Page 55 of A Class of Her Own

There were no words. Others apparently agreed with me, based on the silence that reigned for a few heartbeats. Enough heartbeats for things to get uncomfortable.

“How would you recommend we enforce this policy, Mrs. Jackman?” Brooks asked with total sincerity.

The man was made of steel or something even stronger than that. I’d had to turn around and face forward again, tucking my chin down and firmly holding my shoulders in place to keep them from shaking with laughter. This was absurd. These meetings got worse and worse every month.

“I’m not sure,” Linda stated. “I just know that fat cats are a symptom of a bigger problem.”

“What about old cats? Sometimes when things get old, they get heavy,” Hazel pulled a face. “Do we punish pet owners for the natural progression of life?”

“How do we even know how many people have cats in this community?” Leland asked. “I’m certainly not going door-to-door registering pets. I vote no to this one. It’s a waste of time. Let’s move on.”

“I get my vote like everyone else,” Linda pursed her lips and folded her arms. “It’s the law.”

Brooks took a deep breath. “It’s not necessarily the law, but it is proper procedure. So, all who vote in favor of, uh, pursuing the fat cat issue, please raise your hands.” Linda’s hand was the only one that shot up. She looked around, trying to get people to join her, but most of them wouldn’t even meet her eye. “I’m sorry, Linda, but we’d need at least three votes to take this to the next step,” Brooks said.

Linda left in a huff, and this time when Brooks glanced my way I was ready to share in that ‘what on earth is going on’ look he sent me.

“Let’s hear what’s next,” Leland barked.

Brooks had apparently already looked because this time he couldn’t stop the movement of his lips. He was losing the war against laughter. To buy some time he looked down at the list Hazel had given him and smoothed the paper on the tabletop before addressing the room.

At last he said, “There’s some concern that our bylaws don’t clearly state that no airplanes are allowed to land in our community.”

This time I couldn’t resist saying something. “I’m wondering where there’s room for a plane to land around here?”

“Yeah. I’m picturing the entire community in my head, and there’s no open field or street big enough and long enough for that,” Hazel agreed.

“Who submitted that?” Leland tried to pull the page away from Brooks, but he snatched it up.

“It doesn’t have names,” Brooks said, and I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not. “But if it did, it would be my job to protect their privacy.”

Leland recrossed his arms. “This is nonsense.”

“I’m not totally familiar with all the details of the bylaws,” Brooks said to the room at large, “but I’m happy to look into them and report back what I find. I’m guessing, though, that this would be an issue for the Federal Aviation Association and not an HOA group. I don’t personally feel like there’s much risk of a plane landing in our neighborhood.”

“Someone’s worried about it,” Shayla supplied in a honey tone. “So, maybe it’s a real concern?”

“My thoughts are that in the event a plane makes use of our streets, it’s most likely an emergency situation and there were no other options,” Brooks responded.

Shayla giggled. “Of course.”

“Vote on it,” Leland stated. “My show starts in thirty minutes, and I don’t want to still be here when it does.”

“What’s your show?” Hazel asked with some surprising snark. “The Bachelor?”

Leland hardly spared her a glance as he replied, “Cold Cases. It’s about people who get away with murder for decades without being suspected.”

Hazel scoffed and looked away. I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh. How had I never noticed how much those two didn’t like each other? This was comedy gold. I’d missed so much with my laser-focused quest for justice. Brooks piped up before they could get into a real rhythm, calling for a vote on if we needed to include airplane landings in our bylaws. It didn’t go through.

The last few items were small things. Recycling schedules, questions about a community New Year’s party, nothing big, and, before fifteen more minutes had passed, the meeting was closed, and Leland was on his way home to watch whatever show he loved most. Hazel was right behind him, but Shayla lingered as Brooks spoke to a few people. I’d noticed her crush on him before, but now I watched as she touched his arm repeatedly, at one point holding on when his attention was diverted. Tonight seemed to be the night that blinders came off for me, and I saw this whole HOA situation in a different light. I had a lot to think about.

I gathered up my coat and beanie, tugging the warm wool down over my forehead as I bundled up for the walk home. No one said much to me, which wasn’t surprising, and before long I was walking down the sidewalk headed for home. It was dark and cold, and, even though I had on my trusty mittens, I tucked my hands deep in my coat pockets to keep them warm. My mind swirled, making me smile as I thought about all the silly things that had come up for discussion that night. In the past I’d have fought tooth and nail to keep them from going through, but now the fight seemed to be gone. I’d thought that if I was the HOA president I could make a difference, but maybe people didn’t want a difference made . . . maybe they just wanted to air their little grievances and strange ideas and the HOA president had no real power at all.

“Meredith, wait up.” I recognized Brooks’s voice before he reached me. I didn’t turn to watch him close the distance, but I did stop walking. “You were quiet tonight,” he said as he came alongside me.

It shouldn’t have made me happy that he’d noticed my silence or that he’d come looking for me, but it did. I started walking again, and he fell into step with me.

“I decided to try an experiment and simply observe tonight.”

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