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thank you
for this visit, but I must go now. I have work to do.” Then he
stepped down from the porch.
    Melinda felt that she could not allow him to
leave until she had told him exactly how she felt. She immediately
raised her voice a bit and said firmly, “Mr. Roberts, please don’t
leave. I want Jenny to go. Please listen to what I have to
say.”
    Gilbert was surprised by her persistence but
he turned around to face her, folded his arms across his chest once
again, and looked at her intently as she spoke.
    Looking at his imposing frame, she
swallowed. “Mr. Roberts, Jenny needs to feel like she’s part of the
class. These children have shunned her just because their former
teacher was judgmental and helped them to form wrong opinions about
her. I want to undo all that. I want her to be accepted. But she
needs to socialize with these students in a fun atmosphere outside
the classroom. Please let her go.”
    Gilbert gazed into Melinda’s eyes as she
spoke and he grinned. “That was a nice speech, Miss Gamble. But it
doesn’t lessen the fact that she might get hurt.”
    “Then come with us to the mountains.”
    Gilbert raised his eyebrows. “Me? I’m too
busy.” Then he turned and started toward the barn in large
strides.
    Melinda became frustrated with his attitude and
quickly picked her skirts up and followed him. As soon as she
caught up to him, she asked, “Mr. Roberts, is this your answer to
everything? When you are done talking, then you simply walk away
whether or not the other person is done talking?”
    “Are you still here, Miss Gamble?” Gilbert
asked, as if wearied by her presence.
    “Yes, and I’m not leaving until we talk
about this further.”
    Melinda was slightly out of breath as she
tried to keep up with Gilbert’s fast pace.
    “Miss Gamble, I’m done talking.”
    “But I’m not,” Melinda said with a firm and
stubborn tone.
    Gilbert suddenly stopped in his tracks and
turned to look into her eyes. Her determination was annoying him
greatly. “It seems to me, Miss Gamble, that unless I give in to
your demands, you won’t leave me alone. Is that correct?”
    Melinda did not like the way he put that.
But, when she thought about it, he was right. The fact was… she
wanted to convince Gilbert that Jenny really needed this outing and
she was quite certain that she could convince him of it.
    Without waiting for her answer, Gilbert
turned and continued striding toward the barn.
    “Mr. Roberts, please wait,” Melinda begged
as she tried to catch up to him. “You said that you won’t come with
us to the mountains because you are too busy.”
    “That is correct, Miss Gamble.”
    “Isn’t your daughter more important than
work?” It had come out sharper than she had planned but she was not
sorry and continued. “It’s only a half-day away from work. Isn’t
your daughter worth it?”
    Melinda had emphasized the words “worth it” in a
firm tone, hoping he would get the point and respond to it. But the
response she had triggered was not what she had expected.
    He had gotten the point all right because
suddenly Gilbert came to an abrupt stop and stared into Melinda’s
eyes. His broad chest seemed to puff out and his eyes were cold. He
stood rigid and unbending. His jaw became stiff and his voice was
stern.
    “This is none of your business. My
relationship with my daughter is no concern of yours, Miss Gamble.”
He had snapped at her, and Melinda unconsciously took a step
back.
    She took a deep breath and regained her
courage. Then, with firmness and determination in her voice, she
continued, “Oh, but I beg to differ with you, Mr. Roberts. The way
you treat your daughter affects her behavior and she brings it to
school with her. She brings her joy, her frustrations, her
disappointments, and her happiness with her each day. I see it in
her eyes when she arrives at school. She is a very happy little
girl when she first arrives from home and then the children pull
her down. Suddenly