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During the holiday break, Miss Annabelle planned to make a visit to each of her students' homes. She wanted to meet the other parents she had not yet met and, most of all, she wanted to know her students' environments at home.
She wanted to visit Rico's home first, for she worried most about Rico's home life and exposure to the criminal mind around him. But she could not get a hold of his parents. When she called, kids always answered the phone and said their parents were not home. Twice Rico himself answered and said the same thing.
So, Miss Annabelle made visits and brought little Christmas presents to the other students. She visited the homes of Teddy, Sally, Ian, Johnny, Natasha, and Debbie...half her students. At this point, she analyzed what she had seen, and she was pleased. Their home life, for the most part, seemed normal. Their parents, overall, seemed positive and supportive of their children. Miss Annabelle received compliments from their parents, mostly about how much they appreciated their children's enthusiasm for school.
Because of her treatment from the adults at school and the rumors, Miss Annabelle had been anxious about meeting her students' parents. But whenever she feared doing something in life that she knew was good to do, she made herself go through with it. Now, she felt glad she was going through with this.
Still unable to talk to Rico's parents, however, her next visit was Cathy's house. Miss Annabelle spent a little extra money on Cathy's Christmas present, getting her an elegant jumpsuit...something to feel beautiful in.
When Miss Annabelle went inside, she was at once struck by the obese size of everyone there. Miss Annabelle had seen fat before, but not in this way. Every being in that house was hugely fat; the four-year-old, the eight-year-old, the teenager, the mom and the dad. They all carried the same ratio of fat too, just at different ages. For instance, the fat four-year-old looked like the fat mom, just a shorter version. Usually, Miss Annabelle thought, the fat doesn't start showing up until the third or fourth grade in school, and then the weight gain would be gradual. But in this house, the preschool child was just as fat as the mom.
This scene made Miss Annabelle very sad. Although the house seemed neat and clean, Miss Annabelle immediately noticed two outstanding problems:
First, she could see that the parents continuously pushed food on their children. In the sweetest voice, Cathy's mom several times asked her three girls if they'd like something to eat. The four-year-old and the teenager ate two substantial snacks during the thirty minutes Miss Annabelle was there. When Cathy would not snack, her mother shook her head and said, "I don't know what's wrong with her. Lately, she won't eat anything, it seems."
Being as polite as she knew how, Miss Annabelle said, "Mrs. Solomon, I don't think anything is wrong with your daughter. I think she's trying to cut out snacking, which would actually be healthy for her. ...Maybe she can help lead an example for her sisters, too."
"Impossible!" Cathy's mom said with a smile. "Us Solomons come from a big stock. We've been big like this for generations. It's just the way we are. It's in the genes, you know."
Miss Annabelle looked for a moment at Mrs. Solomon's face, then sincerely said, "You have beautiful features. So does Cathy. I'd, for one, love to see her features come out. I bet she'd be the most beautiful girl at Duncan Elementary."
"Do you really think so?" Mrs. Solomon said, her imagination drifting off for a moment. After a brief escape, though, she shook off the thought and answered her own question...
"No way, José! The Solomons were born to be large." With that, she automatically performed an ingrained habit and yelled out, "Cathy, come get your ice cream sandwich dear. Eat up!"
The other outstanding problem Miss Annabelle detected was the tension between Cathy's mother and father. Miss Annabelle could feel it the moment she met them. From deciding where to sit and talk to answering Miss Annabelle's questions, the parents constantly went off into little sidebar arguments with each other. A sense of hatred between mom and dad hung heavy in the air.
It seemed to Miss Annabelle that the parents saw in each other what they hated about themselves: out-of-control obesity. Therefore, they seemed almost as if they wanted to hurt each other. Even during the thirty minutes Miss Annabelle visited, they could not stop themselves from taking out their frustrations on each other.
