menu to the pouches of instant oatmeal she had grown accustomed to making herself as a child. Piper’s eating habits were so full of prepackaged food that she now found it hard to eat meals that didn’t come from a box.
“He isn’t a bad guy really. He’s a nice guy having some bad luck and taking it out on anyone who has the misfortune to get in his path.” Betty, to Piper’s surprise, sat down across from her in the booth. Apparently, the occasional unannounced break wasn’t frowned upon in this particular diner.
“In my experience when someone says, ‘I’m not a jerk once you get to know me’ what he really means is, ‘I’m a real ass but you’ll get used to it after a while,’” Piper said, thinking back to all the people she knew who fell into this category.
Betty let out a howl of a laugh and slapped her knee. “Isn’t that the truth? Well usually, but I can tell you that don’t apply to Bobby. You got my word.” Betty drew a cross over her heart with her finger as she continued, “So, I’ve been dying to know more about you. What’s your name? I’ve been meaning to ask you for some time but you always seem so focused.” Betty tucked her pencil behind her ear in true diner-waitress fashion. She dropped her pad on the table as if to indicate she had no plans for writing down any orders until she heard some answers.
Piper hesitated, separating in her head her old life from this new one. Remember the right name, remember the right details, she told herself before speaking. No matter how much time passed, when you were told never to speak your real name again, it always felt like it was dancing at the back of your throat, about to jump out.
“Piper Anderson,” she said, stumbling a little. She was convinced it didn’t sound natural, and she felt her face flush slightly.
“Oh my word, what a sweet name that is,” Betty said in her singsong voice and Piper felt her shoulders relax. “Are you a student? You look like a student.”
“I was in school, but I quit. And I know how dumb that sounds, but I can assure you it wasn't because I drank too much or slept through my classes or anything.” Piper had begun anticipating people’s disappointment upon hearing her status as a college dropout, and she felt it easier to head-off that conversation early.
“Oh you won’t get any lecture out of me, that’s for sure. If I had a nickel for everything I’ve ever quit I wouldn’t be serving eggs to assholes every morning at five a.m.” Piper appreciated the way Betty didn’t clean up her language for her sake. A few good curse words were pretty refreshing. “What were you going to school for anyway?” She tucked her hand inquisitively under her chin and glanced at Piper over the rim of her eyeglasses sitting low on her nose.
“I was going to school for criminal justice,” Piper said, waiting for her to respond. But Betty’s strategically placed silence worked perfectly, making Piper feel obligated to continue. “The first year was all about the idea of justice and how lucky we were to live in a society like ours. The second year was reality, which is how lucky criminals are to live in a society like ours. Once I saw a handful of really repulsive people rejoin the general population because of one loophole or another, I realized I’d better save my time and money.” Piper let the words flow from her mouth easily rather than catching them at the back of her throat and scanning them for any slip-up or misstep as she usually did when speaking to people. Betty seemed to put her at ease. She made her want to talk, which was not an easy task.
“Well that’s not something you need to explain to me, especially not in this shady town. My husband was a cop for sixteen years, the entire length of our marriage. He started two weeks after our wedding day.” She pursed her lips in what Piper read as anger.
“Are you divorced?” The question was forward but Betty didn’t seem to mind a direct question. She certainly didn’t mind asking them.
“Widowed, he died on the job.” Betty swallowed hard. “That’s why I started working here. I couldn’t stay in the house anymore and carry all that grief. All my mind did was work through the conspiracy theories.”
“Conspiracy