much while he’s gone.”
I reached out and patted her hand. Her wedding set sparkled in the morning sunshine, even though it had to be thirty years old. Mary and Bill were my aunt’s age, and I considered them more than just friends. “If you need anything, call and I’ll come over or send Greg. He’ll be happy to help.”
“He’s a good man. Strong, thoughtful, and crazy in love with you. When are the two of you going to make this playing house permanent?” Mary’s gaze searched my face for any tells, but actually, we hadn’t talked about marriage, not for a while. Greg had been married before, as had I, and we were both a little skittish.
“Someday. There’s no hurry.” I finished my coffee. The conversation was getting deep. Time to bail.
“I thought that about Bill’s father too. Life sneaks up on you. And it changes in a heartbeat.” She held up her hands in surrender at the look. “I’ll get off the subject, just think about it.”
I thought about Mary’s advice as I walked back to the shop. I needed to calm Aunt Jackie down and draft a standard response we could shoot back when we got challenged. I’d handle that. My aunt was just as likely to tell the person what to do with their opinion than cut and paste a reasoned response that told everyone this wasn’t our fault and we’d be working with the Council to revert the dues to the prior level.
At least that was the plan.
I was almost at the shop when Frank Gleason from the Heritage Society rushed up to me. His hair was sticking up all over his head and his buttoned-down shirt wasn’t tucked in or even buttoned correctly. I barely recognized him from the focused, put-together man who’d come to interview me about the South Cove Mission Wall.
“Miss Gardner, please tell me you haven’t received a letter from the Society yet?” He licked his dry lips as he watched me.
“You mean the one where you explained how you didn’t save a vital part of South Cove’s history? Yeah, I got it.” I was glad I got to complain in person. Lack of funding was a common complaint in the California government system, but typically, nonprofits didn’t use the excuse. Of course, it could still just be pending. I guess I should be glad that the wait was over, even if the outcome wasn’t what we’d hoped.
“Just ignore the letter. The project won’t be taken off the pending list. I had a lack of judgment and hit the wrong button.” He took out a handkerchief and wiped his face. “You’ll get a correction letter in a few days.”
“Really? I don’t have to reapply or anything?” Now I felt a little guilty for raising my voice. If he was actually helping, I’d get more flies with sugar.
“Yes, yes. I’ll handle everything.” He glanced over his shoulder and checked both ways down the street. He turned back to me, narrowing his eyes. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”
Entering the shop, I saw my aunt watching me as I walked in. “Okay, so I’ve found out what’s going on. Bill’s going to fix it when he gets back.”
Aunt Jackie pointed to the retreating figure who was now walking down the side of the road toward his Smart car. “Is that Frank? What did he want? Don’t tell me the preservation of the wall finally got approved?”
“Not yet, but it’s not been blackballed from the process. Which is where we were this morning.” I handed my aunt the loaf of banana bread that Mary had sent with me. “Mary sent this over for you.”
“I’m not eating carbs.” She pushed the packet back at me.
“What are you talking about? Why aren’t you eating carbs?” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Frank talking on the phone, paused outside his vehicle. He really should take that call inside. South Cove didn’t have much traffic, but our streets were pretty narrow.
“I’m losing weight for the wedding. I want to be the same size I was when I married your uncle.” She glared at the offending banana bread. “Maybe we should just give it to Deek or Toby. Men don’t seem to have the same problem with carbs.”
Just then, I saw a large black Ram come screaming down the road. He was going way faster than the posted speed of twenty-five MPH. I saw Frank turn, his face draining of color, then the black truck blocked my