Forty Thousand Dollars and the Deed to Maple Avenue Bakery

wood. The room felt suddenly very small, the walls closing in on the years we had spent building our lives.

“You are our friend, Arthur,” I said.

“That is why I am telling you this now, before the formal letters are mailed,” Arthur said, his hand resting on the open ledger. “But as the branch manager, my hands are tied by the regional committee.”

“So continue reading …