“Good morning, Alex,” Brian greeted, coming up to stand beside her where she stood at the porch railing of the Widow’s Walk. “So, tomorrow’s the big day.”
“That’s right, Brian, and I’m going to spend all day today undoing everything you’ve done over the past week.”
The mayor frowned and straightened his shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, yes, you do. You’ve been praising up Hope Gardens like it’s the best thing to hit this island since the first families arrived to colonize it. I’m now going to tell people the truth.”
Brian held himself up even straighter, adopting an offended expression. “Are you accusing me of lying to my fellow citizens?”
“No, I’m accusing you of painting a picture that’s all one-sided. You’re telling everyone the good things and leaving out the bad.” Brian opened his mouth to say something, but Alex didn’t let him. “And don’t tell me that there is no downside to having Hope Gardens built here. There is always a downside to any large development, especially in a community this small. If you can’t see that, then you’re blinder than I thought.”
The mayor’s frown deepened. “So, I take it that you are going to vote against it.”
“I didn’t say that. To be honest, I still haven’t made up my mind. That’s another thing I’m going to be doing today.”
“And what about Reverend Cooper? How is he voting?”
“That’s none of your business, Brian, and you know it. I will be casting Daniel’s vote for him.”
“So, who is going to count the votes? As mayor, I should be a part of the count.”
“And how many mayors do you know who count votes after a ballot? I’ve picked two people to do the count. Each of them will count the votes separately, and if there is a discrepancy, a third person will make another count.”
“And who are these people?”
“Nub and Boris.”
Brian laughed. “Nub and Boris? Why on Earth did you pick them?”
“Boris is a relative newcomer. He’s not as personally involved in the community as the longtime residents. He is one of the people whose life would be least affected by Hope Gardens being built here. He doesn’t own a business and he has a stable job. He’s also an honest and honorable man--though I still don’t know if he’s stretching the truth about all the things he’s claimed to have done in his life.”
“And Nub?”
“Nub is one of the most honest and guileless people I’ve ever known, and he would take such a responsibility very seriously. I have complete confidence that he would count the votes carefully and accurately, as would Boris. Now, I haven’t told either one of them yet, so don’t say anything, Brian. I mean it.”
Brian held up his hand. “I won’t say a thing.” He looked over the town, picturing the changes there that he wanted to see. “So, I guess we’ll find out tomorrow whether or not we’re going to have a retirement community here.”
“Yes, we will. And, now, if you will excuse me, I need to get going. I’ve got people to talk to.”
Alex and Brian parted company, the mayor heading off to his office as Alex started on the task set before her. The first place she went to was the general store.
“Hello, Alex,” Ruby greeted. “How’s Daniel doing?”
“He’s doing great. We’re hoping that he will be able to come home soon.”
“I hope so. We miss him like crazy around here. It’s just not the same without him.”
“I know what you mean. A part of me keeps expecting him to come walking down the hill into town at any moment.”
Ruby smiled knowingly, so pleased over the budding romance that was developing between the redhead and the minister.
“So, what can we do for you today?”
“I wanted to talk to you and Bonita. Is she around?”
“She’s off making a delivery. She should be back in ten, fifteen minutes or so. What did you want to talk to us about?”
“Hope Gardens. I know that Brian has been praising it up as this wonderful thing to all the islanders, and I wanted to give people a more balanced viewpoint.”
Ruby snorted and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “We didn’t pay any attention to Brian’s rambling, Alex. We know that he’s full of hot air most of the time.”
Alex stifled a laugh, thinking about what the mayor’s reaction to that statement would be.
“Bonita and I know how we’re going to vote, and nothing Brian said would change our minds,” Ruby assured her.
“That’s good to hear. I want this to be a fair vote, with people making decisions based on their own beliefs, not someone else’s.”
“I think it will be. Most people I’ve talked to have pretty well made up their minds, and I will tell you that the votes are going both ways, despite what Brian may have been telling people.”
“Thanks, Ruby. That puts my mind at ease.”
Alex went to a few other places in town and was told the same thing as Ruby had said. Everyone had made up their own mind about Hope Gardens, not letting Brian sway their opinion.
“I didn’t pay any attention to what Brian said, Alex,” Marcus told her. “The person I did pay attention to was Daniel.”
“Daniel?” the redhead repeated with a faint smile.
“At the town meeting. He didn’t try to convince us either way. Instead, he pointed out the truth of the situation here and told us that it was up to us to decide for ourselves which way to vote. He was the only person who did that, the only one who did not let his personal opinion influence his words in any way. I respect him for that, as does everyone else I’ve talked to.”
Alex’s smile grew, delighted to hear how people respected the minister. “You’re right. I’m glad that he spoke at the meeting.”
“So is everyone else.” Marcus laughed. “For Brian’s sake, it’s a good thing that Daniel is the minister.”
