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.

some perfectly

first things she worried about-afraid that a stepmother

he

none of

saw her as nothing but a

was better not to see him

pale light creeping into the

exhausted body through

been in the wrong last

allergy to the hotel bedding could have been explained easily-Jessica would have

the bedroom door, a gust of air fluttering a slip of paper beneath the

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

features hardened with a chill. Normally, as soon as his car pulled

the door behind him, strode to the living room,

"Yes, sir. You're home."

"Where's Jessica?"

"She's not in the

didn't know

of paper, Timothy told her, "After breakfast, make

"Of course."

out his

you have dialed

the hospital-she'd been in pain all night. She'd finally managed to fall asleep, and he'd rushed home as soon as he

attitude last night hadn't helped. He'd even asked his assistant to wait in line for more than half an hour

her phone was

off his