The story develops another plot thread as little Karen discovers that the therapist she thought of as trustworthy begins to reveal her dark side.

(Image from Cdsreport, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 3: The Coffee Cup

Coming back from her nutrition break, she saw Mrs. Pinzetti and her assistant Mrs. DeLuca talking, as they sauntered down the hall, sipping coffee from Styrofoam cups. Karen hurried to catch up so she could say hello to them, but then heard what they were saying. Her ears fine-tuned and something inside made her tiptoe.

Mrs. Pinzetti coughed and then asked which student would come for clinic the next day, and Mrs. DeLuca replied that it was Tammy.

Mrs. Pinzetti said, “That’s good. I thought it was Karen, but Tammy and her mother will be easier to deal with. We have to get Tammy into an electric wheelchair. That will make us the first in LA to have a semi-independent quad, and bring in a nice referral fee from the chair company. The mother makes a ruckus about every little change, but we can get her to go along, if no one brings up the dangers. Besides, even if Tammy crashes off a curb and breaks her neck, it’s still good for us, and it won’t make life much worse for the kid. She’s already so disabled. The important thing is to be the first to get a quad student into a chair she can control.”

The redhead replied, “I suppose you’re right. Sometimes I almost feel sorry for her. Can you believe how well the mother dresses Tammy?”

Mrs. Pinzetti snarled, “What else is the poor soul going to do? Look how much daily care her daughter needs! It’s ridiculous! Tammy is completely spoiled and demands way too much from everyone. Her mother caters to her as if she were a normal child, but she isn’t. She’s disabled and retarded with CP. She doesn’t have the same feelings that normal kids have. Lambert keeps saying she should be in an institution, and it’s only her mother’s stubbornness that keeps her out of one.”

Mrs. Pinzetti glanced at her wristwatch and added, “We need to hurry. Walk this way with me, please.”

She drained her coffee cup and threw it onto the floor before hurrying away. Mrs. DeLuca did the same. Karen stopped and watched the two therapists disappear down the hall. Then she picked up the coffee cups so that no one would trip on them and carried them to the nearest trash can.

Original text ©2022 by Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved.