From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea ) novel Chapter 167

"Shut up!" Janet snapped, her voice harsh with disdain. "That woman doesn't deserve to be called 'mom.' She's not fit to be a mother!"

"Is it possible... my mom isn't really dead?" Gerard turned to face Janet, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

"I told you, she's not your mother!" Janet blurted out, perhaps realizing her volume had risen too much. She softened her tone, "Gerry, she really is dead."

"Is my mom really dead?" Gerard suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing as he locked eyes with Janet.

That look, it was too intense for an eighteen-year-old.

It was as if he was trying to see right through her.

Feeling guilty, Janet couldn't hold his stare. "She's dead," she insisted.

What was the point of a woman like Carole still being alive?

Better off gone, better off at peace!

Never before had Janet wished as fervently for someone like Carole to succumb to some terminal illness and pass away.

It was clear from the look on Gerard's face that he was not satisfied.

"I want to see her," Gerard said, his voice steady. "Do you have a picture of her?"

"There are no pictures!" Janet sighed again, "I’ve always known you were a good kid. That kind of woman has no right to be your mother! Only Ms. Fletcher has that right. She's from a good family, a perfect match for your dad. She's waited for your dad half her life; how can you bear to make her wait any longer?"

Delia was right. How many eighteen-year cycles does a woman have in her life?

Edna gave the best years of her life to Jonah; it was time Jonah settled things with her.

"She has no right to be my mother!" Gerard's tone was flat. "Grandma, anyone can become my stepmother, but not Edna."

"What's gotten into you, child!" Janet was becoming agitated, "You've been raised by Ms. Fletcher since you were a tot! How can you say such things about her!" Her words were accompanied by a violent cough.

He was usually such a sensible boy.

Why couldn't he see right from wrong when it truly mattered?

He'd rather acknowledge a flirty woman as his mother than accept Edna in that role.