Then he smiled again.Then he smiled again. "Well, do you like it?" he asked. Rafael liked the man's voice and he nodded. Then he remembered who the man was. This was Mr. Baker. The man who had given all the money to build the dormitory in which he lived. He had seen him before, on and off during his years at Centerville. He had never spoken to the man before or even seen him this close up. Usually Mr. Baker only addressed the boys at a presentation ceremony or something like that. "Yeah! It's beautiful. It must have cost a mint. Is it yours?" he asked excitedly. Mr. Baker smiled, "Brand new. I just picked it up from the dealer this morning." "It's the nicest car I've ever seen," Rafael said in awe. The man smiled. "Well thank you. What's your name?" he asked. "Uh, Rafael. I live in Baker House, sir." "Yes, I expect you do. I hope you like it there. And how old are you Rafael?" the man asked, still smiling at the boy. "Ten sir, I turned ten a few days ago." Rafael said shyly. "Well Rafael, you certainly are a very handsome young man. And happy birthday too, even it is a couple of days late." "Thanks sir," the boy mumbled. For some reason he felt uncomfortable. Nobody had ever told him that he was handsome before. A lot of the boys teased him about his looks, mostly jeers and taunts that focused on the fact that he looked like a 'girl'. Rafael didn't like it but there wasn't much he could do, though he had wondered if he should get his hair cut shorter the way it had been when he was younger. "Yes," the man continued," You're certainly a very handsome boy." The man opened the car and got into the driver's seat. "Good- bye Rafael. I hope we'll be seeing more of each other. I like to know how the boys here are getting on." Rafael nodded as the car pulled back and turned onto the drive. He watched it leave. After a few long seconds he turned away and continued his walk back to the dorm. Constantly his eyes searched for Grant. He hoped to see his friend emerge, to spot him somewhere, to find out that the adoption hadn't worked. |