Redemption (Reunion Book 1)

by Adrienne Ruvalcaba

  “Diego…” his name tumbled from her lips sounding more like a plea. She wanted to know if it was possible for him to be attracted to her again, but she didn’t know what to say to him. What was this moment she found herself caught in? She didn’t know what to say or even how she was supposed to feel, so she looked to him for reassurance. Instead, she found the same mixed emotions she felt, mirrored in his brown eyes.

  Suddenly, the phone at his desk rang, breaking the spell. He placed the call on hold and told her, “I’m sorry, Delilah, but I have to take this. When will you be available to meet with me again?”

  “I’ll read through these papers and stop by again tomorrow evening to discuss a plan for moving forward.”

  “That sounds great,” he said with a smile. “I’ll see you then.”

  As she left the building, Lilah decided to dunk herself in ice-water to cool her overheated body. Parts of her body that had been dormant for months had sprang back to life while in Diego’s presence. It wasn’t fair for a man to be that hot. How on earth was she going to concentrate and keep her demeanor professional around him?

  Lilah stepped out of her rental car and smoothed her skirt down before approaching the small office building before her. She sensed someone watching, so she maintained a pleasant look on her face as she took in the obvious disrepair of the building. It was located in the same part of town she grew up in, the part that nobody seemed to care about. Squeezed in between a liquor store and a pawn shop was a small storefront with the name YouthScape painted on the window.

  A small bell sounded as she walked in the door, and an older gentleman stood up from behind a messy desk to greet her.

  “May I help you, ma’am?” he asked with a smile.

  “Good morning, sir. My name is Delilah Johnson, and I’m consulting with the mayor’s office on the status of non-profit community based organizations in Matagorda County. I’m here to meet with Chester Phillips,” Lilah replied with a friendly smile.

  “Well, I’m Chester. I have a few minutes before I need to get going. One of my mowers is broken, and I’m going to have to get it fixed today. What does the mayor’s office need with me?”

  Lilah swallowed and launched into her little spiel. “As you may have heard, the new mayor has a particular interest in the social health of Bay City. He realizes that there are a number of programs such as yours that may wish to form valuable partnerships with the city. I am here to talk to the directors of programs, assess what needs you may have when it comes funding and requests for resources from the city. Basically, I’m here to see what your program needs from the city,” Lilah said.

  At her words, Chester sat back down and gave her a look of absolute astonishment. “I’ve been doing this for more than twenty years, and no one from the mayor’s office has ever bothered to talk to me, not even when I was interested in trying to see if I could take over maintenance of one of the city parks around here,” he said. “You know that little park just off of Avenue C?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Lilah said with a nod.

  “About five years ago, the city maintenance people let it go to shit, and the kids didn’t even want to play in it. I volunteered to have my youth crew help maintain it, and Mayor Holt basically told me to go to hell. I wasn’t even asking for any resources back then; I was going to supply all the work and equipment through my program,” Chester explained.

  “Well, the new mayor, Mayor Gonzales, has a completely different philosophy,” Lilah assured him. “He asked me to consult with him through the process of getting to know community leaders like you. We’re hosting a meeting in city hall in a couple of weeks. It’s invitation only, and you and one other person from your organization are invited to attend. I have a small survey for you to fill out and return to the mayor’s office one week prior to the meeting.”

  “What kind of survey is it?” Chester asked as he reached out to take the papers she held out to him.

  “It’s a community needs assessment. We would like for you to present the need you see in your area of expertise along with ideas for possible solutions. This meeting isn’t going to be just dreaming and visioning; we are asking for goals with measurable results that are specific and attainable. Will you be able to attend?”

  “I sure will,” Chester said in a thoughtful tone. “This new mayor, I’ve heard he’s a pretty young guy.”

  “Yes, he is the youngest mayor in Bay City history. Do you have time to tell me a little more about your program, so I can make some notes for the mayor to look over today?” Lilah said.

  Chester looked down at his desk for a moment. He pushed a stack of cards from one side to the other several times as he thought about what he wanted to say. Eventually he handed Lilah one of the cards and said, “You can keep my card. I started YouthScape about twenty years ago when I first retired from the Marines. I grew up in this neighborhood, and I was sad to see the way it looked when I got back here in the 90’s. Young people were just running wild a lot of the time, especially the ones who dropped out of high school. I also noticed that there were a lot of abandoned properties and a lot of people who weren’t able to keep up with their yard maintenance. I started going out alone with just one push mower. I would cut grass and weed eat from sun up to sun down. After a few months, young men started asking me if they could join in. People in the neighborhood also started giving me donations. It didn’t really amount to much at first, just a dollar or two here or there. Now, I take in enough in donations to pay a small stipend to the ten young men who volunteer with me. We cut elderly yards for free, we clear the sidewalks that the city misses, and I train them on landscaping and yard maintenance. Most of them go on to work for the parks and rec department after they get too old for my program. I used to do gardening, but nowadays the landscaping takes up all of my time. I have two riding mowers, five push mowers, ten weed eaters, and gardening equipment that I picked up second hand over the years.”

