Trouble in the Trees (12 page)

7. Trampoline

8. Softball

9. Swimming and Diving

10. Horseback Riding

I went on to list other sports that lead to emergency-room visits, including weightlifting, volleyball, golf, roller-skating, wrestling, gymnastics, inline skating, tennis and track-and-field. And then I talked about cheerleading since it was listed in several places, including an official medical website, as the most dangerous female sport there was. Learning that had prompted me to search for something about skipping. To my surprise, I'd found out that skipping was a highly competitive sport. And that many elite athletes used it for cross-training because it was so safe. Was it possible that skipping with the Cedar Grove Girly-Girls could make me a better climber? Maybe I'd judged it all a little too harshly.

My last slide showed the map of Cedar Grove and the location of the Spoon, Fork and Knife. Dad had helped with this one by scanning the map of the Easter egg hunt into the computer.

“In conclusion, I'd just like to say that
people
— both kids and adults—have been climbing trees for… forever.” I hadn't planned this part of the presentation but I felt the need to finish with something big. “It's fun, it's healthy, it's almost spiritual, and it can be very safe if it is done properly. You can't protect kids from everything. You can get hurt crossing the road. Banning tree climbing in Cedar Grove will not make us safer. It will just make us miserable.”

There was some clapping at the back of the room. One of the Cedar Grove Girly-Girls yelled, “No more bylaws!” Some of them had really taken my warning about skipping bylaws seriously. I felt kinda bad about that.

I still had everyone's attention. But I had nothing left to say. I allowed myself a deep sigh of relief.

The hard part was over. Or so I thought.

Chapter 19

“I will now open the floor for questions and comments prior to the vote.” Ms. Matheson said the word
vote
the way Sarah said
math test
. Like there should be sinister music playing in the background.
Dun, dun, dun…

My mouth was dry. I was thirsty from my presentation and suddenly very nervous about the vote. I looked over at Ethan, wondering if we should sit down. He smiled and stayed where he was. So I did too.

A man near the back of the room cleared his throat. “How accurate is that map?”

My heart started doing its Energizer Bunny routine. Why did the very first question have to be one that I couldn't answer?

Mrs. Williams, Ashley's mom, came to my rescue. “I'll speak to that,” she said as she reached into the bag next to her and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper. She unfolded it on the table in front of her. “I took the liberty of digging up the official map of Cedar Grove.” She held up the map even though it was too small for anyone beyond the front row to see. “Those trees you've been using for lessons…what do you call them, Bree?”

“The Spoon, the Fork, and the Knife?”

“Yes, those. They are definitely not on Cedar Grove property,” Mrs. Williams said firmly.

“So there is no legal liability attached to the climbing of those trees?” Michael's dad smiled as he spoke. He was sitting up front with the other council members. On his name tag he'd drawn
Daniel Morrow
in block letters like something from a cartoon. Beside it, he'd written
Call me Dan
. No wonder he and my dad were such good friends.

“None,” said Mrs. Williams. “At least, not for Cedar Grove.”

I hadn't realized until that moment that I'd stopped breathing. I finally inhaled. But my relief did not last long.

Someone from the audience spoke up. “What's this about legal liability?”

Before anyone could reply, Ms. Ambrosia, Sammy and Salina's mom, said, “I don't care if there is a legal liability or not. I don't want my kids hanging around the railroad tracks.”

“But there hasn't been a train on those tracks in years,” Dad said, “maybe decades.”

“Well, I think banning tree climbing in our own backyard just encourages our kids to go farther away and there is nothing safe about that,” Ms. Ambrosia shot back.

“I agree,” said Peter's mom. “It's safer if they're closer.”

“But some of the trees in Cedar Grove are really high. Someone could get killed!” I couldn't see who was talking, but whoever it was sounded angry.

There was a murmur in the crowd and then everyone started talking at once.

“Okay, okay, everyone calm down.” Ms. Matheson stood up and spoke as if she was addressing a school assembly. “I'd like to take this opportunity to outline the position of the Neighborhood Council.”

The room was quiet. It was her turn to have everyone's attention.

“As most of you know, the interim bylaw, which prohibits tree climbing on Cedar Grove property, was passed by the council prior to the AGM for safety reasons.” Ms. Matheson paused and looked down at the table as if collecting her thoughts. “At first it was simple. Council members were worried because a child had been hurt climbing trees.”

“Hurt badly?” asked Peter's mom. “Who was it?”

“That's not important. He's okay now,” Ms. Matheson said quickly.

I glanced at Ethan who was standing very still and very straight. It looked like it was his turn to stop breathing.

“After the interim bylaw was passed, some people expressed concern, and their concern forced me to look into the bylaw in further detail. I found out that there is significant legal liability involved.”

“Meaning?” Peter's mom prompted.

“We could get sued if a child gets hurt climbing trees on Cedar Grove property.” Ms. Matheson words hung in the air as I took this in.

“But why would anyone sue the Neighborhood Council?” Ethan asked.

“It's happened before.” Ms. Matheson did not look in our direction as she spoke. “A child in the States fell when climbing a tree at the local playground. He was seriously injured. The parents successfully sued the city and received enough money to cover medical expenses, loss of future potential and other damages.”

