Sallie knew perfectly well that their family was in the wrong, so she kept her tone
gentle and conciliatory. She brought Henry over to Larkin, smiled, and said,
"Larkin, this is your great-grandson, Henry."
Henry looked confused. "Aunt Sallie, why is he my great-grandfather too?"
"Because he''s your mom''s grandfather," Sallie exined patiently.
But Larkin turned away, his face stony. "I don''t want a great-grandson who calls
another woman his mother. Take him away. I don''t even want to look at him."
Henry was already six years old-well old enough to understand exactly what
Larkin meant. He knew he shouldn''t have gone around telling people She was
his mother. Now, with it being called out so bluntly, he felt his cheeks burn with
shame. He squeezed Sallie''s hand tightly, seekingfort.
Sallie quickly tried to reason with Larkin. "Larkin, Henry''s still young. He can be
led astray easily, but he can just as easily be steered back onto the right path. No
matter what''s happened, he''s Jessy''s biological son. He hasn''t seen her in days,
and I brought him here today so he could see her."
She knew Timothy wasn''t going to reach out to Jessica anymore. As her older
sister, she couldn''t stand it. Someone had to try to get Jessica to see Timothy.
"Six years old is hardly a baby," Larkin snapped. "At that age, he can''t even
recognize his own mother? If it weren''t for you Lawsons looking down on our
Salome, would any of this have happened? I''ll be honest with you-Jessy doesn''t
want to see him, none of us Zimmermans do. Take him away."
Henry remembered how his mother had ignored him that day, giving all her
attention to his little sister Daisy. Now his great-grandfather was rejecting him too.
Tears streamed down his face as he broke into helpless sobs.
Sallie frowned. "Larkin, he''s just a child. There''s no need to say such harsh things
in front of him."
"Hmph. If he dares to do it, he shouldn''t be afraid to hear people talk about it. I
think you Lawsons have spoiled him rotten. Never taught him how to behave.
Salome used to be mute and couldn''t scold him, but what about you? What about
Timothy? No one ever said a word to him?"
The more Larkin thought about it, the angrier he got. He added, "If Vince hadn''t
mentioned it, none of us would have known. He''s been going around calling
She his mother, hasn''t he?"
Larkin let out a cold, bitterugh. "You Lawsons really know how to y the game.
Pretending to keep Timothy and She apart on the surface, but behind closed
doors, you''re practically matchmaking them."
Sallie felt miserable. She tried to exin, "Larkin, you''re wrong about us. None of
us support Timothy and She being together."
"If that''s true, then why didn''t you stand up for Salome? Why didn''t you protect
her, unite as a family and defend her marriage? And you have the nerve to say
this now?" Larkin, normally so gentle, looked stern and cold. "I think you all looked
down on Salome because she couldn''t speak, because she was an orphan, and
you bullied her."
"Larkin..." Sallie wanted to protest, but the words stuck in her throat. There was
really nothing to say. The family had always thought Salome, mute and alone,
wasn''t good enough for Timothy. Even she herself had been guilty of that.
Larkin sneered. "You Lawsons have no integrity, picking and choosing whom to
respect. Now that Salome can speak and has a new name, your attitude has
changed overnight. With all your fortune and social standing, and Timothy being
such an outstanding man, shouldn''t you be more generous and help those in
need? Instead, you bullied a mute girl. Aren''t you ashamed if word gets out?"
It was clear the Zimmermans were furious-maybe even hated them.
Sallie could understand. After
everything that had happened, who
could me the Zimmerman family
for being angry? But thinking of how
Timothy had lookedst night, she
forced herself to go on. "We were
wrong before. I came here today to
apologize to Jessy."
She hugged Henry a little tighter. "Henry has been missing his mom these past
few days. We just want to see her."
"She doesn''t want to see you, and
she doesn''t want your apology. If
she cared, she wouldn''t have put up
with all this for so many years. She''s
not living with the Lawsons
anymore, and she''s made it clear
she wants nothing more to do with
you. I was only angry on her behalf,
that''s why I went to your house."
Henry had only ever let She y the role of his mother out of pride, to save
face in front of others. Deep down, he never thought his real mom would abandon
him.
He looked up at Sallie, his eyes red
and swimming with tears. "Aunt
Sallie, does my mom not want me
anymore? Is she never going to take
care of me or see me again?"
Sallie''s heart ached at the sight of Henry''s pitiful little face. She turned to Larkin
again. "Is Jessy home? We just want to see her, that''s all."
More than anything, Sallie wanted Jessica to visit Timothy.
"She''s not here. She went overseas to see her mother."
Sallie nearly lost her bnce.
Overseas? That meant she wouldn''t be back for a while. Timothy wouldn''t get to
see her, either.
Henry''s sobs grew even louder.
It really did seem like his mother didn''t want him anymore.
With Jessica gone, there was no reason for Timothy to stay. Sallie had no choice
but to take Henry and leave.
She dropped him off at school,forting him the whole way, promising that his
mom and dad were just upset, and that things would get better once they calmed
down.
Only then did Henry stop crying and head inside.
Still worried about Timothy, Sallie turned the car around and drove straight to the
hospital.
This time, Timothy hadn''t rushed to check himself out. He was still lying in that
hospital bed.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and
continue reading tomorrow, everyone!