The Saga of Rod and Debbie - Little Debbie

Debbie looked out her office window and took a deep satisfying breath.   It was a beautiful sunny day and she felt better than she had in a very long time.   The sun was nice, but even if it had been overcast it would not have dampened her mood.   She felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.   A burden she'd borne for such a long time.   It was so good to be rid of that CD.   To make things right with Rod.

Growing up, Debbie's best friend was a girl named Roxy.   Roxy's house was just a few doors down and the two girls played together often.   Roxy's family was wealthy - at least wealthier than most of the families on the block.   Roxy always had the latest, greatest toy that every kid wanted.   Debbie loved playing with Roxy and all of her wonderful things.   Prized among her possessions was a Josie and the Pussycats charm bracelet.   Roxy wore the bracelet everywhere and occasionally let Debbie try it on.

One afternoon Debbie asked Roxy if she could perhaps borrow the bracelet overnight.   Debbie's father had won tickets to hear an orchestra and Debbie felt it would be appropriate to wear something musical.   What could be more musical than a charm bracelet featuring the coolest girl band ever?   Roxy had to admit, Debbie had a point.   Hesitantly, Roxy handed over the bracelet after cautioning Debbie several times about taking care of it.   Debbie assured her that the bracelet would be safe.

Debbie's parents loved the orchestra.   Debbie, however, was soon bored.   After fidgeting in her chair for forty minutes, she convinced her parents to allow her to wait in the lobby.   In the lobby, Debbie found other kids, also tired of the concert.   After sitting for so long, they all had pent up energy.   Soon a game of tag started.   It was great fun.

After the concert, Debbie and her parents went out for ice cream.   As Debbie licked her cone, she stared at the charms on the bracelet.   There was Josie, with her guitar.   And Valerie, shaking her tambourine.   And...   Debbie gasped.   Melody, the naive but optimistic drummer was missing!   Debbie search around the booth and through her coat.   Her parents helped her look about the ice cream shop.   They even return to the concert hall and searched the lobby.   Melody was lost.   Debbie felt awful and dreaded having to tell Roxy.   Her parents assured her that sometimes these things happen and that everything would work out okay in the end.

Everything did not work out okay in the end.   Roxy was more than a little upset.   She took back the bracelet and refused to speak to Debbie.   Debbie's father offered to buy another bracelet until he learned that Roxy father had had the charms custom made out of solid gold.   The two girls stop playing together.   The families stop speaking to each other.

Ever since the bracelet incident, Debbie had been reluctant to borrow anything from anyone (She also felt a tinge of sadness whenever she met someone named Melody).   She was uneasy whenever she had possession of something that belonged to someone else.   Even at work, if someone stopped by her desk and inadvertently left behind a pen, she would feel nauseous.   Deep down, she knew it was silly, but she couldn't help the way she felt.   Rod's CD had weighed heavily on her for many years.   Now, she was free.   Already, the night sweats she had endured for a decade had ended.

In the days after Rod left her, Debbie spent most of her time thinking about their last moments together - the tears, the truck, the cold.   In particular, she thought about the cold.   How she'd kept her hands warm by tucking them into her armpits.   It would have been simpler, she thought, if there had been pockets under her arms - a place to put her hands.   And there, in that moment, the seeds of an idea began to sprout.   Debbie made some quick sketches on a napkin and set to work with some spare cloth and an old sweatshirt.   It took a couple of tries to get the angle just right but eventually she figured it out.

The pockets worked wonderfully and Debbie wore the sweatshirt everywhere.   One day, as Debbie was waiting for the bus, a woman approached her.   Debbie had noticed this woman on the bus before but the two had never spoken.   The woman was interested in Debbie's sweatshirt - where it had come from and whether it was comfortable.   The two continued their conversation on the bus.   Debbie explained how she'd come up with the idea and some other options she was considering.   Debbie had no idea she was talking to Phyllis Mertle, the noted fashion designer.   Phyllis saw in Debbie a younger version of herself - a woman willing to take bold fashion risks.   The following day, Phyllis offered Debbie the opportunity to join her design team.   Together they would make Debbie's underarm pocket top available to the world (at least, the parts of the world where it got kind of cold).   Debbie was torn.   Inside, she felt she was destined to work in fashion but she felt a certain loyalty to Bert, her boss at Bert's Bait and Ice Cream shop.

Bert could sense something was wrong when Debbie arrived for work that day.   Debbie seemed even more uptight than usual.   Through a stream of tears Debbie told Bert about Phyllis, the sweatshirt, everything.   Bert told Debbie to follow her dreams.   She'd always be welcome back.   Bert had noticed the Debbie's sweatshirt and liked the idea that perhaps one day soon he could buy one for himself.

And so, Debbie went to work with Phyllis.   She loved everything about the fashion world and found that she did indeed have a knack for it.   Within weeks, the CozyPits line of shirts and sweatshirts was launched to rave reviews.   Even though Phyllis was pleased with the results, Debbie felt pressure to prove herself with yet another winning design.   In the months that followed, Debbie applied the CozyPits pocket technique to the inner thigh.   Although not as popular as the original, the CozyCrotch did find a lucrative niche market in flannel pajamas.

Over the years since then, Debbie eventually settled into more traditional designs.   Many of her designs were popular and she was a valued member of the design team, but she was still looking for another hit to rival CozyPits.   Much of her time now was spent overseeing younger designers.   Phyllis was getting near retirement and she made no secret of the fact that she wanted Debbie to be her successor.

Debbie's closest friend was Donna, a fellow designer.   Donna had been hired on just weeks after Debbie and the two had been inseparable from the start.   Donna still worked at a table on the main floor while Debbie had since been given an office.   Her promotion was inevitable.   The CozyPits line had reestablished the company.   People expected that the person responsible would hold a senior position.   Still, sometimes Debbie longed to be out with the other designers.   Donna understood this and would often ask Debbie for assistance - just to give her a reason to join them.   Debbie was grateful for this kindness.

Everyone at work noticed a change in Debbie today.   She was much more relaxed.   Donna had heard Debbie mention Rod before, but Debbie had not confided about the CD.   Still, Donna knew that Debbie had been anxiously waiting to hear from him.   Finally, Donna couldn't stand it.   She needed to know more.   She entered Debbie's office and shut the door.

"So, I guess you heard from Rod", Donna said.

"What?" Debbie responded, sounding somewhat distracted.  "Yes, we talked last night, it was nice."

"So," Donna continued, "Are you going to start things up again?"

Debbie looked surprised, "Huh?   Oh no, it's nothing like that.   I had something that belonged to him.   I just needed to get it back to him."

Donna knew about Debbie's "issues" with borrowing things.   Everyone at work knew.   New employees were cautioned not to leave anything behind when visiting Debbie's office.   Still, Donna could hardly believe how nonchalant Debbie sounded about Rod.

"Just a minute," Donna said, "You've been talking about this guy for the last, like ten years.   You mean that's it?   You just wanted to return something?"

"I didn't want to", Debbie said, defensively.   "I had to.   Now it's done.   End of story."

Donna shook her head and opened the door to leave.   "You are one strange woman", she said.

Debbie smiled as Donna left.   Nothing could upset her today.   Her life was finally in balance again.   She could really move on.   It was nice talking to Rod, but he was miles away and there were plenty of interesting men here in town.   Debbie was back in the game!