The tension got so thick, Miss Annabelle could just imagine what yelling must occur when they are not restrained by the presence of adult company. Such yelling would frighten little girls, she thought. Seeing the four-year-old watching television and eating sugar pop cereal right out of the box, Miss Annabelle realized that eating, beginning as little toddlers, probably provided comfort to help soothe their frazzled nerves. As she looked at the obese teenager watching TV and eating two pop tarts, Miss Annabelle realized that eating for these girls started as an escape from tension but turned into a way of life that would haunt these beautiful children for their entire lives.
Her visit with Cathy's folks saddened Miss Annabelle. That poor little girl and her sisters are trapped in such a hopeless situation, she thought. How can Cathy possibly lose weight, Miss Annabelle wondered, if she's constantly surrounded by people eating, with parents encouraging her to eat, too?
*
Reggie lived in a home of poverty. His father abandoned Reggie and his older twin sisters just before Reggie was born. He never saw his father. His mother was a proud black woman who believed in earning a living. Although she qualified, Reggie's mom refused welfare. Instead, she worked full time cleaning homes.
Reggie did not have the same financial advantages of other children. He had no father to speak of, and he saw his mom much less than other children. Reggie's circumstances saddened Miss Annabelle. However, she felt his mother led a powerful example of morals and ethics. In some ways, Reggie's mom reminded Miss Annabelle of Angie -- a strong, honest woman who has lived through hard times.
Despite a hard life, Reggie's mom was one of the kindest, most loving human beings. Given the luxury of time, Miss Annabelle knew that she and this woman could be good friends. Reggie would grow up without material things, but he had a solid example of productivity and lots of love from his mom.
*
When Miss Annabelle walked into Jeremiah's home, she was startled by a lifesize statue of Jesus on the Cross in the small entryway where a coatrack might otherwise go. The statue was a hint of what the next 30 minutes would be like. When Miss Annabelle left, she was not sure if Jeremiah's mother was just extrememly religious...or what's been called a "Jesus freak".
*
Miss Annabelle's next two visits went well. Both Bobby and Alan lived in perfectly normal homes with kind and supportive parents.
She still could not get through to Rico's parents, though. Finally, on the last day of the holidays, Miss Annabelle went to Rico's home and knocked. Rico opened the door.
"M...Miss Annabelle!" he stammered.
"Rico, why can't I get hold of your parents?"
"They're...they're out."
"Well, can I come in?"
"No! ...Um, my folks don't let anyone in the house unless they're here."
"Ric, who da fuck's dere!" his father boomed.
"Nobody!" Rico shouted back with the same irritation in his voice.
"Nobody?" Miss Annabelle said in a tone that demanded an explanation, although she was still a bit dazed by his father's vocabulary.
"Miss Annabelle, please leave," Rico desperately whispered.
"Are you in some sort of danger?" she whispered back.
"No...I just want you to go."
"But I want to meet your parents. Rico, let me meet your parents. It won't be so bad."
She noticed when she mentioned Rico's parents, she saw panic in his face. But why?
"Rico," she continued, "I must see your parents. I must come in."
But Rico continued protesting. As he did, it quickly dawned on Miss Annabelle that Rico was ashamed of his parents and did not want his teacher to see how he lived, as if he were silently saying, "Don't worry about me, Miss Annabelle; I can handle it." As she stood in the doorway and looked down at little Rico trying to keep her from this criminal-minded world, she suddenly realized he was trying to protect her. He did not want her exposed to the disgust within his home.
Miss Annabelle all at once felt touched, and she felt sorry for Rico; she knelt down to one knee so she could look straight in his eyes, and said, "Sweetie, I have gone through some very bad times in my life. I don't think anything I see in there is going to frighten me. I really want to come inside because I love you, Rico. I just want to know more about you and your life away from school. However, I'll give you the decision here. I want to come inside because of my love and concern for you. But if you still ask me to leave, I will."
Rico was moved. Out of both frustration and love, Rico could not say anything. His eyes still pleaded with Miss Annabelle to leave. He knew all he had to do was say "Please leave," and she would. But he did not say those two words. Instead, he hung his head toward the floor and stepped aside to let Miss Annabelle come in. As she walked past the devastated little boy, she hated doing it, but she knew she needed to. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, "It's OK, Rico. It's really OK."
