Chapter 7: Heath's Talents Pt 2

Later on that night at dinner, Cat could see that something was wrong with her mother. Her face was pinched and her brow frowned with worry. She'd barely spoken two words together that night, and while she wasn't overly talkative, she wasn't usually this quiet either.

Cat's dad was talking to Heath about the shop, while Henry focused only on his food. Cat pushed her food around on her plate, not feeling hungry for lasagna and vegetables.

The doorbell rang and everyone but Henry looked up from their plates curiously. Cat's mother looked at her expectantly, "Cat honey, will you please get the door?"

Sighing faintly, Cat pushed her chair up from the table and walked down the hall to the front door. Opening it, she was surprised to see the art teacher from her school standing on the porch. His gray, wiry hair stuck out from his scalp like a greasy mop and his glasses were mended with masking tape at the sides. There was a morning shadow on his jaw and he had a funny smell. Cat had only taken his class for a week her freshman year before dropping it for drama. She couldn't imagine what he could be doing here now at this hour.

"Hello Cate." he said brightly. His voice sounded as though he had swallowed helium and she always had to force herself not to burst out laughing when she heard it.

Instead she smiled lightly and replied, "It's Cat actually Mr. Langella, but hi. What can I do for you?"

Nodding his head toward the hall he asked, "Can I uh--?"

Stepping back held the door open, "Sure, come in."

As he did, he looked her up and down and said, "My, but you're getting prettier every time I see you. You'll be quite a little lady soon."

Cat shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to being called pretty. The 'pretty' girls were the stiff, prissy brats at school that she always tried to stay away from. "Ye-ah, thanks. Did you want to see my parents?"

"Please." he answered, "And if I could see Heath as well, that would be excellent."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Heath? What's the matter, is he in trouble?" She couldn't see Heath being a troublemaker like Henry. It wasn't like him.

But Mr. Langella shook his head vigorously, "Oh no! No it's nothing of the kind. The opposite actually."

"Ok, I'll be right back." Cat walked down the hall and back into the dining room, "Mom, Dad, Mr. Langella from school's here. He wants to see you."

Will set down his fork with a clatter and glared at Henry, "Alright boy, what the hell did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything!" Henry snapped back.

"Yeah, well we'll just see about that!" Will stood up abruptly from the table and started for the hall, but Cat put her hand on his arm, stopping him,

"Dad, it isn't about Henry. He wants to see you guys about Heath."

Her dad blinked twice, surprised. His face was a mixture of confusion and worry when he looked back at Heath, then at Henry's sneering expression.

"He's not in trouble or anything," Cat said hurriedly, "But he wants to see you and Mom about something--Heath too."

Her parents looked at each other, then at Heath, who looked back at them blankly.

Will gestured to them, "C'mon, let's see what this is all about."

Cat and Henry followed them down the hall to the living room where Mr. Langella was waiting. As they entered, Will went forward immediately, extending his hand, "Mister, welcome to my house."

Mr. Langella shook his hand emphatically, "Mr. Ernshawl, it's a pleasure to meet you." He shook Tina's hand, "Mrs. Ernshawl, a pleasure ma'am. Hello there Heath." Heath nodded to him in reply.

"Is there anything that I can get you Mr. Langella?" She asked, "Something to drink-"

"Oh no please, I'm already intruding on you enough at this hour. I would not have come if I didn't think it important."

"Well, I'm mighty curious." Will said, "I'm only used to getting visits about one of my kids from the school, I hope this ain't one of them kind of meetins!"

Cat winced at the expression on Henry's face. Even she didn't think that remark had been necessary.

Mr. Langella gestured to the sofa, "Perhaps we should sit down?" He settled between Cat's parents, while she and Heath sat together in the love seat, Henry leaned against the wall.

"I just want you to know Mr. and Mrs. Ernshawl that Heath is no trouble whatsoever. In fact, this meeting is only to bring extremely good news. News that I've never had before for any student of mine."

"What's going on?"

"Well you see Mr. Ernshawl, I've come to talk to you about Heath's extraordinary talent in artistry. You are no doubt aware of his abilities but I-"

"No," Cat's dad said in surprise, "No, we had no idea that Heath was a good artist! Cat, did you know that?"

Cat shrugged, mumbling, "A little, I guess."

"I'm not surprised sir," Mr. Langella said ruefully, "Heath is one of those rare specimens in the field of art that doesn't like to enhance his ego by showcasing his work. Perhaps that adds to his uniqueness, and all the better for what I'm about to say. You see sir, for the past month or so I've been having the students experiment with oils on canvas. It is usually quite a difficult thing for them to master, as there is a certain technique to doing it. Heath showed skill at all of our previous units, but it was in oils that I truly began to realize the extent of his talent. Not only did he master the techniques beautifully, but his gift in perception is one that I haven't seen in years. He has a way of displaying a vision that is fascinating and beautiful. Quite honestly, I would call him a protégé."

