They followed the old man back inside of the school. It turned out that he lived in the small room in the basement of the building. The room was very clean and cozy with bookshelves covering all four walls.

Tina quickly scanned the room around and noticed that the old man’s literary taste was very diverse. He had volumes of ancient and classic works along with the books on electro-magnetic theories and quantum physics.

Tina turned around to see what Bette was doing and found her staring into one of the corners of the room. Tina moved closer and for the second time in her life she felt a profound effect of art on her.

She still remembered how she felt the day Kit took her to her town home and showed the only Bette’s finished painting. Tina was mesmerized by its beauty so much that she couldn’t move for some time and stood there, frozen in time and space with tears falling down shamelessly.

And now it was happening again. Even all the damage and the fact that it was unfinished couldn’t diminish the portrait’s beauty and power. Tina could see all the love that Bette was able to reflect on the canvas.

Tina looked into Maxine’s eyes and realized that the old man was right. Bette’s mother wasn’t happy when her portrait was being made. Her eyes depicted sadness, pain, love and uncertainty.

“I wonder if she was ready to tell Melvin about her secret,” Tina whispered quietly into Bette’s ear without expecting any reply. The brunette was still engulfed with all the emotions and was struggling to find words.

Tina looked at the old man and said, “These paintings were in my family’s possession for many years…they belonged to my grandmother and were given away to the school by mistake. We were wondering…” she stopped, unsure how to proceed when the old man put his hand on the top of Tina’s and replied, “You do remind me of Lydia.”

“You know my grandmother?” Tina exclaimed in surprise.

“Everybody in Chapel Hill knows your grandma Kennard…anyway, I would be delighted to return these paintings to their rightful owner,” the old man said, looking at Bette. The brunette was standing speechless through the whole exchange and only managed to hold Tina’s hand in excitement while their new friend carefully rolled the canvases and stuck them into a metal tube.