Weaving the Strands (6 page)

Chapter 14

The notice from the mayor’s office,
copied and slipped under every resident’s door, caused quite a stir. Gloria
called Glenn the minute she got it.

“What does this mean?” she asked. “Increase in
fees? I’ve got a five-year lease. How do they think they can just come in here
and charge more? That’s what I want to know.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Glenn
replied. “There must be something in the fine print of our leases that allows
this. I’ve been trying to find my copy. Nancy kept all the files. I don’t know
where she put it,” he said with a hint of frustration.

“If they’re going to do this anyway, why have a
meeting?” Gloria wondered.

“They probably want buy-in from all of us
residents. They’re afraid they’ll have a mutiny on their hands. Unless I miss
my mark, we’re very good tenants. I’d be willing to bet that everybody here
pays their rent on time.”

“You know they do!” Gloria responded. “I’m going
to that meeting, that’s for sure. I’ve read good things about both this new
mayor and Councilwoman Holmes. I’m sure everything will be fine. But it’s hard
not to worry.”

“I agree. I’ll swing by your place tomorrow and we
can walk over together.”

Over the prior few weeks, one shared meal turned
into many as Glenn and Gloria explored memories from their pasts and discussed
current events and interests, both finding the allure of genuine friendship and
compatibility irresistible. Gloria had worried about the gossipy locals
branding them a couple, a concern she shared with Glenn since he might find the
rumors hurtful as a recent widower. For his part, Glenn had never taken much
stock in people’s opinions and was only uneasy about anything disrespectful of
Gloria. In the end, the comfort they both took in their developing friendship
had carried the day, and they had quickly become a daily fixture in each
other’s lives.

Gloria and Glenn arrived at the dining hall
twenty-five minutes before the scheduled meeting with the mayor and
Councilwoman Holmes. All the seats had been taken, and the maintenance crew was
setting up folding chairs. Glenn ushered Gloria to the last available folding
chair and took a spot along the sidelines.

Mayor Martin and Councilwoman Holmes arrived right
on time. The mayor stepped to the podium and addressed the residents of
Fairview Terraces. “Thank you all for coming here this morning. My office has
been swamped with calls and emails, and I’m sorry I haven’t responded. We felt
it would be best to talk to everyone at once.” She scanned the anxious faces of
the residents. Decent, hardworking people who had lived up to their obligations
all of their lives and now wanted a peaceful retirement.
Who could blame
them?
Maggie swallowed hard and continued with her difficult message.

“We haven’t come here to alarm you, but I can see
that you’re concerned. Nothing I’m about to tell you will happen right away.
But we have decisions to make.

“Let me get to the point,” she continued.
“Fairview Terraces is a nonprofit corporation, organized to own and run this
facility. It subleases the real estate that your apartments are located on from
Westbury’s pension fund. The fund holds the property as the tenant on a
long-term ground lease. For years, the payments we received from Fairview
Terraces—the sum of your rental payments—have been enough to make
the payment on the ground lease.” She scanned the crowd and glanced at Tonya,
who nodded encouragingly.

“Several months ago, the lessor increased the rent
under the ground lease and the pension fund has not been able to make the
increased payment. In response, the lessor has filed a foreclosure action
against the fund. I’ve called this meeting because the lessor will be posting
foreclosure notices on the property tomorrow. I didn’t want anyone to see them
without knowing what’s going on.” Maggie paused to let this sink in. She was
greeted with a sea of puzzled faces.

This is as dreadful as I thought it would be,
she realized. “If the lessor forecloses, your leases may be terminated and you will
be forced to move out.” This remark hit home, prompting a collective gasp from
the audience. The residents turned to their neighbors in disbelief. Hands shot
up all over the room.

Maggie motioned for quiet, which quickly ensued in
a room full of people who were by nature courteous and polite. “We believe that
the ground lease provision regarding the increase is ambiguous. We’ve been in
contact with the lessor and the pension fund is prepared to file suit if
necessary. The foreclosure won’t go forward during the pendency of the suit.
We’re also looking at ways to raise the money, both for the arrearage and on an
ongoing basis if the increase is valid.”

“Won’t you look to us for the extra money?”
someone in the back asked. “Aren’t we the only ones with a vested interest in
this place?”

At this point, Tonya Holmes rose and approached
the podium. “Not necessarily,” she stated. “A rent increase is one possible solution,
sure. And it will probably be part of the solution.”

“How can you do that?” an elderly gentleman
interrupted, gesticulating with his cane before leaning on it again for
support. “We’ve got leases. You can’t just start charging us more rent.”

“Your leases contain a clause that allows the
pension fund to pass on increases in the ground lease,” Tonya replied. “But we
assure you that this is a last resort. And we’d raise rents as little as possible.
We’re going to fight the lessor on this increase.”

“We came out here today so that you’d hear the
facts instead of just rumors,” Maggie reiterated. “And our very last resort
will be to exercise our rights to raise your rent. You have my word on that.”

