“I should,” said Zoe with a sigh. “And I will. But every time I open my notebooks I think of Alison.”
“It’s tough, I know,” said Lucy, giving Zoe a hug. “I think you just have to make yourself get started. Once you do, I think it will get easier.”
“I hope so,” said Zoe, plopping into one of the chairs at the round, golden oak kitchen table. “I’m thinking of taking next semester off. This new restaurant Dad’s working at, Cali Kitchen, has got lots of help wanted signs up at the college. I’m sure I could get a job there.”
Lucy had a horrible sinking feeling. She’d seen how this worked. First the kids dropped out of school, then with too much free time on their hands they began hanging around with other dropouts, and before you knew it, they started experimenting with drugs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, washing her hands in the kitchen sink.
“Don’t panic, Mom,” said Zoe in an amused tone, watching her mother pull some salad fixings out of the fridge. “It’s just an idea.”
“Maybe you could drop a course or two, and work part-time,” said Lucy, ripping open a bag of lettuce and dropping it into a bowl.
“Yeah, maybe,” said Zoe with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“In the meantime,” began Lucy as she chopped a cucumber, “since you can’t concentrate on American Literature, how about making apple cider donuts for me? I said I’d make six dozen for the Harvest Festival at the church.”
“I could do that,” said Zoe in a thoughtful tone. “I saw Martha Stewart make donuts on TV this morning and it didn’t look hard.”
Lucy wondered exactly how much time Zoe was wasting in this displacement activity as she watched her pick up the neglected notebook lying on the table and flipped through a few pages.
“Of course,” said Zoe, “Moby Dick is a really complex book and I’m way behind. I already told Mrs. Hollis that I’m not going to be able to babysit for her this weekend and I’ll need some gas money . . .”
Lucy had an idea where this was heading. “I’ll pay you,” she said in a small voice as she began coring a tomato.
“I’m pretty sure we can work something out,” said Zoe with a satisfied smile. “When do you need the donuts?”
* * *
These days it seemed to Lucy that time was accelerating and the days flew by much too quickly before she could accomplish half the things she meant to do. The town calendar followed its usual pattern of regularly scheduled meetings and she found she had a permanent case of déjà vu, finding herself once again in the basement meeting room at the town hall covering the planning board or the finance committee, and most frequently, the board of selectmen.
At least today’s meeting promised to be a little bit different, as the Rodriguezes complaint against Ed Franklin was on the agenda. When she arrived, Rey and Matt were already in attendance sitting side by side in a middle row, quietly conversing. They were dressed more formally in ties and business suits rather than the customary jeans and sweaters that was usual in Tinker’s Cove.
She settled herself in her usual seat, then abruptly decided to shake things up a bit and moved to the opposite side of the room and sat beside Verity Hawthorne.
“Going rogue?” she asked, looking up from her knitting and giving Lucy a smile.
“Just thought I’d see if things look different from this side of the room.”
“I think we’re in for a bit of drama tonight,” said Verity as Ed Franklin strode down the center aisle, planting his feet heavily with each step.
Reaching the row where Rey and Matt were sitting, he paused and glared at them, then continued on his way, taking a seat in the front row where he spread his legs wide apart and stretched his arms across the backs of the chairs on either side of him. The body language spoke loud and clear—Ed Franklin was a big, important man, much too big for one little chair.
The big hand on the clock behind the selectmen’s dais clicked into place on the twelve and the board members immediately filed in. Following their usual order, they sat down at the long table, each behind his or her nameplate. Roger Wilcox called the meeting to order, they promptly dispatched the usual business, then moved on to the matter of the citizen’s complaint.
Rey rose and politely addressed the board members, speaking in a somewhat regretful tone as he claimed that Ed Franklin overstepped his role as a board member when he inserted himself in the meeting with health inspector Jennifer Santos. “He had no place at that meeting, the purpose of which was simply to provide an overview of the project and discuss the relevant regulations. Mr. Franklin displayed a hostile attitude. He threatened enforcement of nonexistent regulations and interfered with Ms. Santos’ professional responsibilities.
“I know a bit about the restaurant business,” Rey continued in a deliberate understatement. “I have been in the business for nearly forty years. I have worked hard to earn an enviable reputation as a respected restaurateur and chef, so I can only conclude that Mr. Franklin objects to me personally because I am of Latino heritage. This, as you know, is a clear violation of national, state, and local equal rights legislation.
“I also want to add that I have come to believe that Mr. Franklin has been pressuring local suppliers and garbage haulers to refuse to do business with me. As my credit rating is excellent, that is the only possible explanation for the resistance I have encountered as I have tried to contract with local suppliers for necessary products and services. I might add that in all my years as a businessman I have never before encountered a situation
