From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea )

"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! All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

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.

Janet's coughing grew worse, as if she was trying to expel her very lungs.

Gerard sighed and walked over to pat her back.

Noticing Gerard coming to her aid softened Janet's heart. Regardless of everything, this boy still cared for his grandmother.

Janet, tearfully clutching Gerard's hand, lamented that she didn't have long to live. She didn't want to see her son and grandson left alone in the world.

Edna was such a good woman. Why couldn't this father and son accept her?

Gerard said firmly, "I don't like her, and I don't like her daughter either."

"Why not?" Janet asked, puzzled.

"Just because."

Logically, Edna had spent years trying to win over Janet and Gerard with her kindness and care.

Gerard should have been able to accept her easily.

But Gerard's dislike for Edna was just as strong as his dislike for the Fletchers!

"Grandma," Gerard continued, "I just want to see my mom, just once. Is that possible?"

Never before had Gerard longed so much to see his mother.

He wanted to see if she was like the woman in his dreams.

They say the face reflects the heart, and he wanted to see if his mother was really as terrible as his grandmother claimed.

Moreover, he believed his mother was still alive in this world.

He wanted to see her in person.

To ask her face to face if she had indeed abandoned his father and him all those years ago.

Otherwise, he would never be at peace.

He couldn't believe that in this world, someone could be so heartless as to abandon their own flesh and blood.