“Cam-eeeeeeeee!”
Determined to finish her project, Cami clenched her jaw and continued to pick vegetables and sort them into piles. It was only when Harriet walked around the side of her house and called her name out again that Cami stood, wiped the dirt off her hands, and turned. She shielded her eyes and stepped out of the garden, sure to close the gate behind her and block the harvest from view.
"There you are," Harriet called, in a voice that bordered on exasperation. "I wondered if everything was okay when I saw your daughter and that young man walk down the street. Is everything okay?" she asked sweetly as she craned her neck to see around Cami.
Cami smiled, grateful that the picket fence she and Reese had installed around the garden last year blocked the view of the bountiful harvest from Harriet. Marty Price had warned her Harriet would be trouble, and though she felt guilty for thinking it, she couldn't help but agree as Harriet appeared to survey her backyard while she talked.
"No, everything's fine. The kids are heading out on a walk—they wanted to check on Mia Stevens and see how she’s doing."
"Mia who?" Harriet asked with genuine confusion.
"Stevens. They moved in about two years ago.”
“Ah,” Harriet said, in a voice that dripped with disdain. “The new development. Was anything the matter?"
Cami purposely ignored Harriet's tone. "She was just worried about her husband. He didn't come home the day of the tsunami, and she's there with two kids, you know."
"Oh, yes," Harriet said, as if she had any idea who Mia Stevens was or that she had children. "I wanted to ask you, Cami," she said, and changed the subject so fast that Cami blinked in response, "if you knew of anyone who was out of town. I'm putting together a little task force," she said as she examined her nails. “We’re trying to figure out exactly how many people we have in the neighborhood."
Cami put her hands on her hips. "Why would you want to know that?"
“Well, the homeowners association needs to know, of course," Harriet said blithely. "Beyond that, simple curiosity should be enough. I've seen you walking around the neighborhood before and assumed that you keep better tabs on these things than me—I’m usually so busy I don't have time to check on every neighbor."
Cami compressed her lips into a tight line and tried hard not to rise to the offhand jab at the fact that she didn't have a steady 9-to-5 job like most people. Harriet had no idea that her work as a guide paid nearly as well as Reese’s techie sales position. And there was no reason for Harriet to know that either. "Oh, I think the Westins…you know, at the main entrance, across from Susan and Doug Curtis? They’re not home.”
"Oh, yes—excellent. I'll add them to the list. Are there any others? Surely someone else didn’t make it home yet…” Harriet said eagerly.
Cami shook her head and tried not to gag at the excitement Harriet exuded over the fact that people may have died. "That's it, I'm afraid. I didn’t walk through the whole neighborhood, but the night of the tsunami—”
“Tidal wave," Harriet corrected, helpfully.
Cami paused, then offered a fake smile. “Right. Tidal wave," she said, bitterly. "Anyway, when I was walking around, most everybody was home. There were a few people, like your husband,” she said, unable to resist a jab back, “who hadn’t made it back yet, but I honestly haven't checked in with everyone. Were you planning to take a walk and find out?"
"Oh no, not me,” Harriet replied with hand on her chest. “I just wanted to talk with you first, to see if there were any empty houses. I'm sure we’ll have somebody volunteer to check things out for the committee."
Cami arched her eyebrow. "Committee? What committee?"
"Oh, the board has decided to form a committee for the future governance of Bee’s Landing."
"Future governance?" parroted Cami. “It's only been a couple days…”
Harriet scoffed. "We're not trying to take over as legal authorities. We wouldn't dare presume to do that—this will all blow over soon enough, you'll see. No," Harriet said, as she looked at Cami's garden again. "We’re setting up the committee to ensure that the bylaws and regulations of the homeowners association will continue to be followed."
"Isn't that what the board does?" asked Cami. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little confused."
"Oh, it's no bother for me to explain it to you, I've already done it several times today," Harriet said condescendingly. "Basically, the problem is the board can only enforce those rules by relying on mailings or communication through email and phone calls. As you know," Harriet said as she checked her nails again, "all the phones, TVs, and radios—even the mail—it’s all been shut down. So,” she said with a sigh, “we've been forced to rely on good old-fashioned meet and greets. But that's going to take manpower. Before, one or two people could handle sending out emails and letters to anyone breaking the rules. Now…we’re going to need to do it in person. That's too much responsibility for one or two people, so the board decided to create a committee. In order to hold fair elections, we need to get a head count of who exactly is here. So…that's my job. I'm in charge of…well, we haven't really come up with a title yet, but I like to think of myself as a census taker."
Cami rolled her eyes, grateful that Harriet couldn't see the expression behind her sunglasses. "That sounds like a very important task," Cami said with as little enthusiasm as possible.
"Oh, it's critically important. You see, everything we’re working on
