Chapter 22: Chapter 22
The diner was more crowded for lunch than it had been the night before when Brady had been sitting across from Noelle over dinner instead of with Harry Green in a booth a few down from the one he’d shared with the beautiful animal lover. Harry wasn’t quite as easy on the eyes, but after some initial pushback, similar to what he’d gotten from Martha, he’d started to open up. By the time they were almost finished with their soup and sandwiches, Harry was on board.
Taking a sip of his sweet tea, Harry nodded his head. “Everything you have outlined sounds good to me, Brady. The fact that you got Doris Snow to head it up speaks volumes. I don’t have any problem at all throwing my support behind the events. I do think it will be difficult to get Jenkins’s approval, but as long as there’s not a tie on the board, it won’t matter.”
“Do you think you can help me get at least two more council members to agree?” Brady asked, hopeful. Harry certainly knew the other board members better than he did.
He thought for a moment, dragging his hand down the sides of his mouth where a tidy, white mustache adorned his wrinkled face. Eventually, he nodded. “Kent should be easy enough to win over. He likes you. He’s mentioned before that he thinks you’ve got a level head on your shoulders.”
Brady smiled at the compliment. “What about Stanley? Or Bob?”
“Stanley is only interested in whatever he’s got goin’ on on his blang dang phone,” Henry said, shaking his head. “I might be able to convince him to agree to the events if we can build in some sort of social media what-not.”
Brady thought for a moment before an idea came to him. “We can incorporate some selfie stations.”
“What’s that now?” Henry asked. Brady thought the man might be old enough to be his grandfather, so he couldn’t blame him for being a little lost when it came to technology. “My granddaughter knows about all that. She’s sixteen, and much like Stanley, her phone never leaves her hand. It’s like it’s permanently attached.”
Chuckling, Brady explained. “A selfie-station is just a place with a cool backdrop and a suggested hashtag for people to take their picture and post to social media. A hashtag is a way people can search for others who are doing the same thing they are or like the same things.”
Harry considered his words for a moment and then made a “humph” sound in his throat before he said, “Now, that’s the best explanation I’ve heard about this social media stuff since all this TweetFace and InstaBooks came along.”
It was hard to hold back his chuckle, but Brady thought he had to know those names weren’t quite right. Was he just trying to be funny? “If you can help me out with Stanley, I’ll talk to Kent.”
“I can do that. Not sure about Bob or Ruth, though.” Ruth Gibbon hadn’t been at the meeting Brady had attended the day before because she’d had a prior engagement. He didn’t feel as if he knew her well enough to guess whether or not she’d be on board with the recommended changes to the upcoming events calendar, but he had to trust Harry did.
He took a sip of his Coke and then set his glass down to remind Harry it might not matter. “If we have you, Martha, Stanley, and Kent, that’s enough votes.”
“True,” Harry said. “I just prefer for the council to be in total agreement before we move forward whenever possible.”
“I can understand that. At least, if we can avoid having to bargain with Jenkins, that would be helpful.” He’d already told Harry what he thought about the parking garage and the possibility of suggesting it as a bargaining chip if they ended up needing Jenkins to break the tie.
“I’d just as soon avoid it, too. I don’t think we need a parking garage, and I feel like Jenkins Construction has already gotten too much out of this town. It’s clear they’re overcharging. Part of the reason we don’t have enough money in the coffers to continue these activities on our own is because of Jenkins Construction.”
Brady raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t realized the company was corrupt. He only thought there hadn’t been any competition in the bidding. “Do you think if we go back and look at the books, we’ll find evidence of corruption?”
Harry laughed. “I don’t think. I know.”
Brady didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Really?” Harry nodded. Brady made a mental note to look into the matter. It might have to wait until after Christmas, at least the actual investigative part. If he had a chance to look for evidence, though, he would.
His phone chimed in his pocket, and he realized it was almost time for his next appointment. He’d finally gotten a chance to call the realtor Noelle had suggested, and he was going to meet her at her office in a bit to go over what he was looking for in a house. He supposed that was her texting him as a reminder, but when he looked at his phone, he felt all of the blood drain from his face.
“Everything okay, son?” Harry asked.
“Uh… yeah,” Brady lied. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “It’s just… something’s come up. Do you mind if I take off? Here’s enough to cover the bill.” He dropped a generous amount of money on the table.
“That’s not necessary,” Harry said, waving him off. “I don’t mind paying for my own lunch.”
“Leave it as a tip for Janice, then,” he said, already sliding out of the booth, his coat in his hand. “It was great speaking to you, Harry. Sorry for running off.”
“No problem,” Harry said, shaking the hand Brady offered. “See you soon.”
Brady hurried out the door, sliding his coat on as he went, thinking he’d have to call Jennifer, the realtor, in the truck, and praying he made it to the shelter in time. If he got there and Pooch was gone, he didn’t know what he’d do. It would be like losing a good friend without getting to say goodbye. His red scarf hung from around his collar, reminding him of the day he’d first met the little dog. He needed a chance to pat his scruffy head one more time and tell him he was a good dog. If he didn’t get that opportunity, he’d never be able to let it go.