Page 41 of The Story of Us
Anita nodded.
Their troubles had just gotten exponentially worse. Jamie let her head fall backward and she groaned. “Ugh.”
There was one thing to do—go straight to the other business owners and try her best to persuade them to reject the deal. Wasn’t that what Sawyer was doing—but from the other side?
Two could play at that game. She might not know how to toss a pizza in the air, but her passion for the business district was unparalleled. Maybe everyone just needed to be reminded why the neighborhood needed to be saved.
She could do definitely do that. Actually, shehadto, because the only way they were going to be able to convince the town council to vote against the re-design was by standing together as a united front.
She darted back to True Love Books, fired up the espresso machine and then left again, holding as many Valentine’s-flavored lattes she could carry. Sawyer wasn’t the only one who had access to caffeine. Jamie’s lattes had plenty of it, andherscame with a dash of raspberry creme.
Sure enough, she managed to lure a few folks out of their shops for a spontaneous business meeting by one of the charming little benches that lined the streets of the district—benches slated to be demolished under Sawyer’s minimalist, IKEA-like plans.
Aunt Anita sat down on the bench, while Olga, Beth and Chuck stood sipping their coffees. Jamie took a deep breath, ready to plead her case, but Olga cut her off.
Not the greatest of starts.
“It’s a good offer, Jamie.” Olga pulled her copy of the flier from the pocket of the camel coat she wore over her pink tights and ballet clothes.
Beth nodded. “I could pay off my second mortgage.”
“And aren’t we just delaying the inevitable?” Chuck asked.
Getting him to join their conversation at all had been a major victory. He’d only agreed to show up after Jamie offered to try her hand at pizza-tossing. Desperation at its finest.
“No. No, the vote on the fourteenth is to see if the council recommends going forward with the project. We stop it there, and it’s done.” They could nip this entire thing in the bud with one simple meeting. It was really the only way to get rid of Ridley. And Sawyer, obviously, but she couldn’t think about that now. It was too confusing. “We all stick together and we say ‘no,’ we actually can sway the council’s vote.”
“I know Councilwoman Baker is in favor of it going forward,” Chuck said, as if the matter was already decided. “And her husband owns Golf Mart over on Third Street. Now that’s a big chunk of land.”
Not ideal, but they still couldn’t just roll over and let Ridley win.
“All of us together is even more land, more property, more voices,” Jamie said, hating the note of desperation in her voice, but she couldn’t seem to keep it at bay. “How many of you all remember what happened at Tanner Falls?”
A collective groan went up from everyone assembled. Jamie had managed to home in on a sore point. “How many of those store owners didn’t even have a place to go back to? Or a place they could even recognize?”
The area had been completely demolished. Shops that sold antiques that had been in place for over a hundred years were gone, replaced with a tech store and hipster hangouts that sold moustache wax, acai bowls and hemp-infused dog treats. Not that Jamie had anything against hipsters. Hipsters were lovely. Hipsters got excited about things like manual typewriters and crocheting and avocado toast, all things Jamie adored as well. It just wasn’t the same, having everything trendy and soulless, aimed at a generic “type,” in a town where the shops used to be charming and full of unique character. What’s worse, when the new development took over, the original shop owners who’d been in business in Tanner Falls for years had no place else to go. They’d been forced to either retire or move to an entirely new city.
No one wanted that to happen in the town they loved so much.
“We all want what’s best for Waterford. We understand the importance of bringing in new people to our district. It’s why we started the Fire and Ice Festival,” she said. They couldn’t give up. The festival was just days away, and it seemed to draw more and more people to the area every year.
If the festival didn’t do the trick and put a stop to the redevelopment talks, perhaps the best way to persuade the others to take a stand against Ridley was to remind them how much their businesses meant to them.
“Look, you all know how much I loved my bookstore, even before it was mine.” She pressed her hands to her heart. True Love Books was a part of her. Without it, she’d be lost, and she knew she couldn’t be the only one who felt that way about his or her business. “But I believe all of you love your stores just as much.”
A hush fell over their little group, until Olga reached out to squeeze Jamie’s hand. “I’ve been in the same dance studio for over twenty years. I don’t know where I’d be without it.”
“Right. And if we are all one voice at that council vote, maybe you won’t have to, Olga,” Jamie said.
Hope fluttered inside her. Maybe, just maybe, her words were starting to sink in. She searched the faces of her friends surrounding her, and there was a newfound spark of determination in just about everyone’s expression.
With one exception. “What’s on your mind, Chuck?”
He looked far too sheepish all of a sudden and couldn’t seem to bring himself to meet her gaze.
Please, please, please don’t let that mean what I think it means.
Chuck took a deep, pained breath and finally looked her in the eye. “Well…”
