Goodbye, Mr. Regret

After the nurse left the room, Henry finally let go of Sheila.

"Miss Sheila, I'm sorry. That nurse is actually my classmate's mom. I didn't want my classmate to find out about my mom, so I pretended you were my mother. Are you mad at me?"

Sheila squeezed Henry's little nose, smiling. "Of course I'm not mad. But, Henry, what you did wasn't right. No matter what, you shouldn't turn your back on your own mom. Do you understand?"

Henry pouted, his voice tinged with hurt. "She never comes home. She doesn't cook for me, and now, even though I'm sick, she still doesn't care..."

Thinking about Jessica, Henry's disappointment deepened, a trace of resentment flickering in his chest.

"Henry," Timothy's voice broke the silence.

Henry looked up.

"Sheila's right," Timothy said sternly. "You're her son. You can't just give up on your mother. You're still young, but if you start pretending now, that's a habit you'll need to change."

Sheila was momentarily taken aback. Last time Henry had said something like this, Timothy hadn't been so harsh. Back then, he'd said it was normal for a child to care about appearances as he grew up. But now...

Henry burst into

stay at our house, she never comes home, she doesn't cook for me, and even now that I'm sick, she still doesn't care about me. And now Dad's mad

her thoughts

mom's just busy right now. Grown-ups have a lot on their plates. Who knows? Maybe you'll see her

glanced at Timothy. "He's still a child, Timothy. If you have to correct him, do it gently. Being this strict will only scare him and

his breath

pang of

how they are. With time, Henry would grow up and come to appreciate everything his mother had done

Timothy held his

fell asleep, Sheila carefully

exhausted. Let me walk you back to your

a fever, it can come back in the middle of the night. I'd rather

him. If it gets to be

you need anything, just let