"He knows how much you care about these children. He moved into the school on his own, fighting to do every dirty, exhausting job. And the way he treats us—we couldn't ask for better."
"Such a good man. Betraying him once was enough. If we do it again, I'm afraid there'll be no coming back from it."
The elder Pruitts spoke with genuine concern, but Norma had made up her mind.
"Mom, Dad, please stop."
"Back then, I was the one who helped Louise and Percival scheme to take Duane's admission letter. That was wrong of me. Destroying his letters two years in a row was also wrong."
"But Percival isn't like Duane. He donated a kidney to me. Without an education, what future does he have?"
"Besides, I'm a school principal. Marrying me means he'll never want for anything. I'm giving him the rest of my life to make up for it. Isn't that enough?"
"This admission letter can't be kept. Percival's future is more important than anything."
With that, Norma prepared to burn my admission letter to ashes in front of everyone.
I stood outside the door, holding the chicken soup I'd made to help Norma regain her strength. I watched the letter I'd dreamed of for so long, trembling uncontrollably.