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She passed an open door and peered inside to find rows of chairs before what appeared to be a chapel Responding to shouts further down the hallway, she pushed into the gyress with players from six to ten years old, all boys
An ebony-haired woman in her twenties raced up and down the court with the contestants trying to officiate what appeared to be bedlam Kelly watched a bit of the action When two of the players fought over the ball and one of theround, the official raised a whistle hanging around her neck and blew shrilly, bringing the dispute to a halt
“That’s it,” she shouted, hands on her hips “Garuht punches on each other’s shoulders
Kelly walked across the now deserted court where the official stuffed equip
“Sister Aleta?”
The woman turned, pushed sweaty hair that had escaped a ponytail away from her face and smiled at Kelly “Can I help you?”
“Are you Sister Aleta?”
“That’s what they call me”
“Are you a nun?” Her mom claimed to be Catholic, but Kelly could count on one hand the times they’d attended mass Kelly didn’t know much about the church, but was surprised a nun would wear shorts
“No,” Aleta said “But the kids all call me sister anyway”
“Nancy sent me,” Kelly said
“Ah,” Aleta said, her s “What are you on?”
“Oxy”
Aleta nodded “Do you want help?”
Before Kelly could answer, cries of “Sister Aweta, Sister Aweta” bounced off the high gy
A little boy close to the size of Jason Wentworth ran up to Sister Aleta and tugged on the hem of her khaki shorts “Aweta,” he wailed in a childish voice, again re Kelly of the little dude
Kelly gazed down at the child and her heart squeezed He had a bruise on his right cheek where someone had slapped him so hard she could ed to see Jason,him with a physical ache in her core Was he okay? Did he miss her?
She shook her head Of course the little prince was okay, at least physically He was safe, unlike this child Trey would never strike his son
And the Wentworth otten she existed
Aleta knelt so she was eye level with the child “What’s wrong, Julio?”