“Exactly, we are practically the same age. Except I was finishing up eighth grade when you were graduating high school. Other than that…” he shrugged and winked at her.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, “Oh stop! Before I forget, I signed you and Jasper up for the public comments. You speak sixth,and he speaks after you.”
“Great,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. He wasn’t big on public speaking so he was glad Jasper would be speaking after him. If he floundered, Jasp could clean up the mess.
A grey-haired man wearing a Marley Creek polo. gaveled the meeting to order. Nicole quietly made her way back to her seat by Zaina while Sean stood with Jasper at the back of the room. Mayor Devin Belmont began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Half an hour later, it was time for the public comments. Sean was glad he wasn’t the first to talk because hehadn’t realized how many incidents had occurred over the past few weeks. Things were not looking good for Jasper right now.
Sean gazed around the room. Zaina was slumped in her chair, Donnie from the bakery was sitting with his hands on his forehead, and Jasper stood with his fists clenched as the first speaker complained about someone recently using her backyard as a urinal. Sean looked to his side to check in on Jasper. His ears were bright red, and his shoulders had drawn forward. Sean nudged him gently with his elbow. “We got this, bro,” he whispered.
The second speaker's story was as bad as the first and it kept going from there. All the speakers before Sean had used their full three minutes to complain about Oktoberfest and ask that it be canceled for the remainder of the season. Butterflies filled his stomach as his name was announced and he walked up to the podium. He turned and handed a copy of his spreadsheet to each of the council members. Then he stood behind the podium and cleared his throat. He was greeted with a quick burst of feedback that woke up anyone who might have dozed off during the meeting. The noise gave him a start. He jumped as even more adrenaline surged through him. He paused for a moment to gather himself and then he began speaking.
“Hi, I’m Sean, the chef and owner of Jesse’s Pub. I’m here to ask that the council consider…” His mind went blank, he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to say next. The room was so quiet he could hear a couple of the elder councilmen breathing. Sweat began beading on his back, and his collar suddenly felt tight.
He looked up, and there was Nicole, smiling and giving him a thumbs up. “You got this,” she mouthed. And he remembered what came next. “I’m asking that you consider allowing Oktoberfest to continue because it is profitable for the businesses of Marley Creek. If you look at my spreadsheet, youcan see the increase in foot traffic and the impact on sales for a wide variety of businesses in the area."
"As many of you know, it’s hard to keep a small business going, especially brick-and-mortar locations. We are often just a couple of bad months from closing, so this event helps us to keep the lights on during the lean times we all know show up with the new year.” He looked up from his paper, bolstered by the faces nodding in the crowd. “Thank you for your consideration.” He turned and nodded to the town council and the mayor and then made his way on shaky legs back to where he’d been standing.
Jasper walked with casual grace up to the podium. He smiled and nodded at several people in the chairs lining the aisle and then began his public comment. He put his hand on his heart and began speaking, “First and foremost, I’d like to apologize to the town council, our Mayor, and the residents of Marley Creek, especially everyone who was impacted by the bad behavior of some of our Oktoberfest guests. I’ve heard what you had to say, and I’ve come up with a plan that II believe addresses the issues and would allow this profitable event to continue benefiting Marley Creek. I mean, those sales tax dollars can add up, and those funds could be used for beautification projects to make our Main Street even more inviting for visitors and residents alike.”
An alarm went off ending his three minutes.
Devin turned off the alarm and waved her hand. “Go on, Mr. Kane.”
Jasper turned back to the group and resumed his plan, ticking off each bullet point with his hand. “One, as of this afternoon I have increased my liability insurance to ten million dollars. Two, members of our Chamber of Commerce have volunteered to work as additional servers and security. I will be donating their pay to the Chamber’s scholarship fund. Three, we will close at eleven p.m. instead of one a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. This should greatly reduce issues that have occurred. Police ChiefHenrick, thank you for all your patience. We will do better from here on out and frankly, I expect not to see you.”
The Chief chuckled, and Jasper continued. “I love being part of this wonderful community and to make amends, Hop’s Heaven will host a family-friendly autumn event. We’ll have pumpkins for decorating, a costume contest for kids and pets, and plenty of food and non-alcoholic drinks.”
A few people in the crowd started clapping. Sean, Nicole, Zaina and the other business owners joined in and soon the whole room was clapping. The little furrow that had developed between Devin’s eyebrows smoothed and Jasper’s smile went up to his eyes.
One of the councilmen tapped the gavel. “Order, order please.”
The room quieted down and Jasper said, “Thank you again for your time. Our first annual Family Fall Fest will be this Sunday, October sixth, from ten a.m. to four p.m. I look forward to seeing all of you there.”
Jasper walked to where he’d been standing at the back of the room with his head held high and his shoulders back.
Sean clapped him on the back. “You did it, great job!”
Jasper fist-bumped Sean and then they stood with bated breath as more townspeople spoke. Jasper hung his head a few times as residents spoke of public urination, vomit on the sidewalks, and an amorous couple on a sidewalk bench. Sean didn’t want to draw attention to his friend’s discomfort, so he didn’t say anything. Fortunately, some of those residents were offset by more local business owners talking about how Oktoberfest was important for their businesses, and even the people who were upset seemed mollified by Jasper’s solution to the problems.
Finally, it was time for the council to vote on the resolution to close down Oktoberfest. A few minutes later, the final vote was cast and the resolution failed four to three. Some peoplegroaned, but quite a few people cheered. Jasper made a beeline to talk to residents who had complained during the public comments, and Sean walked over to Nicole and Zaina.
Nicole put her arm around Sean’s waist. “You were great, Sean. Your spreadsheet made a difference in the voting.”
“I do love data,” he said smiling.
Zaina put up her hand and Sean high-fived her. “We did it!”
“Yes, we did!”
Nicole moved and placed her hand in his. He liked the feeling of her soft hand in his, their fingers entwined. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Nicole.
She nodded, “Yep, but what about Jasper? Did you drive together?
“We did, but he’s good. He said he wanted to walk back no matter the outcome of the vote.”
Nicole grinned. “Let’s go then.”
“I’ll see you later, Zaina.”
