Page 61 of The Library of Second Chances
After detailing his plans to continue moving forward with research, vetting, and proposals on a number of ideas rangingfrom food kiosks to the rental of paddleboards and other watercraft, Logan prepared for the part he knew was going to be more controversial. He’d already discussed it with Lucy, and Mildred was there to speak as well.
“The one idea we feel everyone is behind is the establishment of an open-air seafood market. I’m pleased to say that we believe we’ve found a way to move forward with that part of the plan.” He paused, clearing his throat before continuing.
“Mildred Banks, who I’m sure you all know as one of the owners of the Waterway Café, has asked to speak to the audience.” He motioned to Mildred to join him.
Mildred walked tentatively toward the front of the room, not meeting anyone’s eyes as she focused on the floor. Logan was nervous she and Marty had reconsidered, but she gave him a smile before she turned to the crowd.
“First, I want to say thank you to everyone here who has eaten at our restaurant over the past three decades. Your support and your friendship has meant so much to Marty and me. We’ve always been grateful to be a part of this community, and we intend to be so for a long time to come—” Her voice broke and she stopped. Reaching into a pocket of her dress as she smiled through her tears, she pulled out a tissue and blotted at her eyes.
Regaining her composure, she continued. “We intend to be part of this community for a long time to come, just not as restaurant owners.” She paused again, but this time she smiled out at the audience.
“I know this probably comes as a shock to many of you, and I appreciate those of you who have vowed to fight to help us save the restaurant. I wanted to come here, however, and tell you that Marty and I made this decision on our own. No one pressured us. As many of you know, our daughter recently had our first grandchild and lives in Raleigh, and we’d like to spendmore time with them. We always talked about buying an RV and traveling the country when we retired, but I’m not sure we ever would have retired if this opportunity hadn’t been presented to us. And that’s what this is. It’s an opportunity for us all. I promise Marty will buy fish at that market and have a fish fry out at the house every now and then, and the whole town will be invited.”
Despite the tears sliding down her face, Mildred was smiling. Heads in the crowd nodded their understanding, and the mood in the room visibly lifted.
Lucy spoke as Mildred stepped down from the podium. “Let’s all give it up for Mildred and Marty, who’ve kept us fed and happy for so many years.” She began clapping and soon everyone in the room was applauding along with her as Mildred walked back to her seat.
As the crowd quieted, Lucy spoke again. “Mildred, I think I speak for everyone when I say we hope you and Marty enjoy your retirement. You deserve it.”
Logan returned to the microphone so he could explain further. “The Waterway Café has agreed to a buyout of its lease in the marina building. Our plan is to remove the exterior and interior walls, leaving only the roof and necessary supports. After some repairs to the pilings under the foundation, we’ll be able to use this space as an open-air seafood market.”
People were quiet as they processed the information, but they looked intrigued, not disappointed or angry as he’d feared. Logan took a deep breath. He knew his future depended on the rest of the meeting. The ideas he’d detailed so far weren’t enough to bring in the revenue the town needed. If he could get a consensus on either the cruise line or the casino boat, it could be enough to seal the deal. Then he’d only need a council vote and the waterfront development would be off and running.
After introducing Mark from All-American Cruises, Logan stepped aside to let him come to the podium. His presentation was quick and efficient, highlighting the economic impact on similar towns without boring the audience with industry jargon and endless stats. Within ten minutes, Mark was launching into what Logan knew was his closing.
“According to surveys of our travelers, they spend an average of seventy-eight dollars in each port on everything from food to toiletries to souvenirs. In comparison, someone who stays here in town averages one hundred and seventy dollars per day. However, there’s also a cost to that in terms of infrastructure needs like housing, roads, and parking. We think our proposal allows you all to open up to more tourists without having to tax your current infrastructure or add to it. You obviously have small-town charm here in spades, and we think this is a great alternative that allows you to further monetize your waterfront while controlling growth and commercialism.”
