Going Against the Grain

     Shannon maneuvered her beat-up Jetta into a parking spot behind the five-star restaurant and turned off the ignition. For a moment she just sat there, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

     “What’s wrong?” her younger sister asked.
     As she glanced down into Katie’s bright eyes, a surge of love flooded Shannon, so strong it warmed her insides and pushed away her fears. The edges of her mouth lifted into a smile. She brushed a hand back over Katie’s braids. “This is an important business meeting. You know that, don’t you?”
     “Yeah. You don’t have to keep reminding me.” Katie huffed out the words. “I’m a big girl now. I’ll be okay”
     “I know you’re a seven year old grown up. And I’m proud of you. But this is our chance for a better future. We need this job.”
     “Stop worrying, sis.” She opened her hand, revealing the jacks and tiny rubber ball. “I’ll stay at the car and play Jack Rocks.” She grinned, trying to reassure.
     She’d been her sister’s only family since their parents had died in a house fire before Katie’s third birthday. “Sorry the babysitter couldn’t make it. She was ah-sick.”
     “You mean drunk,” Katie corrected.
     Guilt rushed Shannon. They lived in a roach infested boardinghouse patronized by prostitutes and drug users. Somehow she had to get Katie away from such an environment. She was a smart and compassion child who deserved the best in life.
     Shannon smoothed a clammy palm over the skirt of her new business suit. She’d spent too much money on it, but she needed the polished look of a sophisticated woman. She looked younger than her twenty-two years. “If I get the job, we’ll move to a better neighborhood.” Blinking away tears, she reached over and squeezed her sister’s hand.
     “You’ll get it. You’ll the best artist in San Diego.” Katie took a sip of apple juice.
     “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She waved at the older woman walking their way. Lucy was a homeless woman who sometimes slept behind the restaurant. Shannon had given her food and loose change and Lucy looked out for them. Over the past two years they’d become close friend.
     After gathering her portfolio off the back seat, Shannon exited the car. “Thanks for sitting with Katie while I’m inside. I should be back in an hour.”
     Lucy cupped Shannon’s cheek. “You just get that job, gal. Katie and I’ll be fine. Now go on.”
     Shannon hesitated. She stood, nibbling on her bottom lip. Was she doing the right thing?

____________________

Did Shannon make the right decision when she left her sister in the hands of a homeless woman?

I believe she did. Fate doesn’t always land us in ideal environments. Sometimes we have to make the best of a bad situation. Regardless of your thoughts about Shannon's dilemma, one thing is true for all of us. We make decisions based on our life experiences. Someone who grows up with a silver spoon in his or her mouth might say, "I'd never do that."  Someone struggling to make ends meet in the inner city might say, "I'm doing this to make a better life for my child."  And then there's the rest of us that fall in between those two cultures.

So, what do you think?

Until later,
Pamela Varnado