Wayside: A Serial Novel - Episode 1
What would a better future look like for the Covid-Cautious and Long Covid communities? If you're like me, you've probably spent some time envisioning the possibilities. There's one idea I kept coming back to - a public health 'sanctuary' city, where public masking, remote work, outdoor and virtual classrooms, and healthcare that acknowledges the realities of Covid and other airborne diseases were all normalized.
Imagining what that might look like made me feel hopeful about the future. It grew into a story I wanted to share with you, so I've been busy writing it into a novel. It's a work in progress, but as I wrap each chapter up, I'll be posting them as 'episodes' so you can follow along. I sincerely hope it will help you stay hopeful and envision the possibilities for a better future as well.
Without further ado, I present to you Wayside - A Serial Novel, Episode 1.
GP
This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Episode One: The Auction
October 27, 2024
The sun had just begun its slow climb into the sky, casting an amber glow over the small town of Pine Tree, North Carolina. The downtown business district would stir to life in a matter of minutes. Chilly though it was, coffee shop owners would open their windows just enough for the aroma of baked goods and coffee beans to entice people inside. Residents of the renovated townhomes in the historic district would emerge from narrow alleys and side streets to go about their day. Traffic would steadily pick up on the streets, punctuated by the occasional honk of a horn. Lights would illuminate inside shops and office buildings. ‘Closed’ placards hanging from well-worn twine would be flipped to the ‘open’ side on glass doors that faced the sidewalk.
In front of the Pine County courthouse, two vehicles approached from opposite directions and pulled into parking spots parallel to the street. Neither driver got out; both left their engines idling as they sipped coffee and listened to talk radio inside. The driver in the spot nearest the courthouse glanced in his rearview mirror at the driver parked behind him. He smiled with satisfaction. Haha, I got here first.
“I’ll never forgive you for making me get up this early during my fall break,” said the young woman next to him in the passenger’s seat. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned for emphasis. “Why did we have to get up so early, anyway?”
The question caught him off guard. He had no good answer. Glancing in the rearview mirror again, he saw the remaining parking spaces had quickly been claimed. More cars and trucks were circling the courthouse.
“To get a parking spot, of course.”
“I don’t know,” she taunted, then raised her voice to nearly a shout. “Attention, ladies and gentlemen! Jack Noble got up at the crack of dawn, dragged his daughter out of bed to join him, and raced here this morning to be the first to arrive. Which obviously means he will dominate the shit out of the rest of you poor fools who show up!”
He rolled his eyes, mumbled something under his breath.
“Seriously, I’m picking up on some alpha-male, need-to-dominate vibes," she said, proving she knew far him better than he knew himself. "Did you watch that video I sent you explaining what toxic masculinity is?”
“I don’t have a Tik Tok account.”
“It was on YouTube.”
“I’m 52 years old, Chloe. Generation X grew up without smartphones. I’m not internet savvy. Get over it.”
“You were savvy enough to put the Not Gonna Settle app on your phone.” She faced him with a smirk. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to Tiffany. She’s my least favorite of all the girlfriends you’ve had since Mom died. I personally think you could do better. Maybe you can find someone on the app who wants more than just a sugar daddy.”
“My dating life is none of your business.”
“It is though. Tiffany was a senior at my high school when I was a freshman. The age gap between you is just gross, Dad. AND she’s shallow and mean. She was awful to me back then, and she’s awful to me now. By all means, find someone else to date. Maybe closer to your own age. Maybe someone who could actually be like a mom to me someday.”
“Why? You’re 19 years old. You’re a freshman in college.”
“Just because I’m not a child anymore doesn’t mean I’ll never need a mother figure again. I’m not trying to say that any other woman could ever replace Mom. It’s just that…” Chloe raked her fingers through her long, blonde hair while gathering her thoughts. Tears welled in her eyes. “I just miss her. I get lonely. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a stepmom. That is, if she were a nice stepmom.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t be so lonely if you were a nicer person yourself. You call Tiffany mean, but you’re just as bad. All sarcastic and self-righteous. I can’t remember the last time we had a conversation in which you weren’t putting me down with every breath.”
A long pause followed. The insults hung heavy in the air between them.
