At exactly 4 pm on Friday, two small vans arrived at the Campions' house, one from each local TV station capable of news-gathering. Each van contained a very young camera-person and a very young reporter armed with a microphone. Did they know what they were doing? Edwina wondered.
She had borrowed a tiny PA system from the college the day before and had practiced with it. Orville had set the speakers on the porch and stood on the sidewalk as the sun set, gesturing up, up, at her several times until there was no further to go on the volume control. “Really?” Edwina had said, and turned it back down a notch.
A few folding chairs had been made available. Ben sat in one of them with a worried look. Kendall stood next to him, hopping from one foot to the other. The other chairs were empty but surrounded by half a dozen curious neighbors, a science teacher from the high school with some students, a few players and parents from the Little League team that practiced several blocks away, the owner of a nearby grocery store, a girl in a wheelchair pushed by an old man, a waiter Edwina recognized from the restaurant, and Dr. Amos Bobbitt. Kendall’s friend, a gangly older teen, loped up to him to confer about something on a cell phone. An old Ford pickup truck skidded into the curb, stopped, and two burly middle-aged men clambered out, laughing. Across the street and one house down a police car sat politely idling. Edwina wondered why the few people she’d invited from Biology had not shown up. But it was time to begin.
From the porch Orville waved, shouted, then used the PA microphone to get everyone’s attention. “This is a great day,” he said. “Solar energy is here!” Taken aback by his own enthusiasm, he quickly handed the mic to Edwina, who seemed to shimmer and turn into someone else before his eyes as she began to speak. She’d put on higher heels for this event, but it was more than that. She had something to say and people were listening. Ted had written a very dry explanation of how the solar panels worked, but Edwina made it lively. After describing how the system worked, she approached her conclusion: “Every appliance in our house is now powered by free energy from the sun. And when the sun gets too hot in a couple of months, we’ll be using it to run the air-conditioning too, kind of like fooling Mother Nature!”
“What happened to Feenie Huggins?” someone called out. It was the grocery store owner. “She used to work for me! I just want to know what happened!” The police were aware of Mrs. Huggins’s attempt to smash the panels, but they had not spread the news.
“Josephine Huggins was curious about what we were doing on the roof, and climbed up there to see for herself," Edwina told the owner and everyone else. "It was very early in the morning. Unfortunately, she fell. I am so, so sorry that happened; it was an awful day that we will never forget. She was a very MOTIVATED person and I hope she will be remembered fondly."
"Will there be a funeral?" the girl in the wheelchair asked.
"We found out that she signed up long ago to be an organ donor, so there will be no burial," said Edwina, not really knowing about any funeral. "But let’s have a moment of silence now for Mrs. Huggins.”
The crowd obeyed. Until Kendall cried out, “She was trying to smash the solar panels! She had a hammer!” The people started buzzing. Why? What had Feenie been thinking? Who could prove this? Had anyone actually seen her do this? Could she have gotten in a fight on the roof with someone? Some of them had known her, and muttered that it did not sound like something Feenie would do. Didn't she have a grandson she was raising?
“It’s OK, it’s OK,” Ben said to Kendall to calm him, but that brief burst was apparently all Kendall had needed to share with the world. He and his friend began looking at the cell phone again.
“Please understand, folks!” said Orville, leaning into the mic. “Mrs. Huggins meant well.” The doors of the police car opened and two cops approached, leisurely, but with hands on holsters. “Are they going to arrest someone for killing Feenie?” someone asked loudly.
Edwina quickly turned her volume knob all the way up. “Josephine Huggins believed that solar panels were a bad thing,” she said, her voice filling the agitated air. “We don’t know who told her that or why. She probably saw it on the internet. There is a lot of wrong information out there. We asked her to stop, but she became more determined. Then she fell.”
“Who pushed her?” shouted one of the men from the pickup truck before he saw the policeman just a few feet away. He grinned and waved. “Hey, George. Not tryin’ to make trouble, just askin’ for the truth.” George shrugged. “We have the report at the station if you want to come look at it.”
“Listen to me!" Edwina said authoritatively. "Mrs. Huggins fell because she tried to stand up on the roof. Please don’t start rumors; it’s not nice! We have explained that solar panels are a GOOD thing, and are proud to have the first solar-powered house in town. If anyone wants to take a closer look, my husband will help you climb one of these ladders.”
“Don’t know if I want to take that chance,” the same man called out. But the kids from the high school, prodded by their teacher, came forward to climb the ladder. Orville was ready.
A TV gal with a microphone rushed up, putting an end to any more public speaking. “Ms. Campion! What really happened that day?” the girl asked, the camera guy beside her aiming at Edwina. Now she’d have to repeat herself, Edwina supposed, but was happy to have gotten a reporter’s attention finally.
Just before starting her answer, Edwina saw Yejide Johnson and her mother arriving. So late, Edwina thought, and then realized that Mrs. Johnson had been the only employee at S&C until 5 pm. It was now 5:10, and Edwina thought everything had gone well, considering.
