Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Before she left, Jessica still wanted to see Henry one last time.

After all, he was her own flesh and blood.-

He was only six-just a child, really. How could a mother possibly hold a grudge against her own son?

As she reached Henry's bedroom door, she heard his voice from inside.

"Miss Sheila, my mom is usually very polite. I don't know what happened today. I want to apologize for her. You're an adult, so please don't be mad at her, okay?"

He was too young to understand the tangled web of adult relationships. If Sheila really was Timothy's aunt, then by family standards, there was nothing wrong with what Henry said.

He was trying to defend her.

Jessica felt a bittersweet twinge of comfort.

She was about to push open the door when Henry continued, "Miss Sheila, thank you for being so understanding and not getting upset with my mom. I just wish my mom could talk as nicely as you do. Then I wouldn't have to worry about my classmates making fun of her for being mute."

...

"Yeah, there's a kid in my class whose mom limps, and everyone teases him all the time. I don't want to end up like that being laughed at, not able to hold my head up."

Jessica let go of the doorknob, her breath catching painfully in her chest.

The older Henry got, the less he could accept her shortcomings.

She had barely six months left to live...

When she was gone, Timothy would be Henry's only guardian.

maybe Timothy would remarry, find some perfectly

were the first

the day he was born, she

maybe none

as nothing but a source

was better not to

light creeping into

body through the front

in the wrong

hotel bedding could have been explained easily-Jessica

door, a gust of air fluttering

frowned. He was a stickler for cleanliness, and Jessica always kept the house spotless. It was strange

hardened with a chill. Normally, as soon as his car pulled into the drive, Jessica would be waiting at the

the door behind him, strode to the living

"Yes, sir. You're home."

"Where's Jessica?"

not

know

of paper, Timothy told her, "After breakfast, make sure to tidy

"Of course."

pulled out his phone and

sorry, the number you

house. He'd taken her to the hospital-she'd been in pain all night. She'd finally managed to fall

even asked his assistant to wait in line for more than half an hour at Velvet

phone

he yanked off his