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 healthy woman to be

diagnosed with cancer, these were the first things she worried about-afraid that

the center of her world. From the day he

none

her as nothing

was better not

pale light creeping into

dragged his exhausted body through the

been in the wrong

hotel bedding could have

the bedroom door, a gust of air fluttering a slip

house spotless. It was strange to find a scrap of paper

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

him, strode to the living

"Yes, sir. You're home."

"Where's Jessica?"

not

know where she was,

told her, "After breakfast, make sure to tidy up

"Of course."

out his

you have

her to the hospital-she'd been

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

taking care of the house, her phone was off, and

yanked off his tie, feeling