“Maybe I act that way because I want you to pay attention to me. You know, I could have gone skiing with my friends for fall break, but I came home to spend time with you and you’ve barely been around. I want you to be a better dad. I want you to spend time with me. I want you to be there for me.”
“I’m literally here for you right now.”
“You’re here for work. Just because you woke me up before sunrise and dragged me along to this real estate thing doesn’t mean we’re spending quality time together.”
“Chloe,” he sighed with exasperation. “This isn’t just a work thing. This is something I’m trying to do for you, for us. I was hoping to surprise you.”
Her expression softened. “What is it?”
Jack reached into the back seat, retrieving a leather folder embossed with his initials. He opened it and thumbed through the stack of papers inside. When he found the one he wanted, he passed it to his daughter.
She read aloud from the letter. “Please take notice that Pine County will on October 27 2024 at 8 a.m., list for sale by public auction on the courthouse steps the following parcel of real property located in Pine County, North Carolina, identified below by its tax parcel identification number…” She stopped reading aloud, scanning the rest of the page in the silence. “What’s this all about, Dad?”
“It’s a commercial property auction.”
“Like a business? You’re buying a business?”
“It was a business. It went into foreclosure, so the bank will sell it to the highest bidder today to recover their losses as quickly as they can.”
“Can I have a hint?”
“We spent a lot of time there when you were little. We made lots of good memories there.”
“That old pizza place where robots made the pizzas and you could watch through the window to the kitchen?”
“No. Bigger than that.” Jack hummed the ‘Jeopardy’ game show theme song. He loved playing guessing games when he didn’t have to do the guessing. Keeping a secret was a form of control. Sharing a secret was a loss of control. He wouldn’t give it up willingly. It had to be earned.
Chloe tried again. “The ice-skating rink where Mom and I took figure skating lessons?”
“No.”
“The old movie theatre that closed down last year?”
“No. Not even close.” He finished his coffee, crushing the Styrofoam cup in his hands before dropping it into the trash receptable between their seats. “Think bigger.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “It can’t be… is it YOLO? It’s not YOLO is it?”
Jack smiled again.
Chloe’s jaw dropped. "You're buying YOLO?"
“That’s the plan.” His eyes fixed on Chloe as he waited for a squeal of excitement, maybe even tears of joy to follow. Her face was flat, eyes wide.
“Why?”
“Hold that thought,” he directed, pointing toward the courthouse door as it swung open.
A stout, grey-haired woman emerged from the building with a podium on wheels in tow. She locked the courthouse door behind her, then rolled the podium down the handicapped access ramp to the concrete plaza in front of the steps. Next, she secured the wheels and pulled a laptop computer from her shoulder bag, opening it atop the podium.
“The auction is getting ready to start,” Jack observed.
“Here? Like outside of the courthouse?” Chole was confused.
“On the courthouse steps.”
“Why?”
“Why does it matter? That’s how foreclosure auctions have always been done.” He reached for his door handle. “We need to get up there so we can hear all the announcements and disclosures. Come on.”
Jack and Chloe stepped out of the SUV, falling in line with the dozens of other individuals exiting their vehicles. A news crew appeared from around the corner with a camera rolling. The anchor eyed the gathering crowd, faced the camera, and began speaking in her polished newscaster voice. Pedestrians paused on the sidewalk across the street to see what all the fuss was about.
From the car parked in the parallel parking space farthest from the courthouse emerged a tall Hispanic man from the driver’s side, followed by a petite woman in hijab. Both were dressed casually in winter coats, blue jeans, sneakers.
And black N95 respirators.
All eyes turned toward them as they made their way to the courthouse steps.
“The clowns have arrived, so let the freak show begin,” Jack muttered under his breath.
“Dad!” scolded Chloe in a strained whisper. “Maybe they’re sick and don’t want to spread whatever they have to other people. Or maybe they’re well and just don’t want to get sick. I swear to God, if you say anything to them—”
“Excuse me!” Jack called out as he approached the masked man and woman. “You don’t seem to be from around here, otherwise you’d know we have a law here in North Carolina.” He pointed his index finger toward his face, arching an eyebrow.
“DAD!” cried Chloe.
