hair that had originally been used to sew them.  “This was how they attached buttons a long time ago.” She had buttons that looked like a tiger’s eye, an ostrich eye, and a whirlpool, holding each one up and letting the class pass them around.  
        When she completed her presentation and had retrieved all the buttons and closed the box, Mrs. Henderson said, “That was very interesting, Dina. Class, did you enjoy that?” The class applauded. Dina smiled as she walked to the back of the class and resumed her seat.  

#

        Now, back to May of 1964, as the boys were picking their partners for the final dance day of the semester, Dina noticed Dwight Jensen, the tiny white-skinned, white-haired boy who played the cello, moving toward her and Delia.  Was he going to ask Delia to dance? That was surprising. But then he walked right up to Dina and said politely, “Do you want to be my dance partner?”
        Dina was shocked, but responded instinctively, “Okay,” standing and following him to the front of the class. She was taller and bigger than Dwight but didn’t care at all. As they waited for Mrs. Henderson to place the needle on the vinyl record, she couldn’t contain her smile. She was standing in front of the class with a partner who had chosen her on dance day. She chuckled at every little joke and comment made by the others. When the music began, everyone moved as they’d been instructed during the previous months, Dina proudly with her little partner, enjoying dance day for the first time. When everyone returned to their seats, she was giggly and cheerful, joking with Delia.

#

        In the many years since those days, Dina would often think about Delia Rosas, Marilyn Haynes and Dwight Jensen but life was so busy she never reached out to them. But one evening fifty years after Mrs. Henderson’s class, she vowed to attempt to contact them. She lived in Sacramento now, had raised two children, was a PhD in Psychology, and her research on racial biases and stereotypes in child molestation cases was referenced in courtrooms throughout the country.
        Just as she had changed, black and white photography had been replaced by digital photos taken by cell phones and phone books and information operators had been replaced by the internet and social media. The searches for her old classmates didn’t take long. She learned quickly that Dwight Jensen had died in an auto accident many years ago. She could not track down Delia Rosas, probably because her name was so common and she might now have a married name.
        But she did track down a Marilyn Haynes Thomas in the Bay Area, then when she saw pictures of the beautiful, beaming blonde woman, knew immediately it was the same Marilyn from fourth grade. She was amazed to learn that