“A rule is a rule” was Leo’s motto. All he ever did was ride the ferry back and forth across the river, a boring job, but he always stuck to his motto no matter what. Besides for sticking to it because he was supposed and would get fired otherwise, Leo knew this was a good motto for life. You break one rule and suddenly rules are forgotten, and bad things happen when rules aren’t kept.

At five o’clock every evening, Marie would come down to the river and talk to Leo. Leo never minded when Marie came to talk to him, he liked the company. Five o’clock was always the time of day when not much happened so when Marie would come by, Leo would come out of the ferry and they’d both stick their hardworking feet into the cool river. Five o’clock was also just before Marie’s husband Raoul would get home from work. So she always had enough time to spend some with Leo right before she had to go home and cook dinner for the man who gave her no attention.

Marie would talk to Leo about everything; from her job to her house life, it all came out when she talked to Leo. And whenever she would talk Leo would just listen, he was good at that, especially when it came to Marie. But as soon as Leo looked at his watch and it read five thirty he always made sure to get Marie home. Raoul was always home at six and wanted diner prepared as soon as he walked into the house, to ensure this Leo made sure to get Marie home at a perfect time to make dinner and have it be done on time. A rule is a rule and Leo couldn’t break that.

One night Leo was hanging out by the side of the river when Marie came running down to him.

“Hey, Leo!”

Leo turned and his face lit up, he always liked seeing Marie. “Hi, Marie,” Leo said with delight, “What brings you down here so late at night?”

When Marie finally came down she took a deep breath and said, “Well, Raoul is out of town for the night so I decided to go down to the casino. Will you take me there?”

Leo frowned. “I thought Raoul didn’t want you going to the casino?”

Marie wiped some sweat off of her forehead and shook her head. “Leo, Raoul isn’t here, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.  It’ll be our little secret.” Marie kissed him on his cheek and placed a Franc in his hand.
Leo was taken aback. “But- rules are rules and Raoul said no.”

Marie gingerly placed a finger through the loop of his tie and began to drag him towards the ferry. “Our little secret.”

Leo had a hard time saying no to Marie, a rule is a rule and Marie was about to break one. Something bad was going to happen.

Leo drove the ferry to the other side of the river where he dropped Marie off leaving her with a warning. “Bad things happen when rules are broken, Marie.” But by then Marie was where she needed to be and the words of Leo were drifted in the wind.

Three hours later, Marie finally came back to the ferry. And when Leo saw her he began to yell.
“Three hours, Marie? Really? What were you doing in there this whole time?” but Leo already knew from her lack of balance and focus, she had been drinking all night.

“It’s not your job to care about me, Leo, you’re not my husband.” Those words hit him like a rock to the head. All he did was care about her, all the time and she dare had the audacity to say that to him? Him? Out of all the men in her life, Leo was the one man that cared about her, that listened to her, that made her feel important.

And she threw all they had for a few drinks. “Just take me home.”

“With pleasure,” Leo said and held out hand. Marie grabbed the hand, thinking it was help to get her onto the ferry. “Not your hand, Marie, a Franc.”

Marie sighed and fished through her purse for a Franc but came out with none. “Do a solid for a friend and give me this ride for free?”
Leo folded his arms and shook his head. “A rule is a rule.”
Her shoulders fell and rolled her eyes. “Leo, can’t you do this for me?”
“A rule is a rule.”
“I’ll pay you tomorrow.”
“A rule is a rule.”
“Leo! I’ll pay you ten Francs tomorrow if you just give me a ride.”
“A rule is a rule.”

Marie stomped her foot and threw her bag on the ground. “I’ll do anything you want me to, Leo, anything.”
Leo wanted on thing but she couldn’t do it. He wanted this night to never have happened. He wanted for Marie to take back those words she said before. But most of all, he wanted her to be with him, and that was something she could never do.

“A rule is a rule.” And those were the last words he ever said to her, for the next day Marie didn’t show up at their usual spot. Leo thought she just needed time to cool off but when Raoul told him what had happened, how they found her body in a ditch in the forest, Leo couldn’t help but feel like this was all his fault. But it couldn’t have been, he told her not to go. A rule is a rule. Bad things happen when rules are broken. A rule is a rule. He kept playing that in his head over and over. A rule is a rule. A rule is a rule. A rule is a rule.