Part Thirty-One

Peggy thought it was unusually dark as she made her way down to the ferry. Large gray clouds filled the sky from end to end.

"Does it seem dark to you?" Peggy asked Raoul as she took her seat on the 5:20 ferry. He was already joined by Kelly Flinn and Ferdinand.

"The days are getting shorter," said Raoul.

"But it's only July. I think it's just an overcast day," said Peggy.

"Do you know how you can tell it's Summer in Seattle?" asked Ferdinand.

"How?"

"The rain is warm."

"I believe it's a sign," said Kelly. "There are dark days ahead for Bainbridge Island."

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Raoul. Peggy poured herself tea.

"I just saw an article that listed Bainbridge Island as one of the top ten places to live in the country," said Kelly. (money.cnn.com/best/bplive)

"What's wrong with that?" asked Ferdinand.

"It means people will be flocking here by the boatloads. Real estate agents will have a field day. We have enough people and cars on the island as it is, why do we need more?"

Raoul shrugged and turned the page of his newspaper. "I imagine there are many property owners who are thrilled to hear that news."

"That's precisely the problem," said Kelly. "We just assume that people should be allowed to earn as much money as they can from their property, even if it means putting up a condo for hundreds of new families in a space where the surrounding infrastructure can't support all of those people. But the property owners and the builders and the real estate agents don't care about that because they only care about making a sale."

"Maybe you would think differently if you were putting your house on the market," said Raoul.

"No one wants my house. It's out in the boonies in a dark, wet forest."

"The developers can take care of that," said Peggy. "They'll have that soggy old forest cleared in no time and then they'll put in a nice wide road with plenty of room for S.U.V.s."

"My neighbors would kill me," said Kelly.

"Maybe they could join you," said Raoul. "You could put your lands together in one big parcel and sell it as a package deal to the highest bidder. You would each make more money than if you sold individually."

"But then we'd have to go live somewhere else," said Kelly.

"Simple, use the proceeds to buy one of the new waterfront condos with a view," said Raoul. "Low maintenance."

"Raoul, you're a sick man," said Kelly.

"He's just joking," said Peggy.

"I am laying out a strategy for maximizing return on his property. There's nothing funny or sick about that," said Raoul.

"Maybe people shouldn't be so focused on maximizing returns," said Peggy. "It's an illusion. You concentrate on short term gains and mistakenly think you are ahead, but the truth is, especially in communities, you give up something much more valuable that won't be appreciated until it's too late."

"The word is myopic," said Kelly.

"My what?" said Ferdinand.

"Myopic. It literally refers to a visual defect in which distant objects appear blurred. But it's also used to describe people who lack a long-range perspective in their thinking."

"It's a popular word among environmentalists," said Raoul.

"Because it sadly applies too often," said Peggy.

Raoul rolled his eyes. "You know, it's possible that people who manage communities have priorities that we don't entirely appreciate: like funding schools and transportation and the arts."

"Since when is school a priority," said Kelly. "We couldn't pass the technology levy. Why? Because people are so shortsighted. Those are probably some of the same people who would sell their land to developers."

"I think they keep their real priorities a secret," said Peggy.

"Oh here we go, if you get two environmentalists together you'll end up with at least three conspiracies," said Raoul.

"I don't know where you get this mean streak from," said Peggy. "Did somebody pour sour milk in your oatmeal?"

"I don't eat oatmeal," said Raoul.

"I think you should start eating Scottish oatmeal," said Peggy. "It would be better for you than the bagels and cream cheese that you eat at the office in the mornings."

"My diet has nothing to do with being realistic about how things work in the world. We have to strike a balance, and that's exactly what I'm going to say to the Congressional committee next week."

"Don't forget, we're saying it together," said Peggy.

"I'll do the talking and you nod your head in agreement."

"I see, we'll let the man do the talking and everything will be fine," said Peggy.

"Aah, order will be restored."

"Why are you so negative this morning?"

"It's my nature."

"I don't agree. Have you received bad news about something?"

Raoul looked out of the ferry window at the gray surface of Puget Sound and the puffs of gray clouds. "I got a call from my daughter, Deidre," said Raoul.

"Is she all right?"

"She doesn't want us to visit her in Philadelphia," said Raoul.

"Why?"

"It seems her boyfriend has left her and now she's depressed and she doesn't want to talk to anyone. She misses her mother."

Peggy understood and felt like an intruder. She knew she was being compared to Raoul's late wife, Priscilla. Although Peggy had met Deidre, and they seemed to have gotten along, things were different now. Peggy had become a threat.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW