Page 94 of Happily Ever After

“Good,” she said. “This looks very encouraging.”

They counted carefully, Paige reading numbers aloud while Graham marked them down. When they finished, Paige sat back in her chair. “Three hundred and sixty. That’s more than I expected.”

“Fine showing,” Graham said, taking a drink of his water.

They moved on to Maude’s. Paige’s eyebrows climbed higher with every page.

“Maude went hard,” she said.

“She does tend to,” Graham replied.

“You can say that again.” Paige rechecked the figures she’d just added up. “Maude got four hundred and seventy-nine. I can’t believe it. But I double-checked.”

“Good show, Maude!” Graham smiled.

Blaise’s envelope came next. Paige laughed softly as she flipped through it. “Brick and Blaise did fantastically, too. Four hundred and twenty-three.”

“No one says no to a Marine,” Graham said. “Or so I hear.”

Cece’s stack was thick and meticulously organized. Paige shook her head in disbelief. “She and Joe must have hit every street. Look at all these.”

Graham nodded. “They clearly understood the assignment.”

She finished tallying and gave him a look. “You’re not going to believe this.”

“How many?” he asked.

“Five hundred and thirty-five.” She reached for her glass and took a sip. Counting was tedious work, but this was becoming almost fun.

“Now that’s impressive.”

Finally, Althea’s. Paige paused as she opened it and pulled out the sheath of papers. A yellow sticky note sat on top. “This might be my favorite.”

Graham glanced her. “Why?”

“Because she wrote a note.” Paige read it aloud. “‘People signed for reasons we may never know. Don’t underestimate quiet support.’”

Graham smiled. “Wise words.”

“Wise woman.” Paige went to work counting up the signatures on each sheet and punching them into the calculator. “Okay, two hundred and four.”

“A worthy addition.” Graham sat back. “That leaves our effort.”

She nodded and opened their envelope. It was no coincidence she’d left it for last. “Here, you take half. I don’t think we’re going to get first place, but I imagine we did all right.”

They counted their signatures in silence. Graham handed his numbers over, then Paige went to work on the calculator. When she wrote down the final number, she didn’t say anything right away.

“What is it,” he asked.

She shook her head and slid the legal pad and calculator over to him. “Check these for me.”

He obliged while she watched his face.

He slid the legal pad toward her. “All done.”

Paige stared at the number. Then she stared at it a little harder. “That can’t be right.”

Graham folded his arms. “It is. I checked it twice.”