Fighting Back

There’s a good jittery and a bad jittery. Christmas morning when you’re a kid is a good jittery. Knowing that you likely have one shot to save something you love and it’s coming up this weekend is bad jittery. I took an extra long shower and had breakfast with Jen.

She winked and patted my hand when I released my teacup.

“Relax, Lori. Everything is going to be okay.”

“I’m glad you’re confident, I really am, but so many people have put their trust in me and, and our residents, they…” I shook my head. “We have a plan. We’ll work the plan.”

“Yes we will. We certainly will.”

Staring at her for a moment, I thought I saw the beginning of a smirk.

“Jennifer, do you know something?”

She smiled and shrugged. “How would I know something? I live hundreds of miles away. I mean, maybe if I changed my profile pic to that of one of Angie’s model friends and then sent a friend request to your county executive I could have found something out, but I would never do anything like that. Ever. Never ever.”

I laughed. “Should I bother asking?”

She made a zipping motion over her lips. “Let me work things out with Angie and we’ll talk, okay?”

Sighing, I nodded. “Alright. I love both of you. Do what you need to.”

Legal injunctions seemed like a longshot. Trying to get Alex elected and overturn the decision was a long way off. It felt like our only options were to get public opinion on our side or have the public against Sandalwood and McGillen. I was crossing my fingers for a combination of both.

The weekend loomed large.

We spoke about her husband and the new couple across the street from her with the three adopted children. As much as she loved to gossip, Jennifer Cruz was a woman who was dedicated to her community.

“Okay, I have to get going. I’m meeting with Alex and his parents and we’re going to tell the political people they’re hired. I’ll be back by four. Take the car and check out the city. Stop by Cat’s! She’d love to see you and I’m sure you’ll leave with enough chocolate to put on five pounds.”

Stopping at the door, I turned back to my friend.

“This whole Facebook thing. It’s all legal, right?”

“Absolutely. People think that if they set their profile to private, they can post anything they’d like. Honestly, it’s remarkably stupid. He thought I was some twenty-something hottie just moved here and looking for advice. He was only too happy to let me behind that curtain. So, so stupid.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Jessica Fletcher. See you this afternoon.”

Leaving Jennifer to her own devices, I drove off to meet Alex and his parents. The politicos had a room at the Hyatt after driving in from Columbus. They reserved a small meeting room and we met there. After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, we sat down.

There was a grey-haired man with glasses sitting off to the side. He wore a black long-sleeved tee and jeans. He watched the spokeswoman for their group intently as she began.

“I hope you have some good news for us. We’d like to get started as soon as possible and leverage this weekend’s event.”

Alex spoke up. “We’ve done some research and everything you’ve claimed seems to be on the up and up. We’d like to engage your firm.”

The man with the glasses raised an eyebrow and had a small smile. The woman nodded.

“Excellent. Let’s get to work.”

I interrupted. “I understand that you are being paid by the family. How long will that payment take you? The election isn’t for a while yet.”

She smiled. “It’s complicated, but we’re anticipating four months. If we have to pull in more staff, that may change.”

“Alright, my son Nicholas and I would like to put in $200,000. Will that take us the rest of the way?”

She looked at glasses-man. “It will get us damn close.”

As I pulled out my checkbook, Alex put his hand on mine. Staying silent, he shook his head. His mother seemed flummoxed and his father leaned forward before speaking.

“Lori, that’s a generous offer, but we can handle this.”

“I’m sure you could, but there are a few things to take into consideration. The first is that we care about the community and want someone like Alex to be the county executive. The second is that we’re engaged. He’s going to be my husband. I’m as much a part of this as you are. Third, I really can’t stand McGillen. I really, really want him out of office.”

His dad looked at me, shrugged and sat back. “Okay. No more arguments from me.”

Stopping by the home on my way back, I hopped into the office while Alex took care of some inventory issues. Going through all of the invitations we had sent out and confirming media requests, I was happy with the way things were shaping up. Still convinced that our position was weak, this weekend felt like it was all or nothing. Either we’d strike the blow we needed or we’d be dying a slow death until they evicted us.

The Ford was in a different position when I returned, so I knew Jen had been out. That was expected. What wasn’t was the car and driver on the street and Veronica’s car next to the Ford. Walking into the house, I saw Ronnie, Jen and Angie huddled around the table. They grew suspiciously quiet as I entered.

“Um, what’s going on?”

Veronica smiled. “Nothing! Just going over some plans for the weekend. I’m going to be signing posters with the art I did for the Guardians and one of their players will be there with the mascot. I was thinking that later on, I could do some caricatures of people with the athletes.”

“Right, that all sounds great, but what’s going on?”

“What do you mean? I—”

Jennifer put her hand on Veronica’s arm before speaking. “Lori, we have some thoughts and it would be easier if you were able to say that you weren’t in the loop and didn’t know what was planned. I promise you, it’s not unethical.”

“I…Well, that’s extremely frustrating. You do know that, right?”

“Yes, and I’m sorry about that. I promise we’ll pull you in as soon as things become solid.”

I shrugged. “Well, is dinner a secret?”

Angie laughed. “No, dinner isn’t a secret. I brought it with me from New York. It’s in your refrigerator. Katz deli. Corned beef, pastrami, knishes, Dr. Brown’s soda, the works.”

“Enough for Alex?”

“Enough for everyone. I hope you don’t mind, but Nicky and Cat are coming and Ronnie’s boyfriend is on his way over.”

Walking over, I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Why would I mind? My family is coming. Welcome back, Angie.”

“Thanks… Mom.”

I loved hearing her call me that as much as I did the first time.

*****

The next morning I had a cup of tea in hand and a banana in my purse as I rushed out of the house. It felt like time was speeding up and the calendar was telling lies. How could the event be this weekend? Nicky was putting in extra hours at the business to cover for me and Marissa was stepping up to make sure that everything was running smoothly. There were times when I thought that my son and I were just figureheads and she was the brains of the operation.

As I walked through the door of the home I was bombarded by questions. It didn’t help that the landscapers were outside doing their thing. The noise level was deafening and I had to pause to take a deep breath.

“Okay! One person at a time.”

Our overnight manager quickly spoke up. “Do you have a chart or something breaking down what is happening on each day and who is in charge of that… I don’t know, section of the festival?”

“No, but I will by the end of the day. Next?”

Mark was leaning against a wall. “Can you get me a lift to the Home Depot? I wanna get lengths of rope for the kids so they can try some basic stuff with lassoing.”

“I’ll work on it. Next?”

Zeke, a younger man who was usually quiet and kept to himself, stood from the sofa. “Ma’am, I don’t want to bring anyone down, but we all know what’s going on. Is anyone looking into alternative homes if we have to shut down?”

There it was. I couldn’t bury my head in details and stare so hard at the trees that I didn’t see the forest when he just put it out there. We might be shut down. That was the cold, hard truth. This wasn’t about dollars and cents, it was about human lives. This was a home. People lived here. I’d been treating this like a puzzle box where I had to keep tinkering and working and figuring. I’d forgotten that this was as much a human problem as it was a logistical and political issue.

