“I don’t know,” Mr. Arndt said, and Anna had the feeling he was going to be her ally. “When people think of Edenton, they do think of the Tea Party, so maybe—”

“But it’s the townspeople who use the post office and I think they’d rather see the industry of the day,” Toby Fiering interrupted. “The things that keep Edenton going and growing.”

“Ah, I see,” she said, hoping to get on everyone’s good side. The image that had been taking shape in her mind of the women of Edenton signing their petition began to disintegrate. “Well, tell me what all of you would like to see in a mural.”

“The cotton mill, front and center.” Mr. Fiering set down his sandwich and made a sweeping gesture in front of his face, as though he could already picture it. “The biggest industry in the town.”

“I can think of a few folks who might could argue with you there,” Mr. Arndt said in his calming way. “And Rollie and Stu want to see their lumber yard and peanut factory represented, too,” he continued. “And then of course, there’s fishin’. We’ve got water all ’round us. Plus, our melons. And agriculture, right?”

Anna’s fingers began to perspire around the handle of her spoon and her soup had barely been touched. “The mural is large but we don’t want to overcrowd it,” she said. “I think I can work in three to five scenes as the focus. One central image plus a few others.”

The men were quiet for a moment. Then Billy Calhoun finally spoke up. “You know,” he drawled to the mayor, “if your cousin Martin was doing this paintin’ he’d know what should be in it without bein’ told.”

Oh, no. That Martin Drapple artist was the mayor’s cousin?

The mayor raised his eyebrows with a “what can I do?” shrug. “I tried callin’ the government office responsible for the mural,” he said. “Can’t never get through.”

“You tried calling the office?” Anna asked, appalled. “To complain about me?”

“Jest don’t make no sense,” Billy continued as if she hadn’t spoken.

“I wasn’t callin’ to complain,” Mayor Sykes said to Anna around a mouthful of his sandwich. “I just wanted them to know why we thought my cousin Martin would be a smart choice. Nothin’ to do with you specifically, dear. Just with them pickin’ a stranger completely unfamiliar with Edenton. Plus, we all know Martin’s got talent and experience to spare.”

“Maybe it’s ’cause Martin is mostly a portrait artist that he didn’t git it,” Billy Calhoun said. “Not exactly what they was lookin’ for.”

“Anyone who can paint a person as good as him would be able to paint scenes from the town,” Toby Fiering argued.