Betty's First Trip to Rome the Prequel - Chapter 10 – Breaking for Ice Cream
Hilda led the sobbing Betty into the living room and sat her on the sofa. She put the box of tissues within her reach and went to the kitchen. She prepared the tea and she got out the ice cream. She stopped to look at her binder that was sitting open on the kitchen table. She glanced at a couple of pages.
Hilda set out the tea and bowls of ice cream on the coffee table and sat across from Betty.
Betty had been with Daniel Jr. all day and the stress of keeping up a normal appearance had worn her out. The outburst of tears was a natural release of tension after trying to act normal when she felt far from normal. Once it was over she dried her tears and started to feel better. They drank tea and ate ice cream and Hilda asked Betty how her day was.
Betty enjoyed the tea and dessert with Hilda.
Betty described how she had been pleasantly surprised by Daniel Jr.'s behavior that day. Normally he could be a handful. He was a boyish immature version of his father and Daniel was a boyish immature man. Daniel Jr. could often be difficult. But he wasn't today. He didn't run off, he didn't act out, he didn't bother her. He was quite the opposite. He was good. He stuck to her like glue not leaving her side. At lunch he was polite and well mannered. He waited patiently outside the door when Betty washed her hands after lunch. She took a long time because she broke down and cried and then had to force herself back to a semblance of normalcy. Daniel Jr. did not comment on the length of time she took or give any sign that he had heard anything unusual. Betty saw proof today that Daniel Jr. would eventually grow into a charming and well-liked man like Daniel.
Hilda asked Betty about how she was feeling. She asked Betty to describe what she was thinking about. Betty's primary feeling was one of sadness. She also felt disappointment and hurt. She was sorry that Gio was not the man she thought he was but she wasn't as angry at him now for not being that man. She was sorry about it. She wished things had turned out differently. She was sad. She missed the Gio that was her friend. She missed him intensely. She was becoming resigned to moving on.
Betty was sad. When Betty was sad she often remembered sad and upsetting events from her past. Hilda knew this was typical for most people and expected it. Some people might think that Betty led a charmed life and never had anything bad happen to her. Some people might think that the bad things that happened to Betty were insignificant.
Betty was loved. She was fed. She had a home. But everyone - including people who are loved, fed and sheltered - has problems. They have things that they don't like about themselves. They have memories of events they wish they could forget. And Hilda knew Betty would be like that too.
Bad memories from past events add confusion to your mind. They cloud people's thinking. People can go from sad to sadder as the painful emotions dredge up sad or disturbing memories from the past. Hilda wanted to clear away what she could. She wanted to help Betty think more clearly. She needed to rid Betty of the bad memories that were hindering her thinking.
Hilda asked Betty to talk about some other things that were bothering her. She asked Betty to tell her about things on her mind that would not normally be bothering her.
Betty said she was upset that she couldn't give her orthodontist the smile that he desperately wanted. She felt like she had let him down. Up to then she had been his ideal patient. She was proud of it. Now she wasn't. This made her feel bad.
Hilda pointed out how many years she had worn braces. Hilda pointed out how many years she was likely to have beautiful, picture perfect teeth. Hilda explained that the orthodontist could get his picture later, in a week or month or two months. Hilda said it wouldn't matter to them if they got the picture now or later. Betty felt better. She was a reasonable person. She knew she'd smile again. She knew she'd be able to give them the smile they wanted some day. When Betty realized she would be able to give the orthodontist what he wanted she felt better. Hilda asked Betty to let go of this sadness. Betty let it go and she felt better.
Hilda asked Betty to tell her about something else on her mind.
Betty recalled an upsetting event from when she was in her multicultural club at the junior high school. She had made a girl cry.
Betty was proud of being a nice person and she was one of the organizers of the club so she was devastated when she made this young foreign girl who had come to the club for the first time so upset she had left in tears. Hilda asked to hear the whole story. Hilda had not heard this story before. Betty had not told this story to anyone before.
There wasn't much to the story. The girl had arrived at the club and Betty had greeted her as she always greeted newcomers. Betty asked her about where she came from and she asked her about her family and home back there. The girl had suddenly burst into tears and run away. No one else was in the room so no one else saw it happen. Betty never saw the girl again. She still felt sorry for the girl and she still regretted not finding her and making friends with her. When she was sad she would often recall the girl and it made her feel bad.
Hilda was concerned. This was a difficult bad memory. She knew she didn't have enough time to devote to it that it deserved. She could only deal with it lightly. She knew that Betty would not be able to let go of this one easily. It was bound to surface again in the future but Hilda hoped that it wouldn't pain Betty quite as much the next time. They talked about the girl and they discussed possible reasons for her behavior and Betty felt somewhat better. Betty also felt better because her shameful secret wasn't a secret anymore.
Hilda asked for another one. Betty described a time she had lost a library book. It was a very beautiful book. It was a large size with colorful artistic illustrations and it didn't fit into her backpack so she was carrying it in her hands. She put it down beside her on the subway seat. Just as she stepped out of the subway car she realized she didn't have it but the doors closed and she could not retrieve it. It never turned up in the lost and found. Other than that book she had a perfect record of returning books to the library. She later gave the library money for a replacement book from her own pocket. It made her sad that she lost such a beautiful book and she felt bad that she had ruined her reputation with the library.
Hilda asked Betty to describe what she thought happened to the book. Betty thought someone had taken it. Hilda asked Betty if she would ever buy a book and give it to a stranger. Betty said that of course she would, she did, since she often gave donations of books to charity. Hilda said that losing the library book was like a random act of kindness. She had given a very nice book to a stranger on the subway. She gave it to someone who wanted it. She paid the library for it so it was her book to give away. Hilda asked Betty to let this one go and Betty did. She liked the idea of doing random acts of kindness. She was feeling better.
Just then Ignacio and Justin entered the house. Hilda and Betty went to greet them. Justin reported that Ignacio was upset when he had to hold a mouse to use the computer. Ignacio explained that where he came from mice were dirty filthy rodents that ruin food and make a mess and have to be kept out of the house at all costs. Hilda and Justin exchanged glances. Hilda thought that the computer jargon was upsetting for Ignacio. And Ignacio, like any normal person, could not learn when he was upset.
Ignacio complained that he was tired from all the strange and confusing things he did in the class and went to bed. Justin said he had homework and left.
Betty was feeling better. Betty was tired. She thought she might be able to get a good night's sleep finally. She was eager to get a good night's sleep.
Hilda did not let Betty go to bed. They still had much to cover. They couldn't leave it for another day. There wasn't any time to waste and they were just getting started. Hilda sat Betty back on the sofa. She went into the kitchen and turned to the next page in the binder and read it for a few moments. Then she went back into the living room and sat across from Betty.
Hilda looked at Betty who was sitting comfortably on the sofa and said "Let's talk about Gio."