“Um, that’s a great question. I’m going to work on that today. Can we all have dinner tonight? Let’s break bread and discuss everything. Bring whatever suggestions, questions or concerns that you have. If I don’t have an answer, I’ll at least know what I should be looking into.”

Finally getting into my office, I sipped my lukewarm tea as I made notes. There were five other homes for veterans within a hundred miles. I pulled up our files on each, refreshed my memories of projects we had worked together on and started calling. Within three hours I had commitments from four of the five to take at least one of our residents if things went totally wrong.

I made a note to contact a realtor about finding a new home locally as a last resort.

When my phone rang I hoped it was Alex saving me again. It wasn’t. Veronica was calling.

“Good…” I checked my watch and then rolled my eyes. The hours were zipping by. “I was going to say good morning, but it’s too late for that. Good afternoon, Veronica. What can I do for you?”

“I’m on speaker, Lori, and I’m with Doyle Mackenzie, Director of Community Relations for the Guardians. He drove in from Cleveland and was hoping to stop by the home and get a feel for things before the weekend. What time would work best for you?”

Letting out a slow breath, I checked my itinerary. I was booked most of the day. “You know what? Why don’t the two of you join us for dinner? We’re having a meeting with all the residents to address their concerns and I’m sure it would be interesting for Mr. Mackenzie, and maybe it’ll put a human face on what we’re trying to do.”

“Um, sure. What time?”

“Would five work?”

She paused for a moment, I assume waiting for a nod or a shake of the head from Mr. Mackenzie. “Five is fine. See you then.”

I received a text a few minutes later.

Sorry. He was picking up his kid from a soccer camp and was halfway here. Called me out of the blue. I didn’t know what to say. He’s the one who decides who gets the checks.

I smiled.

Not an issue. It’s fine and I appreciate the help. So, it will be three of you?

She quickly replied.

Yes. The boy is about 10. Probably not a big eater.

After putting a pot of water on to boil for some more tea, I left the kitchen to speak to each of the residents. Regardless of what I told Veronica, if the people who lived here weren’t comfortable with someone joining us for dinner, it wouldn’t happen. Thankfully, everyone was on board.

Hour after hour was spent going over minutia. Was the butcher bringing condiments? Did we have a changing room for parents with infants? Was everything handicap accessible? Would we have medical professionals on hand? Would we need security?

Veronica showed up to find me rubbing my tired eyes.

“Long day?”

“Lots of staring at the screen. Let’s go greet your friends.”

Stretching, I got up and headed out to the living room.

“Mr. Mackenzie! Thank you so much for joining us. Can I give you the nickel tour?”

He smiled. “It’s Doyle, and we’d love that. This is Harry, by the way.”

The little boy stepped forward and extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Harry. I hope you like tacos.”

“Hard shell?”

I winked. “I think we’ve got both hard and soft.”

It took us about fifteen minutes to make our way through all of the home except the residents’ rooms. We went back outside and I showed them where we would have a tent for the Guardians’ mascot and for Veronica’s signing.

“Mr… Sorry, Doyle. We’re so grateful that you’ve decided to be a part of the event. I poked around a bit and saw the team’s commitment to our veterans. It means a lot. Thank you.”

“It’s our pleasure, Lori. It was all very last minute. Let’s get together in the off-season and see if we can get involved a little deeper next year.”

Veronica turned to his son. “Hey, Harry, I have to practice my drawing, want to be my model? Do you like dragons? We can make you a knight. Do you know what a caricature is?”

Fitting for a community relations executive, Doyle was garrulous, but also an excellent listener. He made sure that the residents knew that they were being heard as he asked pointed questions over dinner. Doyle seemed interested as I went over the full itinerary and answered questions from the residents. The questions included inquiries about relocation if we got shut down. By the time he left with his son he seemed infuriated by our circumstances.

“Whatever we can do, Mrs. Tremaine. You have my card. Call anytime.”

“Thank you, Doyle. And it’s Lori, not Mrs. Tremaine. Drive safe. It was nice to meet you, Harry.”

He was clutching the picture Veronica drew for him.

Veronica bumped her hip into mine as we watched the car drive away. “You ready to go home? Angie sent me a text and they want to fill you in. It’s Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Piece of Shit County Executive.”

I laughed. “Lead on, MacDuff.”

“What?”

“It’s a misquote from Macbeth. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get over there.”

Angie and Jennnifer were eating pizza as they were looking at a laptop. Jennifer turned as Veronica and I entered my home.

“There’s plenty left in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

I put a hand on my stomach. “No, I tried to match a ten-year-old on taco consumption. A fool’s quest. So, ready to clue me in?”

Angie raised an eyebrow and gave me a lopsided grin. “Yeah, we’re definitely ready. Okay, so earlier we only had images from McGillen’s Facebook page, which is private, so using them would be questionable at best. We did the next best thing. I had some of our researchers find other people who had similar photos. It seems that Sandalwood has been taking our lovely county executive on excursions to Bali, St. Thomas and Catalina.”

I smiled and leaned back. “Well, isn’t that interesting!”

“It gets better. Sandalwood also takes his executive assistant. Who he pays a hundred and twenty-five grand a year, by the way. And, wait for it, happens to be McGillen’s sister. Yeah, he’s sleeping with the county executive’s sister. The same county executive who’s trying to shut you down so Sandalwood can come back later and swoop up the property. Pretty cozy, huh?”

“And… I’m confused. You have photos of this?”

“We do. McGillen was enough of an idiot to put it on his page, so we were able to get pretty accurate dates for each excursion by zooming in on newspapers, checking marquees in the background of photos and stuff like that. We also had the Facebook time stamps, so we could reasonably assume it was within the two weeks prior to the posting. I reached out to my bosses, got some overtime approved, and commandeered some news interns. They were able to get in contact with other tourists who were at the same locations at the same times and bought their vacation photos.”

“Wait, what? How on Earth were you able to find other tourists who were there then?”

Angie waved her hand dismissively. “It’s easier than you’d think. We just needed names. We got hotel registries, taxi receipts, bills from restaurants and bars and receipts from stores for tourists. It was time consuming, but not difficult.”

“I… I’ve been gone for like eleven hours. How time consuming could it have been?”

“Very, but we had lots of interns. In man-hours, it was a lot. So, we have lots and lots of photos that will cast our favorite politician in a very bad light. Come see.”

I did and she was right. It looked like a bacchanalia for the wealthy. Throw in that the executive was related to the woman the developer was boinking and it looked very good for our side.

“The two of you are brilliant.” I was feeling a glimmer of confidence.

Jennifer jumped in. “Angie is going to set up an interview with Sandalwood, pretending it’s just a puff piece on a local businessman and then once the interview gets started, blammo!”

I laughed. “Blammo?”

She nodded. “Blammo.”

“Okay. Can we maybe try something else?”

“What are you thinking, Lori?”

“I’m not a TV person or a reporter or anything, but if he already hired one person to smooth this over, why wouldn’t he hire a second? He stands to make millions, right? What if I invite the two of them to the event, tell them that I’ve been thinking things over and mention that I have a friend who is moving to town who needs a job? That would be you, Jen.”

“And then?”