  When he stopped, Lilah consulted her list again. According to the notes on his program, it was funded on donations, volunteer labor, and Chester’s personal finances alone. “Have you ever thought about applying for grant funding?” she asked.

  “I can’t really apply for grants. I was told my program isn’t eligible for most of the funding out there,” he answered with a sad look. “I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to do all the work myself, and when I pass on, my retirement money goes with me. This is the first year I’ve even had an office. The man who used to own this one left it to me when he passed last year. I thought about using it for meetings, but having kids meet right next to a liquor store just doesn’t feel right to me. I might try to sell it, but I don’t know who would want to buy it.”

  “Okay, we can certainly deal with some of your concerns,” Lilah said as she jotted down notes. “One thing I can tell you right now is that you will be eligible for a lot more funding opportunities if you were to apply for 501c3 status with the IRS.”

  “Umm… What is that?” Chester asked with a frown.

  “It’s a status naming you as a non-profit organization. A lot of federal grants require organizations to have that status before they apply, but it isn’t necessary for all grants. If you attend the meeting, I will be going over funding applications in more detail,” Lilah replied.

  Chester glanced at his watch and jumped up. “I have to go so I can meet some of the boys up at my storage shed. I’ll get this survey done as soon as I can,” he said as he escorted her out the door.

  “It was nice to meet you, Chester,” Lilah said before shaking his hand and moving on to her next appointment.

  On impulse, she decided to take a detour to the park Chester had mentioned. She was surprised to see its obvious state of disrepair. Lilah remembered playing in that park as a child. Her mother had sometimes sat under a tree and read for hours while she had scampered up and down the slides and jungle gyms. Now, it had weeds growing over everything except the basketball court. Despite the state of the
park, there was a small crowd of people standing near the pavilion next to the basketball courts. A woman stood up on top of one of the picnic tables, and started talking to the crowd while holding up a picture of a child. Lilah parked her car, and decided to listen.

  She hovered on the outskirts of the little gathering and soaked in as much information about the rally as she could. The woman with the picture introduced herself as Jannetta Smalls. As she told her story about losing her youngest daughter to child abuse, tears ran down her face. When she finished telling her story, she hopped off the table and gave the next person a chance to speak. Lilah watched as more than ten people stood on the picnic table and told stories of the loved ones they had lost to violence. Most of the stories had involved some form of domestic violence, including stalking and partner abuse. As she listened, Lilah also searched her documents for programs which focused on domestic violence prevention. After some time, she released a sigh. The only programs on her list were focused more on helping victims after the violence had already occurred. The rally seemed to be on the verge of wrapping up when Lilah spied police lights approaching the park.

  “Here they come again,” someone in the crowd said as the rally came to a standstill.

  Jannetta hopped back on the table and said, “Everybody, just remember what happened last time and remain calm.”

  Lilah refrained from asking what happened last time. She merely hung back and watched as the patrolman exited his squad car and approached the gathering.

  “I thought I told you people last week that you can’t loiter here. Don’t you see the ‘no loitering’ signs posted all around the perimeter of this park?” the officer demanded with a frown.

  Jannetta’s hands tightened around the poster of her deceased child as she replied, “Officer Sanders, you know we don’t have another place around here to meet.”

  “That’s not my problem,” he said. “I’ve already given you all the warnings you’re going to get. Today, I’m writing citations.”

  A chorus of grumbles moved through the crowd, and Lilah decided to step forward at that point. Many of the people in the crowd wore clothing that indicated poverty. She knew the looks on their faces very well, because she and her mother had often worn the same looks when faced with something they knew they could not afford. Clearly, these people didn’t have the extra money to pay a fine, even if it was a small one. Before becoming a published author, Lilah had consulted with several community organizations in cities that tended towards funding their governments through heavy fines heaped among poor citizens for minor infractions. It was the sort of thing that made her blood boil every time she thought about it, much less witnessed it firsthand.

  Her blood pressure spiked as she stepped forward and demanded, “Since when is holding a peaceful rally in a public park during the day considered loitering, Officer Sanders?”

  “Was I talking to you?” he demanded with a great deal of scorn.

  “It doesn’t matter if you were talking to me or not,” Lilah pressed. “The signs say ‘no loitering after dark,’ and it’s not dark right now. It seems to me that you have no reason to write a citation. These people are only exercising their right to freedom of assembly. The only restriction that might remotely apply is the time, place, and manner restriction which states that the free speech activity cannot interfere with the normal activity of a particular place at a particular time. From what I’ve observed, this peaceful rally has in no way interfered with the normal use of this park.”

  Officer Sanders gave her a quick double take, and someone in the crowd said, “I hope someone has a camera phone to record this.”

  At the mention of recording, Officer Sanders briefly turned away from Lilah and said, “There won’t be any recording. If you have a phone, you better not pull it out.”

  A collective murmur of frustration went through the crowd at his words, and Lilah thought carefully about the next words out of her mouth. She didn’t want to cause trouble, but backing down felt completely wrong to her. She turned and addressed the people with a smile and some carefully chosen words.

