Page 66 of The Pacifist
Cole raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything because in that moment Anne came through the door. She slowed down the moment she saw our group and complete silence fell upon us. She was as feminine, curvy, and beautiful as in her modeling pictures.
I took a step forward. “Hi, Anne.”
All I got was a small nod before she hurried into the mediation hall.
“You ready?” Cole asked behind me.
“I guess so.”
The mediation room was bright with lots of daylight streaming in. Relaxing music played and there was a pleasant aroma of sandalwood and apple from the large air diffuser in the corner.
“Welcome.” A voluptuous woman with a big afro gestured for us to come closer.
“My name is Melissa Meek, but you can just call me Missy.” Making a quick head count of our group, she instructed. “We’re not having Anne face ten of you at one time. There can only be two of you and to make it fair, we’ll let Anne pick one and you’ll pick the other.”
Cole was quick to raise his hand. “Me.”
“Are the rest of you okay with that?” Missy asked us and no one disagreed.
“All right, as promised, you may pick the other representative from your family, Anne.” Missy waved her hand toward our group and right away, Anne’s eyes fell on me.
“I pick Jonah.”
“Good. Then the rest of you will sit over there as observers.” Missy pointed to the wall where two rows of chairs were placed. “And now, let me just place these four chairs and then we can get started.”
The atmosphere was tense when we sat down in a small circle with Anne between me and Missy.
“Oh, Mother Nature. I can hardly squeeze my behind into these chairs anymore,” Missy laughed. “I’m a fat-donor you see.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
Missy had a beautiful and warm smile. “I figure we all have to contribute with what we do well and I’m a great eater. It’s one of my favorite things to do, so why not help the ones who need to recover from disease or simply can’t gain weight. I’ve donated five times already.” Her pride made me smile.
“That’s great.”
“Right, enough about me. First, let me begin by saying thank you for agreeing to sit down and talk about what happened between you. Only through communication can we bridge the misunderstandings that occur between people.”
Turning in her chair, Missy addressed Emanuela, Lilly, Gunnar, and the other family members by the wall. “Thank you for accepting a role as observers for now. I want to make sure you feel heard, so let’s make this deal. Should you have unresolved questions or feelings after this meeting, you can have your chance to speak.”
Anne sat on the edge of her seat, her pretty features serious with her eyebrows drawn close and her lips in one straight line.
“Now, Anne, you have made some hard accusations in the media about your family. I understand that it’s doubtful that your sister Emanuela and her husband Hunter Hercules can play for the Dolphins in the next season. Jonah is facing potential exclusion from the Council, and your brother Cole left the family to do some serious soul searching and reflect on his poor choices.
Cole narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t leave by choice. It was that or losing the park.”
Missy nodded. “And we can all sense how upset that makes you. Yet you admitted that Anne’s claim of your brewing and selling beer was in fact true and later others have confirmed that after-dark activities such as racing have taken place.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Cole muttered low.
“What was that?” Missy asked and leaned her head toward him.
Cole shook his head signaling that he didn’t wish to repeat, but Anne gave him away.
“He said that there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Missy jerked her head back and sat straight in her chair. “Is that what you said?”
Cole crossed his arms, not speaking.
