and my hastily written list. “Are we missing anything else?”
Johnny raises his hand. “I have a question!”
“You don’t have to raise your hand,” I say with a smile and a light chuckle.
“But we have a teacher here and Xander set a precedent.” He lowers his raised hand. “Can we organize a protest?”
A corner of Aidan’s mouth curves upward and a dimple flashes.
“Yes,” I reply, trying to keep cool. Those dimples are going to distract me. “Let’s take it one step at a time. We’ll focus on getting the word out for now and put it on the agenda for the next meeting.” I write down the word, “protest?” on my notepad. “Any other questions? Yes, Johnny?”
He lowers his hand. “Can I refuse Gott service if he comes into the pizzeria? Or is that discrimination or a violation of some rights? I’m pissed off that he’s trying to close down our library, and he doesn’t deserve to eat my pizza.”
I suck in air and let out a breath. “I don’t know. I’m not an expert on the First Amendment. I would check with a lawyer on that.”
Nicole snorts. “Didn’t you ban him from coming the restaurant after the Marinara Incident? I think that protects you from any legalities.”
Johnny nods with satisfaction. “That’s right. I did. I hate that guy.”
“So do I,” Xander adds. “Asshole.”
Aidan’s gaze moves to each of us; his brows furrowed in confusion. “Why do you all hate the County Executive?”
“Because he cheated on Charlotte,” Nicole replies, her upper lip curling. “On fucking Prom Night!”
I bite my lower lip. Can we not bring up embarrassing events from fifteen years ago?
Johnny blinks. “He did that?”
Nicole nods. “Some say that was the inciting event for the Marinara Incident.”
Aidan tilts his head to the side. “The Marinara Incident?”
“Gott stole an entire batch of my marinara sauce and dumped it in the gutters,” Johnny adds with a grunt. “The town smelled of garlic and rotten tomatoes for weeks until that hurricane finally washed it all away.”
Lisa G. whirls on him. “What are you talking about? The Marinara Incident was when he dumped marinara sauce into the town fountain. The acidity of the tomatoes messed up the pipes, and I had to fix them.”
Johnny tilts his head to the side. “He definitely poured it in the gutters.”
Lisa W. shakes her head. “You’ve got it wrong. He poured marinara sauce on everyone’s cars on Main Street. The acidity and the sun burned the paint on my brand-new Lexus.”
Xander chuckles. “I’m of the belief that all those events were just parts of The Marinara Incident. He also dumped marinara sauce in the HVAC system at the school.”
Aidan’s mouth gapes. “How is it that a man who committed multiple acts of vandalism as an adult is our County Executive?”
“His dad was a cop, and the whole thing got buried,” I reply.
“All that beautiful marinara wasted,” Johnny moans. He tips his head back, emitting a low groan. “That was one of my best batches too. I’ll never be able to make another as good as that one.”
Lisa W. rests a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll make a better batch someday, Johnny.”
I nod. “Damn right you will.” Taking an audible breath, I continue, “Any other business to take care of tonight?” I glance at the clock behind her. “It’s already nine, and we have a lot of work to do. When should we meet next?”
Aidan doesn’t say much in our closing decisions.
Only nods his agreement. We decide on meeting at the library in another week, and Johnny promises pizzas for all of us.
After brief goodbyes, we scatter. Nicole mutters something about working at Little Bennett’s.
The Lisas need to feed their cat, while Johnny walks away talking into his phone, leaving me with Xander and Aidan, standing on the front porch of the library.
Aidan’s mouth parts like he wants to speak, but nothing comes out.
“Hey Aidan,” I say, putting on my best smile and flipping my hair back. “Do you think you could walk me home?”