"It doesn't prove it is allowed either. That's why I'm asking."
"You are doing this intentionally."
"Cooking? Yes."
"Trying to make everything difficult."
"No. I'm asking for the rule."
Emily set down the plate she was holding. "Linda, if there's a safety issue we want to know. We don't want to put anyone at risk. But we need to know what the rule actually says."
"We shouldn't have to explain our decisions to every resident who thinks he knows better," Linda replied.
That phrase stayed with me. Explain our decisions. It was a curious way to describe governing documents that applied to people's homes and finances. But before I could answer, Richard Hale came around the clubhouse carrying a folder thick with papers. He was dressed neatly in a blue shirt and pressed trousers, as if he'd been waiting for a meeting rather than interrupted during a Saturday afternoon.
"Mark," he began. "Linda says you're refusing to comply with the fire safety rules."
"I asked her to show me which rule applies to this grill."
Richard opened his folder to a tab marked FIRE SAFETY. I appreciated that. At least we were finally looking at something other than a board member's certainty. He placed the relevant page on the picnic table, and I moved beside Emily to read it.
The section prohibited charcoal appliances and wood-burning cooking devices in designated areas, and it referred to open-flame appliances where they were prohibited by applicable local fire regulations. It did not plainly say that every propane grill was banned from every outdoor common area. But it wasn't a permission slip either. I wanted to understand the local rule it referenced before treating the question as settled.
"What does the local fire code prohibit?" I asked.
Richard folded his hands. "The association interprets this section as prohibiting grills in the common area."
"All grills?"
"Yes."
"Then please send that interpretation to Emily in writing, along with the rule you're relying on."
Linda made an impatient noise. "He does this every time."
"The last time," Emily said, "you yelled at him because you claimed Odin wasn't leashed. I was standing there holding the leash."
Linda turned toward her. "That is not relevant."
"It's relevant to why we want to check the facts before you're allowed to threaten our unit," Emily replied.
Richard raised a hand. "Enough. We aren't relitigating a dog incident. The grill needs to be removed while the safety question is resolved."
I looked at Emily, then back at him. "All right. Please put your position in writing."
"We will."
I shut down the burners, disconnected the propane after the equipment cooled, and moved the grill without another argument. I didn't enjoy wasting food, but I wasn't going to force Emily into a fine dispute before I had checked the actual rules. We finished the burgers indoors in a skillet. They were edible, though they lacked the flavor I had been looking forward to, and Odin watched the entire process with the conviction that everyone had mishandled an important opportunity.
Before Richard left, however, he made the remark that changed the direction of everything.