Page 5 of Mending Fences
CHAPTER THREE
Mandy swung her crutches down the art department’s narrow hallway, trying not to hit anything. The old building wasn’t exactly disability friendly. She tapped on the last door.
“Open!”
Balancing on the crutches and holding her bags, she found turning the handle nearly impossible. Her hand slipped a second time, but the door opened anyway.
“Mandy? What happened?” Professor Christensen held the door for her.
Mandy slid the camera case from her shoulder. “I was taking pictures of the Crawford mansion, and something startled me.”
“Did you get any decent shots?”
She shook her head. “Only one. I hope it will be good enough for me to finish the project.”
“Only one?” The professor took a seat at his cluttered desk.
Mandy set the camera case on top of a stack of papers. “The camera fell when I did.”
She bit her lip as her adviser unzipped the camera case. He pulled out the three pieces of the lens and the camera. “Do you have any idea how much this camera costs? How hard did you fall?”
Mandy sat in the only chair not piled with art books. “I looked the camera up last night. I guess I owe the university a big chunk of money.” Mandy cringed. It would take almost three years of work to pay the debt off if she moonlighted and used all her savings. “I know I can’t graduate if I owe the university any money.”
He examined the camera parts, trying to fit them back together. “I’ll talk to the dean and see what we can do about the camera. I assume there is some insurance policy, so you would only owe a portion, but even 10 percent would be a fair chunk of change.”
She shifted in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable place for the boot.
Dr. Christensen put the camera parts back in the bag. “How are you at grant writing?”
“I wrote a couple as an undergrad, and I did one for the high school art department.”
He sat back in his worn leather chair. “You might want to sharpen your pencil and see if you can get any grants, which will help. I’m not sure how the university works in these matters. How exactly did you come to fall?”
“I was sitting on the fence, and Daniel Crawford came up behind me and yelled. He accused me of working with some land developer. I guess the rumors are true about him selling the place.” Mandy tried unsuccessfully to keep her voice light.
The professor brightened. “Daniel Crawford is in town? Any chance he’ll help pay for the camera?”
She let out a harsh laugh. He wouldn’t help her to the car—why would he hand over money?
“You could send C&O enterprises one of your grant proposals. They have donated to us before.” He leaned forward, a hopeful gleam in his eye.
“I’m sure that would go over well. ‘TheCin C&O helped break this camera when I was almost trespassing on his land. Will you buy a new one for the university?’” Mandy read off an imaginary paper, balled it up, then sent it flying into the trash can.
The professor leaned back and laughed. “I don’t know if that would work.”
Mandy joined in the laughter.
“How is the project, then?” her mentor asked, coming around to the point of their meeting.
“The Crawford place is the last piece.”
“Let’s keep your schedule for your MFA show April 17 titled ‘If Only ...’? And hopefully we can work something out with the camera. At the very least you will still have all of your work done and only need to wait until the time the university can be paid to pick up your diploma.” He gave Mandy a half smile. “It’s one of the most original ideas I’ve seen the last several years. Be proud of yourself. Go home, work on your project, and I’ll see you next week. Oh and have the descriptions completed for the printer by the first.”
Mandy shook the professor’s hand and left. For years she had wished on birthday candles to see Danny again. Too bad no one had told her ten-year-old self to be careful what she wished for. That didn’t keep her from wishing for a miracle now. Between the single photo she had to work with and the money she owed, she would have been better off not even trying for her MFA. Her crutch caught on the exterior door as she left the building. At least she didn’t fall.
