Page 7 of Check You Out

“I’ll keep a table open for you,” Nicole adds with wink.

“Appreciated.” I stare down at the notepad and my hastily written list. “Are we missing anything else?”

Johnny raises his hand. “I have a question!”

“You don’t have to raise your hand,” I say with a smile and a light chuckle.

“But we have a teacher here and Xander set a precedent.” He lowers his raised hand. “Can we organize a protest?”

A corner of Aidan’s mouth curves upward and a dimple flashes.

“Yes,” I reply, trying to keep cool. Those dimples are going to distract me. “Let’s take it one step at a time. We’ll focus on getting the word out for now and put it on the agenda for the next meeting.” I write down the word, “protest?” on my notepad. “Any other questions? Yes, Johnny?”

He lowers his hand. “Can I refuse Gott service if he comes into the pizzeria? Or is that discrimination or a violation of some rights? I’m pissed off that he’s trying to close down our library, and he doesn’t deserve to eat my pizza.”

I suck in air and let out a breath. “I don’t know. I’m not an expert on the First Amendment. I would check with a lawyer on that.”

Nicole snorts. “Didn’t you ban him from coming the restaurant after the Marinara Incident? I think that protects you from any legalities.”

Johnny nods with satisfaction. “That’s right. I did. I hate that guy.”

“So do I,” Xander adds. “Asshole.”

Aidan’s gaze moves to each of us; his brows furrowed in confusion. “Why do you all hate the County Executive?”

“Because he cheated on Charlotte,” Nicole replies, her upper lip curling. “On fucking Prom Night!”

I bite my lower lip. Can we not bring up embarrassing events from fifteen years ago?

Johnny blinks. “He did that?”

Nicole nods. “Some say that was the inciting event for the Marinara Incident.”

Aidan tilts his head to the side. “The Marinara Incident?”

“Gott stole an entire batch of my marinara sauce and dumped it in the gutters,” Johnny adds with a grunt. “The town smelled of garlic and rotten tomatoes for weeks until that hurricane finally washed it all away.”

Lisa G. whirls on him. “What are you talking about? The Marinara Incident was when he dumped marinara sauce into the town fountain. The acidity of the tomatoes messed up the pipes, and I had to fix them.”

Johnny tilts his head to the side. “He definitely poured it in the gutters.”

Lisa W. shakes her head. “You’ve got it wrong. He poured marinara sauce on everyone’s cars on Main Street. The acidity and the sun burned the paint on my brand-new Lexus.”

Xander chuckles. “I’m of the belief that all those events were just parts of The Marinara Incident. He also dumped marinara sauce in the HVAC system at the school.”

Aidan’s mouth gapes. “How is it that a man who committed multiple acts of vandalism as an adult is our County Executive?”

“His dad was a cop, and the whole thing got buried,” I reply.

“All that beautiful marinara wasted,” Johnny moans. He tips his head back, emitting a low groan. “That was one of my best batches too. I’ll never be able to make another as good as that one.”

Lisa W. rests a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll make a better batch someday, Johnny.”

I nod. “Damn right you will.” Taking an audible breath, I continue, “Any other business to take care of tonight?” I glance at the clock behind her. “It’s already nine, and we have a lot of work to do. When should we meet next?”

Aidan doesn’t say much in our closing decisions. Only nods his agreement. We decide on meeting at the library in another week, and Johnny promises pizzas for all of us. After brief goodbyes, we scatter. Nicole mutters something about working at Little Bennett’s. The Lisas need to feed their cat, while Johnny walks away talking into his phone, leaving me with Xander and Aidan, standing on the front porch of the library.

Aidan’s mouth parts like he wants to speak, but nothing comes out.