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“Do you know what you want?” I say, putting down my menu and looking over at the girl.
“Burger.” She shifts uncomfortably. “I can’t pay you.”
“Almost killing you and you not calling the cops is payment enough.” I wave her words away with snark. “It’s the least I could do for you keeping me out of prison.”
She rolls her eyes, looking down with a low chuckle. “So, you know them?” She nods to Ms. Sherry and Rufus.
“Yeah, since I was about five.” I tell her, “Coming here was a special treat.” I leave out that it was an escape from the hell of the Shelby compound.
“Mathias, huh?” The way she says my name stops me. She has a lilt to her voice, not a sweet Southern twang but almost like she was around someone who had one, yet she never quite picked it up.
“Yeah, care to tell me yours?” I ask low, just between us.
“Nicolette, Nikki for short.” The smile breaking through on her face is so small, so brief, I almost miss it.
“Ready?”
I start, my head jerking in the direction of the voice, not realizing Ms. Sherry came back. “Two burgers, fries, and a peanut butter chocolate chip short stack for dessert.” I hand her the menus back.
“I knew it. Mr. Rufus, you owe me two dollars.” She hoots. “He swore you were going to order something different. I tol’em that boy had been asking for the same thing since he turned sixteen and got his first burger here. Always the short stack on the side.” Chuckling, she takes the menus, leaving us.
“Ain’t giving you nothin’. It was a setup. You, the one who, came in here saying he had a gleam in his eye and was looking at the menu hard,” he grumbles, heading back to make our order.
“That ain’t nothing new,” she calls back to him, taking her position behind the counter again.
Raising my hand innocently, I tell Nikki, “Creature of habit.” She’s relaxing for maybe the first time in a long while.
“So, what’s next for you?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Maybe go back from where I came. Coming down here was a mistake.” She looks around like she’s searching for options and finding none.
“Why’s that?” Immediately, I regret asking when a shadow falls over her face.
“It just was.” She looks out into the parking lot, then back to me, her stony resolve letting me know not to press.
The food comes shortly after. We both inhale the burgers and fries, washing it all down with water.
“I was right, wasn’t I? It’s the best burger you’ve ever had.” Feeling full and more satisfied than with any food I could have had at the country club tonight, I practically demand her agreement.
She’s already nodding. “Facts. Hands down the best I’ve ever had.”
“Peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes,” Ms. Sherry says, placing the plate and two forks between us.
I cut the stack in half as Nikki looks on skeptically. After piercing the fluffy deliciousness, I eat, groaning at the mix of chocolate and peanut butter decadence.
“So good,” I say around a mouthful, closing my eyes in the delighted happiness this particular dish has given me since I was five years old.
Nikki’s amusement greets me when I open my eyes.
“Try it,” I dare.
Still doubtful, she gets a small forkful and tries it. Her eyes spread wide. Then she’s nodding, grinning, saying, “Wow.” She digs in for more.
It’s gone in no time. Normally, I would never share this indulgence with anyone. It was something special between mom and me. A precious, sweet thing we shared amid rippling despair. But at this moment, I’m glad to share them with a girl who has no one. She’s as utterly alone as I feel.
“I’ll be back,” she says when I take out my wallet. I nod, not looking up, thinking she’s going to bail. Immediately I can tell this is when the tenuous trust between leaves. She’s obviously okay. We’ve been here for more than an hour. If I leave now, I can still make the tail end of the graduation dinner Natalie’s parents and my dad planned. I haven’t even bothered to text anyone to say I’m going to miss it. So, why am I waiting on her even after I come back from paying for our food and her backpack is gone, and she is too?
Waving goodbye to Mr. Rufus and Ms. Sherry, I leave, going to my car. She’s not there. I look over my shoulder. And around the lot. Nothing. She’s a little escape artist. Probably hiding until I’m gone Telling myself I’ve done everything I could, I start the ignition before pulling away from the diner.