“That kind of stuff doesn't happen here,” said one of the men in the crowd.

“If only that were true,” another retorted.

Ms. Matheson took control again. “On behalf of the Neighborhood Council, I looked at lots of options to try and protect Cedar Grove from that type of legal liability. According to our lawyers, all the options, including some that have been outlined by Ethan and Brianna, are just too difficult and expensive to execute effectively.”

“What about having climbers or their parents sign waivers?” Dad asked.

“We thought about that,” Ms. Matheson replied without hesitation. “Believe me, we looked at everything. In the end, we decided that bylaw 47.21 was the only way to completely protect Cedar Grove from being legally liable for potential damages associated with tree climbing on our property.”

“So the bylaw has nothing to do with keeping our kids safe?” Sammy and Salina's mom asked. “It's all about protecting Cedar Grove from a lawsuit?”

“It is about keeping our kids safe. That's the only way to avoid legal liability,” Ms. Matheson responded firmly, as if that should be the end of the story. Case closed.

“Are all the council members in agreement on this?” asked Peter's mom.

“The majority of us voted in favor of the interim bylaw,” Ms. Matheson said, “and now it is time for all the members of Cedar Grove to vote.”

“Unless anyone else has something to say?” said Dan Morrow.

There was silence. Ms. Matheson sat down. I felt silly, still standing at the front of the room, but I didn't know what else to do.

“Okay,” Dan spoke again, “the ballot will take place by a show of hands. Remember, only one owner per unit is eligible to vote.”

“I think we need more time to think before we vote,” Mom said. “Given this new…this new information.”

“I agree,” someone said.

“We need to vote now,” Ms. Matheson responded. It was the first time I'd ever seen her look flustered. “The bylaw is only an interim measure. Once the AGM is over, it will no longer be valid.”

“Can we abstain?” Mom asked.

Ms. Matheson looked at Dan.

“Yes,” Dan said. “You can choose not to vote.” He referred momentarily to his notes and then looked back at Ms. Matheson. “So, I guess we'll proceed?”

“Get on with it,” Ms. Matheson growled.

Dan looked uncomfortable. Slowly he said, “All in favor of bylaw 47.21, please raise your hands.”

There was a flurry of activity. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw more hands in the air than I wanted to see.

There was silence as Michael's dad counted. I tried to count as well, but I kept losing track. I was too worked up to concentrate. The only thing I know for sure is that neither Mom's or Dad's hand was in the air.

“Okay.” Dan was writing and talking slowly. “Now all opposed to bylaw 47.21, please raise your hands.”

This time I didn't close my eyes. I watched as a bunch of arms shot up quickly, including Dad's. Slowly, more reluctant hands joined them in the air. I waited and watched. It didn't look like enough.

Actually, it looked like the same number of hands that had gone up in favor of the bylaw.

There was more silence and more counting. Dan scratched his head. He looked at his papers again. Then, with a puzzled look on his face, he said, “How many abstainers?”

To my surprise, several hands went up, including two belonging to council members. I looked to see if Mom had raised her hand, and then I realized that Dad had voted for both of them. I wondered how Mom felt about that. Her eyebrows weren't giving anything away.

“Interesting,” I heard Ethan murmur quietly beside me.

It didn't take Dan long to count this time, but the puzzled look did not leave his face. He whispered something to the council member sitting next to him. Then he said, “The vote appears to be tied.”

“What does that mean?” someone in the audience asked.

“Right now there are not enough votes to ratify the bylaw.”

“But there are absentee ballots to consider!” Ms. Matheson blurted out. “And too many people are abstaining!” She looked at the other council members accusingly.

“Yes,” Dan said thoughtfully, “I think we need to consider a secret ballot. This is clearly a contentious issue among residents.” He paused, waiting for a reaction. There wasn't any. It was like everyone was in shock.

Finally, Ms. Matheson spoke up. “We need to continue with the AGM. There are other items on the agenda.”

“To ensure an accurate result, I think it is best if we give everyone some time to think. I will collect the votes after the AGM,” Dan said. “Unfortunately, that means the result will not be available until the end of the week.”

The room suddenly felt stuffy. As if everyone had exhaled at once.

“Very well,” said Ms. Matheson curtly. “We will now move to the next item on the agenda.”

I turned to gather my things. I was ready to go. And apparently I wasn't the only one who didn't want to stay for the rest of the meeting. The sound of metal chair legs against linoleum floor filled the room as others stood to leave. The rest of the agenda was routine council stuff. There was nothing left to vote on.

We walked as a pack through our townhouse complex with a group of parents trailing behind. One by one, my friends peeled off to their own little piece of Cedar Grove and disappeared behind different doorways.

We reached Michael's townhouse too soon. I liked walking next to him. I felt grateful to him, for sure, but I knew it was more than that. I suddenly understood why Tyler was so different around Sarah. So nice.

We reached Tyler's driveway last. Before turning off the road, he punched me gently on the shoulder and said, “I couldn't have done that, Bree.”