“Well, they think I’ll back off if they give my friend a job. We have the meeting, they make the offer and you walk in with your camera and surprise the hell out of them.”

Angie’s eyes grew wide. “I could Chris Hansen them!”

I had no idea what that meant. “Um, sure.”

Jennifer looked at me while nodding her head. “Veronica, did you know that your brother’s mom was such a sneaky bitch?”

Veronica laughed and so did Angie. I blushed. “Is it worth a shot?”

There was a chorus of “Yes!”.

I locked myself in the office at the home the next morning, took a deep breath and made my first phone call.

“Good morning, this is Lori Tremaine, Managing Director of Veterans Lighthouse. I was hoping to speak with Mr. Sandalwood.”

“And this is in reference to…”

“He’ll want to speak with me. It’s about the downtown revitalization project.”

“I’ll see if he’s available. One moment, Ms. Tremaine.”

He was on the phone in less than a minute. “Mrs. Tremaine, what a lovely surprise.”

“It’s Ms., actually. Mr. Sandalwood, I wanted to personally call and invite you to the festival at the home this weekend. I hope you’ve seen our ads. They’ve been on TV and both local papers.”

“I have indeed, ma’am. Very impressive swell of public support you have going on over there. There was even an editorial or two taking potshots at me.”

“Well, I can’t control the media, Mr. Sandalwood. My offer was sincere, though. I thought it was time that we talked. We might be willing to look into relocating and you’re in real estate, so maybe we could help each other out.”

“Would Saturday evening work for you, Ms. Tremaine?”

“It would, but we’d have to wrap it up early. A dear friend recently moved to the area and we’re having dinner. I’m trying to help her find a job around here.”

“Are you? Well, we’re always hiring. I could see if we have a position that fits. Any friend of yours, Lori.”

He was so unctuous he made my skin crawl. “Isn’t that generous of you? I’m sure she would love to talk to you about that. Maybe we can discuss it further at the meeting. Do you think that Executive McGillen would be able to join us?”

“I believe that can be arranged. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. It’s been a pleasure.”

“Yes, same here.”

I felt like showering after I hung up.

*****

I was ready to bang my head against the wall. Nicholas was once again acting as the sole owner of the agency while I played hooky and concentrated on the veterans’ home. When all of this was over I was going to figure out a way to keep him out of the office for a couple of weeks. Maybe Alex and I could keep the girls for a long weekend so Nicky and Cat could get away on a mini-vacation.

He was going to be there with some of his athlete friends on Saturday showing the kids tricks and stunts with his bike and skateboard. He was managing the company and was still an excellent father and husband. We didn’t have it easy when he was a kid and I spent countless hours praying for forgiveness for letting him go on tour so young, but I was immensely proud. He was a great kid who turned into a wonderful man.

When he was a child, I worked two or three jobs and yet I was still feeling overwhelmed with everything happening with the home. I was double- and triple-checking with everyone from the guests to the guy bringing the porta-potties and everyone in between. By midafternoon, I bit the bullet and called Shelly, our PR person.

“It’s Lori, got a minute?”

“Of course.”

“I know you still have your realtor’s license. I think that we need to start talking about alternatives. I hope and pray that it won’t be necessary, but if we do lose the home, well, we need to figure something out. I know the market is crazy right now, but could you keep an eye out?”

There was a pause and I could hear the ticking as she tapped her pen against her teeth. We all knew that when Shelly had the pen going we should leave her alone. It was a clear sign that she was in deep thought.

She finally responded. “For your peace of mind, I’m going to be looking for some possibilities, but this is where my specialties intersect. I have some expertise here, Lori, so I need you to listen to what I’m saying. You’ve done an amazing job. If I was a betting woman, I’d say that we’re not going to need any alternatives, and that’s because of you. Yeah, lots of people are pitching in, but you’re what we all have in common. Before you took over, you know what the average term for someone on the board was? Two years, and that was if we could get someone to serve. Now we have people who would stay indefinitely and we have every position filled.

“You’ve changed people’s lives. This is going to work out. I have two local papers, a paper from Columbus, one from Dayton, a television station and two radio stations coming down. Add ESPN to that with your friend and we’re looking good. Cockroaches hate the light, and honey, you’re not turning on a lamp, you’re bringing the sun.”

I sighed. She had a point, but was giving me too much credit. “That’s nice of you to say, but you’re getting the coverage, Angie is bringing ESPN, the models and some athletes, Nicholas is bringing those X Games people, even the butcher is bringing down the grill and will be cooking. I’m just sort of standing around and directing traffic.”

Shelly laughed. “You’re the general on the hill, directing the troops. Trust me, Lori, if it was anyone else running the show they’d get nothing like the response you’ve gotten. People would shrug their shoulders, say ‘what a shame’ and move on.”

Praise like this always made me feel uncomfortable. Everyone was working together, that’s why we had a chance. I still didn’t like our odds and thought that Shelly was overly optimistic. Searching my desk drawer as we spoke, I found a half-roll of Tums and took one.

“Okay, well, if you could look into it I’d feel a lot better.”

She sighed. “I have a few hours after lunch. I’ll see what I can come up with. At the very least I can get an idea of the market for places that can hold twenty adults.”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re more than welcome. Go get a drink with Alex, Lori. You’re too wound up.”

Looking at the pile of paperwork on the desk, I rolled my eyes. That wasn’t going to be happening. “Thanks again.”

After we hung up I moved one down on my to-do list. Ice. We needed tons of ice for the water, soda and iced tea. Great. Picking up the phone, I started calling local distributors. I couldn’t complain about companies that didn’t go out of their way to help us out. We had no one that was outright rude or dismissive. There were some that didn’t really help at all, but that’s fine.

Our issues aren’t their issues. For example, the beer distributor three doors down from the main office for the travel agency was a bit brusque and didn’t offer a bulk discount even though we always used them when we catered for the staff. Fine, not an issue. They have a business to run and I had no idea what their situation was. Maybe they supported some charities and were at their limit, maybe their business was struggling. I didn’t know and as long as they treated me reasonably as a customer, I was fine.

No, the companies that caused me to pause were the ones that went out of their way to help us. I always left their stores or conversations with them feeling guilty. The ice guy asked about the order and what was going on. He wound up donating the use of a refrigerated truck. He said if we had some extra space, he’d send over some ice sculptures and one of his people to do a carving demonstration. Thinking he was joking, I said I’d get him a tent and an MC.

This man has never even been to the home, and he’s trusting us with a refrigerated truck. It’s a little crazy. So, now I need to convince Nicky to MC a carving demonstration and have Alex set up a tent. Those were two things I was happy to add to my list.

There were times when I needed to get off of social media and step away from the twenty-four hour news channels. In general, people were good and kind. I’d been down, about myself and the situation and I needed that reminder.

Alex and I took Jennifer out for dinner. I’d been neglecting him and enjoyed being with two of the most important people in my life. We had Greek food and then walked down the block to a little place where we could get sorbets and eat at a table on the sidewalk while people-watching. Alex pulled his chair behind mine and began rubbing my shoulders. Slowly decompressing, I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle.

