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She teared up. It was fast and hot and the emotion hit her right in her heart. She swallowed and nodded. "We're your family and you are ours."
"Right."
A tear fell and she dabbed it away and took a deep breath, then blew it out. "Okay. I think I'm ready."
Sid chuckled and it sounded so good. "Me too. Let's go get those bikers."
She chuckled. "Let's go get 'em."
Chiefy jumped up and pranced around as if she knew what was going on. Grace pulled her leash from the hook by the door, Sid pulled her portable water dish from the cupboard and a bottle of water for her.
They strutted to the truck together. She and Sid, hand in hand, Chiefy on the leash beside her.
Sid turned into the city hall building and they were both shocked. The lot was nearly full. People turned out for the meeting.
She perused all the vehicles and her mouth dropped open. "Wow."
Sid chuckled. Even Coop had driven over tonight.
They entered the building, Chiefy in tow. The clerk looked over the counter at Chiefy, then up to each of them. "Emotional support?"
Grace smiled. "Yes." She was in all aspects. She may not have that exact label or the vest, but she was surely her support and had been for a number of years. Then, by choice, she became Sid's support. So, she was surely that.
"Come on back."
They followed the clerk through a set of doors where a large room was filled with the townspeople. The far wall, where the council sat, was a beautiful built-in half-circle desk made of oak, and behind it eight chairs and microphones.
Folks nodded when they saw them, many smiled. Grace recognized so many of them from last night. It was amazing. There weren't any seats available, they likely didn't have meetings with this kind of turnout very often. So, Sid steered them over to the far corner where they stood.
Soon a door behind the council desk opened, and eight people emerged, one of them the clerk.
The man in the middle, spoke into his microphone. "Good evening. I'm Roark Dinsmore, President of the Blossom Springs City Council. Tonight's meeting is a special meeting requesting an emergency order regarding the rash of property damage, citizen threats, and general mayhem caused by a certain group of bikers that have come to rest in Blossom Springs. The petition was brought by Grace Murphy. Ms. Murphy are you present?"
"Yes." She yelled from the back of the room.
"Please come forward and explain your petition."
She glanced at Sid, he winked and whispered, "You've got this." She handed him Chiefy's leash and made her way up the side aisle to the front of the council where a podium and microphone stood.
"Ms. Murphy. Please explain your petition so the council members and townspeople present can hear you."
"Yes sir." She took a deep breath and as succinctly as she could, she explained the situations as they happened to her. She finished by adding. "I know many others in this room have also experienced issues with the bikers. My..." She hesitated. Was Sid her boyfriend. It seemed silly to call him her boyfriend, they were of a certain age. Partner, she could say that. "My partner and I have both recently moved to Blossom Springs. We've both found a beautiful little town and have met the most wonderful people here. We're both starting businesses, and..." She turned and looked at Sid. "We've found each other."
Sid smiled and nodded at her and she turned back to the council. "We don't want these bikers, who have no ties here, no commitments here, to come in and wreck this beautiful little paradise. I urge you to give police the authority to arrest those bikers every time they cause damage. Personally, I'd love for them to be run out of town. But, mostly, we all have the right to feel safe in our homes, something Sid and I haven't managed to do since they began targeting his garage. We shouldn't have to worry that we'll show up at our businesses only to find they've been vandalized. Let's bring the peace and tranquility back to Blossom Springs."
The audience clapped and cheered, and her cheeks burned. She'd never presented to a city council before. And, she'd never had such a large audience before.
"Thank you, Ms. Murphy. The council will now hear from the townspeople."
One by one their friends, neighbors, and fellow townspeople stood before the council and shared their experiences with the bikers. In all, they were there for close to two hours. She and Sid stood quietly in the back, though her feet were sore and tired and her back was beginning to ache, she waited and clapped as each person told their sad tale.
The council excused themselves to deliberate privately, while the folks in the room took the opportunity to chat with each other. Sid took her hand and pulled her toward Coop. They knelt down alongside him, and his old, wrinkled hand patted Chiefy. "You did a good job, Grace."
"Thank you, Coop."
"Did your man here tell you he's officially the owner of the Garage tomorrow?"
She smiled at him. "He sure did. You still have some time to back out."
