"Hey Mom?"Theresa turned her attention back to the kitchen, putting a few dirty dishes into the washer, "Yes, hun?"
Stephen swallowed hard, and then bit the bullet, "Do you ever hear from Dad?"
Theresa stiffened almost instantly. He knew it was a painful subject, for all of them, but mostly for her, and he avoided bringing it up as often as he could. Sometimes, the pain was too great, and he just had to know.
Finally, she responded, "No, Stephen. I never do." Just like that, she went back to loading the dishwasher like nothing had happened.
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Stephen could have guessed at her response, and almost regretted asking her. It had been about ten years since Jerry Willow had walked out on his wife and three small children. Mom had always thought it was for another woman, but no one really knew for sure. Since both of his grandparents were dead on his father"s side, and his father"s sister lived in South America, they never heard any updates about Jerry"s whereabouts except from Jerry himself. Those updates were usually contained within a two week late birthday card with $20 inside. It was hard for Stephen to hate his father, but he could conjure up little other emotions at the way they were abandoned so casually by him.
After finis.h.i.+ng up in the kitchen, his mother announced, "Well, I"m going to go to bed. Don"t stay up too late, okay?"
"I won"t, and I"ll probably be right behind you," said Stephen, emphasizing the last bit with a yawn.
"Love you, Stephen. See you tomorrow," she said, before disappearing to her bedroom.
"Love you, too, Mom," he replied. He really did, for all the sacrifices his mother had made to keep their family intact and under one roof. He often wished that she would begin to date again, and look for someone to make her happy. If anyone deserved a little happiness, it was Theresa Willow.
Stephen finished his dinner, and after depositing his plate in the washer, he casually headed to his bedroom on the other side of the house. Thankfully, it was one area of the house where he had privacy, as he was rather separated from the rest of the family. Although, it was not like he needed it. No girls had ever been in the house, let alone his bedroom.