Page 80 of Happily Ever After

Paige shook her head. “That changes what it is. Not to mention we’d have to move it to a different location. I don’t have the room for many more people. None of us do.”

Maude tapped her pen against the table. “We could challenge her publicly.”

“And give her more publicity?” Cece asked. “I don’t know about that.”

“Good point,” Maude said.

They went back and forth, ideas offered and set aside, tension creeping in as the clock ticked on.

Then Essie lifted her hand and spoke up. “Maybe I’m missing something, but the simplest fix seems to be to change the bylaws. So why don’t we do that?”

The room went still.

Paige blinked and looked at her. “That actually would be the simplest.”

Essie nodded as she sat straighter, hands folded on the table. “It needs doing. They’re outdated. And clearly open to misuse. So let’s fix them.”

Joe tilted his head, a twinkle in his eyes. “Go on.”

“We start a petition and gather signatures,” Essie said. “We canvas the Colony. We explain that this isn’t about one group, but about protecting residents’ ability to gather freely without fear of arbitrary enforcement.”

Blaise’s eyes lit. “We’d get signatures?”

“You’d have to,” Joe said. “Changing the bylaws would require a simple majority, which in the case of the Colony means about a thousand signatures.”

“A thousand?” Maude’s brows went up. “Yikes.”

“I don’t think it would be that hard,” Essie insisted, giving Maude’s arm a little touch. “Especially when we explain what those signatures are for. What residents are in danger of losing otherwise. People here like their routines, and those routines include things like their groups and clubs. Essentially, this comes down to freedom.”

Maude smiled slowly. “Okay, I like that.”

“We can totally do this,” Cece said. “Especially if we get Ollie and Graham and Brick to help us.”

Blaise snorted. “You want Brick to go door to door asking for signatures? He’s not exactly known for his conversational skills.”

“But he won the bakeoff,” Paige said. “So people know who he is. And he’d do anything for you.”

“Maybe,” Blaise said, smiling.

“And,” Cece quickly added. “I’ll write an article about what’s going on for The Buzz. I’ll get it out immediately.”

Paige looked at Joe. “What do you think?”

Joe nodded. “It could work. Especially if you demonstrate broad community support.”

Althea tapped her cane lightly against the floor. “Darcy won’t like it and that’s all the motivation I need. Lester will help me. We might not manage as many as the rest of you, but we’ll get our share.”

Cece reached for Paige’s hand and squeezed. “Then it’s settled. I’ll get started on that writeup this afternoon.”

Paige looked around at her friends, her allies in this fight, and felt hope return. “Okay,” she said. “We’ve got work to do.”

“I can make up the forms,” Essie said. “I’ll send them to you to look at, Cece.”

Cece nodded. “I’ve got reams of paper stored away. I’ll get them all printed. And I have a bunch of clipboards we can use.”

“I’ll map out the community into districts, so we don’t overlap,” Maude said. “I’ll send the assignments out by email.”

“I have a call in the morning,” Blaise said. “But I can spend the rest of the day canvassing after that. With Brick,” she added. “Whether he likes it or not.”