Hazel bristled, standing before Zoey could catch her. “Detrimental to what? You can’t even see our house from your place, and my grandfather’s sculptures are art, and your house is just ugly cement—”

Zoey yanked her daughter down to her seat as the audience applauded Hazel’s outburst. Not helping. “I apologize, Mr. and Mrs. Schiff. I don’t want this to get personal.”

“But this is personal,” Mike said, rising from the seat he’d taken when Marty and Lou had started to question him. He faced Karen Schiff and her husband. “I understand the artwork in front of Zoey’s home isn’t your taste...” Karen huffed as if to say obviously as he continued. “So what if the sculptures are removed, with the exception of a few near the house. Would that help ease the...uh...detriment of the property?”

Hazel started muttering. She loved her Pop-pop’s sculptures. Even for Zoey, the thought of stacking them in a heap felt fundamentally wrong, especially less than a year after losing Dad. She expected another outburst from Hazel, but her daughter was surprisingly relaxed and quiet again. There was even a trace of a smile on her face.

“I suppose it would,” Karen Schiff conceded, with her husband nodding in agreement.

“And if Miss Hartford promises not to open a storefront or anything that would attract extra traffic to the area, would that be satisfactory?” Mike asked. He glanced quickly in Zoey’s direction, the corner of his mouth barely twitching, signaling he felt a win coming on.

“Yes.” Karen’s response was so soft that hardly anyone heard it except the front row. And the zoning board.

“Okay!” Marty tapped his gavel on the table. “I make a motion to the board that we grant the property at Twelve Valley View Road an exemption for a small repair business to be operated without a storefront or business hours posted, and with the condition that the...uh...artwork is removed. All in favor?”

Seven hands went up at the table in agreement, with none in opposition. Zoey let out a long sigh of relief as the crowded room cheered. Her love life might be upside down, but at least her business was still intact. Thanks to Mike. She stood just as he reached her chair, and he lifted her into his arms.

“I told you we had this,” he whispered in her ear.

“Mike!” Hazel threw her arms around Zoey and Mike’s waists. “You did it! That was like watching a true crime show or something. You are the OG in this town, for sure!” He looked at Zoey for a translation. She laughed.

“It’s kind of like being the top banana.”

His arm went around Hazel’s shoulders so he was embracing them both. Like a family. Both her worlds. Both her hearts. In one tight little circle. Hazel tugged on Mike’s sleeve.