LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

so admired a person who actually ran a meeting, as opposed to letting people wander off-topic. I glanced at my watch and realized I still had thirty minutes before I had to leave to pick up Livvy from the party. With Nita in charge I thought I’d make it.

      Colleen nudged me and I realized Nita was motioning me to come up to the table beside her. My heart rate, which had calmed down during Coleman’s little speech, kicked up into high gear again and my palms went sweaty.

      I took my place beside Nita, who handed me a map and several highlighters. I explained how the system would work and asked people to highlight the area of the map they were going to cover. I colored in Magnolia Estates as I said, “I’ll take my neighborhood.” I saw Coleman getting to his feet again and I hurriedly added, “Because Gerald has a permit for flyers in Magnolia Estates, I know that will be fine, but check with the neighborhood associations before you post flyers.”

      Coleman sat back down and I said, “We’ll have a sign-up sheet here at the front for people volunteering to do areas that aren’t picked tonight.” I flipped one of the flyers over and scrawled, Flyer Volunteer Sign-up across the top. Nothing like organizing on the fly.

      Even though my pulse was still pounding like I’d run half a mile—I’m not a big runner (obviously)—I didn’t think I was doing too bad. Then I noticed the photographer slipping out of the room and the guys operating the video cameras turning off the spotlights and moving to the back corner. Well, there you go. I wasn’t even important enough for the newspeople to keep their cameras rolling. Clearly, I could relax.

      I finished my little impromptu speech with an encouragement for people to try to get the flyers in the windows of businesses so the weather would be less of a factor. I nodded at Nita and she thanked everyone for coming out, then said, “Now, y’all come on up and pick up your flyers.”

      I was surprised to see Topaz was first in line. I hadn’t noticed she was in the room. How could I have overlooked her stripy angled bob, not to mention her red top with billowy sleeves paired with jeans, a turquoise and leather belt, and aqua boots?

      “I’ll take my neighborhood.” She leaned over the map and a trio of necklaces swung away from her neck as she highlighted a square in the older part of North Dawkins near the base. “I’ve got time before I leave for a fair on the coast.” She stood and the necklaces fell back against her skin above the V-neck of her shirt. I bet she made those necklaces, a mixture of tiny shells and beads with a twisty chunk of metal that dangled from the longest necklace like a medallion.

      “Thanks. How’s everything going?” I asked.

      She shrugged, pulled a handful of flyers out of the boxes, and moved around the edge of the table to make room for the next person in line. “Same old thing.”

      “So, where are you off to?”

      “Tybee Island, first. Then I might stop for a few days with a friend in Savannah. It’s been a while since I’ve been there. Seems a good time of year to do the whole scary cemetery thing, right?”

      “Oh, is that the one from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?” I’d never been to Savannah, but I knew of its most famous cemetery.

      “That’s it. Bonaventure Cemetery.” She shrugged again. “I’m not sure, though. I might drive up the coast and see what I can find up there.”

      “I can’t imagine traveling like that. Without a plan or hotel reservations. We’d have practically a U-Haul full of luggage.”

      “Well, you have kids. You have to take the kitchen sink, right?”

      Right. I felt a twinge of jealousy at Topaz’s breezy travel itinerary. It wasn’t that I wanted to go see Savannah’s cemeteries—I’d had my fill of cemeteries—but I wouldn’t mind seeing Savannah and I knew for us, it would be a major production and sightseeing would have to be planned around nap time.

      The chime of a cell phone sounded. “Oops. That’s me. Just a second.” Topaz pulled her phone out of her back pocket and turned away from me.

      I gave myself a mental shake and told myself to stop comparing myself to Topaz. We were different. We’d taken different routes in life. I might not be able to flit off to a city on a whim, but I had it pretty good.

      I checked the table. People were still highlighting the map and grabbing flyers. The system seemed to be working. Scott Ezell had already been through the line and stood alone at one side of the room, holding a stack of flyers. Several people walked by him without speaking and I saw Colleen change direction and go to the other side of the room when she spotted him.

      Topaz finished her conversation and I said, “Is this a normal-size turnout?”

      “Maybe a little high because of the news, but we usually have around forty people.”

      “What about him?” I looked toward Scott Ezell. “Is he usually here?”

      “Yes, the pariah shows up faithfully. Although I can’t understand why he puts himself through it.”

      Before I could ask what she meant, Nita joined us. She gave Topaz a hug and said, “Now, here’s one of our best volunteers. I don’t think Topaz has ever missed a meeting.”

      Topaz hugged her back and said, “That’s what happens when you’re an artist. You’re broke, but you’ve got time. I’ve got to run.” She waved her flyers and called out, “See you Saturday.”

      I checked my watch. “I have to go, too. I’ll take the map and the volunteer sign-up with me and contact people for the areas that aren’t covered.”

      “Wonderful.” She pulled out her handheld computer, tapped in my e-mail address, then said, “So nice to have you on board, Ellie. I know you’ll make a real difference for us.”

      “Some jerk keyed my car while I was at the Find Jodi meeting,” I said to Mitch when I got home. He followed me out to the garage and we examined the damage together. “Do you think it’s worth filing a claim?” I asked doubtfully.

      “Nah. Not with our deductible. We might as well wait and put our money into a new car for you.” Mitch slapped his hand down on the hood as we walked back inside. “It’s about time to put The Ancient One out to pasture.”

      “Maybe. It’s only a scratch. It still drives fine.” Despite its age, I liked my old clunker, a Jeep Cherokee, which I’d kept because it had four-wheel drive and that was a great thing when you lived in Washington State, but now that we were in the heart of the South, it might be time to upgrade to something with power locks and windows.

      After I’d tucked in the kids, I told Mitch about the organizing work I’d volunteered for. “It’s pro bono, but at least it’s a start.”

      “That’s good.”

      I could tell from his tepid response that he wasn’t nearly as excited as I was. “I did think about what you said about Everything In Its Place being a business. I decided to give it until the end of the year. If I don’t have a paying client”—I blew out a sigh—“I’ll consider closing it down or possibly putting it on hold until the kids are older.”

      Mitch nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

      “Yeah, I know. Sometimes I hate being reasonable,” I said as I pulled my hair back to wash my face.

      He asked, “Anything else happen at the meeting?”

      I told him about the plans for the search, then said, “It doesn’t make sense.” I paused before I splashed water on my face, but I didn’t hear a reply from Mitch, who was still in our bedroom. I rinsed the makeup from my face, then grabbed a towel and dabbed the water away. I walked into our bedroom and leaned on the closet door frame. Mitch was moving patches from one flight suit to another.

      “What doesn’t make sense?” he asked over the sound of Velcro ripping apart.

      “The whole situation with Jodi. I don’t understand it.

Скачать книгу