She stood in the family kitchen with mouth gaping open. Her father
looked at her with anger while her mother wouldn't look at her, the
tears fell from her eyes as she looked to the ground.

"I'm sorry but this is what I want to do."

"How could you? Didn't we raise you to be GOOD girls?" Her mother cried,
choking on her tears.

"I AM a good girl mama but this is MY dream!" She screamed back at them.

"NO! It's HIS dream not yours. Your dream is to become a Wimbledon
champion!"

"No daddy, that's YOUR dream for me. You've always wanted me to take
YOUR place daddy but I'm not you. I can never be you daddy." Whitney
looked to the floor as she fought her own tears. "My dream is singing.
I have the talent and with his help I can become a great singer."

"He's no good baby. He's just going to ruin your life!" Her mother
cried out.

"Life? What life? I turned down a college scholarship just to stay in
Harmony to practice tennis just because you two feel as if I'll screw
up. Neither of you EVER asked me what I wanted to do! I WANTED to go
to college. I WANTED to have a career. I WANT HIM!"

"Whitney," her father said calmly as he placed his hands on his daughter's
shoulders, "baby why didn't you tell us you wanted to go to college?
You could take classes at Harmony Community College."

"Community College?!" She said as she slapped her father's hands away
from her and stepped back. "What a joke! I'm 20 years old! I don't
have a job, I don't have an education OTHER then a high school diploma,
I live at home and can't do ANYTHING other then hang out with Teresa!"
She turned her back to her parents and looked out the window.

Silence filled the kitchen as she continued to look out the window. Her
mother wiped the tears from her own face and her father stared into
space.

"This is my fault," her mother whispered. "If only I told you the truth."

"Truth?" TC Russell said as he looked at his wife. "What truth? You've
never lied to us. This isn't your fault dear, it's HIS fault. Chad is
nothing but a punk from the streets. Good for nothing."

Eve Russell shook her head. "No TC, I've been lying to you for over 20
years. I've kept quiet each time you praise me about being perfect, about
never having done anything wrong. I am not perfect and I have had a
different past then the one I let you believe. Though you never once
asked me about my life before I met you. If you would have asked me I
would have told you the truth but you never did and I was ashamed of
myself."

"Ashamed? Of what? You've lived a wonderful life? What can you be
ashamed of?"

"Many things. Too many things and it's time I told you the truth."