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That evening Bea took dinner in her room while she went over the documents as carefully as she could. She didn't speak Lawyereese, but she understood most of the fine print. She and her employees would be welcome to stay on at the Pickaxe, if the contract was signed, but the ownership would be transferred to Home Badger Holdings, Inc. There was no provision for profit-sharing or anything of the kind. The Pickaxe and any profits it made were Home Badger's to keep.

There was a clause stipulating that she was not to disparage or in any way hurt the Home Badger's reputation, and that stung a bit, but she could see the necessity. They weren't really buying just the store - they were buying her good will with the rest of the town. And she knew why.

A few years ago the Home Badger had been in the news when they came into a rural town in another state. Her father had followed the story intently. The local hardware store was a beloved institution in the town though, and the introduction of the new big-box store outside of town had been taken hard. Residents pointed out that the location would mean the town would get no taxes from the new business, but the old store would have to continue to pay.

In the end, it had gotten ugly. The Home Badger's reputation had been damaged, and the old store had won a handsome award in a much-publicized trial. Yet in the end it was Home Badger that had truly won. The old store was shuttered and the owner had left town with the money from the legal victory.

Though in the end the Home Badger was the last-man-standing, it was a pyrrhic victory and had cost them in both money and prestige. So they had changed tactics, and this contract was their new way of entering a market - buy out the mom-and-pop shops but allow them to continue to work there as an extension of the big store. Visually little changed and the in-town store stayed open, keeping protests and arguments to a minimum. And the owner of the in-town store made out very well indeed.

As she read the details of the contract, suddenly she set it aside and looked up at the ceiling - as if stunned by a sudden realization.

This could pay off the entire medical bill debt and still have a substantial amount left over. She could send her father to a real psychiatrist. And, though she was allowed to continue as the store's General Manager, she didn't HAVE to. She could do something else.

She could go to college.

A chill ran down her rather extended spine.

What would her dad think though? She could see him going either way. He might be pissed she would even consider it, or he might be ecstatic for the opportunity it represented. Still, though, the loss of the Ol' Pickaxe would hit hard. He'd owned it for so long, even though it had been months since he'd set foot within it, and much longer yet since he ran it regularly.

It had gotten late by that time, though, and he had gone to bed already. She could hear his snoring. She turned off the light and got undressed, but she couldn't sleep.

She thought of an old black-and-white movie where a small town shop owner had fought against a big corporation and won. The protagonist had been brave and courageous, though everyone thought he was wrong. In the end, he had won. And now here she was, about to bring the same devil's bargain to her own father - for her own selfish ends. She felt like a traitor.

Then she remembered Mae's tirade against her father. She'd gotten pissed off at Mae for that. How dare she, someone not even in the family, even suggest that her father might not be doing everything he could to get back to work? But she knew that what she was really pissed off at was that Mae was articulating thoughts she had already had but she'd repressed.

She took out her laptop.

"Mae? You still up?"

A few minutes later, she got a response.

"Hi Bea. Yeah. I'm still up. What's up? You, like, NEVER message me first!"

"I don't? Um... sorry about that!"

"No problem. So..."

Bea thought about how to phrase the question. It was obvious that Mae liked her romantically. But she was also Bea's best friend. She needed that best friend right now.

"Can you come over? I need to talk to somebody about something."

"Sure Bea. I'll be right there."

"Should I leave the window open or meet you downstairs?"

"Leave the window open. It's faster."

"Okay. Thanks Mae."

She closed the laptop and found her nightgown/shift by feel and slipped into it. No need to encourage Mae on that front.

A few minutes later, a shape poked her head in.

"Hi Bea," Mae's voice said as she climbed in. Bea crawled to the foot of the bed and looked out the window. There really wasn't much of a ledge out there.

"Jeeze Mae, I don't know how you manage it. And you never fall?"

Bea could barely make out Mae's shrug in the dim room. "Not yet. I think it's a cat thing."