“Don’t worry,” said the woman. Her voice carried a hint of a British accent. “We’re on our way to a Halloween party. The masks are part of our costume, so that makes it completely legal for us to mask in public.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think that’s funny. You have to unmask to reveal your identity upon request in public. I’m making the request right here and now. Remove them.”
“Only temporarily!” Chloe loudly interjected behind him. “And then you have the right to put them back on.”
“Stay out of this,” Jack scolded his daughter.
The man and woman reached for their respirators. They quickly tugged their N95s down onto their chins, replacing them just as swiftly. Taking in their faces, Jack noted the man was clean-shaven. He had a strong jaw. Kind eyes. The woman's facial features were distinctly Somali. She looked young, but carried herself with an air of maturity.
Jack heard Chloe gasp, but kept his attention on the man and woman. “Thank you,” he said, giving them a curt nod. “We value face-to-face connection here.”
Chloe made her way to her father’s side, hooking her arm into his and tugging him away from the masked individuals.
“Dad, do you know who he is?” She spoke in a hushed, excited whisper.
“No, should I?”
“I only saw his face for a second but I swear I recognized him. I’m pretty sure that’s Ben Santos.”
“Who?”
“I’ve sent you news stories and videos about him! Hashtag BenBen? Do you look at anything I send you?”
“I think I would have remembered a grown man named BenBen. It sounds ridiculous.”
“It’s just what people call him on social media,” she said with an eyeroll. “It’s short for ‘Ben the Benevolent’ – some magazine gave him that nickname in an article they published about him and it stuck. If you search for him using that hashtag, he’s all over the web. Anyway, his mother was a housekeeper for some bigshot real estate guy and his father was… the bigshot real estate guy, who was married and had a family. When he found out about the pregnancy, he sent the housekeeper to live in one of his coastal vacation homes on the Outer Banks, far away from his limelight. She gave birth and raised their son here in North Carolina. Then the father died and left everything to Ben. He became a billionaire, literally overnight. But instead of spending the money on himself, he’s been using it to do good things for other people. He created that social media platform last year for scientists and researchers and everyday people to talk about Covid and stuff. He’s like an anti-billionaire.”
“I know who you’re talking about now. Gordon Nesbitt, that’s who his father was. I met him at a golf tournament once. Quite the arrogant prick, he was. When he died, he didn’t leave a dime to Gordon Jr., the son he had with his late wife. Everyone was shocked when the sole heir named in his will was later revealed to be the illegitimate son he’d kept hidden for forty-some years.”
“Why did he cut his other son out of the will?”
“Gordon Jr. was an embarrassment to his father. Substance abuse issues. A slew of failed marriages, business ventures gone bad, legal problems galore. And he was rumored to be gay.”
“God, how awful. No father should turn their back on their kid for being gay.” Chloe shook her head with righteous indignation. “Don’t you agree?”
“That’s their business, Chloe. I don’t need to have an opinion about it.”
“That’s not what I was asking. I meant in general. Like what if –” her voice trailed off.
“What if what?”
“Nothing. Forget it. I just can’t get over what his father did. What a horrible freaking… billionaire.” She spit the term out as if it were poison in her mouth.
“Billionaire isn’t a bad word.”
“Maybe not,” said Chloe, “but billionaires are bad people.”
“What makes you think that?”
“No one needs that much money! It’s immoral to hoard wealth and resources for yourself when the world is full of people who are suffering and in need. That kind of money changes people. It makes them selfish and cruel. But this guy, Ben Santos? He’s different.” The rage in her voice suddenly subsided. “He’s trying to use his money for good. He’s helping people.”
“How very woke of him.”
“Woke is not a bad word.”
“I’m not saying woke people are bad people. Just clueless people.”
“Dad!” Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re being an asshole.”
“I’m not an asshole. I’m your father and I deserve more respect than what you’re showing me right now.”
“You’re judging him without knowing anything about him. Maybe you should read about him or watch one of the interviews he did on the news. He’s really smart. Maybe you could learn something.”
Jack exhaled loudly. “Maybe you should consider he might be not the saint you think he is. It looks like he’s here for the same commercial property auction we are. What kind of good will he do for the world with a defunct amusement park? I imagine the other bidders are hoping to clear the land for new businesses. Do you think he’s got something different in mind?”
“I don’t know.” Chloe hesitated before she spoke again. “I could have sworn you just told me you were buying YOLO for us. For me.”
“I am. This is an investment. I want to be able to hand it down to you when I die so you’ll be able to live comfortably. So you won’t have to spend your life stuck at a desk job that will never pay you what you’re worth, and you won’t have to wait till you’re damn near a corpse to retire. I don’t want you to have to work until you’re too old and feeble to enjoy your life.”
She glanced down, fixated on her combat boots for no particular reason. “I appreciate that you want all that for me. I just wish you knew me well enough to know what I want out of life. I don’t think I want to stay here in North Carolina. As soon as I finish my degree I want to get out of here. I don’t want to be responsible for property here.”
“So you outsource the management of the property and any businesses we build on it. You literally don’t have to do a thing. You’ll have passive income you can live off of your entire life.”
“I don’t want it,” said Chloe, her voice growing tight with emotion. “I don’t want to be some rich, entitled goon who doesn’t contribute anything to society. And I don’t want YOLO.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“Why? You’ve always loved YOLO. What’s your beef with it now?”
“I loved it up until everything went to hell there.”
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. “Good things happened there too. It’s where I proposed to your mom.”
“On the carousel, right after you both graduated from high school. I’ve only heard that story a million times in my life.”
“But it’s a good story. Maybe that’s why we kept telling it over and over again.” Jack’s eyes grew red for a split second. He reached up to wipe his face, brushing his hand down over his eyes, nose, and well-manicured beard. It was dyed the same shade of dark brown that his hair was.
Chloe sniffled. “I really miss her.”
“So do I. That’s why I thought it would be nice to buy YOLO. It reminds me of her. And you, when you were little. Back when we were a family. Those were such happy times. I know horrible things happened there, but we can turn it back into a place where other people can come to make good memories.”
“I don’t know,” said Chloe. “It’s got to be cursed or haunted or something.”
“Perhaps Mr. Hashtag BenBen has come to do an exorcism or something along those lines. You know, liberate any oppressed ghosts who are haunting the place.”
“Maybe.” Chloe laughed softly. “And maybe you should let him buy it and do something good with it. Whatever he has in mind, I’m sure it’s meant to help people. That’s what I want, Dad. I want you to let him buy it.”
Jack laughed. “You’re too young to know what you want. You’re idolizing this man who’s on a mission to burn through his fortune on some naïve quest to make the world a better place. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into. The dynamics of wealth and power are extremely complex. Wealth isn’t just a privilege. It also comes with responsibilities.”
“Responsibilities to who? What about responsibilities to your fellow man? And the environment? Mom cared about other people. She cared about the planet. She wouldn’t have wanted–”
“Come here.” He pulled Chloe toward him, enveloping her in a hug. “We’re never going to get anywhere talking about this stuff today, so let’s just let it go. After the auction is over, we can go get some breakfast and you can tell me more about what you actually want to do with your life.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” He squeezed her tighter. “I know we don’t agree on everything, and I know you think I’m an asshole but I’m trying to be a decent dad. I’m trying to be here for you.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Hopefully I’m being a better dad than Gordon Nesbitt was to his son over there,” said Jack, staring down Ben Santos and the woman by his side. The two stood out as non-locals and the only masked individuals in the crowd. Everyone else kept their distance from the pair of outsiders.
He was intrigued by them.
Jack’s attention quickly returned to the woman behind the podium as she brought her gavel down with a loud WHACK.
“Good morning,” she shouted to the crowd. “If you’re here for the property auction, please step forward. I need for all bidders to be within my line of sight.”
Eight individuals – including Jack and Ben Santos – moved forward, forming a semi-circle around the auctioneer. Everyone else stepped back, creating a clear boundary of space between the bidders and themselves as spectators. The news crew lingered in the rear, mounting the camera on a tripod stand, panning it from side to side for footage of the crowd. The auctioneer instructed them to approach the podium, where she recorded their names and distributed to each of them a cardstock placard bearing a number.
“Let’s get started,” the auctioneer began unceremoniously. She stared down at the screen of her laptop, reading from a prepared script. “Today you will be bidding for the commercial property located at 7001 Pine Boulevard in Pine Tree, North Carolina.