Cat glanced over at Heath, who had averted his eyes to the floor and hunched his shoulders in on himself. He looked embarrassed.

Her dad seemed speechless. "Well, I- I had no idea about this. I knew Heath was a special kid, but I- I thought he was just handy with cars…"

"Did you come here to only tell us this Mr. Langella?" Cat's mother asked stiffly, "Because to be quite honest, I don't think it merits a home visit. Can't it have waited until a conference-"

"Not at all Mrs. Ernshawl, he assured her, "I was just beginning to get to the point. You see, there is a sort of young people's art competition that held is annually held in New York City in a few months time. It is an extremely prestigious and competitive contest, as youths from all over the nation submit art of all kinds. Usually they are attending some sort of academy or prep school and have the kind of experience to win. It's for this reason that I don't involve the students at our school in the contest. However in Heath's case… I would be willing to make an exception."

"You mean you want Heath to enter the contest?" Cat asked anxiously, "He'd have to go to New York City?" she could feel her excitement building up already.

But Mr. Langella shook his head, "Not necessarily, Cat. You see the art submission gets sent to New York through the mail and judged through a series of rounds by category. If he were to enter the competition thorough an oils submission, I believe that Heath could go far- I even think he'd have a chance at winning!"

"And the prize would be?" Will asked.

The art teacher smiled coolly, "Five thousand dollars and a scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York City."

Will whistled through his lips while Tina's jaw dropped. Cat gasped and laughed delightedly, "Oh my God!" she cried, clasping Heath's forearm, "Are you serious? All that for painting a picture?"

"As I said Cat, it's a very prestigious competition. Thousands of competitors enter every year. The judging generally takes two to three months. The guidelines and criteria for judging are extremely severe and meticulous. And there are many disappointments given to many wonderful artists."

"Oh, but Heath could take all of them!" she said dismissively, "I know he could really win!"

"Langella, you really think he's got what it takes?" Will asked incredulously.

"Mr. Ernshawl, if you don't believe me, I invite you to come up to the art studio any time and see the work that Heath has done. Even if he doesn't win the competition, his work will get seen by people who could help him just as much as the prize could… perhaps even more. And with his art portfolio, he's almost guaranteed a scholarship somewhere.""

Will laughed, running a hand through his hair, "I- I don't know what to say to all of this!"

From the corner of the room, Henry said sardonically, "You could ask Heath what he thinks Dad- he hasn't said a word about whether or not he even wants to do it or not!"

All eyes in the room turned to Heath who was leaning back in the loveseat pensively, staring at his feet. Cat nudged him with her elbow, urging,

"C'mon Heath, this is incredible! There's no way you can pass this up!"

"Don't force him into anything Cat," Will said, "If the boy don't want to, he don't want to. There's no pressure here son, none at all."

Heath licked his lips, then answered, "I don't know… it's a lot to think about it. Can I think it over for a while?"

Mr. Langella quickly nodded, "Of course. Though I feel I should tell you that if you are seriously considering it, it would be best to start conceptualizing some possible entries for the competition. Many competitors do prepare months in advance…"

"I understand. Thanks for coming Mr. Langella," Heath said, "And for offering me this chance. I appreciate it."

The three adults stood up and headed toward the door, conversing in polite goodbyes and thanks while Cat, Heath and Henry stayed in the living room. Henry snickered dryly,

"Well, well, well, what do you know? A mechanic and an artist. You got more surprises than you do fleas don't you, garbage boy?"

Cat snapped at him sharply, "Stop being jealous and just shut up, Henry!"

Henry scoffed and replied sardonically, "Jealous of what, that the idiot can color a picture?" With a laugh, he left the room saying, "When he puts his art up against all those smart asses from prep schools who've been trained by real professionals, we'll see how 'great' his art is!"

When she heard the door to his room slam shut, Cat shook her head and muttered, "Jerk," before turning back to Heath and pressed, "So do you have an ideas for what you're going to paint for the competition?"

Heath shrugged, "I don't even know if I'm painting anything for it at all. I mean, why?"

Cat was stunned, "What? Heath, come on now, get serious. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, something most kids only dream about. Why wouldn't you?"

"Well for starters, winning the competition would mean that I'd have to move to New York."

"And? If that's not the opportunity of a lifetime, then I don't know what is!"

Heath shook his head, "Well that would mean leaving The Heights, being gone for 4 years…maybe even longer."

Cat was still persistent, "You say that like it'd be a bad thing."

