Indebted Read Free Page A

sees me, she’s going to know something is drastically wrong.
    Stepping inside, I find my usual booth in the back corner, out of the way and peer around. I don’t see her anywhere. I’m not quite sure if she’s working today, so I pull out my phone and check the calendar she’d loaded her work schedule on. Yep, six until two, right there. At least I can get something right.
    Picking up a menu from the stand, I look at it without seeing. Will Chloe think less of me? Will she be disgusted? How am I going to tell her this? Fidgety, I start picking at the loose laminate on the corner.
    I look around at the morning diners, noticing the work crowd has already thinned out. Being that the time is a little after nine, all that is left are stay-at-home parents and the retired folks.
    Glancing back down at the now-tortured menu, I notice I’ve managed to pick a fourth of the plastic away from the paper. Holy crap! Thank God I’m not running my hands through my hair like I normally do. I’d have pulled out clumps by now. Not good, not good at all! I decisively set the thing aside and put my hands flat on the table so nothing else will fall victim to Aaron “Nervous Hands” Quinn.
    Thankfully, Chloe appears and clunks down into the booth. I watch her out of the corner of my eye while still looking at my traitorous hands. Her expression is critical.
    Biting the bullet, I peer up at her and plaster on my best fake smile. “Um… hey, Chloe. How’s your work day been so far?”
    I watch her tilt her head slightly and cross her arms in the classic “don’t bullshit me” pose. Yeah, I didn’t think she’d buy that. Glancing back down at my hands, I swallow a couple of times, trying to control the sudden lump in my throat.
    She sighs and reaches across the table, putting one of her tiny hands on top of mine. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
    It’s all I can do to not start sobbing like a baby.
    I look up at her with my eyes brimming with tears, and whimper out, “Not really, but I’m going to have to.” Running a hand through my hair, I pull it hard to get control of myself, and say, “I really need my best friend right now.”
    She pats my hand and nods sadly. “Okay, baby, let me go talk to my boss, and I’ll be right out.”
    With that, she gets up and heads into the kitchen.
    Folding my arms on the table, I lay my head down. I try to think of how I’m going to broach this with her. It’s not like they have Hallmark cards for this kind of shit. All I know is I can’t lose her too. I would never recover.
    Chloe has been my best friend since grade school. I remember meeting her like it was yesterday….
    It was the first day of first grade at a brand-new school for me. Dad had moved Mom and me to Chicago, in the hopes the job market would open up new possibilities for him. Until then, we had lived in a small town in Wyoming.
    Not being the outgoing type, I stayed at my desk when the teacher said we would have recess indoors. I didn’t really focus on anything, just traced the scratches in the desktop with my nail.
    All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I jumped slightly and turned around to see this tiny girl with short, dark hair, mischievous brown eyes, and a big smile.
    Giggling, she said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    I glanced around the room, then back at her. “Um… that’s okay. I’m sure you didn’t mean to.”
    With a loud huff, she rolled her eyes. “Well, of course I didn’t, silly.” Then she did something I had never seen outside of a movie. Grabbing her little skirt, she curtsied. “My name is Chloe Donaldson. What’s yours?”
    Since she was being so formal, I stood up and draped a hand around my waist as I bowed. “I’m Aaron Quinn, Jr.”
    She dramatically fluttered her hand over her heart. “I do declare it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Quinn.” Then, glancing up, the girl gasped. “You have pretty hair. Can I braid it?”
    I’d been so desperate