— Macoff
She had borrowed a tiny PA system from the college the day before and had practiced with it. Orville had set the speakers on the porch and stood on the sidewalk as the sun set, gesturing up, up, at her several times until there was no further to go on the volume control. “Really?” Edwina had said, and turned it back down a notch.
A few folding chairs had been made available. Ben sat in one of them with a worried look. Kendall stood next to him, hopping from one foot to the other. The other chairs were empty but surrounded by half a dozen curious neighbors, a science teacher from the high school with some students, a few players and parents from the Little League team that practiced several blocks away, the owner of a nearby grocery store, a girl in a wheelchair pushed by an old man, a waiter Edwina recognized from the restaurant, and Dr. Amos Bobbitt. Kendall’s friend, a gangly older teen, loped up to him to confer about something on a cell phone. An old Ford pickup truck skidded into the curb, stopped, and two burly middle-aged men clambered out, laughing. Across the street and one house down a police car sat politely idling. Edwina wondered why the few people she’d invited from Biology had not shown up. But it was time to begin.
From the porch Orville waved, shouted, then used the PA microphone to get everyone’s attention. “This is a great day,” he said. “Solar energy is here!” Taken aback by his own enthusiasm, he quickly handed the mic to Edwina, who seemed to shimmer and turn into someone else before his eyes as she began to speak. She’d put on higher heels for this event, but it was more than that. She had something to say and people were listening. Ted had written a very dry explanation of how the solar panels worked, but Edwina made it lively. After describing how the system worked, she approached her conclusion: “Every appliance in our house is now powered by free energy from the sun. And when the sun gets too hot in a couple of months, we’ll be using it to run the air-conditioning too, kind of like fooling Mother Nature!”
“What happened to Feenie Huggins?” someone called out. It was the grocery store owner. “She used to work for me! I just want to know what happened!” The police were aware of Mrs. Huggins’s attempt to smash the panels, but they had not spread the news.
“Josephine Huggins was curious about what we were doing on the roof, and climbed up there to see for herself," Edwina told the owner and everyone else. "It was very early in the morning. Unfortunately, she fell. I am so, so sorry that happened; it was an awful day that we will never forget. She was a very MOTIVATED person and I hope she will be remembered fondly."
"Will there be a funeral?" the girl in the wheelchair asked.
"We found out that she signed up long ago to be an organ donor, so there will be no burial," said Edwina, not really knowing about any funeral. "But let’s have a moment of silence now for Mrs. Huggins.”
The crowd obeyed. Until Kendall cried out, “She was trying to smash the solar panels! She had a hammer!” The people started buzzing. Why? What had Feenie been thinking? Who could prove this? Had anyone actually seen her do this? Could she have gotten in a fight on the roof with someone? Some of them had known her, and muttered that it did not sound like something Feenie would do. Didn't she have a grandson she was raising?
“It’s OK, it’s OK,” Ben said to Kendall to calm him, but that brief burst was apparently all Kendall had needed to share with the world. He and his friend began looking at the cell phone again.
“Please understand, folks!” said Orville, leaning into the mic. “Mrs. Huggins meant well.” The doors of the police car opened and two cops approached, leisurely, but with hands on holsters. “Are they going to arrest someone for killing Feenie?” someone asked loudly.
Edwina quickly turned her volume knob all the way up. “Josephine Huggins believed that solar panels were a bad thing,” she said, her voice filling the agitated air. “We don’t know who told her that or why. She probably saw it on the internet. There is a lot of wrong information out there. We asked her to stop, but she became more determined. Then she fell.”
“Who pushed her?” shouted one of the men from the pickup truck before he saw the policeman just a few feet away. He grinned and waved. “Hey, George. Not tryin’ to make trouble, just askin’ for the truth.” George shrugged. “We have the report at the station if you want to come look at it.”
“Listen to me!" Edwina said authoritatively. "Mrs. Huggins fell because she tried to stand up on the roof. Please don’t start rumors; it’s not nice! We have explained that solar panels are a GOOD thing, and are proud to have the first solar-powered house in town. If anyone wants to take a closer look, my husband will help you climb one of these ladders.”
“Don’t know if I want to take that chance,” the same man called out. But the kids from the high school, prodded by their teacher, came forward to climb the ladder. Orville was ready.
A TV gal with a microphone rushed up, putting an end to any more public speaking. “Ms. Campion! What really happened that day?” the girl asked, the camera guy beside her aiming at Edwina. Now she’d have to repeat herself, Edwina supposed, but was happy to have gotten a reporter’s attention finally.
Just before starting her answer, Edwina saw Yejide Johnson and her mother arriving. So late, Edwina thought, and then realized that Mrs. Johnson had been the only employee at S&C until 5 pm. It was now 5:10, and Edwina thought everything had gone well, considering.
— Macoff
I was worried that trouble was going to happen. But I do get Kendall's outburst. It was both comforting that the cops were there and uncomfortable that they were buddies with the would-be conspiracy theory trouble makers -- nice ambiguity. When is Yejide due? (sorry if you already told us!) And isn't it great that they have Mrs Johnson at the shop . . . so Ben could be here this afternoon. BUT I'm actually surprised that news showed up - - of course, it's hard for me to get the press interested in my events. :P
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