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“No,” Hazel said, commanding the room as she always did when the floor was hers. “They can if they want to, but they don’t have to. We’ll borrow the fire pits from the park and have fires going all night long. New Beginnings will also be open for people to use the facilities and warm up. We will, of course, use best judgment regarding sleeping outdoors, which will be dependent on the weather. Mainly, it’s a chance to talk with people you may otherwise not have the opportunity to meet, but whether you stay for ten minutes or ten hours is up to you.”
“What do you need from the council?” Larry asked.
A smile played at my lips. She had them.
“Just the permit to allow the community gathering and the council’s blessing. Irving and I will take care of everything else.”
Larry lowered the flyer to the table. “I suppose that is what we hired you to do, so as long as you file the proper paperwork for the permit, which I am quite sure you already have completed, you have the council’s blessing to proceed with the event.”
“Don’t we need to vote on this?” Mr. Thompson asked. His tone told me he was going to vote no, just like always.
“No,” Larry said, turning to him. “Ms. Cane was simply keeping us abreast of the events occurring with the new housing facilities. As long as she’s issued a permit from city hall for the gathering, there is nothing for the council to do.” He turned back to Hazel. “Thank you for bringing this event to our attention and we look forward to watching it unfold. This adjourns the public portion of the meeting. Thank you all for attending.”
Hazel walked back to me with a smile and wink before we joined everyone leaving the room. The man I wanted to talk to was pulling his coat on when we approached. “Shep,” I said, waiting for him to turn. Once he did, I stuck my good hand out to him. “Thank you so much for going to bat for the ramp. You didn’t need to risk your job, though.”
Shep chuckled and shook his head. “They won’t fire me because I pushed back on them. As you saw, only one person didn’t want it. All I did was give them a way to vote and end his constant blathering. You should come over to the diner. I know Ivy will want in on the sleep-out,” he said, holding the door for us.
“Star, forward, chair,” I said, reminding him that he was pulling my chair now that my hand was bandaged.
“We sure could use volunteers,” Hazel agreed.
Shep stopped by his SUV and smiled. “I’ll meet you there.”
Once he was on his way, Hazel shoulder-bumped me with her hip. “I guess we’re going to the diner. Up for some pie?”
“Always,” I said. “And this time, I hope it comes along with a heaping helping of community spirit.”
Chapter Seven
I glanced at Irving before we got out of his SUV. “We don’t have to go in. I know you’re tired, and your hand probably hurts. This meeting can wait until tomorrow. “
“I’m okay,” he promised with a smile. “It’s been a long day, but I do need to eat something and I’d love to spend the evening with you.”
I tried not to melt at his words. He wanted to spend the evening with me even though his hand had to be killing him. He opened himself up to me, and I wouldn’t let the moment go unnoticed. I squeezed his shoulder and returned the smile. “I would love to spend the evening with you, Irving. I always enjoy your company, but if you get tired and need to leave, just say the word.” After he nodded once, I opened the door. “Okay, let me get your chair. We need to give your hand a break as much as possible if we want it to heal. I’m sure those stitches are tender too.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, holding his hand up. “I wasn’t expecting to have five stitches in my palm. I can’t believe that nail did so much damage.”
“It was nasty, and I’m glad you finally agreed to get it checked,” I said, climbing from the car and opening the back door. Star waited on the seat expectantly, and I gave him a little love and a kiss on his forehead. “Good thing you have this good boy to pilot your chair,” I cooed as I attached the wheels to his chair and locked the brakes.
Irving’s laughter from the front seat made me happy. He’d had a rough day, and I’d do anything to make his day a little bit better. “Have I ever mentioned how much I hate transfer boards?” he asked as he slid across one and into his chair. “They’re so time-consuming.”
“You prefer to be Superman, I know,” I said, as he straightened himself in the chair. “But sometimes you have to do what’s good for the hood at the time. Trying to transfer the way you usually do using your hands is going to stress those stitches too much.”
“Yes, mommy,” he said tongue in cheek as he got Star out of the car. “I’ll be good, but it’s going to be a long ten days.”
“Not if we have an entire event to plan and supervise,” I reminded him as we walked to the diner. My smile grew when I noticed it wasn’t just Ivy in the diner, but a few of our other favorite people had gathered as well.
He stopped his chair to look up at me. “Looks like Shep has rallied the troops.”
“Let’s not keep them waiting!” I said with glee as I hit the button to open the door.
“Irving!” Ivy exclaimed as she ran toward us. “Hazel! So glad you stopped in. How is the hand, Irving?”
He held it up to show the large bandage across the palm. The doctor had agreed that typical bandaging of the palm wasn’t going to work for him, so he felt confident Irving would keep a clean and dry bandage over it until the stitches came out. “Turned out to be worse than I thought,” Irving said to Ivy’s eye roll. “Five stitches later, they sent me on my way with a warning to be careful. As though I needed them to tell me that.” Irving rolled his eyes in mock annoyance before Ivy leaned down and hugged him around the shoulders.
“I’m glad you got it taken care of. We heard the council meeting went well!”
“It did,” I said as we moved further into the diner. “Thanks to your husband. He really went to bat for us.”