“The rules for the auction are as follows: The highest bidder will win the auction, provided the reserve price is met. In case the reserve is not met, the highest bidder will be contacted for further negotiation. Please note the following rules for this auction. As this is a foreclosure property, the auction will begin at $750 million – well below market value - with incremental increases of $50 million per bid. No bids will be accepted after the fall of hammer. It is against the law to make a false bid, hinder another bidder, or in any way intentionally disrupt the auction. Civil and criminal penalties may apply to anyone who engages in illegal auction conduct. The successful bidder will sign the contract and pay the holding deposit by wire transfer immediately following the auction.
“The key features of this commercial property campus include 720 acres of land zoned for commercial mixed-use. Residential properties on this commercial campus include three midscale short-stay hotel resorts, two midscale extended-stay hotel resorts, one luxury villa style resort, and one seasonal worker SRO dormitory.
“The campus hosts an administrative office building, a 5,000-person capacity convention center, a 28-bed emergency care infirmary with a fleet of 2 medical transport vehicles and rooftop helipad, 10 commercial kitchens with indoor/outdoor communal dining areas, 4 indoor theatres, 2 ampitheatres, 68 retail storefronts, 88 amusement and thrill ride attractions, an indoor/outdoor sound system, and a laser light projection system.
“The property includes two ground-level parking lots, one high-rise parking deck, a 12-foot high security gate and surveillance monitoring system encompassing the entire campus, a fixed-rail tram system with 16 multi-passenger trams, and a fleet of 12 multi-passenger golf cart shuttles. Finally, the campus is outfitted with a state-of-the-art fiber optic network.
“The entire property is sold as is.”
When the auctioneer paused to advance to the next page of her script, Chloe leaned in to whisper in her father’s ear. “It’s almost like an entire city, all by itself.”
“Exactly,” Jack whispered back. “Clear out all the rides and theme park stuff, and there are endless possibilities for what could be done with the rest of the space—” He stopped abruptly, interrupted by the auctioneer.
“At this time, we will begin the auction at $750 million. Do I hear $750 million?”
Eight hands simultaneously rose into the air, each clutching one of the cardstock bidder placards.
“Do I hear $800 million?”
***
Jack gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He checked the rearview mirror before pulling out of the parking spot. For the next several moments, he drove in silence.
“Are you okay?” Chloe asked.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Just asking.” She gazed out the window. “I know you really wanted to win the auction. I’m sorry it didn’t work out that way.”
“I figured you’d be happy. You said you wanted the Santos guy to win. You got your wish.”
“I’m sorry if I jinxed it for you.”
“He made up his mind he wanted it and he had deeper pockets than the rest of us. It is what it is.”
Once the bidding had passed the $1 billion threshold, half the bidders stepped back. Two more dropped out after a $1.2 billion bid was made. Jack went head-to-head with his masked opponent for the remainder of the auction. The hammer fell at $1.8 billion, just minutes after the auction had begun.
“If you had won,” Chloe began, “how would you have paid for it? You were bidding over a billon.”
“I had planned to secure the property through the firm. Eventually it would have been ours.”
“Sounds shady.”
“That’s because you don’t understand how real estate works. You don’t have to worry about it, though. Your guy won.” Jack subconsciously pointed at the car ahead of them. “And he probably just wired funds for it from some firm or business, just like I would have done.”
Chloe stared ahead. “Why did you point? Is that him ahead of us?”
Jack didn’t respond.
“Oh my God, it is. That’s their car – he and the lady who came with him. Why are you following them?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Chloe buried her face in her hands. “This is insane. You already harassed them for wearing masks and now you’re stalking them. What are you doing, Dad?”
“I’m not stalking them. I’m driving behind them. I’m not doing anything wrong.” Jack followed the compact car onto the interstate, keeping a reasonable distance behind them. He slowed upon seeing it move to the exit lane that was still marked AMUSEMENT PARK & RESORT. In the distance, winding roller coaster tracks were visible above the treeline, like skeletons from an era gone by. “Look at that,” he remarked. “They’re actually going to YOLO.”
