Quinton

Quinton I have to run, an appointment with Quinton at three. You know, Dr. Kettering, the best doctor in Oak Grove. Just a blood-pressure checkup, but I'm apprehensive, my first visit to his office. He was a smart-aleck in school, glib, cocky, almost fresh. Hasn't changed, I hear. Well, that's not quite true. He has moved to the biggest house in Mayfair Acres, a world away from the square shack where he grew up. Scholarships and hard work moved him across town; knowledge and skill keep him there. I'm not going to him because he was a former student, nor because he's the best. I once saw the real Quinton. Not cocky, but vulnerable. A scared little boy. He was in my room when they came to tell him fire had swept through the garment factory 72 73 ...