38
Aidan
“What does this mean?” Charlotte whispers in my ear.
Her eyes widen with both confusion and excitement.
Her mouth opens and her brows crinkle. “If Gott resigned, then what’s happening with his budget?
” Murmurs ripple through the room, echoing our sentiments.
A camera shutters behind us and someone shouts out a request for the press release.
“I don’t know,” I whisper back, gripping her hand. “I think we’re about to find out.” I gesture to the front of the meeting room.
“This means nothing,” Charlotte says with an exasperated sigh and slaps her hands against her thighs. She’s wearing that burgundy dress from before. “All that work and this means nothing.”
“Not necessarily,” I say in a low voice. “Gott is gone, as the lead proponent of the budget cuts, the only person to speak up for them is Bridgett Hartlett.” I quickly scan the gathered crowd. “She’s not here. There’s no longer a loud minority.”
“Typical,” she hisses, crossing her arms over her chest. “So typical. The guy fucks up the entire system and doesn’t want to accept the blame.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter now.” I plant a kiss on her forehead, breathing in the scent of lavender and vanilla. “He’s gone, and we’re going to do great. We’ve got the entire community behind us.”
“I know, and you’re right.” Charlotte peers up at me with those wide blue eyes and her lips spread into a warm smile. Heat radiates through my limbs. “Sorry, I just get a little passionate about things.”
“Don’t apologize,” I say. “I love your passion.” My stomach flips, and I realize that I may or may not have implied that I love Charlotte.
Which I do. I love her. I love her with every fiber of my being. She’s intelligent, and the kindest person I’ve ever met. She’s funny and brings so much sunshine to the world. She’s passionate and devoted. Not to mention, Charlotte is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.
When I’m with her, I feel like I can be my most true and authentic self. She sees me, and all my awkward parts and simply embraces them. In the last two weeks, if I need to isolate myself from everyone or go hide in a corner, she only smiles, suggests a book, and tells me when the coast is clear.
There’s nothing I want to do more than lean over and whisper into her ear the full extent of my feelings.
But that would be a bad idea, because I have no idea if she loves me or not. If I say it too soon, would that ruin things?
“Aidan Talbot.”
Hearing my name cuts through the depth of my thoughts. My vision darts to the source, the Chairperson of the Council. I throw myself onto my feet and reply, “Yes?”
“You’re the first speaker on our list?” she asks with a raised brow. “Please come up to the lectern and deliver your comment.”
I forgot I signed up the minute the registration opened two weeks ago. I always volunteer to go first when it comes to any sort of potential vulnerable situations. You get it done and out of the way. Less time to ruminate on the potential disasters and dramatic pit falls.
“Yes, yes,” I pat my pocket to make sure my speech is there.
“You’ll do great,” Charlotte whispers, running her hand over my arm. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper back without thinking.
As I make my way over to the lectern. I pull out my speech, and the words become a jumbled mess of letters and symbols on the paper.
Sweat pools in various crevices. My hands quiver, and my mouth feels like sandpaper.
I can’t breathe. I can’t speak. I can’t conjure up Mr. Talbot and fake being confident.
My gaze finds my father, expecting him to be scowling or some other expression of disapproval.
I can find none on his face. In fact, he’s smiling like he’s proud of me.
I’m not exactly sure what to think of it.
I can count on my one hand the times that he’s outwardly shown his approval in me.
That time when I didn’t stutter or misspeak once during a debate.
Graduation from high school. Graduation from college. Warmth seeps back throughout my chest.
My eyes locate Charlotte, and she’s beaming up at me like I’m the greatest thing ever. Realization hits me, she just told me she loves me. Charlotte told me that she loves me, and I almost missed it because I was so nervous about this damn speech. At least I returned the sentiment.
My girlfriend loves me and I love her!
I can do this!
The words in front of me come into focus with laser precision.
The sweat pooling throughout my body dries up and my hands are steady.
My mouth moistens and the sandpaper dissolves.
I take a breath and start speaking. The words flow out of me, and I’m surprised at how good I sound.
My voice is loud, but not overwhelming; clear, but not harsh; affirming but not demanding.
This must be what it feels like to be confident. To have confidence.