Logan surveyed the crowd as Mark finished up. He’d seen a few people jot down notes, but it was tough to tell if they were writing down benefits or making notes for opposing comments later. Overall, the crowd looked more interested than it had in the beginning. Logan’s step was a little lighter as he approached the podium to thank Mark and to invite up the president of the casino boats company, John McIntyre.
On his way back to the side of the room, Logan’s eyes met Lucy’s. She was frowning, clearly unimpressed with the presentation. It wasn’t a look filled with hate and vitriol, but it wasn’t the warm smile he yearned for either. He took a place against the wall a few feet from her, close enough that he could sense a vibration in the air, as if she was a magnet drawing him to her. He was so aware of her he couldn’t concentrate on anything John was saying.
Admittedly, John’s presentation wasn’t exactly riveting. It also wasn’t very impressive so far. Logan hadn’t worked with his company before, but they’d come highly recommended by a friend who’d used them in Cape Canaveral. The economic benefits also simply weren’t as good as they were with the cruise line.
Logan’s jaw tensed as he sensed that John was losing the crowd. He probably should have asked to meet with him earlier in the day to go over his presentation, but he’d been distracted thinking about Lucy and the Little Free Library, and time had slipped away from him. He told himself it would be okay. The cruise line alone could probably generate enough revenue for the town to meet its goals.
They only had Lucy’s expert and public comments left to go. This was the homestretch. All he needed was enough support for the cruise line for the council members to feel comfortable voting to approve his plan at their next meeting. It didn’t have to be unanimous. He just needed four of the seven and he was home free.
Twenty-Five
Lucy
Lucy had to admit the presentation from the cruise line had been impressive. Mark had made such a compelling presentation that even she wavered.
But Miranda had some pretty compelling numbers too. Even the smaller ships took a toll on the environment and sea life. When they’d first met over the phone to prepare weeks ago, Lucy had told Miranda to come in guns blazing. She wanted to decimate Logan Lancaster and his ridiculous cruise ship idea. Even though she’d softened toward Logan, she still thought this particular idea was problematic.
Miranda was already off and running. She went through solid- and liquid-waste dumping by ships—complete with photos of ships dumping trash bags just offshore from their destinations—gas emissions spewed into the air while ships were in port, discharged ballast water, potential fuel spills, and more.
The next slide showed a pile of objects on a beach ranging from soda cans and candy wrappers to flip-flops and hats. Miranda held up a hand as she spoke.
“How many of you have found trash washed up on the beach?” Nearly every hand in the room went up. “Did you know cruise ships are allowed to dump sewage three miles offshore? And they can release wastewater basically anywhere they want. They’re prohibited from dumping plastics or oil, but investigative reporters and interest groups have tracked ships and caught them dumping entire bags of trash overboard.” She went back to the earlier photo of a crew clearly dropping bags of trash over the railings.
Lucy looked over to where Mark was sitting in the second row and saw him frantically writing notes, no doubt his rebuttal. She shifted her eyes toward Logan without turning her head. He had stiffened against the wall. He had his cell phone out and his thumbs were flying across the keyboard. His jaw was clenched, which accentuated the lines of his face.
His skin was tanner than when she’d first met him, no doubt a result of the beach runs she often caught sight of while she was on her deck journaling in the morning. With the temperature continuing its annual climb higher each day, he’d been running without his shirt. Pete had been right. He was indeed something to look at sans shirt. Even the button down he wore that night clung to him in all the right places. A warmth spread across her chest, and she forced herself to look away and focus on Miranda’s presentation.
She was pointing to a photo of a woman holding a white rag nearly covered in something black.
“That’s soot from cruise-ship engines being cleaned off one of the historic buildings in downtown Charleston. No landlord in the city ever reported soot like this prior to the cruise ships coming in.” Miranda shot a look directly at Mark, who’d talkedearlier about Charleston as a glowing case study of the economic impact cruise ships could have on a historic city.
