broken your trust?”
“Yes, several times.”
“Was it something that was able to be fixed?”
“I think it depends on how badly the trust had been broken. If a spouse cheats, that often can’t be repaired, but if you lie to a friend that might have a better chance at working out. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I kind of told my friends something that another friend trusted me with, and now she won’t talk to me.” I did notice the tiny smile she gave me when I mentioned it was a woman.
“Is it something that would hurt or embarrass her?”
“Embarrass her I think. I was helping her with something that was difficult for her, and I know she’d be really embarrassed if anyone said anything about it.”
“Are your friends likely to say something about it?”
“No, they don’t know it’s her specifically. I was trying to win a bet. I changed her name in my phone to show them something in order to win.”
She gave me a disapproving look.
“I know. Now I realize it was stupid but at the time I was just thinking about winning.”
“Do you think she wants to forgive you?”
“I think so. She told me that if I figured it out we could talk about it.”
“That’s a good start. Can you think of anything that means a lot to her?”
“She’s a competitive swimmer and loves it.”
“I mean something personal to her.”
“What are you getting at, Miss Martha?”
“Is there something you could do for her that would mean something to her? Something that she would know meant you put some thought into it? Something that said you were sorry? Maybe do something good with the money you won.”
“I’ll have to think about it. This really isn’t my strong suit.”
She smiled at me. “You’re a smart boy, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
She left me sitting in the kitchen with more questions than I had before I got here. Being friends with a girl was turning out to be much more complicated than I realized.
Chapter 35
Kayleigh
Monday morning I wasn’t sure what to expect in English. Would Major sit with us or ignore me like he did before? Karma and I got to class and saw him sitting in our usual seats.
“Are we sitting with him?” Karma asked.
“I guess so,” I told her.
We went and took our seat and Major smiled when I sat next to him.
“I’m sorry Kayleigh. Sorry for betraying your trust. I see now how it would upset you to have someone else read that. It was personal and I was an idiot and didn’t think.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
“I’ve also done something with the money I won. You should get a text with the information later today. Kayleigh, there’s more I need to tell you. Can you meet me after Computer Science?”
“Um. Yeah, sure I guess.”
“Great.”
He looked a little nervous when he asked me to meet him. I hoped it wasn’t something to do with the bet. The professor started class and I was trying to pay attention, but my mind thought of a hundred different scenarios. What could he possibly have to tell me?
While I was having lunch with Wes, I got a text from a number I didn’t know, but it was a local number back home. I almost choked on my salad when I read it.
Thank you for your very generous donation of $4000 to the Tulsa YMCA. It will help many underprivileged children attend swimming lessons.
“Are you okay?” Wes asked, as I recovered from the text.
“Uh, yeah. Karma just sent me something that I wasn’t expecting. She does that sometimes,” I lied.
What the hell? Four thousand dollars. They must have the amount wrong. There had to be an extra zero or two on that figure.
I went from lunch to computers with my head spinning. I was dying to ask Major about the text, but the professor kept us busy enough that we didn’t have time to talk. When class was over Major asked me to join him at the coffee shop we sometimes went to. We ordered our coffee and found a table.
“Major, I got a text today from the Tulsa YMCA. But I think they made a mistake. They said I made a donation for four thousand dollars. That can’t be right.”
“It’s right. We each bet a thousand, so the total pot was four grand. That’s part of what I had to tell you.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out his driver’s license and handed it to me.