Family Inheritance Read Free Page B

to nibble at her food.
    Lily pulled out the stool next to her, sat down, and placed her hand over Helene’s
with a look that told Helene how much Lily cared about her, Bill, and Thomas. “It
will be fine.”
    “I’ve got to make it fine, Lily. I just have to!”
    It wasn’t until after sunset that a car pulled into the driveway. Lights flashed
across the kitchen windows and disappeared into the garage. They both seemed to be
holding their breath as footsteps approached the back door and the knob turned.
    Thomas entered with a crooked grin on his face. His eyes were bloodshot. “Hi, guys”
was all he said as he moved through the kitchen toward the stairs at the back of
the house.
    “Thomas, are you okay? Where were you? Why are you so late?” The questions flew from
Helene’s lips as her heart beat wildly in her chest.
    “I’m fine, Mom.” His walk was unsteady, and his few words were slurred.
    “Thomas, wait a minute. I want to talk to you. Your school called today about your
being absent a lot and me apparently signing the slips.” Helene stood firmly with
her right hand on her hip.
    “Can we talk about this later, Mom? I’ve got studying to do.” His hand reached out
for the wall to steady himself.
    A part of Helene’s mind noticed his lack of balance, but she ignored it. “Where were
you tonight?” her voice sharpened as she slowly walked toward the stairs.
    Thomas was halfway up the staircase. He stopped with his back still toward her, clutching
the banister to steady himself, but he didn’t say a word.
    “Thomas, please answer me.” Helene’s voice was louder now. She stood at the bottom
of the staircase, her brow furrowed with worry.
    Thomas took a few steps forward, widening the space between them. “I just needed
some space,” he said without turning to look at her. “Everything’s just crowding
in on me. You understand, don’t you?” His shoulders slumped and his voice softened.
“Mom, I thought you’d understand.”
    Helene’s mind refused to acknowledge his slurred speech and the implications of his
unsteady gait. Running her fingertips over her forehead, her words were firm as she
spoke. “You absolutely can’t miss any more school. And you’ve got to catch up with
your homework. This has got to stop. Do you understand me?”
    He still hadn’t turned to look at her.
    “Yes, ma’am.” He took another step up the stairway and then paused. “Can I be excused
now?”
    “No, Thomas, we’ve got to talk about this.” As Helene moved up the stairs, her nose
picked up the smell of alcohol, and reality finally marched in. What in the world? Fear gripped Helene as long-ago memories of alcohol assaulted her mind, yet she quickly
dismissed them because they were a part of another life, another time. Pulling down
the blinders of love, Helene once more let denial envelop her in its firm grasp.
Feelings of overwhelm cemented her to where she stood. “Just don’t miss any more
school, okay? Promise me?” she pleaded.

Chapter 3
    Northern Minnesota
    The houses in the government-subsidized neighborhood were tiny square boxes situated
on small square lots, and the streets were overrun with children in varying degrees
of dress. Many of them wore soiled clothes that had seen better days. Alice Hudson
trudged up the walk to her cracker-box house, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.
She had lived in the development so long that familiarity blurred it into the background
of her consciousness.
    When she first moved here, Alice had planted flowers, washed her windows, hung pretty,
fresh curtains, and even tried to dig up soil for a garden in the backyard. She had
been full of hope and dreams back then. Dreams of a happy family and a nice, neat
little house with a white picket fence. Now, the windows were dirty, the curtains
were gone, the garden had been overtaken by weeds, and her dreams were tiny little
specks in the back of her mind. The reality of life had weighed her down into