A novella in 21 chapters
The Plot: Chapter 3
Outrage
Leah
Word had got around.
Usually, meetings at the Plot attracted a scant handful of attendees. For tonight’s special meeting, the little clubhouse, a superannuated construction site porta-cabin, was in danger of popping open like an overripe seed pod.
A few members had watched the planning committee rubber-stamping farce online, she knew. She’d read the comments. Only Vince Russo had attended the Town Hall in person — there to deliver an impassioned, rambling and, thanks to microphone issues, largely inaudible objection to the resiting of the community garden.
It was the usual story. Political history is made by those who show up and, by and large, the development’s opponents had not shown up.
Of course, there had been lobbying and backroom deals before the meeting, but a stronger display of opposition might have swayed a vote or two in favour of the community garden.
Now it was too late. The unthinkable had happened, and everyone was outraged.
It was understandable, but such a waste of energy, the outrage after the fact. The other side, the developers with their financial backers and their urban renewal buzzwords, had shown tenacity and focus when…
