Betty's First Trip to Rome the Prequel - Chapter 9 – Putting the kettle on the stove
Hilda was glad she was able to give good news to Gio. He needed to get some rest. She hoped he'd get a good night's sleep. She was feeling confident now. She needed to call Daniel. She expected it would be a long call. She and Daniel might have to talk until morning. She busied herself preparing for an all-nighter.
While she got ready for her call with Daniel she thought back to earlier in the day.
Just after she'd put the ice cream away, she pulled out a binder and pen and worked on how she would get to the heart of the problems that Betty was facing. Something was severely distorting her thinking. Hilda was determined to find out what.
She made a cup of tea. She settled herself. She did some stretching and deep breathing. Then she sat and thought. She made notes. She thought and she thought and she made more notes. She did this for the entire afternoon. She had a lot to think about. There were several avenues of investigation. Why was Betty so blind about Gio? There had to be a reason and Hilda was committed to find it out what it was.
It was a fact that she had cajoled a dress and shoes out of Daniel and that Daniel thought that those things were buying her help. But what he didn't know was that she would have been committed without them. But he didn't need to know. It didn't matter. It was sport for her to wheedle those things out of him. It added spice to the game.
She could tell that Gio thought she was flirting with Daniel. Daniel may have thought so too. That didn't matter to her. What they thought and what was really happening were two different things. She didn't care what they thought. They didn't need to know what was really happening.
Months ago Hilda had recognized Gio's interest in Betty. She'd recognized it sooner than he had himself. She knew she might have been able to win him over to herself if she had put her mind to it but that would not have been right.
Hilda knew Gio was for Betty. Betty was a lucky girl. She'd never find another guy like him. Gio was special. He was a prince. Betty's prince. No one besides Gio would have withstood the scrutiny she gave him today. Hilda wished he had a brother. She hoped someone was out there for her. She had a man once and lost him and now she hoped to find a second. She wanted one fervently. But she wouldn't take anyone else's guy.
Daniel was another case. Betty wasn't the only person with unacknowledged feelings. Hilda knew Daniel was suffering the same plight. Hilda could flirt with him now but if she saw him start to turn her way she'd set him straight. Same as she did with Gio. So far he had not. The time for Daniel to become aware of his feelings for that other someone was not here yet.
Betty was a crisis and she had to be tackled now. Hilda never anticipated it would come to this but she was more than prepared to wade in to take steps to resolve the disruption to Betty and Gio's growing relationship. It was going to take some thought and preparation and effort. She would work as hard as she could to get it back on track. But no one needed to know that she was working hard. She knew she was. No one else needed to know. Whether anyone else knew or not wasn't important to her.
She knew people thought that all she did was cut hair in the salon. She knew people thought she was not even all that competent at it. But in her heart of hearts she knew that getting a hair cut was only part of what a person got in a salon. What was important is that they felt better about themselves when they stepped out of her shop. They could think they felt better because of the stylish hair. Hilda knew the reason they felt better included the hair cut, but it was definitely not limited to it. They got to talk. She listened. She knew she was much better than other people at listening. Listening was important. Making people feel better was important. Whether anyone realized the extent of her skill at listening to them and helping them feel better was not important.
Ignacio and Justin were preparing to attend a class on computers at the senior's centre. It was the first one of a set of ten classes. All of the other students would be older people like Ignacio. Ignacio did not like computers. He did not know why he needed to know anything about them. He thought he was too old. That's what he said. Hilda thought that was not a reason. It was not the real reason. Justin's job was to observe Ignacio and discover what was preventing him from wanting to learn. Normally Hilda would have gone but she was busy with Betty tonight. Justin would report back to her later and they would work on a plan. She suspected it would include desensitization but before that could start she needed to find out where the roots of his resistance lay.
Hilda was proud of Justin. She was also a little worried for him. She felt he had some rough times coming up as he got older. She was preparing herself for the inevitable. She would be there for him. She would be carefully and quietly helping him. He wouldn't necessarily know it. But she had no hesitation supporting and encouraging him to be the person he was meant to be. That person may or may not be who she would choose but it was his life. He had to be true to himself. She enjoyed the happy boy she had now while she prepared for the time when she might have to support him to keep him traveling on the path he was destined to be on.
Hilda, Ignacio and Justin had dinner together. Sitting down together for their family meals was a delight to them all. They were a small family of meager means but they were close and they were happy. They enjoyed each other's company. This was a special environment. They all knew it was something very special. It didn't necessarily happen by accident.
Hilda knew happy families didn't happen by accident. People may think that wealth and status were necessary to make them happy but she had observed ample evidence to the contrary. The warmth and happiness of a family was not at all related to the size of a paycheck.
Soon it was time for Ignacio and Justin to leave. Ignacio tried to avoid it. He said he was too tired, he said he needed to wash the dishes, he said his favorite show was on the television. There was a long list of reasons why he couldn't go. Hilda countered each one telling him why it wasn't a good enough reason to stay home. Eventually Ignacio stopped trying to avoid it and left with Justin. Hilda kissed and hugged Justin as he went out the door.
Hilda put the binder of notes on the kitchen table. She put a kettle on the stove. She put a box of tissues on the coffee table in the living room. She readied herself for Betty's arrival. Hilda was naturally curious to find out was going on in Betty's mind. She was concerned for her sister. She'd talked with her a few times already and made a little progress but she had not discovered the root of the problem yet. This was a tough case. She had taken care to do everything within her power to be ready for tonight.
Hilda waited at the front window watching for the town car. It arrived shortly after seven. Daniel Jr. hopped out and accompanied Betty to the front door. Daniel Jr. thanked Betty for helping him find a tutor, said goodnight to her and returned to the car.
Hilda waited just inside the door. Betty entered and immediately threw her arms around Hilda and burst into tears.