Jubilee's Journey (Wyattsville #2)(92)

Several heads nodded as she spoke.

“All they do is tell us what we can’t do. Those bylaws say we can’t bring grocery carts through the front lobby, we can’t paint our door a different color, we can’t do this, and we can’t do that. The bylaws even tell us we can’t park anywhere but in our assigned spots.”

“Yeah,” Agnes Shapiro shouted, “and Jim Turner took the best spot himself!”

Turner stood up. “I have that parking spot because I’m the president of the association!”

“Well, we can change that!” Seth Porter yelled. He then insisted they have an immediate vote to impeach Jim Turner.

Clara, who by now had pretty much taken over the meeting, said, “All in favor of removing Jim Turner as the association president, raise your hand.”

There were two or three on the far side of the room who stood without moving, but most everyone else raised their hand. A few people raised two hands. When Clara did a count, the number of hands exceeded the number of residents, so she gave another whistle and declared the motion had passed unanimously.

“Wait a minute,” Turner said. “That wasn’t unanimous.”

“Shut up and sit down!” Fred Wiskowski yelled. “You been kicked out!”

“I say we make Clara president,” Barb Harris suggested.

Several cheers echoed throughout the room.

Turner stood up again. “This is not proper procedure!” Before he could finish explaining how people had to be nominated first, a chorus of boos forced him to sit back down.

“Anybody got any other suggestions?”

“Maybe Seth Porter?” a voice said.

Clara looked over. “What about it Seth? You wanna be president?”

Seth shook his head. “Nope. Too busy.”

“Anybody else?” Clara asked.

When there were no further suggestions, a show of hands went up and Clara declared herself president. “My first act as president is to abolish the bylaws.”

There was a round of applause along with a number of folks making comments like “Good!” and “About time!”

When Clara asked if there were any objections to doing away with the bylaws altogether, three hands went up: Jim Turner, Eloise Fromm, and a man from the ninth floor who nobody knew by name. Clara shot an angry glare at Eloise.

“What is your problem?” she asked. Eloise’s hand went down as did the hand of the man from the ninth floor. Only Jim Turner’s hand was still raised.

“We cannot have a building without bylaws,” he said emphatically. “It’s against the law.”

“There’s no such law!” Jack Schumann yelled.

“Jack ought to know.” Clara nodded. “He used to be a lawyer!”

Turner’s hand remained up. Fred Wiskowski, an ex-wrestler and a man with shoulders as wide as a doorway, inched his way through the crowd. When he got to where Turner was standing, Fred leaned in and whispered something in Turner’s ear. There was a moment of hesitation; then Turner lowered his hand and sat down. That was the last objection he made for the remainder of the evening.





By ten o’clock the meeting was over, and most everyone went home happy.

A number of things had been decided. There was no longer a set of bylaws that residents had to adhere to. The building would be open to all residents, including children, young adults, dogs, cats, and any domesticated animal other than pigs. Everyone agreed pet pigs were not a good idea. They also decided that residents would no longer have to put in quarters to use the community laundry machines, nor would they be required in park in assigned spots.

Clara Bowman, they declared, was by far the best president they’d ever had.





Finding Family



Once Carmella got started on why Anita had not taken responsibility for the children, she refused to let go. “Here you are, turning your back on these sweet things, when you ought to be gathering them to your bosom!”

Anita’s bottom lip began quivering.

Olivia nervously twisted her beautiful linen napkin into a knot and then plopped it on top of the butter dish. “Perhaps we should change the subject,” she said.

Paying no attention whatsoever to the comment, Carmella continued. “Why, if these kids were related to me, I’d be praising God with every breath I draw!”

“It isn’t that I don’t care about the kids,” Anita said. “I do, but there’s extenuating circumstances.” Her eyes narrowed, and her voice sounded brittle as a dried twig.

Sidney turned to Anita. “I apologize for Carmella’s actions. She gets very emotional when it comes to children.”

“And rightfully so!” Carmella answered. “All my life I’ve prayed for a child. A boy, a girl, that didn’t matter. All I wanted was a child to care for, a child to love!” She turned back to Anita. “Now here you have two wonderful children and care nothing for them.”

Anita stood up so quickly that her chair toppled backward. “I don’t have to listen to you tell me what I care about! It so happens I do love these kids, love them the same way I loved my sister!”

Sidney rose from his chair and wrapped his arm around Anita’s shoulders. “Now, now,” he said and squeezed her arm. “We’re all friends, family almost, so let’s put an end to this conversation and have some of that delicious chocolate cake Olivia’s been talking about.”