Page 59 of Tony

The girl’s eyes grew wide, shining with tears as she clutched Sherrie’s hand. “That would be such a dream.”

Giving her hand a squeeze, Sherrie asked if she had any new drawings. Nodding, Betina jumped up from the table and ran back to her room. Marcella came in from the living room, obviously having heard the conversation, and she asked, “Do you think she could go to college?”

“I don’t see why not. She can apply for financial aid and with scholarships, should be able to cover the costs. It would be a way for her to have a good paying job.”

Marcella seemed to waver, her eyes darting toward the door. “She has a job with her step-father. She doesn’t have to go away to college for that.”

“But don’t you want more for Betina than to work all hours in the store or laundry?”

Before her mother could answer, the back door opened and Hernando strolled in. Seeing Sherrie, he plastered a smile on his face making a big production of kissing Marcella. “Hello, Ms. Mullins. Here to talk to our Betina?”

Our Betina, my ass.

Smiling back, just as insincerely, she said, “Yes. She’s just gone to show me some more of her artwork.”

Marcella turned toward Hernando saying, “Ms. Mullins and her art teacher think that Betina could go to college.”

“Bah, who needs college? I have no college and I manage three laundries and a grocery store,” he scoffed.

Choosing her words carefully, Sherrie acquiesced. “I agree that not everyone needs to go to college, but Betina could have the chance to choose whatever career she would like to have and not just work for hourly wages.”

She caught the steel glint in his eyes as he said, “There is nothing wrong with working for wages. My workers are well compensated and they are happy.”

Just then Betina walked back into the room, her art pad dangling in her hand, as her eyes moved between the three adults in the room.

“Don’t you agree, Betina? Working for me is a good thing. Who would need college?”

“Yes,” she answered meekly.

“There,” Hernando said, effectively closing the conversation.

“Well, Betina, let’s sit and go over some more questions I have…about school,” she added quickly, hoping to have a chance to continue her conversation alone.

Satisfied, Hernando and Marcella headed to the den, but Sherrie noticed that he sat in the chair nearest to the kitchen door, making it easy for him to hear their conversation. Keeping the questions light, she was disappointed to see the glow go out of Betina’s eyes. The excited teen, eager to consider college, was now sullen and giving short answers to Sherrie’s questions.

As the meeting came to a close, Betina seemed deep in thought before stealing a glance into the den to see Hernando and her mother watching TV. As the girl’s gaze moved back to Sherrie’s, she placed the art pad on the kitchen table and slowly pushed it toward her. Licking her lips nervously, she looked at Sherrie and said, “I want you to have this.”

“Oh, honey, I can’t take your drawings,” Sherrie protested.

Betina’s hand stayed firm, not allowing Sherrie to push the drawing back. “Ineedyou to have them,” she said.

Sherrie considered Betina’s intent expression, feeling that she was trying to tell her something, but not knowing what it was.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “If you’re sure.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Betina stated firmly. “My life, my world is in these drawings. I need you to understand that.”

The intense expression on the teen’s face had Sherrie’s heart pounding. Glancing down at the drawings, she wondered what she was supposed to understand.

“My world,” Betina repeated, her eyes pleading.

Hearing Hernando getting up from his chair, Betina jerked her hand back and Sherrie found herself sliding the pad into her oversized bag. Not knowing why she felt the need to hide it from him, it seemed important to keep him from knowing that Betina had shared anything of consequence.

Wanting to end on a positive note, Sherrie said, “Betina, your teachers mention that you are really kind to others also. You offer food money to some of the kids that don’t have lunch money and I saw you talking to some students about getting food at the grocery. It seems that you really look out for others and I’ll be sure to put that in my report.”

Betina’s eyes grew large as she licked her lips nervously. Hernando walked into the room, placing his hand on Betina’s shoulder, slightly squeezing.

“Yes, she’s a real sweetheart, isn’t she?” he said.

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