Jennifer pushed her small plastic bowl to the center of the table. “I’m going to see my godson tonight and visit with those beautiful twins of his. Cat has a spare room set up for me, so I’ll be staying there. Can I come down to the home and see you tomorrow?”

I mouthed, “Thank you”, reached up and patted Alex’s hand.

“Dad and I are going down there around eleven to help Nicky set up the stuff he needs and to measure things out for the tent guys. I can’t believe we only have two days left. I’ll bring you ladies lunch.”

Turning back to Alex, I frowned. “Who’s watching the agency?”

“I have no idea, but don’t you have three managers and a junior partner for exactly that?”

I slowly let out a deep breath. “We do.”

When we got home, Jennifer got into the other car and took off. Alex followed me inside. “Tea?”

“That’d be great. So, Shelly has been speaking to those political people we hired. She has a lot of media people coming down and the biggest overlap is at three. We’re going to do the announcement then.”

The kettle went on as I answered. “That’s great. Are you comfortable with all of this?”

“I am. We’ve been meeting with Melody, the media person for the politicos almost every day. I think I’m ready to answer any questions someone might ask.”

“Alex, you’ve been… I’ve been so wrapped up in everything I haven’t really been there for you. I promise, after this weekend I’m in. Fully on board.”

He laughed. “Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. I think it’s the biggest reason Mom has had such a turn-around. That and you’re supporting this election thing. My parents are so entrenched in the military community that you going to bat against this jackass means a lot to them.”

We spent the night reaffirming that we were a team. I was going to support Alex in every way possible and I knew that he was there for me in the same way. That release was the best possible cure for the stress I was dealing with.

Slipping out of bed and leaving Alex sleeping, I hopped in the shower, got dressed and headed to the home. The sun was just coming up when I arrived. It felt odd getting up before Alex. He was usually up and showered by the crack of dawn.

The printer making signs that we were going to put up at the school for the people parking there had sent proofs. I okayed them and she responded immediately. I checked my phone for the time. The woman was there at a quarter to seven.

She promised delivery by late afternoon. I’d have to figure out who we contacted at the school to see what part of the parking lot would be best to use and where we could put up the signs.

There were at least thirty emails with requests for invitations and Shelly had failed to inform me that she was sending me a list of interviews I was scheduled for with the media. Taking a deep breath I vowed to tackle one item at a time and ask for help when I got overwhelmed.

“Have you had time to eat?”

Julian was one of our older residents. He was standing at the door with a plate of scrambled eggs and a bowl with mixed fruit.

“You’re a lifesaver. Come in, sit down.”

He put the food down in front of me and took a seat.

“Can I tell you something without it coming back on me?”

What now? “Sure.”

“The guys, they feel like they’re not part of this. It’s a little weird, right? I mean, we can’t be too upset and we definitely appreciate everything you’re doing, on the other hand, this is our home. Everything is happening around us without our being involved. It’s like we’re the animals in a petting zoo. You show us off to some people with money, they pat us on the head and move on. The guys, it’s sort of humiliating.”

Leaning back, I stared at the ceiling while I talked. “I’ve completely screwed this up. Of course you all have a stake in this.” My stomach curdled. “I’m feeling nauseous. What can I do? How can we fix this?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Can we give tours of the grounds? Maybe two of us at a time and we alternate? Let people know what the home means to us?”

“You absolutely can. I’m going to call Shelly right now and set that up. Well, maybe in a little while. She probably isn’t awake yet. Thanks, Julian. I appreciate you coming to me.”

Standing, he walked to the desk and stuck his hand out. He’s not a touchy-feely guy, so a hug was out. I stood and immediately was swamped with agita. Forcing a smile, we shook and I sat down again to rummage through my purse for Rolaids.

My email pinged and it was the ice guy. They were going to send six carvings, one each of the insignias for the six branches of the military and one American flag. Chewing my second Rolaid, I typed out a response thanking him.

Jennifer showed up around ten, took a look at my to-do list and dug in. She asked a question or two about each bullet point and got to work. I called Shelly and she agreed to work up a basic outline for the residents to follow as they ran the tours. She promised to be at the home that afternoon to walk them through things. It was great to have a PR pro on hand.

Jennifer lowered her glasses to the tip of her nose as she looked out the office window.

“Hey, there’s some super jacked guy out there messing around. He’s pretty good looking. Want me to get rid of him?”

Looking out, I saw Alex unloading some lumber from his truck. His father arrived and the two of them got to work. I smiled.

“No, I think I’ll let that one stick around for forty or fifty years.”

They came inside around noon. As usual, Alex’s father spent his time talking to the residents, probably swapping stories about when they were serving. Alex joined us in the office, bag in hand.

“I have some heroes. Straight Italian, eggplant parm and a chicken cutlet with basil and roasted peppers.”

Wincing, I took another Rolaid. “I’m good.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. Jennifer and Alex ate as I worked. Nicky showed up and I gave him my sandwich. The three men went back outside to work on the ramp or whatever it was they were building. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that the developer coveted the veterans’ home. It came with a lot of land, we were close to the freeway and there was a train station nearby. The space that Nicky needed for his demonstration was a tiny piece of the overall plot.

Jennifer left mid-afternoon to handle the stuff with the school and the busses that would bring people to and from the event. The signs arrived and they included the posters for the athletes and placards with their names on them. Getting up, I stretched, winced at the slight pain in my side, took another Rolaid and headed outside to where the tents would be.

Alex’s father came over with a clipboard. “Can we go over this real quick? I measured everything out. The hot dog guy is going to be over there where the property line starts. We’ll have two twenty by twenty tents with chairs and tables and then six twelve by twelves in a row. The first three will be for the athletes, the next three for the models. They’ll sign autographs and take pictures with people. Across from the last model will be a twenty by twenty for the Guardians and their mascot.”

I nodded.

“Lori, are you feeling alright?”

Touching my side, I nodded again. “Fine. Each booth for the models and athletes will have an eight by three table, right?”

“Exactly. I’ve called and verified things twice today alone.”

I patted him on the shoulder and tried to smile. The burning in my side was like a kiln. I tried to grab him as I fell to the ground.

“MOM!”

Curling into a fetal position, almost crying in pain, I saw my son running towards me followed by…nothing.

*****

It takes me far too long to open my eyes. When they finally opened I began to blink rapidly. Taking it all in, I immediately knew where I was. The smell of disinfectant, the cheap blanket, the dimmed lights and the constant beeping tell a story I’m familiar with. Without knowing specifics, I was reasonably sure that I was in the same hospital that treated Nicky after we almost lost him from the post-surgery infection.

Turning my head, I saw him in a chair, head down in prayer. My heart lurched, breath inhaled too quickly. He looked up. I was blinking again, but this time to hold back tears.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mom, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“I’m sorry because I know what you’re going through.”

When Nicky was competing in extreme sports he was in a horrific fall. There was a photo of me praying by his bedside that made every paper in the country and most news stations. He’d been just shy of his eighteenth birthday, so I couldn’t forbid him from going back out when he’d healed.

He started winning, found major sponsors, was on the late night shows and now works for ESPN as a commentator for the X Games and makes serious money from his likeness in video games. Back then, he was just my broken son who left home for months at a time to make money because my two and often three jobs couldn’t cut it and his father had abandoned us for his new family.

