the front door, dropped her tote bag in the living room, and still holding the referral sheet from the employment office, she walked into the kitchenand shrieked.
Myron was sitting there, his head in his hands.
Jesus, Myron! You scared me! Rachel exclaimed, her hand and referral sheet clamped over her heart as she sagged against the countertop. Couldnt you have said something when I came in?
Sorry, he said, without bothering to look up.
I didnt see your car outside.
A friend dropped me, Myron said, and lifted his head. He looked, Rachel thought, like he hadnt slept well in days. Sorry I scared you. With a heavy sigh, he got up and walked to the fridge and opened it wide. He stood there for a long moment, his frown going deeper as his fin-gers impatiently drummed against the door. You dont have much of anything, do you?
Yes, well, she was having a bit of a financial crisis. Enough of one that she was screwing up the courage to ask him to repay the money he owed her.
I thought you just went to the store a couple of days ago.
Listen, Myron, I really need to ask you something.
Okay, so ask, he said as he shut the fridge and headed for the pantry. He flung that door open and stood, hand on hip, studying the shelves.
I am really, really broke
Join the crowd, he snorted.
Right. Well, at least he had a job two , actually. Okay so Im really broke, and I was wondering if you might be able to, ah Man, this was harder than she thought. Why couldnt she just open her mouth and make the words come out? Myron looked over his shoulder. Rachel winced, said in a rush, Maybe pay back the money you borrowed?
His expression immediately went dark and sure enough, she felt like a bitch for even asking. Not all of it, she quickly said. Just some of it. Enough so I can get by. Like maybe a hundred? Okay, that was good. Some of what hed borrowed couldnt be too hard for him.
But Myron said nothing, continued to stare at her, as if he could not believe she was asking him for even that.
It would really be great if you could pay me just a hundred, or even fifty, she said, her voice noticeably weaker.
Myron sighed and stared at the floor for a moment. Look, Rach, I know I owe you some money. But you could not have possibly chosen a worse time to ask me for it.
I couldnt?
Ive been dealing with some stuff that I wasnt going to burden you with, but since you asked, I guess Ill have to.
What stuff? As far as she knew, the only stuff Myron ever dealt with was his lack of tenure.
Something happened at work. A forklift jammed and damaged a pre-Revolutionary hutch and some china. So we filed a claim. But I guess the claim wasnt done right, so now the insurer has come down to investigate.
Okay, Rachel said, still waiting for the stuff that stood in the way of him paying her back.
Okay ? Thats all youre going to say? Rachel , I am the one who prepares the estimates of loss. I am the one who works with the insurance company. I have the whole administration crawling up my ass over some stupid forklift accident!
Why?
You just dont get it, Myron groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. The bottom line is a person cant just do their job anymore. The slightest thing goes wrong and everyone from the janitor on up is a suspect he said, making giant, invisible quotation marks with his fingers.
Suspect! Rachel exclaimed. That sounds like there was a crime or something!
Whatever the word is, he said dismissively as he returned to the breakfast bar and fell onto a stool. What I am trying to say is that bureaucracy can get so huge that theres nothing personal in a job anymore. They might as well line up a bunch of robots! His face was beginning to turn curiously red.
Okay I didnt know you were having such a rough time at work.
Thats because I didnt want to bring you down, he said miserably, then exhaled a long and weary sigh again. But you sort of forced my hand. Gawd, I feel like a beer. You wanna go get a beer?
Hello? Had he heard anything shed said?
Myron was sitting there, his head in his hands.
Jesus, Myron! You scared me! Rachel exclaimed, her hand and referral sheet clamped over her heart as she sagged against the countertop. Couldnt you have said something when I came in?
Sorry, he said, without bothering to look up.
I didnt see your car outside.
A friend dropped me, Myron said, and lifted his head. He looked, Rachel thought, like he hadnt slept well in days. Sorry I scared you. With a heavy sigh, he got up and walked to the fridge and opened it wide. He stood there for a long moment, his frown going deeper as his fin-gers impatiently drummed against the door. You dont have much of anything, do you?
Yes, well, she was having a bit of a financial crisis. Enough of one that she was screwing up the courage to ask him to repay the money he owed her.
I thought you just went to the store a couple of days ago.
Listen, Myron, I really need to ask you something.
Okay, so ask, he said as he shut the fridge and headed for the pantry. He flung that door open and stood, hand on hip, studying the shelves.
I am really, really broke
Join the crowd, he snorted.
Right. Well, at least he had a job two , actually. Okay so Im really broke, and I was wondering if you might be able to, ah Man, this was harder than she thought. Why couldnt she just open her mouth and make the words come out? Myron looked over his shoulder. Rachel winced, said in a rush, Maybe pay back the money you borrowed?
His expression immediately went dark and sure enough, she felt like a bitch for even asking. Not all of it, she quickly said. Just some of it. Enough so I can get by. Like maybe a hundred? Okay, that was good. Some of what hed borrowed couldnt be too hard for him.
But Myron said nothing, continued to stare at her, as if he could not believe she was asking him for even that.
It would really be great if you could pay me just a hundred, or even fifty, she said, her voice noticeably weaker.
Myron sighed and stared at the floor for a moment. Look, Rach, I know I owe you some money. But you could not have possibly chosen a worse time to ask me for it.
I couldnt?
Ive been dealing with some stuff that I wasnt going to burden you with, but since you asked, I guess Ill have to.
What stuff? As far as she knew, the only stuff Myron ever dealt with was his lack of tenure.
Something happened at work. A forklift jammed and damaged a pre-Revolutionary hutch and some china. So we filed a claim. But I guess the claim wasnt done right, so now the insurer has come down to investigate.
Okay, Rachel said, still waiting for the stuff that stood in the way of him paying her back.
Okay ? Thats all youre going to say? Rachel , I am the one who prepares the estimates of loss. I am the one who works with the insurance company. I have the whole administration crawling up my ass over some stupid forklift accident!
Why?
You just dont get it, Myron groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. The bottom line is a person cant just do their job anymore. The slightest thing goes wrong and everyone from the janitor on up is a suspect he said, making giant, invisible quotation marks with his fingers.
Suspect! Rachel exclaimed. That sounds like there was a crime or something!
Whatever the word is, he said dismissively as he returned to the breakfast bar and fell onto a stool. What I am trying to say is that bureaucracy can get so huge that theres nothing personal in a job anymore. They might as well line up a bunch of robots! His face was beginning to turn curiously red.
Okay I didnt know you were having such a rough time at work.
Thats because I didnt want to bring you down, he said miserably, then exhaled a long and weary sigh again. But you sort of forced my hand. Gawd, I feel like a beer. You wanna go get a beer?
Hello? Had he heard anything shed said?
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