"Must be."

Mae took off her clothes. All of her clothes.

"Um..." Bea began, but decided it didn't really matter. She had her nightgown on, after all.

"What's up Bea?"

Bea lowered the window a little. When she crawled back, she found herself on top of Mae who had taken her side of the bed.

"My turn on the inside," Mae said, and Bea could hear the mischievous smile in her voice.

"Sorry Mae. It's... kinda serious."

"No problem. I can be serious," Mae said, leaning on one elbow.

Though the room was dark, Bea's eyes had adjusted already and the sight was a little distracting.

"Remember that guy in the store today? Mr. Brown?"

"Yeah. Didn't look like a local."

"He's not. He's with Home Badger."

"The big home-improvement chain?"

"Yeah. They want to buy me out."

Mae got right to the heart of the matter. "How much?"

Bea told her.

Mae lay back down. "Really?"

"Really."

"That's a lot of money, Bea. What does your dad say?"

"I haven't told him yet. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. But Mae... will I be an asshole if I try to encourage him to sign it?"

"Bea, I never pry into your family life... well, I try not to anymore anyway. But you're asking my opinion now and I can't help it. Will it pay off your mom's medical bills?"

"Yeah. And more. A lot more."

Mae turned to her again, resting a hand against Bea's arm. It felt nice. Not sexual, just a friendly touch.

"Bea. Is it... enough?"

"Yeah. It is. It wouldn't be enough for us to live off of for life or anything, but it could put me through college. And then, with luck, I'd get a real job. A career. I could take care of us from there."

"Oh Bea," Mae said, and climbed atop her, kissing her directly on her mouth. "There's nothing wrong with this, or with you promoting it to your dad. Ultimately it's his decision though, and you have to be okay with him rejecting it."

"I know, Mae," Bea said, her eyes getting blurry. "Dammit, it's not my decision to make. But I'm afraid I'll hate him if I get my hopes up too high!"

They had been talking in whispers, but Bea's voice broke at the end as she let loose her pent-up emotions. She held Mae against herself and began to choke up, as if years of dreams and aspirations that had been thrown aside were suddenly back in play.

Mae stroked her head as her body was racked with convulsive sobs, trying to keep the noise down and not disturb her sleeping father.

"It's okay, Bea," Mae said quietly between spasms. "This can't be a bad thing. Your dad might have problems, but I think he'll see the right choice here."

"You think so?" Bea said, wiping tears aside on an already damp pillowcase.

Mae rolled back to her side of the bed now that the worst was over.

"Yeah, I do. You're not a bad person for having dreams, Bea. We all do."

Bea smiled weakly. "It hurts more when a dream is rekindled, then dashed again, doesn't it?"

Mae kissed her again. "Not sure yet. I'll let you know."

Bea straightened up. "Mae... Are you talking about..."

Mae shrugged. "Maybe."

Bea climbed on top of Mae this time. "MaeBea."

"MaeBea."

"Try not to read too much into this, Mae," Bea said. 'But thank you. I needed you tonight."

She pulled her nightgown over her head and dropped it over the bed's edge. Mae let out the cutest stifled squeal, and Bea couldn't help but kiss her. She hoped she wasn't screwing up Mae worse, and she knew it was a mistake, but Mae deserved something for being there for her tonight when she most needed her. And she was no stone. She had her own feelings for her friend that were a little more than platonic.

She thought no more about the contract, and let her worries of Mae's issues fall away as well, letting the night's mood take over.

Later she lay with Mae's head resting in the space under her snout and neck. The cat's snores were much more shallow than her father's and reminded her of a purr. Vaguely she knew she had broken her own promise to herself, and hoped it would have no lasting repercussions. But for this one night she wouldn't allow herself to worry anymore. She put her arm around her friend and held her softly, letting sleep take away her exhaustion, and foregoing a last cigarette.

Tonight, at least, she didn't need it.