Matty passed Bill a facial tissue and he wiped his eyes. A couple minutes passed before the applause stopped and the villagers sat back down in their seats.
"Speech," someone yelled.
The people laughed.
"I am not very good at this," Bill started. Truth was, he was beyond nervous.
He had never been one to do any sort of public speaking. Even when he had staff meetings at the big 'M' burger joint, he would stammer and sputter and that was with only ten people in attendance.
Now he was standing in front of the entire 40 families of Tuckamore Bay. All 149 of them.
150, if he included himself.
He took several deep breaths and wiped his eyes again and then took a drink of beer.
"Jest take yer time, Billy Boy," Henry suggested.
He looked out over the villagers.
"But not too much time, remember, me son, deys bes a mean evil crowd," he joked.
Everyone in the crowd laughed along with Henry and the nervousness slowly left Bill, especially when Matty squeezed squeezed his hand for a few seconds.
Bill took one last deep breath and started.
"A few months back, I had to make a decision. Either buy a condo in Jamaica or buy a lighthouse in Tuckamore Bay."
"Shud of bought da condo," someone commented, amidst the laughter.
"Believe me, there were times I wish I did," Bill continued.
"At least I could find Jamaica on a map. I had to use a magnifying glass to find Tuckamore Bay."
The warm laughter from the people made Bill feel even more confident.
"But when I saw the Bay for the first time, I have to be honest. I fell in love with it."
"Yes, boy. Matty be 'avin' dat affect on men," Wike Rideout laughed.
Bill looked at Matty.
"Yea, she does."
He turned back to those gathered.
"But it wasn't Matty that I first fell in love with. It was the cobblestone road, the colourful houses and the ocean. It was like looking out on a real life postcard."
Bill laughed.
"And then I met Henry here who cursed me out and flipped me the finger."
The crowd laughed, having heard the story before. There were no secrets in the Bay.
"But that didn't discourage me, nor did the giant wave that tried to drown me."
"Youse shud 'ave read sa sign dere, me son," Clayton reminded him.
YOU ARE READING
Tuckamore Bay
General FictionMatty Dove had 18 months to try and find a buyer for her late grandmother's lighthouse. A buyer who, she hoped, would not only buy the lighthouse, but love the village so much that they would invest time and money into saving the community. In 18 mo...
