Chapter 12 - Everything She Couldn't Carry
The diner stayed dark on Saturday morning. A handwritten sign could not hide the chained front door or the thirty workers who kept checking their phones for news of their next shift.
Tasha sat on the curb in her work shoes. Ray carried a plastic bag filled with two knives, a family photograph, and a battered recipe notebook. Curtis had stopped returning calls.
Lila felt their disappointment settle on her shoulders, although she knew the debts and deductions had begun before she discovered them.
A neighborhood reporter contacted her after the clip of Sal threatening Curtis reached a second outlet. The reporter asked if she would say on camera that Pierpoint was stealing from the diner. Lila agreed to talk but ignored Dina's warning to keep witnesses' names private until they consented.
By evening a story appeared with footage of Lila outside the diner. The article correctly described the dispute as allegations. But Lila had mentioned Tasha's deductions and Ray's refusal to change a time sheet. Their names appeared on a public page.
Tasha called, crying. “My landlord follows that page. He just asked if I'm involved with criminals.”
“I didn't think he'd name you.”
“You didn't ask whether I wanted to be named.”
Lila sat on the apartment floor long after Tasha hung up. She had accused Sal of deciding for other people, then done the same thing with a microphone.
Owen came home to find her staring at the news story.
“Does being right make it okay?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then tell her that without explaining why you did it.”
Lila drafted an apology to Tasha, deleted the sentence defending her intentions, and sent the shorter version.
Later, Sal called from Judith Reese's office. “Nico is moving assets out of Pierpoint. I've instructed the company's lawyers to preserve records and notify the authorities.”
“Do you expect a medal?”
“No. I expect consequences.”
He hesitated. “Lila, that diner was one of several businesses he controlled. I should have looked sooner.”
“You should have looked when Mom begged you to.”
“Yes.”
The simplicity of his answer broke something in her. She had prepared for denial. She didn't know what to do with admission.
At midnight, the building's superintendent slid an envelope beneath her apartment door. A rent increase was coming at the end of their lease. No eviction, no immediate catastrophe, just a number she couldn't pay without steady work.
Owen found her holding the notice and put his head on her shoulder.
May you like
“I can quit the school orchestra,” he said.
“No,” Lila answered, though she had no idea yet how to keep that promise.
