Page 115 of Royal Icing
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
LEO
Newsof the protest spread throughout Lynoria like wildfire. His social media following grew by the minute. People expressed support from across the globe. Thanks to Emma’s interventions, a movement was building.
After a long Friday of canvassing the country, distributing flyers, and chatting with community leaders, Leo’s back ached as he stood at the front of the community center.
People milled all around, hefting homemade signs and sharing markers. There were so many attendees that people had to wait outside on the street. There was a tangible energy in the air.
His stomach was in knots, and he hadn’t slept at all the night before. Not even because of Sal’s impressive snoring. He was about to enrage his parents and endanger what little hope remained for a future relationship with them. This event would sever his familial ties for good.
Did he even want a relationship with people who were so quick to cut him off? And for what, dating an American? It was medieval. He could make do with just Ruby as his family—and maybe John, at least on holidays.
Even though it was a sensible boundary, it still hurt. What if he and Emma beat the odds and worked everything out? Would his parents attend his wedding? Would they have a relationship with his future children?
There was no perfect solution. No matter what way he went about it, someone was going to get hurt. And he would rather the hurt party be his parents than innocent women and children fleeing untold horrors.
This was bigger than he was. Bigger than any of them. And he owed it to his country to do whatever it took to get this project off the ground.
A gentle hand landed on his back, and the scent of vanilla drifted in the air. Emma.
“Doing okay?” she asked gently, like she was trying to coax a cat down from a tree. She was wearing a T-shirt that said Growth, Not Greed, and she looked fresh as a poet’s daffodil despite having baked in his tiny apartment for the last day and a half.
Just looking at her gave him peace.
“I’m a little nervous,” he admitted.
“Totally understandable. You’re doing what has to be done. Everything will be okay. I can feel it.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and breathed in her presence. How was it possible to feel so strongly about someone he had met less than a month ago?
He glanced at his watch. Just a few minutes till noon. First the protest, and then the Christmas extravaganza. Who knew that the holiday that filled him with so much disdain might just be the thing that saved his entire project?
“Want me to wrangle everyone?” she asked.
“Thank you.”
“Okay, everyone, gather your materials and meet us outside. We march at noon,” Emma called.
People drifted out into the street, chattering excitedly, and Leo followed with a knot in his stomach. There was no turning back now.
The local police had closed the road to accommodate the protesters and prepare for the fundraiser. People spilled out onto the cobblestones. There must have been hundreds. Citizens of all ages had turned up—young teenagers who were certainly not dressed for the cold, parents holding small children and waving Lynorian flags, and even some slope-shouldered elderly people with walking sticks. Many of them bowed, to his chagrin.
It was a good thing the province had donated the use of so many portable loos.
The sun was shining, and it was warmer than any December day that he could remember. Storefronts were decorated with holiday flair, some themed after Christmas movies and others dressed up like giant gifts.
Emma darted to the front of the crowd, where Sal was pushing her mom’s wheelchair. Even Cooper and Arizona were wearing tiny Lynorian flag bandannas.
Was that the marching band from the local high school?
The response heartened him. People genuinely cared. They wanted what was best for the community, even if the king and queen didn’t.
Sal handed over the bullhorn from the night before, and Leo took it with a clammy hand.
“People of Lynoria,” he called. Everyone stopped talking and snapped to attention. “Thank you for joining me today. For those of you who I haven’t met, I’m Leo. And I’m trying to build something for our country. Right down the road from here.”
He pointed to where the new community hub would stand.