Alright, in my head I knew he was pursuing his dreams, but my heart told me that I’d failed as a mother.

“What happened?”

He looked horrible. His clothes were rumpled, his head hadn’t seen a comb in ages and his eyes were red.

“You were insanely dehydrated, but I guess that’s a good thing. That’s why you passed out. It allowed them to find out what else was going on. You also have an ulcer and they found traces of blood. They have you on PPI inhibitors, or were the ‘inhibitors’ the I? PP inhibitors? I don’t know. It cuts back on the acid, I think. Antibiotics are in there, too. You have an infection called H. pylori. I guess crazy infections are genetic.”

When Nicholas had donated a kidney to Veronica, she made it through fine. He came away with an infection that almost took him from us.

“Don’t joke about that, Nicholas. Are you okay?”

Rolling his eyes, he smiled. “I’m fine. Who but you is going to be lying in a hospital bed and asking if I’m okay?”

“The first thing you asked when you woke up from your hospital bed was if Veronica was okay.”

He was about to say something when he shut his mouth, shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“You scared the hell out of me, Mom. The doctor said you’ve likely had the ulcer for a while and they caught the bleeding part very early. So, that has to be good, right? It has to do with the infection. They want you to stay for two weeks. That’s a conservative guess. It might be a month.”

“Tishtosh. I’m not missing the event. What time is it?”

“Tishtosh? What the heck is tishtosh?” He checked his watch. “Just past midnight.”

“Go home and get some sleep, honey. I’ll be fine.”

I was actually feeling surprisingly good and wondered if I was also on some painkillers. There was an IV attached to one arm and some sensors that accompanied it.

“The only place I’m going is out to the waiting room. Only one visitor at a time.” He kissed the back of my hand and then my temple before wiping away a tear. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Mom. Dehydrated? I’m going to buy you Gatorade by the case.”

He left and I closed my eyes. The next time I opened them, Alex was in the seat Nicky vacated.

“Hello, handsome. Come here often?”

Alex smiled, but it was strained.

“Can I get you anything? Are you thirsty? Hungry?”

I nodded. “Some water?”

By the time he’d poured some in a small paper cup a nurse was entering the room. He asked me how I was feeling, made a few silly jokes, told me the doctor on duty would be by to speak with me and that my doctor would be by in the morning, took some readings and left.

“Lori, why did you keep your ex-husband’s name?”

I sighed. “Nicky and I didn’t have a lot back then. Whatever I could share with him, I did. He liked Chutes and Ladders? I liked Chutes and Ladders. He liked Barney? I liked Barney. His last name was Tremaine, I was going to keep mine the same.”

“That makes sense. You’re a wonderful mother. You know that, right?”

“If I was so wonderful my son wouldn’t have had to go risk his life to make money for us.”

“That’s ridiculous. He would have packed up his skateboard and run away from home if you didn’t let him compete.”

I shrugged.

The doctor came by. He reiterated most of what Nicholas had said, but used bigger words, as if I was fluent in medical nomenclature. When he left, I looked over at Alex and saw that his eyes were closed. I wasn’t sure if I should wake him to tell him to go home and rest or just let him sleep.

The drugs running through my body kept me floating along, not feeling much. There was a buoyancy that separated me from reality. The only thing I was grasping onto with any solidity was that I was going to find a way to be at the veterans home for that meeting. If I had to go in this dreadful hospital gown, I was going to be there.

The next time he stirred, I told Alex to go home. He rubbed his eyes.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. It’s today, Alex. Everything goes down today. I need you there. You’re going to be my eyes and ears. You need to get a few hours rest in your bed and run things tomorrow.”

He smiled. “No offense, but I don’t think you know the sort of places I slept when I was serving. This chair is a luxury.”

“Okay, maybe, but not to be rude, you’re not a twenty-year-old anymore. My knowing you’re rested and alert and strong will let me sleep and relax. That’s what you want, right?”

“Damn, Lori, you fight dirty.”

“Go home. I’m in the best place I can possibly be and I have my cell. I’ll call if there are any issues.”

We argued for a bit more, but he eventually agreed to go sleep in his own bed. At that point, all I could do was have faith in the people I worked with and pray. Eventually falling asleep, I woke again around seven. Sitting there for a moment, I got my bearings. I needed to pee, but that was a low level concern.

I needed to start planning.

Grabbing my phone, I began to text.

It’s Lori. Can you call me or come to the hospital? Alone?

My bladder was slowly becoming more insistent, and I was wondering if I could unhook myself from whatever monitors I was attached to. Looking to the hallway in the hopes of seeing a nurse, I instead saw Father Massey walking by. He looked up, smiled, gave me a little wave and kept going.

Two seconds later, he backed up to the door with a quizzical look. “Lori?”

“Hello, Father.”

“What on Earth are you doing here? I was going to head down to the home as soon as I was done here and… well, here you are. Are you okay?”

Scooting back on the bed, I tried to smile. “It’s much ado about nothing, Father. It looks like I may have the start of an ulcer and I wasn’t drinking enough water. Not the end of the world. They want to keep me here until Tuesday for observation, but I feel fine.”

“So, you’re going to be fine by mid-week?”

“Um, no. From what I understand I can go home, but I need to be observed regularly for about six weeks.”

“That doesn’t sound like nothing, Lori. How can I help?”

“Do you think we could pray for a bit? And your blessing would mean a lot.”

“Of course.”

When we finished he headed off to the veterans’ home and I finally got the nurse to unhook me so I could go to the bathroom. There was no chance I was using a bedpan. The nurse was waiting right outside the bathroom door and she wasn’t alone. Evelyn, Alex’s mother, was with her. She had a plastic bag in her hand.

She looked me up and down. “No offense, but you look horrible.”

I just shook my head. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. I’m assuming we’re staging a jailbreak.”

I smiled. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Lori, you’ve been sweating blood over this. I’m not going to let you miss this. Here.” She extended the hand with the bag.

It contained clothes from Nordstrom, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrush and a small bottle of perfume.

“This… I don’t know what to say.”

“I knew who you were, you know. Your son in the papers all the time, how could I not. Local boy makes good. This was the hospital he was in, right?”

“It is.”

“It rankled, Lori. Your son was running around on a skateboard or snowboard and became rich and famous. My son served his nation for his entire adult life and gets a pension that couldn’t support a family. If he’s wearing his uniform a few people will thank him for serving. Nicholas? He gets free meals, the front of the line and people bowling each other over to shake his hand.”

“You’re treading on thin ground, Evelyn.”

She held up her hand. “It’s not his fault. I understand that. He’s good at what he does and he worked hard. Mazel tov. Live well. It just rankled. But seeing you with him was like a mirror to how much I love Alex. When I finally realized that, I could also see how much you love my son. We’re not going to let them take the home from our veterans and we won’t let them take it from you.

“Dehydrated and an ulcer? Nothing. You gave birth to a beautiful child. That’s pain. Bland food, going slow and plenty of water. I’ll stick by your side the whole time. Nobody’s going to give two mothers any lip. Deal?”

A smile slowly grew on my face. She again stuck out her hand. I brushed it aside and gave her a hug. “Deal.”

