At the same time, she felt speechless and embarrassed, sitting there as her father had the nerve to walk up front, and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ben, in front of the entire town. The final straw, which brought Carrie’s simmering rage to a full boil, was that not only had he managed to get everyone to quiet down, but also had gotten them to listen. She could see it as she looked around at their faces, all the people she knew, who had fought side by side with her on this issue. Their expressions said it all: They were considering what her father had said. She shut down, unable to hear anything else from her father or Ben. Her mind and heart were stuck on what her father had said, spinning it around as if a thousand bees were buzzing in her head. When the meeting broke up and people started filing out, now without the air of disdain and protest, she kicked her chair, calling her father a few choice names under her breath. People shot her a look, and one woman gasped, but she ignored them.
