Belle Rousseau's Arc

Chapter 6 of 6

The field trip was over, and Belle no longer needed what she had paid for. She had hired Lolly Gossiphard, the cafeteria worker, to spy on Zip. In exchange, Belle owed her a month of eating Lolly's lunches and speaking up for her carrots at every staff meeting. But Belle no longer wanted Zip's secrets. She had let that plan die. The debt, though, had not died. Lolly cornered her in the lunch line on Monday with a tray of gray meat and boiled carrots. "You still owe me," Lolly said, sliding the tray at Belle's chest. "Twenty-eight lunches left. And the carrots. Every meeting. I heard you skipped the last one." Her eyes narrowed. "Nobody skips on Lolly." Belle stared at the carrots. She could not eat this food for a month. She could not stand at meetings praising vegetables while other teachers watched her shrink. But she had made the deal. A deal was a deal. She needed someone to take her place. She found Zipper Samson eating alone by the wide windows. Belle knew him only a little. He was the generous one, the man adopting four more daughters on top of the two he already had. People stared at him for it. He was buttering a roll and reading a flyer. "You eat here every day," Belle said. "You like the food." "I like anything I don't have to cook," Zipper said. He did not look up. "You need something." Belle sat across from him. "I owe Lolly a month of lunches and public praise for her carrots. I can't do it. But you could. You'd eat here anyway. And you speak at meetings. People listen to you." Zipper set down his roll. "Why would I take your debt?" "Because I'll pay you." Belle slid a paper across the table. "Adoption papers cost money. Home visits, inspections, fees. I'll cover the next round for one of your girls. All of it." Zipper looked at the paper a long time. A honey bee drifted through the open window and bumped against the glass. He watched it, then watched her. "You're not doing this to be nice," he said. "No," Belle said. "But it helps you anyway." He almost smiled. "Fair." He signed his name under hers. "I'll eat Lolly's lunches. I'll fight for her carrots like they're my own kids. But I keep the receipts. You pay every fee, on time." Belle stood. Lolly watched from across the room, arms folded. Zipper walked over, took the tray of carrots, and ate one whole. Lolly's face softened. The debt was gone from Belle's hands. Belle felt lighter. Then heavier. She had just promised to fund a stranger's adoption. Her savings had a shape now, and that shape was smaller. She had traded one debt for a bigger one. But this one, at least, she had chosen.