Able to breathe again, Audra tried to ignore the streams of electricity that coursed from Jack’s palm up her arm to her breasts.
CeCe gestured toward their table. “We’re here to bid farewell to two of our most prominent and well-regarded residents, Ramona McCloud and Doctor Quincy Spates.” She waited for the applause to die down before continuing. “Quincy is leaving after Founders Day, and Ramona will serve out her term as mayor, which ends in January. But before we celebrated our sesquicentennial, we wanted to celebrate our citizens. Quincy and Ramona, you’ve meant a lot to Trinity Falls. Come back and visit. Often.”
Applause and choruses of “Hear, hear!” followed CeCe from the microphone. There were Grammy Award winners who could benefit from the council president’s speechwriting abilities—succinct and from the heart.
Doreen pushed away from their table and stood behind the podium.
“Don’t make us cry!” Darius begged from his seat.
Doreen brushed aside his comment with a chastising wave. Laughter echoed around the gym. Audra watched Jack’s enjoyment. His white teeth flashed in a grin. His broad shoulders shook in a silent chuckle. Her heart tripped when she thought of Doreen’s words: “You’ve brought him back to the community.” That wasn’t true. Jack had made the choice to rejoin his friends and neighbors. She was glad she’d been here to witness it.
Doreen spoke over the fading chuckles. “Quincy, you’ve always been such a good friend to my son, Ean. I felt like a second mother to you, all the time you spent at our house, eating our food.” More laughter halted Doreen’s words. “Ramona, you put your dreams on hold because the town needed you. Trinity Falls is a better place because of your dedication and efforts.”
The applause was even more thunderous as Doreen returned to her seat.
Darius leaned toward the older woman and raised his voice. “I asked you not to make us cry.”
Ms. Helen patted his shoulder. “It’s almost over.”
An expression of horror crossed Darius’s face as he turned toward the podium. “What is he doing?”
CHAPTER 15
Simon stepped behind the microphone in the front of the gymnasium. “Good evening, everybody. How’s everybody doing?”
A harsh expletive jerked Audra’s attention from the podium. On the other side of the table, Darius shoved back his chair and rushed to the back of the room.
Simon continued speaking. “I wanted to say a couple of words, too, since Doreen Fever spoke. Equal time and all that, since we’re going to be competing against each other for the mayor’s spot.” His laughter bounced out of the mic and circled the room.
Behind her, Audra watched Darius exchange words with Wesley Hayes, the part-time bookstore clerk, part-time disc jockey, and full-time high school student-athlete. Wesley stood between a flat control panel and a tall compact disc player. He seemed surprised by Darius’s appearance. The young man’s braids swung as he shook his head. Darius gestured adamantly at the audiovisual controls, then toward the podium.
Oblivious to the drama in the back of the room, Simon kept on talking. “Quincy, I applaud you for going after your dream. You were in love with Ramona for a long time, even while she was dating Ean, your best friend. The whole town knew it. Even Ramona knew it. The only person who didn’t know it was Ean. And he’s a lawyer.”
Silence exploded in the gym. Audra stiffened. The tension in the room was oppressive. She shot a look at the nearby guests. They seemed equally stunned. Quincy, Ramona, Ean, and Megan were frozen.
Simon was either unaware or uncaring of his audience’s discomfort. “I think everyone in this room is thinking the same thing. Why’d it take you fourteen years to tell her, son? Fourteen years. Really? It only takes nine months to have a baby.” He chuckled at his own wit. “And another thing I was wondering—”
The microphone went mercifully quiet, cutting off Simon’s failed amateur comedy hour. Instead, Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” blared over the sound system.
Audra strained to locate Darius across the room. He shook Wesley’s hand before marching to the podium. He jerked his startled parent away from the microphone and practically dragged him from the gym.
Shocked, Audra looked at the other dazed expressions around the table. “That was horrible.”
Ms. Helen shook her head. Her eyes were glued to the exit through which Darius had hauled Simon. “How did an idiot like Simon Knight manage to have a son like Darius?”
Jack shook his head. “That’s a good question.”
Ms. Helen scowled at Doreen. “You’d better not let that jackass win the election.”
Audra considered Quincy, Ramona, Ean, and Megan. “Are you all right?” She could only imagine how mortified they were by the experience.
A muscle flexed in Ean’s jaw. “Consider the source.”
Quincy shrugged, but the movement seemed stiff. “Yeah. That’s just Simon being Simon.”
Ramona had blood in her ebony eyes. “I’m going to kill him.”
Megan leaned over to rub her cousin’s forearm. “No, you won’t. You don’t want murdering a constituent to be one of your last acts as mayor of Trinity Falls.”