August slipped away into a moment in time

 "Oh, you know, it's all good," Chili smiles at closing.

"Are you sure?" Maddie looks a little woeful. "You do so much?" After all, Maddie didn't close that much at the coffee shop.

"You worry too much," Chili says as she's changing bills to prepare for tomorrow.

"I worry about you, when have you had a day off?" Maddie says she knows Dory takes care of a lot of the reports and the day's account. "But you never take a day off, really."

"How would you know?" She winces with a laugh. 

"I just do," Maddie says she knows she is busy with her other job, but she sees Chili every day here.

"I have to be here," Chili is a bit startled. She couldn't think of anyone who keeps track of her like Maddie.

"You need some fun this summer," Maddie purses her lips as if she knows the ticket.

"Are you?" Chili chides as if she really needs to change the subject. She gets the money put away in the safe.

"I guess."

"You guess," Chili finds this hard to believe. "So how is that roommate of yours?"

"He's just my roommate," Maddie's face stresses as she pulls her chin-length hair behind her ear. 

"Nothing more, nothing less? I guess?"

Maddie sighs. "OK, I like him, but I don't want to ruin it, you know." Maddie stands still while Chili gets the last-minute stuff done. 

"Maybe, if you can wait it out, it'll be the best thing you ever had," Chili tells her as she grabs her purse and hands Maddie her backpack.

"You think so?"

"I dunno," Chili laughs. "Timing is everything. But you gotta let him know."

"Know?"

"Yeah, that's the hard part," Chili tells her. "I know the friend's zone can be the best, but if you want more you gotta let him know."

"But-" Maddie winces hard as if she's still in middle school. Even her cousin Junie has got the skills to show what she wants.

"Don't make a great plan," Chili tells her. "If the moment arrives, you'll know. Maybe he wants it too."

"I doubt that," Maddie shakes her head, no. "I mean, he's been with Lily."

"And she left him." 

Chili is serious. "You just need to be there for him. Bring out the best. Let him know all the good you think of him. He needs someone who can help him find his goals. Don't nag, just appreciate who he is."

"Has it worked for you?" Maddie asked as they were leaving.

"Maybe, just maybe," Chili left it at that.