Ahead of them, the driver took the YOLO exit. Jack followed, gradually closing the distance between them.
“I can see them looking at us in the rearview mirror.” Chloe stared ahead, wide-eyed with concern. “They know they’re being followed. The exit takes us straight into the parking lot of YOLO, Dad. And it’s their private property now, so we’re technically trespassing. Can we just turn around and go get breakfast like you promised?”
Ignoring her pleas, Jack sped up. The driver ahead of them began to slow down for the series of speed bumps they had to traverse to pass through the parking lot.
“What are you going to do?” Chloe begged to know.
“I just want to talk to them. I promise I’ll be polite.”
The driver ahead of them kept looking into the rearview mirror. The passenger appeared the pull out of a phone and make a call, holding it up to her ear.
“Dad!” Chloe cried. “Did you see that? She’s probably calling the police.”
“Relax.”
“You’re an asshole.”
Once the two vehicles reached the ticketing windows, the drivers parked in adjacent spots. Ben Santos and his companion glanced curiously at the SUV next to them before exiting their car. The woman did indeed have her phone pressed to her ear and appeared to be on a call. She placed the phone on the roof of the car long enough to put her N95 back on her face.
“Yes. the auction wrapped up a little while ago,” she said, after lifting the phone back to her ear. “Could you go ahead and get everyone on a Zoom? Send me the link when you have it ready…. excellent. Yes. Thank you, Chris.”
Jack stepped out of the SUV. Chloe didn’t move. She watched through the windshield as her father made eye contact with the other driver. “Ben Santos?”
The new owner of YOLO hesitated for a few seconds before responding. “Yes. How can I help you?”
“I’m terribly sorry to bother you. My daughter thought she recognized you back at the auction. She follows you on social media and she’s a big fan. Would it be too much trouble to ask you for an autograph, maybe let me take a picture of you and her together?”
“Sure, that’s fine.” A friendly nod.
Jack came around to the passenger side of the SUV and opened the door, directing Chloe to get out. “Here’s your chance to meet him,” he said with a devious grin. “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t want to bother him. Oh God this is embarrassing. Please just get back in and let’s go. Please.”
“Get out. NOW.” Jack lowered his voice, speaking through clenched teeth. “I chased him down for you. I did this for you. Don’t you dare make a fool out of me.”
Chloe relented. She unbuckled her seat belt and exited the SUV without a word. Dutifully, she walked toward Ben Santos, fumbling in her handbag for a pen and a scrap of paper. Had she met him under any other circumstances, her shaking hands and pounding heart might have been from the excitement of meeting one of her idols.
All she could feel at the moment was anger coursing through her veins like liquid fire.
Jack stepped several feet away, then opened the camera app on his phone. He pointed it at the unlikely billionaire and watched with satisfaction as his daughter approached.
“What’s your name?” asked Ben Santos.
Her eyes met his. “Chloe Noble.”
“Hi Chloe. I’m Ben. It’s very nice to meet you.” He autographed the piece of paper she had presented to him, then shook her hand. “I’d introduce you to Jo, but she’s on a call. Hold on - I think she’s wrapping up.”
“I’m done, actually,” the woman chimed in as she pocketed her phone. She stepped toward Chloe, extending her hand as well. “Hi, I’m Josina.”
While they shook hands, Ben retrieved a white posterboard from the back seat of the car. It was blank on one side, save only for the retail bar code sticker. The flip side bore a lengthy block of text, hastily scrawled in black permanent marker. He quickly flipped the writing toward him to obscure whatever the message was.
“Good to meet you, Josina,” said Chloe. “So are you… Ben’s partner? Or personal assistant?”
“Something like that.” She shrugged as if she wasn’t sure how to respond, then turned her attention back to Ben. “Chris is setting up a Zoom call right now with all the council members. He’s going to send me the link so we can join. We should probably head up to the turnstiles since you can see into the park just beyond them. The parking lot doesn’t have much to offer in the way of scenic views.”
“Of course. Let’s head that way,” said Ben. Then to Chloe, “It was very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Oh, and that’s my dad, Jack.” She pointed in his direction.
“Hello,” Ben waved politely. “Did you get a good picture for Chloe?”