The nurse coughed lightly. “Um, ladies? That is a horrible idea. I get it. Nobody likes to be in a hospital. The thing is, your medical professionals want what’s best for you. They’re not just making random decisions to keep you around because you’re a charming raconteur. Less than twenty-four hours ago you had collapsed and were on the ground in pain. You have a bleeding ulcer. If your doctor wants to observe you over seventy-two hours, give your body the respect it deserves and stay for the seventy-two hours.”

Evelyn looked at me and hitched her thumb towards the nurse. “Well, she’s no fun.”

I sat on the chair next to the bed. “I’m not taking this lightly, but I absolutely have to be somewhere today. It’s not like I’m going to play cards with friends. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the lives of dozens of veterans over the next few years may be severely impacted if I can’t attend a meeting. As much as I’d prefer to be home, I can go to the meeting and come right back, but I need to be there.”

“Are you talking about the event at the veterans’ home?”

“Yes, you saw a commercial?”

“No, but my son did. He said he wants to go meet some baseball player. I forgot his name. Honestly? He’s thirteen. I think he wants to meet the models. If you can get your doctor to sign off on you leaving and coming right back, I’ll join you. You have to get my son in, though.”

Evelyn spoke up. “Like a private duty nurse?”

“No, I’d just be an invited guest, like everyone else. You’d give me a guided tour, so I’d have to stay close to you at all times. Acting in a professional capacity outside the hospital without insurance would be a nightmare.”

I nodded. “I see. That sounds more than reasonable. Can you ask my doctor to see me ASAP?”

Four hours later I was flanked by my new friend the nurse and by Evelyn, my erstwhile antagonist, now ally. She might have been in her mid-seventies, but the woman had taste in clothes. I changed, we had a rental wheelchair delivered and we were on our way.

Carly, the nurse, had her husband drop her son off at the hospital. There is a small side entrance to the veterans home that we use for deliveries. I’ve never been so grateful that it was there. The home was absolutely packed. There had to be a thousand people crowding the grounds, the lot next door and the street.

Cops were everywhere and so were yellow-jacketed volunteers. I put down my window and took in the smells of popcorn and the butchers hot dogs and burgers. I could see Nicky and his friends in the distance as they spoke to kids and did their skateboarding tricks. The fire department was on hand and there were EMTs set up next door. It was crowded, cacophonous fun.

“We lucked into some great weather.”

Evelyn nodded. “That we did. I’m parking next to the shed. We can get you from there to the home and into your office.”

I sometimes forgot how much she and her husband did for the home. She knew the grounds as well as I did.

“Sounds good.”

We parked and Carly had her son get the wheelchair out of the trunk. We managed to wend our way through the crowd, got to the screen doors in the backhouse and the boy tilted the wheelchair so he could push me in. Evelyn was my blocker, clearing the way to my office. Surprisingly, it was empty.

I suggested that the young man take the other door from the office to the side of the house. It was less obvious and the only thing between that door and the side exit were a washer-dryer and stacks of canned goods. Most importantly, that door would lead him right out to the models.

“Just lock it behind you, okay?”

The news that I was there spread quickly. Within five minutes of me being behind the desk I had two ice-cold Gatorades and three bottled waters brought in by staff that wanted to give me updates. Evelyn took the drinks and quickly escorted them out.

I was splitting my time watching through the window and checking my email when someone arrived that couldn’t be escorted out.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

There was fire in Nicky’s eyes and I couldn’t remember seeing him that angry.

“Good gravy, Nicholas. Remember who the parent and who the child is here. I’m fine. I even have a nurse with me. I’m staying for the meeting and heading right back.”

“I may be your son, but I’m not a child. Don’t condescend to me, Mom. This is insane. I had to watch the paramedics pick you up off the ground and take you to the hospital yesterday. What idiot let you out of the hospital?”

I stared at him for a second. “I guess that idiot is me. A hospital’s not a prison. After a lifetime of putting your life on the line for money and and fame, I thought you’d be a little more understanding that I’m taking a minimal risk for something I believe in. Go back outside and do your flippykicks and twistyturns for the kids.”

I was being dismissive and insulting. I knew what the actual terms were. How could I not? I’d watched Nicholas compete more times than I could count. I kept an interior monologue going. He loves you. He’s scared. Cut him some slack. It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t used to Nicholas overstepping.

Sucking his top lip in between his teeth, he looked at me for a moment before stepping forward. Wrapping his arms around me, Nicholas leaned down and whispered.

“I love you. Don’t put yourself in danger, it’s not worth it. Nothing is.”

He backed up. “I’m going to go do my flippykicks and twistyturns. I’ll be back in about half an hour and then every half an hour after that.”

“Nicholas, don’t interrupt during the meeting. We have something planned that needs to happen. And I love you too.”

Jennifer came in when Nicky left. I was fairly sure that they were working together and one would be there when the other wasn’t. She opened the door that led to the small room with the washing machine, canned goods and the side door out of the home and began to hang some floor-to-ceiling curtains.

She shot me some angry glances as she worked.

“Jen, what are you doing?”

“Oh, you know, just keeping myself busy while worrying that my best friend is going to kill herself.”

I rolled my eyes. “What are you really doing?”

“This is where Angie is going to set up so she can burst through the door with her camera and Chris Hansen them. If you have to be here, can you at least sit down and drink something?”

“I see.” Taking a seat, I grabbed one of the near-infinite bottled waters that now populated my office. I’d never been so grateful that the office was near the bathroom.

“How’s everything going out there?”

“Good. Really good. Spooky good. I keep expecting the other shoe to fall. You know who the heroes of the day are? The cops. They’ve been told to ticket anybody they can for anything they can. Came straight down from the county to the chief in a bulletin this morning. They aren’t doing a damned thing except helping with traffic and keeping people calm.”

I shook my head. “How do you know all this?”

She shrugged. “People talk. I guess that people forget how many cops are veterans.”

Evelyn cleared her throat. “Well, it looks like you are covered here and your appointment is right around the corner. I’m going to go make sure that Alex is out there shaking hands instead of lugging ice around. Lori, the nurse will be in the living room the whole time. Any issue at all, we get her to take you right back to the hospital, agreed?”

“Agreed.”

It was just me and Jen for a while. I opened up the laptop, sipped some water and almost reflexively took a Tums. She was watching me like a hawk.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. I understand why you’re here, but if you were going to stage a jailbreak with anyone, it should have been with me. You’ve been my closest friend for more than thirty years.”

“If I told you, would you have told Nicky?”

“I get it. You need to bond with Alex’s mother and thaw her out, but c’mon.”

“Would you have told Nicky?”

“I’m just saying—”

“What you’re doing is avoiding the question. You would have told your godson and he would have camped himself in my room making sure I didn’t leave.”

She sighed.

“Okay, legit point.”

Jen looked at me, shook her head silently and closed the drapes on the window. “Close your eyes and rest. I’ll stay with you and wake you when they show up.”

That sounded like an amazing idea. I had no idea what the doctor had given me. I’m sure someone had mentioned the name, but it flitted out of my brain when the drugs took effect. Whatever it was seemed to wait a few hours and then sap everything out of me.