“How so?”
“Well, if he wasn’t and he ever decided to run for mayor, Brian wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”
Alex laughed in delight. “You are absolutely right, Marcus. And you know what? I think that Brian knows that. He may never admit it, but, deep down inside, he knows.”
“If he ever decides to stop being a minister and run for mayor, I’m in trouble,” Brian muttered under his breath. He’d just finished talking to someone on the street who had told him point blank that she’d taken Daniel Cooper’s words to heart and was making her own decision on Hope Gardens. He’d heard that same sentiment many times during these days that he had been campaigning for the retirement community. The minister’s words had had an impact on the islanders, one that he could not affect.
“What did you say?” Nub asked.
“Nothing,” Brian grumbled.
“Maybe you should just let people make up their own minds, like Daniel said,” Nub suggested in his usual quiet manner.
“Not you too!” Brian said, groaning.
Nub shrugged. “Shouldn’t this be a fair vote where people aren’t going to regret how they voted later because they let someone talk them into voting a certain way?”
Brian did not reply. He just stared moodily at the top of his desk. He then rose with a sigh.
“I’m going to go visit Molly. I’ll be back in a while.” He left the office and headed over to the Widow’s Walk. There were no customers in the place at the moment, which he was grateful for. He saw his daughter behind the bar, wiping glasses.
“Hey, Dad,” she said with a smile as he sat down on a bar stool. Her smile disappeared when she got a better look at his expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Did Alex tell you that she was going to go out and try to reverse any influence I had on people’s opinion about Hope Gardens?”
“Yes, she did, but she’s only making sure that everyone understands the whole situation.”
“She needn’t have bothered.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t influence anybody. Nobody paid attention to my opinions.” He looked into Molly’s eyes. “You know what I heard from half the people I talked to?”
“What?”
“That they were doing what Reverend Cooper told them to do, making up their own minds about it.” His eyes fell away from hers to stare in the mirror behind the bar, his own reflection gazed back at him mockingly. “He’s only been here a year, and he has more of the islanders’ respect than I do, even with me being the mayor. I don’t understand it.”
Molly laid her hand over her father’s. “Do you want the truth?”
Brian returned his eyes to hers. “Yes.”
“Daniel is someone who thinks about everyone else before himself. He’s shown himself to be fair-minded, no matter what religion people practice or how their opinions differ from his. He listens to people, really listens, because he cares about what they think and feel. Since he arrived, he has spent most of his time helping others or restoring that church for the benefit of the community. He may have been here only a year, but he’s put his heart and soul into Hope Island during that time. He has never lied to us. He may have hidden the whole story about his past from the majority of the islanders, but he has never been dishonest. And he has never, ever tried to make people see things his way, not even Alex and her views on religion, even though he loves her and wants to be with her. It’s no wonder that everyone has come to respect him.”
“So, what are you saying, that he cares more about the community than I do?” Brian asked, hurt in his voice.
“No, that isn’t what I’m saying at all, Dad. I know how much you care about Hope and want it to prosper. What I’m saying is that, instead of trying to sway people to your way of thinking, instead of trying to mold Hope Island into being what you want it to be, maybe you should listen instead. Listen to what the islanders want, put their desires first. Isn’t a politician supposed to be a servant of the people? A servant is someone who does the wishes of others, not himself. If you take that to heart, I think that you’ll see a difference in the way people look at you.”
Brian looked away again, thinking about what his daughter had just said. Could he be that kind of person? Could he do things the way the islanders wanted instead of trying to get them to think his way? He didn’t know, but he could try.
Brian gave his daughter’s hand a squeeze and smiled at her. “Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?”
Molly gave him one of her beautiful smiles. “Yeah, you have, and it means a lot to me that you feel that way.” She leaned over the bar and kissed his forehead. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’m going to be fine. I’m a Brewster, aren’t I? We Brewsters are a tough bunch.”
“Yes, we are.”
Giving Molly a kiss on the cheek, Brian got up and left, heading back to the office to await the arrival of Joseph Mann and Frank Tate.
Daniel sat beside the window in his wheelchair, enjoying the rays of sunshine that were breaking through the clouds. His mother had left to get lunch a few minutes ago. His own lunch had arrived a while ago, but he found that he wasn’t very hungry. His mind was too busy thinking about the vote tomorrow and how things might change if Hope Gardens was built.
“Reverend Cooper?” inquired a familiar voice behind him. The minister turned to see two men he did not recognize.
“Yes?”
The taller of the men came forward. “I’m Joseph Mann. We spoke on the phone. This is my partner, Frank Tate.”
“Hello.” Daniel shook the hands of the Bostonians. “I wasn’t expecting you to come here. Aren’t you supposed to be on the island?”
“Our flight just arrived. We thought that we’d come over to meet you before heading to the island,” Frank explained.
