“I see,” Mrs. Shaw said sadly. “That’s why Juniper must have brought you here. She was an orphan many years ago. No matter now. Leave the dishes and go get ready for the meeting.”
*
The courthouse looked as if it had been gutted a long time ago. The main room now held a bunch of mismatched chairs facing a long bench desk. Men and women with dirt lined faces filled the chairs and talked in hushed tones as they waited for the meeting to begin.
It was odd to see so many people gathered in one place without the use of glamour. A few of them glanced at us as Brayson and I took a seat near the back. The commotion in the room settled as two men and Juniper took the seats at the desk.
“The monthly community meeting will begin. The proceedings will follow standard protocol and the floor will be open for discussion in a few minutes.” The man to the right of Juniper shuffled some pages as he spoke.
“As we all know, the government has been sending what they call “relief packages” along with representatives in order to incorporate our village into part of their country. We’ve continued to refuse them at the decision of this consul as we wish to remain free from their control. Considering the seclusion of our area, and the limited amount of resources this so-called government possesses, we don’t feel this will be an issue for our community. In keeping with procedure, we put this decision once again to vote. All those in favor of remaining a sovereign community say aye.”
The room erupted with what sounded like a unanimous aye.
The speaker sighed loudly. “Opposed. Say nay.”
A single voice from the middle of the crowd said, “nay.”
“Give it a rest will you, Theo,” a woman sitting near me said. There were groans from others in the room.
“Let him speak,” the man to the left of Juniper said as he cast her a long look. “You all know the rules. Majority wins but minority is given a voice.”
“It’s the same thing every time,” the woman sitting next to me muttered under her breath.
Theo stood up. He was young with a perfectly trimmed beard and a clean flannel checkered shirt. It contrasted sharply with the faded clothes in the rest of the room.
“I wish you all would at least consider it,” Theo said. “If the government wants to help and they are giving free stuff, why not let them? They won’t be able to do anything to change our way of life, but they might provide us with some protection if the mafia ever returns.”
“Boy, sit down,” an old man grunted from his seat in the front row. “You were a child the last time the mafia came here. We don’t have anything they want. None of us frequent the realm that often, but they come every decade or so to offer us trackers. We send them packing every time they come.” An easy smile came to my face at the man’s words.
“And nothing comes without a price. You’re too young to remember what a centralized government was,” the elderly woman sitting beside him glared up at Theo. “But some of us don’t ever want to see that again.” Theo folded his arms across his chest as he sat back down in his seat.
“Moving on,” the man at the desk continued, “We are taking a vote today to move the marketplace to the town center. Fallon and Mazier have agreed to a slight increase of the price of their goods to cover the fuel cost of transport from their farms to here. This will help offset the travel cost of the consumers. Market days will remain Saturday. All those in favor, say aye.” No one disagreed.
“Final order of business. The eastern slope of the mountain range has been showing a decline in wildlife. The council recommends avoiding hunting in this section to allow regrowth of the population. The Northwest region should be the area to utilize for the remainder of the year. In favor?” The room unanimously agreed.
“Before we open the floor,” Juniper said as the man to her left opened a notebook. “I have one more topic. The young adults Akon found while documenting the ridge have been brought into town.” I shifted uneasily on the chair as Brayson stiffened beside me.
“They finished their indentured servitude to the mafia and left the city to live free in the wild. Unfortunately, they lack the skills to do that. I brought them here to learn from you in exchange for any work you can give. Do you agree with this plan?”
All the eyes in the room turned toward Brayson and me. My hands were clammy as I wrung them in my lap. I looked to Juniper in confusion. Why would she make us come here just to cast us out?
“Aye,” the sound coursed through the room. A woman near me smiled warmly and a man reached over to clap Brayson on the back.
The floor opened for discussion as people stood to give grievances or offer suggestions. My heart was still pounding from the embarrassment of the vote long after the meeting was adjourned. I caught Juniper as she was walking out the door and pulled her to the side.
“What if they said no?” I asked her.
“They wouldn’t have.” She took my hand off her sleeve and stared into my eyes. “We vote on everything here, but I wouldn’t have brought you if I knew they’d say no. That’s the benefit of living with likeminded individuals.” Juniper walked off down the darkened street to her waiting bike.
“I feel like you shouldn’t piss her off,” Brayson scolded as we walked down the sidewalk to the hotel.
“Yeah. I get that feeling too.”
Chapter 5
∞
We were awake early the next morning and stood in the hotel lobby unsure of what to do with ourselves.
“Go stack the firewood in the back lot and fill the boxes,” Mrs. Shaw directed Brayson. She handed me a bucket full of water and soap. “You start washing the front walls. Breakfast is in an hour.”
We rushed through the morning chores and hurried to join the family at the table. There were real eggs and fresh baked bread to eat.
“I’ll have more for you to do this evening so you can earn your stay here,” Mrs. Shaw said as she pushed us out the door. “But Juniper wants you two at the farm to meet Fallon.”
Brayson drove the truck down the unfamiliar roads as I read the directions hastily scribbled on a piece of paper.
“This is so amazing.” I couldn’t stop staring at the landscape and smiling at all the people we passed. “We are going to an actual farm and we ate real freaking eggs for breakfast. Tell me those weren’t the most delicious things you’ve ever had.”
Brayson looked sullenly out the window as he drove. “They were alright.”
“Come on. None of this is interesting to you at all?” I hadn’t noticed his mood until now and had to backtrack down from my excitement.
“Vorie would have loved this,” he whispered.
“Vorie wants you to be happy. You know that, and you know you’ll see her again soon.” I bit my lip so I wouldn’t say anymore. Brayson just nodded.
We pulled up to the farm and Fallon came out to greet us. He was a fast-moving man with a wad of tobacco in his front lip which he spit constantly on the ground. With the market moving to the town center on the weekend, he needed extra help to harvest produce which was normally picked by the customers.
Fallon talked nonstop as he worked and answered all the questions I threw at him with enthusiasm. He kept us moving all day long, directing our movements with a nudge and a point, never breaking his stream of conversation.