The next thing I knew Shelly had burst through the door. “Are you meeting with those two assholes?”

Rubbing my eyes, I tried to nod my head. One had to stop before the other started. “Yes. I’m guessing they’re here. Can you send them in?”

“Are… Lori, are you giving up?”

I smirked. “Heck, no. See me after and we’ll clue you in.”

Taking a swig of water, I swished it around my mouth and then searched my desk drawers for a Life Saver or TicTac. I made do with a cough drop.

Shelly was soon back, two self-important empty suits in tow. Hand at my side, I winced and stood.

“Lori, these… gentlemen say they have an appointment with you.”

“Thank you, Shelly. Could you please lock the door on your way out?”

She did and I slowly sat back down. “Gentleman, please take a seat. This is Jennifer Cruz, the friend I’d mentioned.”

The politician smiled as he sat. “Hell of a shindig, Mrs. Tremaine. Very impressive. The community is proud of the work you’re doing with our veterans.”

My almost-urge to vomit had nothing to do with the hospital stay. I struggled to put a smile on my face.

“Thank you, Executive McGillen. A lot of work went into it. Did you get the full tour?”

Mr. Sandalwood replied for him. “No, we, uh, weren’t very popular out there. You’ve done a wonderful job of turning up the volume for the citizens. I’m grateful for the opportunity to put any potential bad blood behind us. We both want the same thing, Lori. Can I call you Lori?”

“You can call me Abe Lincoln if it will get this done and ensures our veterans will have a place to call home nearby. So, let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we? We need another location for the veterans if you want us to stay quiet. My friend is in need of employment. If you can’t help, I see no reason to not scream at the top of my lungs day in and day out.”

“Of course. I took the liberty of having my people scout out other locations within fifteen miles that might work for you.” He took his cell out. “May I?”

I shrugged. He pulled up a photo and handed me his phone.

“There’s nine photos, three each of three possibilities.”

Scrolling through them, I wasn’t impressed. The buildings looked the right size, but the properties were tiny and the homes seemed rundown.

“And my friend?”

“Big things are in store for this neighborhood and we’ll definitely need good people. We’d be happy to have her start as soon as she’s available. Say, ninety-five to start?”

“So, I shut up, we don’t kick up a fuss and you’ll relocate us to another home that’s a bit rundown but close and my friend gets a job at a hundred grand a year?”

“Sure. Why quibble over five thousand when it’s all for the veterans.”

“Mr. Sandalwood, have you ever seen To Catch a Predator?”

“Um, the old TV show with the journalist catching the perverts? Sure.”

“Well, I hope you enjoyed the show. Congratulations, you’re a star.”

Angie came through the side door with a guy holding a camera. “Mr. Sandalwood, I’m from ABC news. Would you like to take a moment to explain to our viewers why you were bribing this woman with a job for her friend so that your plans for abusing eminent domain law for your own profit would go through and these veterans would lose their home?”

He looked like a fat kid who just had a donut taken from his hand.

“This… This is outrageous!”

“It certainly is, sir. Are you aware of how many veterans have lived here at one time or another? How about how many will no longer have the opportunity after the property is seized and you buy it up at a bargain a few months later?”

“Listen to me, young lady, offering someone a job is not and never has been illegal. There is nothing immoral about what we’re doing!”

“We’ll let our viewers come to their own conclusion about the morality. The job offer probably wasn’t illegal. What about the other job you handed out?”

He turned white.

“What?”

“Oh, c’mon. You both know what I’m talking about. You hired Executive McGillen’s sister as a secretary at almost three times the salary of someone with her experience in our area. We have some very… interesting photos of you on vacation. All three of you, but you and the sister most interestingly. Would you like to see them? Executive McGillen, did you pay for that vacation out of your own pocket? And did you introduce your sister to Mr. Sandalwood?”

Sandalwood stood up. “Good luck, miss. First off, I never gave permission to be in this little whatever it is. You do not have my permission to film me. Secondly, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.” He leaned over my desk, fists clenched. “Do you have any idea what I’m worth? My lawyers will bury your cute little ass.”

Angie’s face went blank and she was quiet for a moment. “That’s something to think about. I’ll contemplate your net worth and what sort of lawyers you can hire while my cute little ass is flying home to my billionaire husband on our private jet. And this is a one-party consent state. This room is loaded with cameras.

“After this enlightening conversation, how difficult do you think it’s going to be to get an injunction to stall the seizure? How many times will we be able to do that? You’re the epitome of corporate greed while Lori is the single mother of a local legend, she’s a long-time business owner and is engaged to a bonafide hero who happens to be a veteran. Good luck. My money is on her. Injunctions all day long. Anyone you had lined up to buy or invest? They’ll be long gone as soon as this story hits.”

I surreptitiously crunched on an antacid. “And Executive McGillen? You’re not running unopposed. I’m sure we’ll see each other on the campaign trail.”

“You? You’re running against me?”

“No, that would be my fiancé, the hero veteran.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed like it was trying to find an exit from his throat. His smile grew wide and then faltered.

“I, uh, I’m not sure all of that is necessary. We can come to some accommodation, certainly. Right?”

I leaned closer to him. “Wrong. Gentlemen, you can see yourselves out.”

Sandalwood stepped to the door. “This isn’t over.”

My smile wasn’t forced while I enjoyed his impotent outrage. “We’ll see.”

Jennifer looked over at me, eyebrows raised and grinning from ear to ear. “That was fun! Do you think… Lori, are you okay?”

I looked at the collection of bottled waters and Gatorades on my desk. “I’ve had to go pee since before they got in here.”

She laughed. “Well, let’s get you going.”

We didn’t take the wheelchair. Jennifer stayed by my side as I walked to the bathroom, but it was fifteen feet from the door to my office. I was slow, but fine. When I stepped out of the bathroom I looked through the large bay window and saw the small riser they had set up. Alex was standing on it and walking to a microphone.

“Shit.”

Jennifer looked askance. “Cursing? From you?”

I dismissively waved off her comment. “Can you get the wheelchair?”

“Yup, two minutes.” She turned to a child on a chair. “Kid, get up. There’s cookies in the kitchen. Help yourself.”

She had me sit in the now-vacant seat and was quickly back with Angie and the wheelchair. Jennifer wheeled me out the front door and towards the riser as we fought against the crowd. One of the cops saw me and hustled over.

“Afternoon, Lori. Hurt your leg?”

“No, other issues. Nothing major. Can you help us get towards the stage?”

He stopped by the home a few times a week and shared coffee with some of the veterans on the front lawn. It was great optics in a less-than-optimal neighborhood to have the police be regular, friendly visitors. His younger brother was serving overseas, so he was sympathetic.

“Sure thing.”

We could hear Alex speaking as we inched our way forward.

“… sense of duty and civic obligation doesn’t stop when you step away from active service. I’m proud to be a member of this community, to have grown up here, to have our family business here and to live alongside all of you. Wherever I was while wearing the uniform of our country, this was always home.