“Will you be voting, Reverend Cooper?” Joseph asked.
“Yes, I gave my vote to Alex. She will cast it for me.”
Joseph nodded. He glanced at his partner. “We . . . wanted to apologize in person for our former plans to use your name. We know, now, that it would have been the wrong thing to do.”
“Yes, it would have,” Daniel agreed bluntly. He studied the two men. “I’d like to be completely candid with you, if I may.”
“Please do,” Frank said.
“Hope Island is my home. I love those people. They are my friends. Since the decline of the fishing industry, they’ve gone through a lot of hard times, but they’ve gotten through them all, with pride and strength, by sticking together. I won’t let anyone take advantage of them. If the vote is in favor of Hope Gardens and, at any time afterwards, I find out that you plan to do something that will hurt the community or change it so dramatically that it ceases to be what it is now, I will do all I can to stop it.”
Daniel looked directly into Joseph Mann’s eyes. The Bostonian returned the gaze with respect and understanding.
“We understand, Reverend Cooper,” he said. “Please believe us when we say that we have no desire to adversely affect Hope Island.”
Daniel nodded briefly.
“Well, we’d better get going,” Frank said. He shook Daniel’s hand again. “If things go as we wish, I’m sure we’ll see you again.”
After shaking the minister’s hand, Joseph followed his partner out the door and out of the hospital. As they approached their car, Frank looked at his friend.
“Do you think he was bluffing?”
Joseph stopped at the car. “No, I don’t think he was, and I don’t think we should underestimate him. He may only be a minister, but I have a feeling that he can be a very determined man, and he also happens to be the son of a very rich and influential man whom I would not want to have as an enemy.”
“So, we should watch our step.”
“Yes, we should. Every move we make in regards to Hope Island and Hope Gardens will need to be thought out carefully. In fact, it would probably be a very wise thing to have a liaison on Hope Island, someone whom we can run any plans by to make sure there won’t be a problem.”
“Good idea. Who do you think would be the best person for that?”
“There really are only two people I would consider, the reverend or Alex Stone. Perhaps two liaisons would be better.”
“Well, there’s no sense in talking about it until after we know that the vote is in our favor.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
Getting into the car, the two men headed out of the parking lot. They went to a marina and rented a boat for the trip over to the island, glad that it was a mild day with a calm sea.
The trip to the island was made quickly. As they walked up the dock, they saw Brian and Nub waiting for them.
“Good afternoon, Gentlemen,” Brian greeted in his usual pompous tone of voice.
“Mayor Brewster. So, are we all ready for the vote tomorrow?” Joseph asked.
“Everything is all set. We’ll have two ballot boxes in town, one at the Widow’s Walk and one at the general store. I fully expect a ninety percent turn out, if not higher.”
“Ninety percent? That’s pretty good, a lot higher than the national average.”
“The citizens of Hope Island take their right to vote very seriously. Everyone wants to have their voices heard.”
“Well, that’s good. That means we’ll know that we have an accurate statement of the islanders’ wishes,” Frank commented.
The three men walked slowly toward the Widow’s Walk.
“So, how do you think the vote will go?” Joseph asked.
Brian opened his mouth to spout out a confident statement, but then remembered his talk with Molly. “It’s difficult to say,” he replied honestly instead. “The talk in town is going both ways. I have confidence, though, that everyone will vote in the way they feel is right.”
Having expected a claim that the vote would go in their favor, Joseph and Frank both looked at the mayor in surprise.
“Well, that’s what we want. We don’t want anyone who votes in favor of Hope Gardens to regret it later,” Joseph said, thinking that this was the first time he’d heard Brian Brewster not speak with overconfidence.
Just then, they all saw Alex coming down the street toward them.
“How are you today, Ms. Stone?” Joseph asked.
“Good. Busy, as usual.”
Frank looked up at the sky. “It turned out to be a nice day today.”
“Yes, it did. We don’t get a lot of sun in March, but, when we do, it can be beautiful. Have you checked in at the Widow’s Walk yet? I’ve got adjoining rooms reserved for you since I knew you’d be showing up today.”
“Thank you. We appreciate that. No, we haven’t checked in yet. We were on our way to do that now.”
They went the rest of the way to the Widow’s Walk.
“Well, I’ll let you check in,” Brian said. “I will be in my office. Come on over after you’re all settled in.”
“Will do,” Joseph responded.
As the Bostonians signed the register, Alex got the keys for their rooms. She led them upstairs to the rooms.
“These will be perfect,” Frank stated as he saw the door connecting the rooms.
“I’ll let you unpack, then,” Alex said.
“Before you leave, I wanted to tell you that we stopped at the hospital to visit Reverend Cooper,” Joseph announced.
“You did?” Alex said in surprise.
