Page 61 of Passion’s Song

“I’ll...uh...explain it to you when I get there. Give me about an hour.”

April didn’t like the hesitancy she heard in his voice. There was something off about it. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll talk to you then.”

To her surprise, the police arrived ten minutes later. April would have thought there would be more pressing issues commanding their attention, but apparently it was a slow crime day in the city. That was something to be thankful for, at least.

However, as she expected, there wasn’t all that much the police could do about the vandalism. They took pictures of the shoe impressions in the dirt, and took statements from a couple of the neighboring shop owners. However, they warned April, Simeon and LaDonna, who had arrived just after the police, that the backlog for their detectives was months long, and it wasn’t likely that this would be high on the list of priorities.

Before leaving, the police officers, who both revealed that they’d worked in the city’s Seventh District for several years, thanked April and the others for the work they were doing with the kids at A Fresh Start.

“I’ve worked these streets for a long time and I’ve noticed a difference in the way the kids behave since the start of this program. I can tell which kids attend and those who don’t. The kids from A Fresh Start are more respectful and more open to talking to us. You all probably don’t hear it enough, but I want to thank you for what you do.”

“I second that,” the other police officer added.

Emotion clogged April’s throat. Apparently, it was the same for her colleagues, as well. No one was able to speak for several moments.

“Thank you so much,” April said when she was finally able to find her voice. “We appreciate it.”

Once law enforcement left, April and the others headed inside. There was nothing left for them to do right now. As part of their hard life lessons exercise, Simeon suggested that the kids help to clean up the mess from last night’s vandalism.

They’d all agreed that it was the right course of action, but it made April even more pissed. The cleanup would eat into their practice time for the streetcar line groundbreaking. Rehearsals were going well; however, the kids still had a long way to go if they were going to perform in front of a live audience. They needed all the practice time they could get.

She’d just turned the corner on her way to her music classroom when she spotted Damien coming through the front door of the center. Just seeing him made some of the tension that had built up in her shoulders float away.

“Hello,” she greeted him. Not even bothering to check that there was no one around, she slipped her arms around his waist and stood on tiptoes to brush a kiss over his lips. “I could use a little distraction today after the morning we’ve had.”

“What happened?” Damien asked.

She told him about the vandalism.

“The police came over to take statements, but I know the NOPD has a lot on their plates. They don’t have time to worry about a couple of knuckleheads coming in and tearing up our little garden.”

“You have it on the books. That’s a start. Maybe it’ll encourage them to step up patrols here,” Damien said.

“Hopefully.” April tightened her hold on him. “So, what is it that you needed to speak to me about? My mom is usually the only incessant caller I have to look out for. You had me worried with those two missed calls.”

April felt him tense up.

“Damien?” She leaned back so she could look up at him. “What’s going on?”

He took her by the hand and they walked back down the hallway to the coffee bar. He brought her to the same table where they’d sat over a month ago when he first came here, asking her to escort him to various events this summer. He took her hand in his, linking them at the center of the table.

“I just came back from a meeting with the McGowan Group.”

April’s brows rose. “And?”

“And they like my idea,” he said.

“Which idea? The one that we talked about? The idea to build a complex with affordable housing for the residents already living here?”

“The discussion didn’t get that far,” he said. He tipped his head back and let out another annoyed sigh. April’s suspicions grew. So did her unease.

“I thought that’s what you were going to propose to them?” she asked.

“I never got the chance to propose anything,” he said. “As soon as the meeting began, they proposed their own plan.” He looked around the room, up at the ceiling, beyond her shoulder. Finally, he brought his eyes back to hers and said, “They want this space.”

April pulled her hand out of his hold, as if he’d burned her all of a sudden.

“What exactly does that mean?” she asked.