“Our schools, the Boy Scouts, our churches, synagogues and mosques, the second- and third-generation stores and new companies opening here are what made me who I am. I want to help ensure that’s available to the next generation, which is why I’ll be running for county executive in the next election. I’m going to be sticking around and enjoying a burger or two. Come by, ask me anything you’d like. I have no secrets, no hidden agendas. I…”

He saw me and slowly stopped speaking. Looking from me to Jennifer, Alex was angry. Very angry. I’d never seen him like that and it knocked me back on my heels. Well, wheels, I guess.

“Lori?”

I mouthed, “I’m okay.” He shook his head slowly.

“Ladies and gentleman, I’d like to introduce the woman responsible for everything happening today. She was so intent on saving this safe haven for our veterans that she collapsed yesterday from exhaustion and dehydration and was hospitalized. She should still be there. Please give me a moment while I speak with my fiancée, Lori Tremaine.”

People around me began to clap, which was hugely embarrassing, and others came over to shake my hand or thank me. I should have stayed in the house. The photographers from the PR people followed Alex and took plenty of pictures as he approached me.

Keeping a smile on his face, he glanced to his left and right. I could hear the tension in his voice.

“Lori.”

“Hello, dear. I’m heading back now. We had our meeting. I just wanted to see you before I left.”

Standing, I stepped forward and kissed him. That kept the photographers busy for a minute.

“Why are you here? Are you okay?”

“I’m here because it’s safe. I have a nurse with me. Because I love this place. And mostly, because I love you.”

“I… If… Dammit, Lori, how am I supposed to argue with that?”

He softened, smiled and hugged me.

“Don’t argue. Just go shake hands and come to the hospital tonight and let me know how everything went.”

The nurse, Evelyn, and Jennifer walked me to the car. People kept stopping me to talk about the home and congratulate me on the engagement. Eventually I stood so they could put the wheelchair in the trunk. Looking over I could see Alex shaking hands and clasping shoulders. He was a natural.

Turning, he saw me. His smile was reflexive and infectious. I made him as happy as he made me. He then saw his mother at my side and looked confused. I waved, we got in the car and headed back to the hospital. The nurse’s son had a Guardian’s plastic bag, and I was confident it was loaded with signed pictures of the models.

“Who was the blonde lady with the camera guy? She wasn’t with the models.”

Looking over at him, I smiled. “That was Angie. I’ll get you a poster.”

“Oh, you don’t have to. I mean, if you want to, sure, but it’s not a big deal. Unless you want to. That would be cool.”

“I strive to be cool.”

My doctor must have been devastated when I fell asleep halfway through his lecture about my irresponsibility. When I woke up it was dark outside and Alex was sitting next to me reading something on his iPad.

“Hey, you.”

Looking at me, he smiled that smile again. His warm brown eyes pushed away any doubts and fears. Things were going to be okay.

“Your son is in the waiting room grumbling about flippy kicks.”

“He told you about that?”

“He did. Nicholas seemed totally offended.”

“He’ll get over it. How did it go?”

“Better than we could have hoped. Shelly took care of all the PR stuff. She was interviewed by two radio stations, all the local TV stations and a bunch of print people. Everyone had a great time at the event and best of all, Angie and her people were able to drop a ninety-second teaser trailer online that was devastating.”

“So soon?”

“Yup.”

I was officially released from the hospital two days later with a new diet, a set of prescriptions and regular dates with a specialist for check-ups. It felt good to be back in my own home but everything only felt truly right when Cat brought over my granddaughters. They had “get better” drawings galore and we dutifully hung them on the refrigerator.

Angie was receiving threats of lawsuits and YouTube took down the trailer twice, only having to put them back up when her lawyers got involved. Sandalwood and McGillen were being torn apart on social media and the home was receiving donations that dwarfed anything in the past.

Sitting in my office, I picked up my phone.

“Evelyn, would you be able to stop by the home today? We could have lunch and I’d like to bounce an idea off of you.”

I had some soup and sourdough bread delivered and it was there when she arrived.

“So, what would you like to discuss?”

“Things are looking good. The injunctions have been filed and Sandalwood was foolish enough to announce in advance the companies he was in discussions with to relocate here. Shelly has reached out to all of them and explained what was happening. Many are backing out. I was thinking, what if we struck while the iron is hot?”

“What do you mean?”

“Angie’s full documentary will be out in two weeks. What if we wait until the day after and see if the county and state will give us a grant to buy the property next door? It’s about the same size as this, the owners would probably love to sell and the building is large. McGillen has to know that he needs to turn his leaking ship around if he wants to remain in office. He’d probably jump at the chance for some good PR. With all of the donations we’ve been getting, we can repair the building and convert it to our needs.

“If we lose this property, we’ll have the next best thing. If we don’t, we can expand and help more veterans. This is right up your alley. You purchase property and renovate all the time.”

“You want me to advise you on this?”

“Evelyn, if you think it’s a good idea, I want you in charge.”

There had been a definite thaw in our relationship, but I believed that was when she started to look at me like a daughter-in-law. The documentary was huge, mostly due to the athletes with their brothers, sisters or parents who were serving or were veterans. It turned out that some of the models had brothers in the military, and that certainly didn’t hurt.

Sandalwood came across as a greasy, greedy grinch who hated veterans and America. McGillen was exposed as a simpering opportunist. Their campaign was over. The injunctions went through, citizen watchdog groups began investigations into McGillen and companies that had agreed to purchase property now owned by Sandalwood found legal reasons to back out.

He lost a ton of money and I didn’t shed a tear.

Months went by and construction began on the second Veterans Lighthouse. We’d have two buildings, separated by only a hundred and fifty yards. Our occupancy would easily double.

The timing was difficult to arrange, but we worked it out. I stood in the kitchen of the new home with Evelyn, Cat, Angie and Jennifer, my matron of honor.

“Grandma, I need more petals!”

Squatting down, I took a look at their baskets. “I think you have enough, but talk to Ronnie. She has lots.”

They scampered off and soon Veronica was leading them down the aisle. My friends had already been escorted to their seats. I watched on video as they tossed the flower petals to the ground. Alex stood in his uniform in front of the lectern and time slipped away as I watched him.

“Mom? It’s time to go.”

Looking up, I smiled at Nicky. My son walked me down the aisle to the man I love. Father Massey presided over a beautiful ceremony. When he pronounced us man and wife, Alex kissed me and the world stopped for a brief eternity.

“Love you, Lori.”

“Love you too, Mr. Executive.”

He laughed. “Not quite yet.”

Father Massey stepped to the side and Judge Babbish took his place, swearing in Alex. We led a small parade of wedding party and guests as we walked around the building to the driveway where Alex used an oversized pair of scissors to cut the big yellow ribbon we had to officially open the second building.

We celebrated with family, friends, veterans residents and members of the community. They had all gathered together to help keep something alive that I treasured and were now joining us as Alex and I began our lives together.

*****

With thanks to the Agitprop Accelerators for their encouragement and feedback. My appreciation goes out to Bob, Brad, Jerry, Vik, Racing, Timothy, MrZ, Leon, Phillip, Laurence, Adam, Ken, Mark, Nora, Cheryl, Kerry, RP, Zachary, Alex, George, Dan, Richard, Brian and Charles for their support.

I’m especially grateful to Charlie for the edit.