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Marty pointed to the Schiffs. “The reason we’re here tonight is because we’ve had a nuisance complaint, and that needs to be resolved.” A rumble of discontent rolled through the audience, and Karen Schiff visibly shrank in her chair. She had to know she was outnumbered here.
Lou Smith spoke up from the far end of the table the board was sitting at. “Marty’s right. This is compelling, Mike.” Lou chuckled as he held up the fancy booklet. “Even if itisa bit of overkill. I’d like to see if we can come up with something that will make everyone happy.” He shook his head with a wry smile. “Or at least equallyunhappy.”
Lou looked at the Schiff couple. “Mrs. Schiff, what will it take to satisfy your complaint that your neighbor, Miss Hartford, is—” he slid on a pair of readers and squinted at the paper in front of him “—uh...‘destroying the residential nature of your surroundings.’ Can you describe exactly how that’s happening?”
Zoey steeled herself for insults and mockery from her neighbor when Karen stood.
“Thank you, Mr. Smith.” Karen looked around the room, color rising in her face. “I only want to protect my property value, and the appearance of Miss Hartford’s place, with all that—” she waved her hand in a circle “—thatstuffin the front lawn, and the business operating right there, it’s...detrimental.”
Hazel bristled, standing before Zoey could catch her. “Detrimental towhat? You can’t even see our house from your place, and my grandfather’s sculptures areart,and your house is just ugly cement—”
Zoey yanked her daughter down to her seat as the audience applauded Hazel’s outburst.Not helping.“I apologize, Mr. and Mrs. Schiff. I don’t want this to get personal.”
“But thisispersonal,” Mike said, rising from the seat he’d taken when Marty and Lou had started to question him. He faced Karen Schiff and her husband. “I understand the artwork in front of Zoey’s home isn’t your taste...” Karen huffed as if to sayobviouslyas he continued. “So what if the sculptures are removed, with the exception of a few near the house. Would that help ease the...uh...detriment of the property?”
Hazel started muttering. She loved her Pop-pop’s sculptures. Even for Zoey, the thought of stacking them in a heap felt fundamentally wrong, especially less than a year after losing Dad. She expected another outburst from Hazel, but her daughter was surprisingly relaxed and quiet again. There was even a trace of a smile on her face.
“I suppose it would,” Karen Schiff conceded, with her husband nodding in agreement.
“And if Miss Hartford promises not to open a storefront or anything that would attract extra traffic to the area, would that be satisfactory?” Mike asked. He glanced quickly in Zoey’s direction, the corner of his mouth barely twitching, signaling he felt a win coming on.
“Yes.” Karen’s response was so soft that hardly anyone heard it except the front row. And the zoning board.
“Okay!” Marty tapped his gavel on the table. “I make a motion to the board that we grant the property at Twelve Valley View Road an exemption for a small repair business to be operated without a storefront or business hours posted, and with the condition that the...uh...artwork is removed. All in favor?”
Seven hands went up at the table in agreement, with none in opposition. Zoey let out a long sigh of relief as the crowded room cheered. Her love life might be upside down, but at least her business was still intact. Thanks to Mike. She stood just as he reached her chair, and he lifted her into his arms.
“I told you we had this,” he whispered in her ear.
“Mike!” Hazel threw her arms around Zoey and Mike’s waists. “You did it! That was like watching a true crime show or something. You are the OG in this town, for sure!” He looked at Zoey for a translation. She laughed.
“It’s kind of like being the top banana.”
His arm went around Hazel’s shoulders so he was embracing them both. Like a family. Both her worlds. Both her hearts. In one tight little circle. Hazel tugged on Mike’s sleeve.
“Wanna see it before I post, or should I let it rip?”
“I trust you, kid. Let ’er rip.” He closed his eyes tightly. “It’s only my hard-earned reputation on the line.”
Zoey frowned. “What are you two talking about?”
The room was still abuzz with people congratulating her and patting each other’s backs in celebration. Hazel gave her a playful shrug. “Nothing major. Just fixing your boytoy’s image.”
“Or destroying it,” Mike added.
“He’s not my...wait,what?”
Marty’s gavel came down sharply on the table three times before he called out.
“Okay, okay, have a seat, people! We have more business to conduct tonight.”
She glanced at Mike. “I guess we can go, right?” She didn’t really care about any other zoning decisions right now. To her surprise, though, all of her supporters—friends, neighbors, the book club crew, Mike’s family—all sat down, seeming eager for the next order of business.
Hazel tugged her hand. “Sit, Mom. You’ll want to hear this.” Hazel turned and gave a thumbs-up gesture toward Vickie behind them. Mike sat on Zoey’s other side, so she was between him and Hazel. The two of them kept leaning forward to look at each other with conspiratorial grins. Zoey felt like she was the only one in the room who didn’t know what was about to happen.
“We have a motion,” Marty said, “to allow a one-acre parcel of land formerly owned by Brady College, located at the corner of Main Street and College Street, to be declared a public town park.” He held up a paper and read from it. “More specifically, the park will be designated as a sculpture garden, to be maintained year-round by the town in partnership with the festival committee. The town board has approved the acquisition with the stipulation that the zoning be approved. It’s my understanding that the land will be landscaped by Cooper Landscaping at no charge to the town, with environmentally safe lighting paid for by the Taggart Inn. The pedestals for both permanent and temporary sculptures on display are being donated by McKinnon Law Firm. Maintenance will be paid for by a grant set up by Victoria Pendergast for that specific purpose.” Marty cleared his throat. “With all of that taken into consideration, can we have a vote?”
The room again erupted into applause when the vote was unanimous. Zoey thought it was a nice idea, but she didn’t understand exactly why her friends and her godmother were so invested in a sculpture park.