“Yes, we wanted to apologize personally for that whole thing with using his name in our publicity campaign.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“While we were there, he gave us a warning.”
Alex blinked. “A warning?”
“He warned us that, if we did or planned to do anything that would harm the community or change it radically from what it is, he would do everything in his power to stop us.”
“Daniel said that?” Alex asked, shocked. She’d have never pictured the minister saying something like that.
“Yes, he did, and I want to tell you the same thing I told him. The last thing we want to do is harm this community. We want it to be a healthy, thriving place that maintains the quaint, small town atmosphere that it now has, and we hope that Hope Gardens will help make it economically sound.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, and I think that you’d better pay attention to what Daniel said. When he sets his mind to something, he sees it through to the end.”
“I assure you that we took what he said very seriously.”
Alex said goodbye and went back downstairs. She entered the kitchen. Boris was busy cutting up vegetables.
“Hey, Boris. Could you stop that for a minute? I’d like to talk to you.”
The Russian looked at her closely. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong, but I do have something to ask you.”
Boris put down the knife and turned to her fully. “Ask to heart’s delight. Boris has many ears.”
Alex smiled. “The saying is that you’re ‘all ears’, Boris.”
“Yes, that is what Boris means.”
“Okay. You know about the vote tomorrow.”
The Russian nodded. “Boris has already put vote on piece of paper to put in box tomorrow.” He patted his pants pocket. “Have here safe in wallet.”
“That’s good. After the poles close, somebody is going to have to look at all those pieces of paper and count how many votes are for and how many are against Hope Gardens. I’d like you to be one of those people.”
A look of surprise and delight spread across the Russian’s face. “You want Boris to count votes?”
“Yes, I do.”
“This is important responsibility.”
“Yes, it is, a very important responsibility.”
Boris straightened himself up to his full, impressive height. His chin lifted as a look of pride and deep emotion filled his face. His blue eyes brightened with the faint sheen of tears. “Boris would be very much honored to do this important thing.”
“Thank you, Boris. We’re going to count the votes in the teacher’s meeting room at the school. The poles will close at 7 p.m. tomorrow, so be at the school at 8:30. There are going to be two counts of the votes. Nub will do the first, you the second.”
“Boris will be there.”
Alex left the kitchen with a smile and headed over to Brian’s office.
“Hey, Brian. Could I steal Nub away from you for a minute?” she asked the mayor.
“Certainly,” Brian replied, knowing what she wanted the young man for.
Puzzled, Nub followed Alex outside. “Do you need something fixed at the Widow’s Walk?” he asked.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I’d like you to be one of the people who counts the votes, Nub.”
Nub’s eyes widened. “Me?”
“Uh huh.”
“Why me?”
“Because I think you’re a good choice. I know that you will be honest and careful.”
Nub grinned. “Wow. Thanks, Alex. This means a lot to me.” His grin disappeared. “But what about Brian?”
“What about him?”
“Well, I work for him, and he’s the mayor, and he wants Hope Gardens to be built. Wouldn’t people think that I’d be, um, biased?”
Surprised that Nub had thought of such a thing, Alex said, “Everybody knows you, Nub. They know that you wouldn’t let your relationship with Brian affect how you counted the votes.”
“They’re right. I wouldn’t.”
“We’ll be setting things up to count the votes in the teacher’s meeting room. Can you be there by 7:30?”
“Sure.”
“Good. We’re going to have the votes counted twice. Boris will be doing the second one. He’ll be coming in at 8:30.”
“I’ll be there. Thanks, Alex.”
Saying goodbye, Nub went back into Brian’s office.
“You look pretty happy about something,” Brian commented, trying not to smile.
“Alex just asked me to be one of the people to count the votes.”
“Really? Well, congratulations.”
“I’ve never done anything like that before.” He looked anxiously at his boss. “Um, is it okay with you?”
“Why in the world wouldn’t it be? I think Alex made an excellent choice.”
Nub beamed. “You do?”
“Of course I do. I’m sure that you’ll do a good job.”
The expression on the young man’s face made Brian glad that he’d chosen to say what he did instead of keeping the praise to himself. He realized that he almost never told Nub how much he valued and cared about him. Maybe it was time to change that as well. It wouldn’t be easy, though. Molly was the only person he opened his heart to, the only person who really knew him. But a few sincere compliments here and there wouldn’t kill him.
He laid his hand on Nub’s shoulder. “You always do a good job, Nub.” He then cleared his throat. “Now, speaking of your job, there’s some storm damage to repair on the cottage over on Ocean Drive. We need to get it all fixed up for the summer renters. Might be a good idea to get started early. What with those two bad storms, we’re going to be pretty busy getting everything shipshape.”
“Sure, Brian. I’ll go right over there,” Nub said eagerly.
Hiding a smile, Brian watched the young man go, then, straightening his lapels, went back inside to await the Bostonians.