I sighed. I was frustrated, but I could tell Reid was, too. “I’ll do my best,” I promised.
Together, we turned toward the meeting room. As we walked, Bristol leaned in close and whispered, “Jordan is lucky to have you. I promise, Reid will do everything he can to protect Jordan. He’s paying close attention, too.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. Her encouragement was the bolster I needed.
The meeting room was nearly full, but we were able to find four seats together. Emalee and Zach were a couple of rows in front of us. They turned around and waved. Chase was right. This seemed to be the place to be tonight. Irecognized several faces and smiled at everyone, trying not to feel self-conscious.
A gavel pounded from the front.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please find your seats,” a voice announced over the mic.
“Sit down, people. Lots to do. Lots to do!” squawked an odd but surprisingly authoritative voice.
I stared in amazement at the beautiful African Gray parrot perched on the podium near the microphone. “Is that Sterling?” I whispered.
Chase chuckled. “He likes to be calledMayorSterling.”
“He actually attends these meetings?”
“He is the elected mayor.”
I stared at him. “I thought it was just a joke. I didn’t know he actually came to meetings.”
He nodded, amused at my befuddlement. “Ever since he appeared on the ballot several years ago, he’s remained our honorary mayor. I think there would be rioting in the streets if anyone tried to remove him.”
The room gradually settled as people took their seats. Behind a curved table at the front of the oval-shaped room sat the five members of the town council, including the actual human mayor, Richard Bowen, in the middle.
Rich knocked a gavel three times from his seat.
Squawk!“This meeting will come to order.”
I leaned close to Chase again. “How does he know to say that?”
He shrugged. “One hell of a smart bird, isn’t he?”
“Thank you, Mayor Sterling,” Rich said.
“You’re welcome. Someone has to run this town!” Sterling flew to a perch near the table behind him, but not before he could be heard saying, “loser.”
Everyone in the audience burst into laughter as poor Mayor Bowen flushed.
“Happens every time,” Bristol whispered with a grin. “Never gets old.”
Now I understood why people actually enjoyed attending these meetings. It wasn’t just small-town gossip or boring agendas. It was a show.
Mayor Bowen had the secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and then opened the floor up for new business. After some discussion over repaving a road and adding a stop sign somewhere else, he concluded the business portion of the meeting.
“Finally!” Sterling cried.
Amidst more laughter, Rich turned the floor over.
“Now we’ll hear from Beverly Seymour from our planning committee.”
Further up, I saw Emalee slink slowly down in her chair. I noticed a few others did, too. More tried to hide their face behind their hands.
Bristol noticed my puzzled look. “Beverly has a reputation. She’s the queen of guilt-tripping or just outright telling people what to do. If you’re in her sights, better run or you’ll be planning an entire event.”
“Why aren’t you hiding?”
