Trouble is a Friend of Mine

‘He has a point. Aren’t you worried he’ll jump you on your way home?’ I said.

‘Not today – I’ll wait until the cops come before I take off,’ Digby said.

‘And after today?’ Henry said.

‘I’ll worry about it after today,’ Digby said.

Clearly, Digby wasn’t going to introduce us.

‘I’m Henry Petropoulos.’ Petropoulos. Like an actual Greek god. ‘My parents own this diner.’ This explained his apron and soapy elbows.

‘I’m Zoe Webster. Digby and I are partners on a school project.’

‘She wouldn’t want you to think we were on a date or anything,’ Digby said.

‘I wouldn’t want anybody to think we were on a date.’ I was surprised I had that answer lined up. Bonus: Henry laughed.

Henry saw the file folders on the table. ‘Damn. You’re doing this again, Digby?’

‘It’s not “again” if I never stopped,’ Digby said.

‘And now you’re dragging her into it?’ Henry said.

‘No one’s dragging me into anything –’ But I might as well have been a piece of furniture.

‘I never dragged you into anything, Henry,’ Digby said.

‘No, you just made it impossible to be around you if I didn’t do what you wanted me to,’ Henry said.

‘Tell your mom the cheeseburgers are even better than before. I don’t know about shoestring fries, though – I liked the crinkle cuts,’ Digby said. ‘But then, I’m a classic kind of guy.’

Henry knew he was being dismissed. ‘Whatever, dude.’ To me, he said, ‘Digby’s a good guy and he doesn’t mean to do it. He never means to do it. But if you’re going to hang with him, look out for yourself, because he won’t remember to look out for you. Nice meeting you, Zoe.’

Digby didn’t look up at Henry waving and walking away.

‘So – medical professional, parked outside her house on the night she disappeared … my money’s on Schell,’ Digby said. ‘Speaking of money … you got any?’

‘Not enough to cover both of us.’

‘Know what? That’s okay – in fact, keep it. Catching a dine-and-ditch has got to be good for a free meal.’

‘Wait. You sat down to eat knowing you couldn’t pay? That’s crazy.’

‘I knew something would turn up. Lookit, you came along.’

‘But I can’t pay for both of us.’

‘And you don’t have to because this came along.’

Later, when I knew him better, I realized there was no point having this kind of conversation with Digby. We lived in different universes. What-if scenarios that bothered normal people never rattled him because for Digby, there were too many close calls to worry about.

‘What’s the deal with Henry?’ I said.

‘You’re not his type. He’s a typical varsity quarterback … he likes them blonde and top-shelf generic,’ Digby said. ‘And he probably has a girlfriend – he always does. Even in kindergarten he had one. Henry brings the girls to the yard. Know what I mean?’

‘What? I didn’t mean that. I meant, what’s the deal with you and Henry.’

‘Oh, that.’ Digby looked sad. ‘We used to be friends. A long time ago.’

‘And now?’

‘Now I don’t bother with friends. Better to travel light.’

I wasn’t sure if I minded that he didn’t think I was friend enough to be considered baggage.





FOUR


A few days later, he messaged. ‘Meet 4pm parking lot ur moms gyn.’ Rude. I didn’t answer even though I knew he could see I’d read his message. I didn’t intend on meeting him. I’d just microwaved popcorn and I had a stack of magazines.

Then I realized that although he took up so much mindspace, I didn’t know anything about Digby. I hadn’t even googled him, which was weird because I google everything.

I’d typed in Digby before I discovered I didn’t know his first name. Digby and River Heights was the best I could do. I thought I’d get a million random hits, but instead, I got these: ‘Sally Digby: Abducted!’ ‘River Heights Girl Vanishes in the Night,’ and ‘Day 54, No Ransom, No Clues: Sally Digby Feared Dead.’

Whoa. Not what I’d expected. I read the articles in order. This is how it went down.