“Oh, sure. I actually took a video so she can grab screenshots of whichever angles are most flattering for her.” Jack pocketed his phone as he began walking toward them.
Chloe’s face burned bright red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to Ben and Josina. “It wasn’t my idea to ambush you guys. My dad can be a jerk.”
“So we learned back at the auction, eh?” Josina whispered back to her. “I was raised by a jerk too. I get it.” She winked.
Ben gave a quick nod of support. A shadow of a smile crossed Chloe’s face.
“Thanks for your time,” said Jack as he joined the three of them. “And congratulations. I was obviously hoping for a different outcome for YOLO, but since you won it fair and square, I trust you have a solid plan to do something worthwhile here.”
“We do,” said Josina.
“And what is it?” Jack’s tone was suddenly aggressive. “What’s the opportunity here? What is it you’re investing in?”
Ben locked eyes with him, holding his gaze for several seconds before answering. “The future.”
Jack laughed. “Sounds ambitious. Could you be more specific?”
“No actually, we can’t.” Josina intervened. “I’m sorry but we need to get on, we’ve got to join a call right now. You can turn around toward the direction from which you came. You’ll see the exit signs clearly marked to get you back on the interstate.”
“Understood,” said Jack. “Do you mind if we hang around for a few minutes? YOLO is very special to us. In fact, this is where I proposed to Chloe’s mother. Who is no longer with us, God rest her soul. I suppose we just need to say farewell to this place.”
Chloe rolled her eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ben interjected. “You can take a few moments.”
“And then you’ll be on your way.” Josina was firm.
“Of course. Best of luck with whatever you’ll be doing here.”
Josina hooked her arm into Ben’s and led him past the ticketing windows toward the park entrance, while Jack and Chloe climbed back into their SUV.
“We don’t need to say any farewells to this place,” Chloe began. “We need to get out of here before we completely wear out our welcome and they call the cops on us. They were way too nice to us, Dad. It was awkward. We didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve it. Let’s go already.”
“In a minute. Roll down your window.”
“Why?”
“I heard them say they were going to take that call in front of the turnstiles. I want to see if I can catch any of what they say.”
“There’s something wrong with you.”
“Fine. I can do it without you.” He moved his left hand to the console on the driver’s side door, simultaneously pressing down on the control buttons to lower both of their windows.
“Asshole.”
“That’s enough.” He shifted in his seat, leaning forward as much as the space would allow. “I can still see them. They just got to the turnstiles.”
Chloe couldn’t resist. She leaned forward as well, craning to see around the corner of the ticketing window building that was partially blocking her view. They watched as Josina pulled out her phone, tapped the screen, then held it up in front of them. Ben leaned toward her, their faces almost touching. They were joining the call.
“Hello!” They waved at the screen. A series of greetings from the other attendees of the call followed.
“Hey!”
“Hi guys!”
“How’s it going there?”
“Got any news for us?”
The sound of their voices carried to the parking lot. Jack and Chloe could hear the conversation without issue.
“We do have news for you!” Josina shouted with excitement. “Ben, would you do the honors?”
She faced away from him, taking a few steps in the opposite direction. When she spun around again, Ben was holding up the posterboard, text side facing her. She tapped her phone screen to switch to the outward-facing camera, bringing Ben and the poster into view for all on the call.
Loud cheering erupted from her phone. Then applause. Then the sounds of joyful sobbing.
“Thank you both!”
“We love you!”
“I can’t believe it’s finally happening!”
The sounds of more cheering and crying and shouts of joy carried on the wind as Josina returned to Ben’s side. The two of them said goodbye to the others on the call, then disconnected.
Still watching with morbid curiosity, Jack relaxed back into his seat. “Chloe, can you see what the poster says?”
“No. I wouldn’t tell you even if I could. It’s none of our business. Can we please just go?”
“Wait – I think I might have gotten it in on camera.” Jack withdrew his phone from his pocket, located the most recent video file and hit the play button. “There!” He paused the video when the poster in Ben’s hands came into view. Just before it was flipped to the blank side, the handwritten message was visible for a split second.
“What the hell?”
Chloe leaned in for a better view. “Welcome to Wayside,” she read aloud. “Future home of North America’s first public health and safety sanctuary city.”
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