Glenn raised his hand. “If you’re not successful
in defeating this increase and you don’t want to raise our rents, where else
could the funds come from?”

“That’s a very good question,” Tonya responded.
“We’re exploring options. We could charge fees to the vendors that supply goods
and services to Fairview. We could hold a fundraiser.” Tonya smiled at Maggie.
“Our mayor is good at that.”

Another hand shot up, and a diminutive woman
stood. “You won’t see me if I don’t stand,” she joked. “I’d like to suggest
that we lease out our recreation room for events and parties. We’ve got a
really nice facility and we don’t use it very much. I’ve thought that for
years. We could raise some money that way.”

“That’s a terrific idea,” Tonya stated.

“Any other ideas come to mind?” Maggie asked.

Gloria chimed in. “We could open a small gift
shop. We have the space, and we’ve got residents who turn out gorgeous arts and
crafts.”

“And maybe once a month we could hold a bake
sale,” added the woman on her right. “We could advertise it around town. Hold
it on Saturday mornings.”

“We could hold a farmers market on our front
lawn,” called out a man standing in the back. “Charge a fee to each vendor.”

“That’d be a lot of fun,” agreed two women
simultaneously.

Maggie and Tonya exchanged a relieved glance. These
people were resourceful.

“I’m inspired by your can-do spirit. I want to
encourage you to keep thinking of ideas to generate income.” Maggie’s eyes
swept the audience. “Most of all, I don’t want anyone losing sleep over this.
We’ve got a long way to go. You had to be informed. For now, the attorneys and
Councilman Frank Haynes are working with the lessor to get this issue resolved.
Fairview Terraces is in his district, and I know he’s very devoted to you. I’ve
seen him working late into the night at Town Hall. His business experience
makes him uniquely qualified to tackle this issue.” She noted with satisfaction
the nods of approval from the crowd.

“If you have any additional questions after all
this sinks in,” she concluded, “you know where to find me. Councilmembers
Holmes and Haynes and I are available to you at any time. And keep generating
those inspiring suggestions!”

Chapter 15

Maggie reluctantly logged off her
computer shortly after six. Now that she wasn’t giving John a ride home from
physical therapy anymore, there was no reason to leave the office any earlier.
At least Eve would be waiting to greet her, wagging her tail, and turning in
circles at the sound of Maggie’s key in the door.

As she headed for the elevator, Maggie noticed
that Frank Haynes was working late again. She bypassed the elevator bank and
headed toward his office. He was bent over a pile of documents strewn over his
desk, making notes on a legal pad. He hadn’t heard her approach and started
when she spoke.

“Burning the midnight oil, Frank?”

He looked up and ran his fingers through his
thinning hair. “This ground lease thing is a mess. The factors that play into
the rent increase are extremely complex. I’m going through the lessor’s calculations,
but can’t verify their figures.”

“Thank you, Frank. That’s exactly what we need to
have done. Can anyone in accounting help you?”

“Honestly, no. They’ve tried. Nobody understands
this. Alex is also working on it.”

“I’m sure the two of you can get to the bottom of
anything.”

“Actually, we were hoping to put our conclusions
together and run them by you. You’re an accountant after all.”

Maggie nodded. “I’d be happy to go over them.”

He rested his head in his hands.

“Frank, you look exhausted. I think you need to go
home and get some rest. Why don’t you walk out with me?”

Haynes met her gaze. He straightened his shoulders
and paused, as if weighing a momentous decision. Maggie raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, Frank. This will all be here tomorrow.”

“I guess you’re right. I wasn’t making any
progress, anyway. I’ll pick it up first thing tomorrow,” Haynes replied with a
tired smile.

The evening air felt chilly when they exited
through the rear door; there would be frost on the grass in the morning. Haynes
loved this time of year. Impulsively, he turned to Maggie. “Are you on your way
to pick up the good doctor?”

“No,” Maggie sighed. “I’m not doing that anymore.”
Haynes noted the sadness in her voice.
Trouble in paradise?
he wondered.

“If you don’t have other plans, why don’t we grab
a bite to eat?” he suggested tentatively.

Maggie regarded him thoughtfully. “Thank you,
Frank. Can I take a rain check? I’ve got to head home to feed and walk my dog.
She’s been inside all day.”

Frank looked genuinely disappointed, she realized.
“Will you be at Town Hall tomorrow? Maybe we could grab lunch?”

“No,” he replied stiffly. “I’ve got business
meetings all day. That’s okay—just a thought.”

“You understand about dogs,” Maggie said,
referring to his well-known status as the founder and principal funder of
Forever Friends.

“Yes, that I do,” he conceded.

Maggie decided to press the point; if she had an
opportunity to forge a cooperative professional relationship with Frank Haynes,
she needed to seize it. “The next time you’re at Town Hall during the day,
please let me know and I’ll buy you lunch. I’ll rearrange whatever’s on my calendar.”

