Page 52 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

Mia’s mouth was too dry to speak so she only nodded.

“Well then, I guess we are out.” Meredith ended the call and Mia sat back, stunned.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Martha said. Her strident voice seemed to wake everyone else from their silence and they all started talking at once.

Dani handed her a water bottle.

“Thanks.” Mia cracked the lid. The cool liquid slid down her throat and soothed her nerves.

“This was just the first one,” Dani said. “We never thought it would be easy.” An alarm beeped on her phone and Dani turned it off. “Everybody, listen up. Next, we have,” she checked her clipboard, “Jemma Swanson. She is a glassblower.”

Soon, a young blonde about Mia’s age appeared on the screen.

“I’m so excited to be part of this project,” she said. “I can’t wait to move over there and get started.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious. Soon, the whole group was firing off questions for Jemma, and she was sending them right back.

Yes, she was from Michigan.

Yes, she’d been on the island before.

Yes, they would give her a low rent, and the houses really were a dollar.

And on and on.

When Mia finally showed the slides she had prepared, Jemma barely even looked at them.

“I’m sure you know which place will be best for me. You’re more familiar with everything there. This all looks great.” Jemma beamed into the camera. “I will have some equipment that will need to be delivered if my application gets approved.”

Dani and Mia exchanged looks before Dani looked around the table. Everyone was nodding.

“Jemma, we’re all very excited about having you aboard. We’ll let you know a final answer soon. We’re having an in-person meet and greet next week. We’d love to have you there,” Dani said. Onscreen, Jemma jumped up and did a little dance.

“Thank you all so much,” she said. “I don’t know if I can make it next week, but I’m all in. I won’t let you down.”

They ended the call. Once again everyone began talking at once, but this time, a happy note rang in the air.

The day progressed with more calls, and each of the council members took a turn leading the discussion. The pile of notes beside Mia grew larger. She had a stack of yeses and a stack of nos. Right now, they were tied. There was also a stack of maybes, people who the council weren’t sure about and a few who were themselves unsure.

“Last one on our list,” Dani said. “This will be Mrs. Linda DeVoe. She sells specialty clothing. It’s Janine’s turn to lead the discussion.”

Linda DeVoe was an older woman, perhaps in her sixties. Her hair was neatly styled, and she wore dangly earrings and a pastel top. A much younger man sat next to her.

“I hope you don’t mind if my nephew’s son sits in,” she said. “He’s helping me with the computer. It can be finicky.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be quiet,” the young man said. “I don’t know much about clothes anyway.”

The interview ran in fits and starts. There was a strange lag on the audio, and they kept talking over each other.

“Maybe we can hash out these details when I come to town,” Linda finally said.

“That would be great,” Janine said. “Would you like to see the business and home we’ve picked out for you? Subject to your approval, of course.”

Mrs. DeVoe nodded and Mia started her presentation, showing her the various details of the places they’d earmarked as possibilities for her.

Mrs. DeVoe pursed her lips. “I don’t know. It’s not something I can really determine over a screen. I just don’t know if I’m ready to make any decisions.”

“That’s fine.” Janine took back the presentation. “We will send you the details of the in-person event soon. Hopefully we can impress you enough for a yes.”

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