EPILOGUE: A NAME ON THE PAGE
The neighborhood memory collection opened to the public in a small library room in early spring.
It did not include endorsements for either side of the Eastbank redevelopment dispute.
That dispute continued through public meetings, revised plans, and negotiations about access to shared space.
The library displayed photographs with names, dates, and permissions provided by the families.
Denise stood beside a picture of her mother stirring an enormous pot of stew.
Below it was a short account she had written in her own words.
Lucille Price had fed generations of children at Eastbank, and she had expected people to make room for anyone who arrived hungry.
Levi read the card twice.
“She would have liked that,” he said.
Denise squeezed his shoulder.
Ethan arrived late because The Orchard Room had been busy with lunch.
He brought Janelle, who wanted to see the recipes the families had preserved.
Marta greeted them with a plate of cookies made from one of Lucille’s handwritten recipes.
Gideon sat near the back with Claire, listening as Walter Finch argued gently with Beatrice about the date of a neighborhood parade.
Nobody was recording their disagreement for a campaign.
A child pointed at an old photograph and asked who the woman holding the wooden spoon was.
Denise knelt beside him.
“That was my mother,” she said.
“Her name was Lucille.”
She began telling him a story that was hers to tell.
The End.