Haynes smiled in spite of himself. “If you insist.
I’ll be back before the end of the week.”

“Terrific. Just give me a call,” she said as she
reached her car. “Have a good night. And Frank, thanks for working so hard to
get things straightened out for the residents of Fairview Terraces.”

No need to tell her that he couldn’t have cared
less about them, he thought as she drove off. He was just following Upton’s
advice to get on her good side.

***

Maggie slung her purse over her
shoulder shortly after one o’clock on Friday. She had been waiting all week for
Frank Haynes to accept her offer to buy lunch, but he hadn’t contacted her. She
had misgivings about the whole idea anyway since she still resented the way he
had taken credit for the Easter carnival at Rosemont. It could have been an
innocent mistake and, frankly, what politician didn’t try to steal the
limelight whenever possible? But after how much work she had put into the
event, it still raised her hackles.

She rounded the corner of Town Hall to find Frank
Haynes pulling into the lot. She momentarily considered darting into the trees
along the sidewalk and pretending she hadn’t seen him.
For heaven’s sake,
she
scolded herself.
You’re not in kindergarten. Act like a grown-up. You
offered to have lunch with him, so march on over there and ask if he’s hungry.
If
she were lucky, he’d already have eaten and would turn her down.

“Hello, Frank,” she said as he retrieved his
briefcase from the backseat. “I was hoping to run into you. I’d still like to
take you to lunch.”

Haynes looked startled and hesitated before
responding.

He doesn’t want to spend time with me any more
than I want to spend time with him,
Maggie realized. That’s why he hasn’t
been around all week and got here so late today. His reluctance intrigued her.
She pressed him again before he could reply. “Come on, if you’ve already eaten,
you can keep me company. I was just going to walk over to Pete’s for a quick
bite.”

Trapped, Haynes nodded. “Sure. And no, I haven’t
eaten. Sorry I haven’t been back all week. I’ve been busy. But I could spare
thirty minutes for a sandwich.”

They made the short walk to Pete’s Bistro in
silence. Pete looked at Maggie quizzically when she asked for a table for two.
After the unlikely pair had placed their orders, Haynes launched into a summary
of his findings on the ground lease issue. Maggie held up a hand to interrupt
him.

“That’s terribly important and I know you’ve done
an incredible amount of work to get to this point. I want to hear what you’ve
uncovered, but not now. We’ve only got a few minutes to eat, and I’d like a
break from thinking about all of this. I want to get to know you better.”

Haynes drew a deep breath. “Not much to tell that
you don’t already know,” he replied gruffly. “Born and raised here. Own a
conglomerate of fast-food restaurants and other investments. Member of the town
council. That’s it.”

“That’s definitely not it,” Maggie smiled. “You’re
the force behind Forever Friends, such a wonderful thing to have done for the
community. Tell me about your pets. Have you always been a dog lover? Eve is my
very first dog. I can’t imagine how I’d ever live without a dog again.”

Haynes smiled with genuine pleasure.
That’s his
soft spot,
Maggie realized.

“I rescued a stray when I was ten,” he said. “A
big mutt of indiscriminate pedigree. He was a grand dog—healthy as a
horse—who died at the age of seventeen, when I was in college. I’ve had
at least one dog ever since. Always strays. Pretty soon I was collecting them
right and left. Decided I needed somewhere to take them. So I set up the
shelter.”

Maggie nodded. “What do you have now?”

“I’ve got a Border collie mix. She’s a marvelous
dog. I’ve also got an oversized calico cat. She adopted me about five years
ago, just moved right in.”

“I’ve heard cats do that sometimes. I’m surprised
one hasn’t adopted me. I found Eve in that snowstorm when she escaped from
Forever Friends. I’d say she adopted me.”

“And that’s how you met your boyfriend? Dr. Allen?”

“That’s how I met him, yes, but we’re not seeing
each other anymore. How about you? Have you been married? Do you have
children?” she asked before he could inquire further about her relationship
with John.

“I’m divorced; have been for a long time. We didn’t
have any children,” he answered gruffly.

Maggie looked at him thoughtfully. “You’ve got to
be one of the most eligible bachelors in town. Have you wanted to remarry? Or
just having too much fun playing the field?”

Haynes blushed in spite of himself. “I don’t have
time to play the field. Between Haynes Enterprises, the town council, and
Forever Friends, I don’t have much free time.”

Maggie smiled. “I know what you mean. With
Westbury’s financial crisis, being mayor is all-consuming. Besides, I’m not so
sure I want to remarry. And I don’t know how I’d meet someone, anyway.”

She glanced at her watch. “We’d better get back,”
she said, signaling for the check. “This has been fun. I’ve enjoyed getting to
know you better. Thanks for joining me.”

Frank Haynes smiled and realized he couldn’t
remember the last time anyone had treated him to lunch.