Page 125 of Just Trouble

The city councilchamber in Havelock is packed when we arrive. I have no idea how much interest there is locally in civic matters, but a quick glance reveals many familiar faces. Of course, I know our team, and I expected Patrick to be here. Daph’s dad isn’t with Patrick but is sitting at the back of the hall with his neighbours. I’m guessing Patrick isn’t happy about that because he’s looking daggers at everyone.

Mackenzie is here with an older guy who has to be her dad, Augustine. They’re sitting with Cameron and Willow, and Willow’s uncle, Jim. Phil Chang is here with his mom, who is happily greeting everyone as if she’s at a party. My mom arrives and Willow urges her to sit with them. She smiles encouragement at me as she sinks gratefully into a seat.

Bruno gives me a wave from where he’s sitting with Marissa, then two thumbs-up. I spot the girl from the thrift store, though it takes me a minute to place her. She’s sitting with the guy from the convenience store, which must be closed tonight. He gives me a wise nod. The two guys who run the taco truck on Friday night slide into the seats beside him, the three of them conferring quickly.

I can’t believe they’ve all come. There are people who have donated to the theatre’s restoration, but a whole lot more who haven’t. There are people who I’ve seen at Merrie’s and some I’ve never seen before. It seems the entire town of Empire has turned out.

I hope at least half of them are on our side.

I have suited up, per Daph’s instruction, as has she. She told me to look like the solution not part of the problem and I dotake instruction well. It’s a question of ceding to someone else’s expertise.

Sylvia and Una come in with Merrie, Una looking tired but determined. Sierra is behind them, engrossed in something on her phone. She’s followed by Noah, whose mom has brought him so he can get the story. They all sit behind Daph and me, a veritable army of support from the town that I once couldn’t wait to leave.

Will it be enough? I’ve no clue.

I don’t have time to worry about it because the meeting is being called to order.

In the very moment that Patrick glares at me in challenge, I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Rock the casbah, non-dad,” Sierra whispers and I cast her a smile.

“Picked that one just for me, did you, non-daughter?”

“Hey, just trying to connect, old man.” She gives me a cocky grin and I don’t have the heart to tell her that I wasn’t even a gleam in anyone’s eye when The Clash sent that one up the charts. I remember believing that everyone over twenty was nearly dead, and also how a few brushes with mortality change that view.

She probably listens to that same Havelock radio station now. Sooner or later, classic rock will bring us all together.

I watch as she goes to sit with Sylvia then look up to find Patrick’s basilisk stare still fixed on me, fury emanating from him in waves. I smile back at him, knowing what he’s seen and guessing what conclusion he’s made. I let my eyes narrow just a little, and send a message he won’t miss.

Hurt her and I will find you.

He inhales sharply and looks away, maybe the first time he’s ever blinked in a stare-down. Maybe he’s getting too old to rumble. Maybe I’ve not been so fierce before.

Either way, it starts the proceedings off right.

I love watchingDaph in action. She’s cool and composed, dispassionate yet compelling. She has an outline and sticks to it—a plan, as it were. She takes her time, pausing to give emphasis to an important point, guiding the listeners through her argument. She’s taken her presentation right off the whiteboard she started to fill with points as soon as we heard about the challenge. It was a thing of beauty, Daph listing all potential issues, then our team adding how we’ve addresses each and every one. It showed up some gaps, and we stepped up to fix them.

Daph has no intention of losing and I’m glad to have her on our side.

Patrick has submitted a relentless list of grievances, but Daph takes them in turn, so thorough and reasonable that no one can argue with her. Even I have to think that the team has done a great job. Chelsea is right there to provide back-up at a moment’s notice, and River has a mountain of stats at his fingertips. That kid has a calculator for a brain and a photographic memory, too.

Daph has the whole presentation memorized and only pauses for effect. It’s an impressive performance, one that trumps Patrick’s forceful complaint that launched the meeting. The mayor and the other councillors are watching Daph and checking the crowd seated behind me, gauging the temperature.

I take a pointer from that and try to read the room. Daph is brilliant, but I wonder if she’s claimed their hearts. She looks a bit like a flash lawyer from Toronto in a great suit addressing a bunch of people who maybe shop at L.L. Bean. There’s a lot of plaid and many pairs of chinos, some jeans and casual sweaters.They’ll probably dismiss Patrick’s objections, but I want more than to win by the skin of our teeth.

I want everyone on our side, just like the people behind me.

In fact, their presence, the very fact that they all took the trouble to drive to Havelock on a Wednesday night to show their support, convinces me that they really care about the future of Empire.

Daph and I can win this with teamwork.

When Daph is done, she gives me a little smile as she returns to her seat. Only I see the glisten of perspiration on her nape and the slight tremble of her fingers. The mayor asks if there are other opinions, and I stand up. It’s not on the schedule. It’s not part of the plan. But I need to add my voice to this discussion.

This is how I’ll be part of the solution.

“I would like to add a few comments,” I say and the mayor nods his agreement. I shed my suit jacket and roll up my sleeves, loosening my tie a bit as I choose how to begin. “A lot of you know that I grew up in Empire,” I begin, my tone conversational. “It’s true that I’ve been gone a long time, but sometimes I think you have to leave a place to really appreciate it. I never saw how special Empire was before I came back this year. It’s a town where people don’t lock their doors, where everyone knows their neighbours, where news is exchanged over the back fence. It’s a town where residents feel safe, where families stay for generations, where people look out for each other. When I was a kid, I saw its limitations. I didn’t realize what a rare treasure it was.”

There is a faint murmur of agreement.

I walk to the middle of the room, taking the space Daph recently owned. “But when you realize something is precious, it’s only natural to want to protect it. In a way, Empire is the place I knew as a kid, and in a way, it’s not. The shopfronts are closed on Queen Street. People come to Havelock for work, for school,for groceries. Empire is becoming a ghost town and that breaks my heart. Ghost towns are empty places, haunted by the past but having no future. I want Empire to have a future, so I wondered what I could do to contribute to that.”

---