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*
*
*
Their
Christmas
dinner
was
microwave
turkey
served
on
an
airplane
,
with
a
complimentary
glass
of
champagne
for
Mrs
.
Wheatley
and
canned
orange
juice
for
Beth
.
It
was
the
best
Christmas
she
had
ever
had
.
The
plane
flew
over
a
snow
-
covered
Kentucky
and
,
at
the
end
of
the
trip
,
circled
out
above
the
Gulf
of
Mexico
.
They
landed
in
warm
air
and
sunshine
.
Driving
in
from
the
airport
,
they
passed
one
construction
site
after
the
other
,
the
big
yellow
cranes
and
bulldozers
standing
idle
near
stacks
of
girders
.
Someone
had
hung
a
Christmas
wreath
on
one
of
them
.
A
week
before
they
left
Lexington
a
new
copy
of
Chess
Review
had
come
in
the
mail
.
When
Beth
opened
it
she
found
a
small
picture
of
herself
and
Beltik
at
the
back
,
and
a
banner
headline
:
SCHOOLGIRL
TAKES
KENTUCKY
CHAMPIONSHIP
FROM
MASTER
.
Their
game
was
printed
and
the
commentary
said
:
“
Onlookers
were
amazed
at
her
youthful
mastery
of
the
fine
points
of
strategy
.
She
shows
the
assurance
of
players
twice
her
age
.
Отключить рекламу
”
She
read
it
twice
before
showing
it
to
Mrs
.
Wheatley
.
Mrs
.
Wheatley
was
ecstatic
;
she
had
read
the
article
in
the
Lexington
paper
aloud
and
then
said
,
“
Wonderful
!
”
This
time
she
read
in
silence
before
saying
,
“
This
is
national
recognition
,
dear
,
”
in
a
hushed
voice
.
Mrs
.
Wheatley
had
brought
the
magazine
with
her
,
and
they
spent
part
of
the
time
on
the
plane
marking
the
tournaments
Beth
would
play
over
the
next
several
months
.
They
settled
on
one
a
month
;
Mrs
.
Wheatley
was
afraid
they
would
run
out
of
diseases
and
,
as
she
said
,
“
credibility
”
if
she
wrote
more
excuses
than
that
.
Beth
wondered
to
herself
if
they
shouldn
’
t
just
ask
for
permission
in
a
straightforward
way
—
after
all
,
boys
were
allowed
to
miss
classes
for
basketball
and
football
—
but
she
was
wise
enough
to
say
nothing
.
Mrs
.
Wheatley
seemed
to
take
immense
enjoyment
in
doing
it
this
way
.
It
was
like
a
conspiracy
.
She
won
in
Houston
without
any
trouble
.
She
was
,
as
Mrs
.
Wheatley
said
,
really
“
getting
the
hang
of
it
.
”
She
was
forced
to
draw
her
third
game
but
took
the
final
one
by
a
dazzling
combination
,
beating
the
forty
-
year
-
old
Southwest
Champion
as
though
he
were
a
beginner
.
They
stayed
over
two
days
“
for
the
sun
”
and
visited
the
Museum
of
Fine
Arts
and
the
Zoological
Gardens
.
On
the
day
after
the
tournament
Beth
’
s
picture
was
in
the
paper
,
and
this
time
it
made
her
feel
good
to
see
it
.
The
article
called
her
a
“
Wunderkind
.
”
Mrs
.
Wheatley
bought
three
copies
,
saying
,
“
I
just
might
start
a
scrapbook
.
”
*
*
*
Отключить рекламу
In
January
,
Mrs
.
Wheatley
called
the
school
to
say
that
Beth
had
a
relapse
of
mono
,
and
they
went
to
Charleston
.
In
February
it
was
Atlanta
and
a
cold
;
in
March
,
Miami
and
the
flu
.
Sometimes
Mrs
.
Wheatley
talked
to
the
Assistant
Principal
and
sometimes
to
the
Dean
of
Girls
.
No
one
questioned
the
excuses
.
It
seemed
likely
that
some
of
the
students
knew
about
her
from
out
-
of
-
town
papers
or
something
,
but
no
one
in
authority
said
anything
.
Beth
worked
on
her
chess
for
three
hours
every
evening
between
tournaments
.
She
lost
one
game
in
Atlanta
but
still
came
in
first
,
and
she
stayed
undefeated
in
the
other
two
cities
.
She
enjoyed
flying
with
Mrs
.
Wheatley
,
who
sometimes
became
comfortably
buzzed
by
martinis
on
the
planes
.
They
talked
and
giggled
together
.
Mrs
.
Wheatley
said
funny
things
about
the
stewardesses
and
their
beautifully
pressed
jackets
and
bright
,
artificial
make
-
up
,
or
talked
about
how
silly
some
of
her
neighbors
in
Lexington
were
.
She
was
high
-
spirited
and
confidential
and
amusing
,
and
Beth
would
laugh
a
long
time
and
look
out
the
window
at
the
clouds
below
them
and
feel
better
than
she
had
ever
felt
,
even
during
those
times
at
Methuen
when
she
had
saved
up
her
green
pills
and
taken
five
or
six
at
once
.
She
grew
to
love
hotels
and
restaurants
and
the
excitement
of
being
in
a
tournament
and
winning
it
,
moving
up
gradually
game
by
game
and
having
the
crowd
around
her
table
increase
with
each
win
.
People
at
tournaments
knew
who
she
was
now
.
She
was
always
the
youngest
there
,
and
sometimes
the
only
female
.
Back
at
school
afterward
things
seemed
more
and
more
drab
.
Some
of
the
other
students
talked
about
going
to
college
after
high
school
,
and
some
had
professions
in
mind
.
Two
girls
she
knew
wanted
to
be
nurses
.