Inside, she saw similarities to both Reggie's situation, especially the poverty, and Cathy's situation, especially the tension. But one trait made Rico's situation far worse: the laziness and its manifestations! The house was a pig pen deep in dirt and junk everywhere. It looked like a filthy repair shop.
"I pick up the garbage, but my dad won't let me throw out this stuff," Rico said.
Suddenly a deep voice startled Miss Annabelle. "What do you want?" It was Rico's father who had walked out from the living room. Miss Annabelle noticed the body odor that followed this large man.
"Hello, Mr. Rodriguez. I'm Miss Annabelle, Rico's teacher at Duncan Elementary School."
"Is he in trouble?" he snarled, giving Rico a demonian look. Obviously, this man, who had been in and out of prison, did not have a concern morally speaking. He just resented the inconvenience to himself if Rico had been bad.
"No, to the contrary. Rico is a bright child. He has a promising future."
That comment shocked Rico. Right then, he felt a transformation come over him. Never had anyone noticed him as someone with promise! All he had ever heard is what "a pain in the ass" he was or how stupid he was. Now, here was this beautiful woman, whom Rico idolized, telling his father that Rico was a bright child with a promising future! I'm bright, he thought. That comment opened an excitement about himself and his future he never felt before. He relived her comment over and over again in his head for weeks thereafter.
"Rico's bright?" his father asked, not sure if he heard her right.
"He's more than bright -- he's very bright, Mr. Rodriguez."
"No shit?" his father laughed, "Imagine dat! ...Do you dink he'll be rich someday?" He was joking.
"Yes, I'm certain he will be," Miss Annabelle said, dead seriously. Rico's heart was pounding.
"You're not here to tell me I need to start saving money to send him to college, are you? Because I can tell you right now lady, dat ain't gonna happen..."
Miss Annabelle cut him off, "You don't need to do a thing. Rico can do it all himself. I just want you to know that he'll make it legitimately. He's that smart. Don't, please don't influence him down a wrong path in life. Don't let him be around people who are bad influences. He's got too much ahead to waste it."
If someone talked to Rico's father this way -- telling him what to do -- that person would normally lose a few teeth. But his father stood quiet for a moment as Rico watched him closely.
"OK," he finally said, "I'll respect my boy's mind. ...His smarts come from me, you know." That was the only semi-compliment Rico had ever received from his father. But what made the moment unforgettable for Rico was how Miss Annabelle felt about him. She turned to her handsome little protector and handed him his wrapped present. He immediately opened it to find three books inside: Martin Eden by Jack London, Calumet K by Merwin Webster, and Fire Hunter by Jim Kjelgaard.
"You'll like those," Miss Annabelle said.
"Thank you!" Rico said. He was in awe, not by the present per se, but by the idea that he was smart enough now to be considered a reader!
Years later, with his library filled with books, Rico remembered this home visit from Miss Annabelle as the turning point in his life. He kept those three books as long as he lived.
*
That evening, Miss Annabelle reflected upon her holiday visits. Six of her twelve students had quite normal home lives and supportive parents.
One of her students, Teddy, had a home life that was financially fragile, that could slip into poverty but was barely hanging on to "normal". However, since her talk with Teddy's father in the parking lot of the school a couple months ago, he said he had gotten two promotions and was, for the first time in his life, moving up into management and paying off his debts. He said since he was paying off debt he could not improve their standard of living yet, but he was doing much, much better financially. Also, he and Teddy said they had a secret project they wanted to surprise her with later. ...Teddy's father had turned the corner on a life of stagnation and near poverty and was on the rise.
Four of her students, however, had serious problems. Reggie lived in poverty with minimal parental contact; Cathy lived in constant tension with food as the outlet; Rico lived around the criminal mind steeped in laziness. And, of course, Sally's situation was far from normal, knowing that at any time she could lose her mother. Four of my twelve students have serious burdens they carry around, she thought; and they're just children! She worried about their fragile existence. ...She was not sure, besides a smothering environment, to what degree Jeremiah's homelife was detrimental to a child.
She worked on her lectures that evening, glad she made the visits to their homes.
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