Cami looked around. That idea got them thinking. Most people muttered with heads together in little knots. Cami had to admit, it made sense—if someone wasn’t home almost a week after the tsunami, the chances of their safe return diminished exponentially each day. Why not utilize the food and water in those vacant homes, when people—neighbors—could use immediate help?
Arguments for and against the proposal floated back and forth across the group, some louder than others, but after a few minutes of debate, a general consensus seemed to emerge. Some people, like Marty, refused to accept the outright theft of someone’s property—whether they were there to resist or not, even if it was to hand it over to someone else, who didn’t prepare as well as they should have. It was anathema to everything the country was founded on, he said to a few other like-minded individuals.
“I understand that it’s not the ideal solution,” Harriet explained in an exasperated tone, while she painted a sympathetic look on her face that Cami interpreted as condescension. “But I…we—the board, that is—believe firmly that collecting food and supplies from vacant homes presents the fastest, most efficient means of getting supplies to people who need them—right now—without turning our neighborhood into a fortress.”
After a slight, half-hearted round of applause, one of the loudest proponents of doing something more drastic raised his hand again. When Harriet nodded—begrudgingly—in his direction, he called out, “That’s all fine, but what are we gonna do about these guys wandering around our neighborhood right now? How does the board plan to stop them?”
Harriet looked at the board members behind her, then smiled at the speaker. “What do you suggest we do? We’re not going to take over policing duties from the authorities, or set up our own government…this meeting was called to discuss—“
“We know you like hearing yourself talk,” the man said. Cami craned her neck to see who it was, but she couldn’t quite place his identity. She assumed he was from the newer side of the development, near Mia. “But I got a wife and kids to worry about. I don’t need some lowlifes prowling around my house in the middle of the night.”
“Someone breaks into my home, they’re gonna be carried out in a body bag,” a voice rang out in support.
As the crowd fell into discussions about the legality of shooting hoodlums, looters, and thieves, whether in someone’s home or on the street, Cami turned to Marty. “You don’t seem too put out by the fact that the HOA has keys to everyone’s home. I didn’t think it was a big deal when we moved in, but now…”
Marty smiled. “You think I still have the same locks on my house as when I moved in?”
“Well, we had our locks changed after we moved in, and then we handed over the key,” Cami admitted.
“Hmmph,” Marty muttered, as if enlightened.
“It seems rather silly, now that I think about it—but I wasn’t as…” Cami paused, in search of the right word.
“Woke?” asked Marty. “Aint’ that what the kids say nowadays when you been slapped upside the head by life?”
Cami laughed. “Yeah. Woke is as good a word as any, I guess. I’d never do it now, but that horse is already out of the barn, huh?”
“Shoot,” Marty said, as he adjusted his stance and leaned forward over his cane. “I waited about a day, then changed the locks on my house. They got a key but it don’t open anything.”
Harriet eventually managed to regain control of the arguments about shotguns versus ARs for home defense, but just barely. “People, please! We have a lot of work to plan for tomorrow. We have a few more items to discuss,” she said, and glanced down at the notes in her hand. “Ah, tomorrow is trash day…”
Cami couldn’t believe her ears. The world had fallen apart less than a week earlier, and Harriet—and the board—were worried about people who put too much trash out on the curbs…if the garbage men didn’t show up, all that trash would be…unsightly. She continued with concerns over certain families that failed to adhere to the strict yard maintenance rules and homeowners who let their grass grow a little too high and moved right into political signs in front yards.
“It’s literally the end of the world as we know it, and she’s worried about yard signs detracting from perceived property value in the neighborhood?” Cami shook her head. “What is she smoking?”
“Now then,” Harriet said at last, “if there are no further helpful suggestions for the board, we’ll consider this meeting adjourned…do I hear a second?”
“Second!” someone up front quipped almost as soon as Harriet’s mouth closed.
“Good, then this meeting is adjourned—“
“But what about the crooks? We can’t just keep letting anyone walk through here that wants—“
“And I thank you for your attendance and hope you all stay safe,” Harriet said, steamrolling right over the objections. In the face of shouted objections, she turned and marched off the deck into her house, followed by the four members of the board. They took their clipboards, their chairs, and their drinks and vanished in seconds.
As the crowd dispersed, arguments erupted all over again and small clusters of people wandered off to dispute the meeting amongst themselves. Cami found herself and Mia next to Marty as the others flowed around them.
“I…cannot believe…she did that,” Mia stammered through clenched teeth. Her nostrils flared and her eyes radiated hate. “She asked how I was doing and promised the information she collected would be anonymous…”
“That woman knows no decency,” Marty agreed. “She won’t let any crisis go to waste.” He spat on the ground next to Mia.
“I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life…” Mia said, her face buried in her hands. “And I’ve been married to
