Page 126 of Just Trouble

I meet a lot of concerned gazes, feeling that there’s agreement to that in the room. “I acquired a former diner on Queen Street and convinced a talented chef to open her farm-to-table bistro there. Now, there’s a great place to eat in Empire, The Carpe Diem Café, and there’s another business to buy from local producers. A shameless pitch here: if you haven’t made the trip to check out Merrie’s place, you owe it to yourselves to fix that. She’s an amazing chef.”

There’s a little ripple of laughter and I smile. “But one restaurant isn’t enough. I knew Empire needed more of an economic boost and when my band decided to hold a tribute concert, I wanted to have it in Empire. The Odeon Theatre has been sitting empty for years. We renovated it, my partners and I, and brought everything up to code. The building inspectors from Havelock have been there almost daily and they’ve had some great suggestions. It’s a heritage building, although it hasn’t been designated as such, built for visiting vaudeville shows over a hundred years ago. It’s a big part of Empire’s history, and of mine. I went to the movies there as a teenager. It’s beautiful inside and constructed to last, and I’m honoured that we’ve been able to give it a new life. It has a new roof, new wiring, updated plumbing and a new sprinkler system. We’ve taken out some of the two thousand original seats at the suggestion of the fire marshal, to provide better egress in an emergency. The best thing about it, though, is the acoustics. Every time we rehearse, I’m blown away.”

I turn to the councillors. “And so we have a building, originally constructed to host live performances, returned to its former glory to host one performance. We have a team of peoplecommitted to ensuring that Empire sees only benefits from this one event, people who have arranged much larger concerts in much more demanding venues in the past, people who have tried to consider every variable in their planning. And we have a community, a community with many, many people who have made donations to help finance the renovation of this building in their town.”

That’s when I have the idea and it’s so right that I just go with it. “I want the people of Empire to be happy with the results of this event, and I don’t want anyone worrying about damage or litter or noise. We’ve tried to address that already, as you’ve heard tonight, but there’s always more than can be done. I propose that we set up a hotline tomorrow and ensure that the people of Empire know about it. That way, anybody with a complaint during the performance, before or after, can immediately reach a live person, one who will address their concerns.” There are sage nods from the councillors and a few murmurs of approval. Chelsea gives me a thumbs-up and I know she’ll own this.

I turn to face the contingent from Empire. “Does that make sense to you?”

Bruno starts the applause and it sweeps through the observers, a crescendo that proves the appeal of the solution.

I turn back to the councillors. “I want this tribute to be a success for everyone involved and for Empire, too. I’ve been thrilled to have many of the people of Empire contribute to the renovation cost, and we’ll start giving tours of the refurbished interior, as soon as the building inspectors give us the all-clear.”

There is audible approval of that plan.

I nod to Noah. “Keep an eye on The Empire Chronicle for the schedule. If you don’t have that website bookmarked already, you might want to do it now.” Some people reach for their phones and Noah looks like he’ll burst with pride.

I meet the gaze of each councillor in turn. “I believe in trying to make a difference, and I believe in protecting what matters. For me, now, that’s Empire and its future, and if this tribute can be even a tiny part of a town’s economic recovery, I want to be a part of it. Thank you for your attention tonight and I hope you find our position compelling.”

There’s a louder round of applause from the people seated behind us, one that has many of them on their feet. That becomes contagious, flowing through the ranks of all the observers until we have a standing ovation.

It takes a few minutes for the council to restore order, then the mayor rises with a smile. “Our decision is clear. Patrick Cavendish, your objections have been overwhelmed. Luke Jones, we wish you and your tribute concert all the best. The concert is cleared to proceed as scheduled.”

Team Empire gives a hoot of victory and as soon as the meeting is dismissed, I’m surrounded by everyone who wants to congratulate us. My hand is shaken and my back thumped. My mom gives me a big kiss on the cheek and Daph looks delighted.

I have some tickets, of course, and when I’m thronged in the parking lot by people who want to tell me of their support, I give them out in pairs. Daph’s dad invites a lot of people back to his place for celebratory drinks and that gets everyone from Empire moving. Daph offers to stop at the liquor store while he goes straight home and we walk to the Honda hand in hand.

We are an unbeatable team.

“You rock,” I say to her. “You were amazing.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself.”

“I couldn’t have made that presentation alone. I would have missed a good half of the variables, but you’re so brilliant at seeing all the angles.”

“You couldn’t have told me about the hotline sooner?” Daph asks with a smile.

“I didn’t think of it sooner.”

She stops to stare at me. “You just thought of it then and there, and went with it?” Of course, she would dissect any idea, plan it out, check it and recheck it. I love how thorough she is, but sometimes impulse steers you true.

“I knew it was right. It had resonance.” She shakes her head and I bend down to whisper in her ear. “Just like being with you.”

And she smiles, the sight enough to light up my life forever. I kiss her, making the most of it since we have to be social for a while yet. The people from Empire honk at us as they leave the parking lot, but Daph is in my arms, kissing me back, and that’s the only thing that matters.

I know with sudden clarity exactly what I have to do.

35

DAPHNE

It’s the week before the concert, a Tuesday, when someone knocks on my door. I open it to find Luke on my doorstep. He’s nervous, which isn’t what I expected. I never even imagined that Luke could be less than confident, but his agitation is obvious.

“Forget your key?”

“No, I just wanted to make sure we talked.”

“Are you coming in?”

---