I finish my speech and return to my seat without any applause, as per the council’s rules regarding Open Comment sessions. Relief washes over me when I basically collapse next to Charlotte.
She presses a kiss onto my cheek. “You were incredible,” she whispers, and a blush overwhelms my face. I grasp her hand and bring her knuckles to my lips.
After several other speakers present their cases for supporting the library, it’s Charlotte’s turn.
She walks up to the lectern with a powerful swing to her hips that makes me want to holler, “That’s my girlfriend!
She loves me!” Her speech is wonderful. People laugh at the right spots.
My heart swells with pride and love as she finishes and takes her seat beside me.
“You were incredible,” I say in a low voice.
Johnny speaks after Charlotte, followed by Karen, Charlie, and the rest of the members of the Save The Summerville Library Committee.
Mayor Harrington presents the final petition numbers in her speech, which elicits curious glances and murmuring from the council members.
Georgie manages to produce a brilliant speech, despite not having written anything at all in preparation.
By the end of the Open Comment section, my cheeks are sore from grinning at everyone’s words.
“What now?” Charlotte leans over after the last of the speakers finishes up. “Are they going to vote?”
I shake my head. “I would be surprised if they did. They’ll probably vote later, after they’ve discussed it.”
The council chairperson speaks up. “Thank you all for your voices. We have heard your opinions regarding the budget. The Council will vote in a special session next Monday, June 30. We will now continue with the rest of the meeting. Councilman Sanders, can you please provide an explanation for County Code Section 3, Article 2?”
The meeting continues without any mention of the vote on the budget.
Most people in the meeting room file out as the council discusses legislation regarding the size of pipes that are allowed to be installed in new construction of single occupied dwellings, which is apparently a fancy word for new homes.
“Do you want to leave?” I ask Charlotte.
She shakes her head. “I want to see if they mention anything else about the library.”
Xander points finger to Ivy and mouths, “I’m out.”
Nicole and Liam follow shortly after. The rest of the committee members wave their goodbyes and leave. Only a few citizens lounge in the seats.
Dan makes his way over to us and sits down in the chair next to me. He rests a hand on my shoulder. “Great job.”
“Thanks,” I reply. My body stiffens, expecting him to find some little criticism or a helpful tip to make next time go better. But it doesn’t come.
“I liked your speech the best,” he says, grinning like a proud father. “But I will admit I’m biased.”
My muscles relax. I’m not used to this side of Dan. “I appreciate it. My favorite was Charlotte’s.”
The corner of her mouth upturns and she murmurs thanks.
Silence falls over us as we watch the proceedings. My gaze rests mostly on Charlotte as she perches on the edge of her seat. Her attention is focused on every word that the council members utter, looking for any indication of which way they plan on voting.
We remain like that for the remainder of the meeting. Charlotte watching the meeting. Me watching Charlotte. At some point, Dan offers his congratulations to me again, says, “See you later,” and leaves us.
“You can go too and wait outside with the others,” Charlotte says after the doors close behind him. “I just want to see what happens.” The council has moved on to discuss an ordinance regarding zoning laws. “I know it’s a bit boring.”
“I’ll stay. Nothing is boring when I’m with you,” I reply and rest my hand on her knee, squeezing softly. “We’ll stay as long as you want.” I’m barely paying attention to the meeting. My focus is one hundred percent on her.
As the council members exit the chamber and the janitors come in to clean up, Charlotte turns to me. “So, that’s it? Is the library staying open? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know exactly, but they probably need to review things and make decisions,” I say, resting my arm around her shoulders. “Then they’ll make the final vote in a week.” I pull her closer to me and her soft curves rest against my body. “We’ve done everything we can. It’s out of our hands.”
“But what if it’s not enough?” She twists to face me. “What if they still close the library? What if they cut the budget even more?” Her lower lip quivers and her eyes water. “What if we’ve failed?”
“Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.” I press a kiss on her forehead. “I promise you that I’m not going anywhere. You won’t have to deal with it alone. We’ll face the next chapter together. Pun intended.”
“Thank you.” She leans into my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. “I meant it what I said earlier.”
I murmur into her hair, “I love you too.”
“I love you,” she echoes and I pull her in for a kiss.
Except we’re interrupted by one of the janitors, “Hey, we need to stack the chairs.”
We leave with red faces.