"It would be a bad thing, Cat. I don't want to leave the Heights, not for anything."

She drew her mouth down into a small pout, "C'mon Heath, not even for me?"

Heath put a hand over the one she had on his arm. Stroking it lightly, he shrugged and asked simply, "Why do you think I don't want to go in the first place?"

Before Cat had a chance to answer, she was interrupted by the sound of Will's laughter as he and Tina came back into the living room. Her father sighed heavily and sank into a faded recliner saying, "Well Heath, if this ain't the best thing since sliced bread I don't know what is! Who'da ever thought I'd be bringin' home a little Picasso 5 months ago, huh?"

"Oh Heath's gonna be bigger than Picasso, dad," Cat smiled, then said in a playfully severe tone, "If I can just convince him to enter this competition, that is!"

At this Will turned to Heath, saying, "Now look, son, I understand all this may be a little hard for you to handle right now, but I just want you to think about everythin' that's at stake here; we're talking about college--somethin no one around here has ever even had a chance at gettin to. You got somethin you can be proud of, Heath, and if it's what you want, then whatever it takes, I'm gonna do my best to make sure you can win that prize. Anything you need--paper, paint, brushes, whatever you artists use--I'm gonna get for you first thing in the morning. You can use the time that you normally use for workin in The Heights to work on your painting, all right?"

It was here that Tina, who'd be quiet while standing up against the wall all this time finally spoke up, "And just how do you figure all of this is going to happen, Will? Do you think the money for all of the 'paper, paint, brushes, and whatever artists use' is just going to appear out of thin air?"

Will sighed, "Now Tina, listen--"

But Tina wouldn't be silenced, "No! You think you can just give this boy everything we have all for a competition there's no possible way he can win, anyway? Well, I'm putting my foot down this time, Will! I'm saying no!"

Cat rolled her eyes and groaned, "C'mon mom, don't start this now--"

She spun around on her, "And don't you think you can talk to me like that, Catherine Ernshawl! Both you and your father are going to hear me out this time!" Turning back to her husband, Tina said, "There's not going to be any money for him, Will, not a dime of it is going to go to him or any other castoff children you bring into this house, do you understand me?"

"Tina just hear me out--"

"I'm pregnant!"

There was a long, agonizing silence as Tina caught her breath and Will's face slowly cracked. Cat sat stiffly on the sofa, holding her breath as long as she dared.

"I'm pregnant Will," her mother whispered brokenly, "Everything we've wanted for so long- what we thought would never happen… well it's happened now. I'm pregnant!"

Will sank down into the high back chair, leaning forward on his knees as he hung his head down, "How long have you known?" he croaked at last.

Cat exchanged a quick glance with her mother before she answered haltingly, "Three months… I've been sure for two."

He looked up at her, "Three months?! Three months, and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't know how, Will," she said despairingly, "Everything's been upside down and inside out in this house for months now and I just didn't know how… And, and we've had so many disappointments before, that I didn't want to get my hopes up in case-" she broke off and covered her face with her hands.

Will stood to his feet and went to her, but instead of him assuredly taking her into his arms as Cat had seen him do countless times before, he seemed awkward and uncertain. All the same, he looked over at her and nodded to the door.

Knowing the drill, Cat nudged Heath in the side with her elbow and the two of them quickly shuffled out and into the front yard of the house, beginning to walk across the fields toward her tree.

When they'd gone a considerable distance, Cat broke the silence at last, "This is gonna be a disaster… I can just feel it."

"She doesn't have to die, Cat." Heath said, "She may be fine."

But Cat shook her head, "Even if she does, it won't matter. It's still gonna be trouble. Did you see the look on my dad's face? He's not happy about her being pregnant. He doesn't want her to be."

"But I thought you said he wanted more babies."

"He did… until he brought you home. Now, he doesn't need anymore. But Mom's determined… she's got something to prove; to him and all the rest of us."

"She really hates me, doesn't she?" he asked calmly, and Cat was surprised at the ease with which he said it. Shaking her head with a sigh, she answered,

"It isn't you, Heath, it's what you did in coming here. She's jealous of the attention you get from my Dad, for her and for Henry. You know that he's her favorite. And now, you're Dad's. That's all it is."

But Heath shook his head, "No… it's me. I know it. She really hates me Cat. Me. Not what I did. She thought getting pregnant would make your dad send me back to where I came from."

Cat was silent for a moment, then replied softly, 'It doesn't matter. Cause Dad is never going to do that. I know him. He loves you. And that means you aren't leaving, right?"

Heath looked over at her and smiled faintly, taking up her hand and weaving his fingers in between hers before pressing a light kiss to the back of it,

"Yeah," he answered, "That's right… I'm not going anywhere."