PART 13 – Faron Started Telling People I Had Ruined His Life, but Nobody Asked How Much of Mine He Had Spent

I first heard about the rumors from a woman who came into the diner every Tuesday.

Her name was Marlene.

She usually ordered scrambled eggs, wheat toast, and coffee with two creams.

That morning, she sat at the counter longer than usual.

I poured her coffee.

She looked at me.

"How are you holding up, honey?"

I knew immediately that something was coming.

"I'm doing all right."

She stirred her coffee.

"I saw Faron yesterday."

I kept my hand on the coffee pot.

"Where?"

"At the hardware store."

I nodded.

Marlene looked uncomfortable.

"He was telling people you've been making things difficult since the divorce."

I put the coffee pot down.

"What kind of difficult?"

She lowered her voice.

"He said you closed his credit cards without warning and left him unable to pay for ordinary things."

I almost smiled.

Without warning.

I remembered asking him for those cards outside the courthouse.

I remembered the threat.

I remembered the salesman at the sports show.

"That's not exactly how it happened," I said.

Marlene nodded.

"I figured there was more to it."

I didn't explain everything.

I wasn't going to turn the diner into a courtroom.

I simply brought her toast.

After she finished breakfast, she left a generous tip.

I thanked her.

Then I went back to the kitchen.

Peg had heard part of the conversation.

She didn't ask what Faron had said.

She just looked at me.

"People will talk."

"I know."

"Let them."

I wiped the counter.

"I don't want everybody knowing our business."

Peg nodded.

"Then don't give them more than they need to know."

That was good advice.

For the next few days, I kept my answers short.

If somebody asked about the divorce, I said it was final.

If somebody mentioned Faron, I changed the subject.

I didn't want to spend the rest of my life explaining why I had stopped paying for another adult.

But the rumors continued.

On Thursday, one of Faron's fishing friends came into the diner.

His name was Dale.

He had been at the sports show when the card was rejected.

He ordered coffee and a sandwich.

I served him.

He looked at me for a moment.

"That thing with the boat was awkward."

I nodded.

"Yes, it was."

He scratched his chin.

"Faron said the bank made a mistake."

I didn't answer.

Dale looked down at his coffee.

"Anyway, I guess it's between you two."

"It is."

He finished his sandwich and paid.

I watched him leave.

I wasn't angry with him.

He had only heard one side.

But I was beginning to understand how Faron planned to handle the situation.

He wasn't going to admit that he had used my accounts for years.

He was going to make the story about the day I stopped him.

That evening, I took the folder out of the drawer.

I checked the bank statements.

The account closures.

The text messages.

Peg's copies of the register reports.

Everything was still there.

I added a note about Marlene's conversation.

Then I put the folder away.

I wasn't looking for revenge.

I just wanted to be ready if the lies became something more serious.

On Friday morning, I received a message from Faron.

He said I was making him look like a beggar.

I read it once.

Then I put the phone down.

I thought about the eighty thousand dollars.

I thought about the years I had worked overtime.

I thought about all the times I had paid his bills before paying my own.

If he felt embarrassed now, perhaps he should have thought about that earlier.

I went back to work.

There were potatoes to peel.

There was coffee to make.

And there was a life waiting for me outside his complaints.

Click here to continue reading: PART 14: The Bank Statements Told a Story That Faron Could No Longer Change, Even When He Tried to Make Me the Villain