Benevolence

By: Cory Galliher

As the little girl finally met his eyes for the first time, Scott ‘Monty’ Montaigne smiled openly. It had taken so long to get this one to open up - eye contact was definitely a notable milestone. ‘That’s right, Shauna,’ he said soothingly. ‘Why don’t we come on over here and play with the rest of the kids?’ Taking her by the hand, Monty led her over to one of the smaller groups, and within moments the once-taciturn girl was joining in on the fun.

Giving a final, reassuring wave at Shauna, who was now more occupied with the other children than with ‘Mister Monty’, Monty proceeded to walk back over to the supervisor, an older woman whom he had hired on account of her experience in early psychological development.. “I don’t know how you do it,” she said, sincere admiration in her voice, “but I don’t think there’s a child in the world that you can’t get through to.”

In response to this, Monty offered only a Cheshire grin, commenting, “I guess you could call it a hidden talent. I’ve got to get back to