  “I know you all are probably wondering why some random person decided to join your anti-violence rally. My name is Delilah Johnson, and Mayor Gonzales hired me to consult with him this month on a community needs assessment. Today, I’m meeting with the directors of non-profit organizations and community leaders who are using volunteer service to help make Bay City a better place. I’m here to extend an invitation to Miss Jannetta Smalls to come to a meeting with the mayor and police chief this month,” she said, keeping her demeanor friendly.

  The strategic name dropping worked to make Officer Sanders back off and try a softer approach. “You work for the mayor?” he asked in a quieter and much more reasonable tone.

  “Yes, I do,” Lilah nodded. “If you would like to call the mayor’s office or the police chief and give them my name, they can confirm that for you.”

  “Okay, I’m going to do that,” he said as he pulled out his cell phone. He looked like he thought she might be bluffing, but he made the call anyway. After a quick conversation, he turned back to Lilah and said, “Welcome to Bay City, Ma’am. Maybe you should let the mayor know that this park isn’t the best place to let Miss Smalls have her weekly meetings. We get noise complaints from the old lady next to the park, and it’s our job to check them out.”

  “I’ll make sure I address that issue when I meet with them tonight to give an update on my progress,” Lilah said with a smile.

  As Officer Sanders walked away, the people in the crowd enveloped Lilah, and questions flew at her from every angle.

  “Was that for real?”

  “Do you really know the mayor?”

  “Why does the mayor want to meet Jannetta?”

  “He usually makes us all go home after that old bird calls him!”

  “Where did you come from?”

  Lilah was able to answer several questions as she disengaged from the crowd and approached Jannetta.

  “Why did you lie for me?” Jannetta asked once they were out of earshot of everyone else.

  “I didn’t lie. You might not be on the list, but I could tell from watching you today that you are exactly the kind of person we need at this meeting. That was a real invitation I was preparing to extend to you when Officer Sanders showed up. How long have you been hosting these rallies?” Lilah said.

  “Almost a year now. All we do is get together and talk about friends and family we’ve lost. I don’t have money to donate to a cause, and I’ve never volunteered at a shelter… All we do is talk about it,” Jannetta replied.

  “What you are doing is considered indirect service. You are raising awareness for a cause, and that counts as something,” Lilah said as she reached out and placed a hand on Jannetta’s shoulder. “I’m going to leave you with one of my cards and a survey. The survey is an assessment of the needs you see in your area. You’ll have to turn it in a week before the meeting. Basically, we are looking for ways the city can connect with people like you to provide resources you need to continue your community service. It seems to me like you need a dedicated time and place to hold these meetings. You might also benefit from guest speakers who have some sort of expertise in social health, behavioral health, and violence prevention. All you have to do is tell us what your mission is and how we can help.”

  Jannetta started crying as she accepted the papers from Lilah. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll be at the meeting.”

  “I look forward to seeing you there,” Lilah said as she offered her a hug. “I can’t stay any longer. I was actually on my way to another meeting when I came across your rally. If I wasn’t running late, I would stay and learn a little more about you. Thanks for everything you are doing in the community.” With those words, Lilah strode back to her rental car.

  By the end of the day, Lilah had met with most of the directors on her list. She arrived back at City Hall just in time for her scheduled meeting with Diego. She still
wasn’t used to thinking of him as the mayor. Prior to walking in, she thought she was prepared to see him again. She had stopped by the restroom to make sure she looked calm and professional, but when he came out to greet her, she felt her cool façade rapidly melt away. His smile was as genuine as it was captivating, and she couldn’t help smiling back.

  Last night, there had been a little glimpse of something between them, but tonight he kept his demeanor very professional. She hated that she still cared so much what he thought of her. She told herself that she would stop thinking about the way he had held her and kissed her at the reunion, but the more she tried to avoid those thoughts, the more they crowded everything else out of her mind. She wanted him to look at her the way he had that night. By the end of the meeting, her body was feeling over stimulated and frazzled, and he still looked as cool as a cucumber.

  She was gathering her notes when he approached her and said, “You’ve had a pretty full day, haven’t you?”

  “You could say that,” she responded carefully.

  “Now that everyone else is gone, would you like to elaborate on the call I received from Officer Sanders today?” he asked.

  With a sinking feeling, Lilah sat back down and said, “I was driving by the park, when I saw an anti-violence rally in progress. I was going to invite the organizer to the meeting, but Officer Sanders showed up and started threatening to issue citations for loitering. All I did was explain to him why he shouldn’t do that.”

  “And you told him to call me to vouch for you,” he added.

  “Was that okay? I couldn’t think of anything else to do, and things might have gotten kind of ugly.” She resisted the constant urge to slouch as she looked up at him.

  “You look worried,” he said as he smiled down at her. “Everything you did today was spot on. I just wanted to hear your take on what happened. I received more than three calls today from people wanting to know more about you. They asked if you work for the city. People seem to like you.”