Family Inheritance Read Free Page A

moment. “Thought a rest would do him good.
And you and Mr. Bill need more quiet time.”
    “Nice thought, but Bill’s working late again. Thomas should be home for dinner, though.”
    Just as Helene was ready to bite into her muffin, the phone rang and Lily answered
it. She listened for a few seconds, then handed the phone to Helene. “It’s Mr. Thomas’s
school. They want to talk about Thomas’s excessive absences.”
    A lump darted into
Helene’s throat. What excessive absences? He goes to school every day.
    “This is Mrs. Foster.”
    “Hello, Mrs. Foster, this is Vivian Middleton from Thomas’s school. We’re very concerned
about Thomas missing so much school. He has brought in all of his absence slips signed
by you, but we wanted to make sure it was you who signed them.”
    Helene’s thoughts were spinning. What is she talking about? What absences? What permission
slips?
    “Mrs. Foster?”
    “Oh, yes . . . I signed them. He seems to be catching every bug this season.” I just
lied. Why am I lying for my son? Yet, she knew why. Something had to be wrong and
she wasn’t about to make it worse.
    “Well, as long as you know about the absences.”
    “Yes, I do. Everything is fine,” Helene assured her. “He’s in school today, isn’t
he?” She closed her eyes, waiting for the answer.
    “Yes, he is, Mrs. Foster, but we’re very concerned about his grades. Thomas’s numerous
absences have put him behind. Something needs to be done.”
    Helene’s thoughts were trying to catch up with what she was hearing. How much school
had Thomas missed and why didn’t she know he was missing school? Thomas had always
loved school and had been a good student. What’s happening with my son? And why didn’t
I know about it?
    “Let me talk with Thomas when he gets home today. We’ll come up with a plan and I’ll
get back to you.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Foster.”
    After Helene hung up the phone, she slumped against the wall, worry and concern flooding
her mind. She thought of calling Bill, but he’d probably just get angry at Thomas,
and she didn’t want to deal with that. She could talk with Thomas, but would he tell
her the truth? And when had he started lying to her? Something was wrong, and she
had to find out what it was.
    She spent most of the day curled up on her bed or sitting quietly in the sunroom,
barely responding to Lily’s attempts at conversation. Memories of Thomas as a little
boy kept dancing through her mind. They had been so close. He had excelled in school,
and their times together had been playful and fun. When had it all changed? What
had gone wrong? When in the world had he started skipping school? And why? As much
as she tried to deny the fact that her son’s behavior was far from normal and acceptable,
she knew better.
    As afternoon turned to evening, Helene walked into the kitchen where Lily was making
a cake. Thomas wasn’t home yet. At five-thirty, she called Thomas’s best friend Chuck
to see if Thomas had stopped by after school but Chuck hadn’t seen Thomas since their
last class together, which was just after lunch.
    “What if something has happened?” she asked Lily. “What if he’s been in a car accident,
and he’s lying somewhere breathing his last breath and calling for his mother? What
if—”
    “Now whoa there,” Lily interrupted. “Don’t you think you’re going a little fast in
your worrying? Yes’m, all those things do happen in this world of ours, and we gotta
be aware of them, but not everything that happens is bad.”
    At seven o’clock, without saying a word, Lily set two places at the counter that
separated the large kitchen from the adjoining family area with its leather sofas
and big stone fireplace. She filled the plates and motioned for Helene to sit down
on one of the comfortable bar stools that edged up to the counter where they often
had tea or shared a snack in the middle of the day. Helene reluctantly sat down,
picked up the fork, and began