17. Lydia
17
LYDIA
“ T hank you, everyone, for joining us this evening,” Mayor Dan started.
The community room at the library was filled with rows of folding chairs facing a line of tables with a panel of speakers. Mayor Dan, Evie, myself, and Mary from the post office sat in front of half the town.
And they were all staring at me. At least it felt like it.
If I didn’t make eye contact and I kept my focus on Dan, I could at least pretend they weren’t looking at me. I could pretend I was another interested party here to listen to what the mayor had to say. More people showed up for the newly formed Historical Society meeting than I would have expected.
I squirmed under all the scrutiny. It was uncomfortable at best, and downright anxiety inducing.
Could everyone tell I was pregnant? As far as I could see, my body hadn’t changed at all in the past few weeks. There was no baby bump. The only bumps on my body had been there for a while. Maybe all this extra squish would help to hide things for a while.
My gut rumbled. I put my hand over my stomach, closed my eyes, and silently prayed that I wouldn’t be sick. I must have made some noise because Evie leaned in close.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I think I understand how the animals in the zoo feel,” I whispered.
“Or like a fish in a fish bowl?” She giggled.
I nudged her with my elbow. We were supposed to be serious. This meeting was serious. I bit my lip and tried to keep my mirth suppressed. The last thing I needed was more people staring at me.
“We received a rather lengthy communication from the developer who has been trying to buy up the properties. So we have confirmation as to their goals, and we have a better idea what we’re up against,” Dan said.
“What are we up against?” someone called out.
“What do you mean, developer? The nice young man who spoke to us didn’t mention anything like that.”
“Yes, he did, Martha. Hush and let the man talk.”
The crowd that had gathered was a vocal one. They were there to hear what Dan had to say, but it was clear they wanted to have their say too. The volume in the room started to grow louder as everyone tried talking over each other.
Dan held up both hands in hopes of settling everyone down. “You’ll have a chance to ask questions later. Everyone settle down.”
The voices continued to get louder.
“People, please,” Dan pleaded.
Evie shook her head at his poorly made attempts at settling everyone down. It was clear he had already lost control. She stood up and clapped her hands in a rhythmic pattern.
Everyone in the room responded with the same clapping pattern. It was a trick the teachers always did that I remembered from grade school. It was the same routine Evie did when storytime got a little rowdy.
“One, two, three…” She paused. “Eyes on me.”
She only had to wait a few more seconds before everyone quieted and were watching her.
Better her than me, at least.
Evie cleared her throat. “Friends, we are here to learn what Mayor Dan has to share. He can’t do that while everyone is talking. You will have your turn. While Mayor Dan is making his presentation, Lydia and I will be setting up two marked places you can come ask your questions from.”
Someone in the audience started to speak.
“No, no, it’s my turn to speak right now. We will have some note cards for you to write your questions on if you are too shy to talk in front of everyone, or if you can’t get up and stand in line. We will take care of you, and your concerns will be heard. Now if you have a question, please raise your hand.”
Only a few hands went up.
Evie pointed to a person about in the middle. “How are we going to make sure what our property is worth?”
Evie shook her head. “Sorry, I mean, are there any questions about what I just said? Anything regarding property values and the developer’s plans, you need to save until later.”
The crowd was quiet and looked at each other, and then turned their attention back to the front and looked at Dan.
“Thank you, Evie,” Dan started. “As I was saying, I received a rather extensive communication from the JM Carlisle Group. We’ve had a couple of meetings with their representatives a few times, and several of you have spoken with them. They are the reason Brookdale has formed this Historical Society. We all want to preserve the clear identity of our town. We finally have a detailed prospectus regarding the impacted area and properties.” As he spoke, he stood and picked up a large poster board with a map of Brookdale. The area in question was outlined in red.
“They want to level these buildings to put up a fancy resort…”
As Dan continued to talk, Evie leaned in and whispered, “Come on.”
Quietly, I got out of my chair and followed her. We snuck out of the community room and into the library offices. Evie started going through drawers and pulling out supplies.
“Will you grab some pencils over there?” She pointed to another drawer.
By the time we were finished collecting everything, I had an armful of index cards and pencils, and Evie had two signs that had giant question marks drawn on them.
“You set up on one side of the tables, and I’ll be on the other. We can alternate side to side for taking questions. We need to get a runner, you know, someone who can go get the questions from the folks who can’t get into the line,” she said.
“Didn’t I see the Coleson kid with his grandfather in there?”
Evie’s eyes went bright. “He’s perfect, a good kid.”
By the time we returned, it sounded like Dan was getting close to the end of his presentation.
“This time, the developer generously offered to rebuild a new post office with new state of the art equipment. He even mentioned the possibility of some additional fleet vehicles.”
The developer sounded pretty eager. I was surprised I hadn’t heard directly from him since that day the Sweet Mountain Inn officially became mine. My inn was located on the leading edge of the desired property. I would have thought they would be eager to secure my property. I could totally see them using the inn as a leverage to get the other properties to sell.
I took my red sign with its giant question mark and taped it on the floor. I snuck into the crowd and whispered to Ricky Coleson’s grandfather. “Can I borrow Ricky for the rest of the meeting? We could use his help.”
Ricky’s grandfather turned to the teen. “Go, be helpful,” he said as he nudged the kid.
I excused myself out of the row, and Ricky followed me out. We met Evie at the back of the room, where in whispered words, she told him what she needed him to do.
“If you see anyone who cannot get up, either they look trapped, or they can’t move easily, you get them a pencil and a note card. Tell them to put their question on it. Make sure you can read their writing because if you can’t, I’m not going to be able to.”
As Evie gave Ricky directions, he nodded in understanding.
“Even though we have not agreed to anything at this point, the JM Carlisle Group has been sharing some really good ideas with us. They have suggested that we try to attract the kinds of businesses that would support the wedding industry.”
I turned my attention back to Dan. Turning Brookdale into a wedding destination was my idea. A pit started to form in my stomach. I had a very bad feeling about this.
The only person I had told about my wedding destination idea was Miles. And Miles…
Oh, crap, did Miles work for JM Carlisle? I never knew why Miles was in town. He never mentioned visiting family, or hiking, or anything. He was always just visiting. And I drove him around like his own private little tour guide.
Was he the reason I hadn’t been approached again? Was he supposed to be the person trying to convince me to sell the Sweet Mountain Inn? I felt sick to my stomach. I ran from the room and dashed into the restroom.
I wasn’t sick, but I couldn’t breathe. I gasped for air as I tried to get my mind to settle. Thoughts raced through almost as fast as my heart pounded. Had Miles been seducing me so he could convince me to sell the inn? If that was his goal, why had he offered to help me fix things up? I didn’t understand. If Miles wasn’t some kind of spy for JM Carlisle, then how did they come up with the suggestion of turning Brookdale into a wedding location?
The coincidences were too closely aligned. I had been a complete target, and I had danced right into their trap. I needed to find a way to get in touch with Miles. I needed to know how was he associated with JM Carlisle.
I really needed to know that I hadn’t slept with the enemy. And as far as I was concerned, anyone who wanted to buy up the beautiful properties in this town and demolish them for some characterless hotel was the enemy.
I splashed water on my face and returned to the community room. People had lined up and were asking questions. When someone asked what they should do if they wanted to sell, if it seemed like a good opportunity, I realized I couldn’t listen. I simply could not face the problem any longer.
I turned around and left. The rest of the committee could finish the meeting without me. I was too heartbroken.