the world in the summer when school was out. I had a whole life planned that didn’t involve a husband or children. And what I got was an unpaid job in a funeral home and two children to take care of. When John’s parents found out what we’d done, he was cut off from the family. They own an insurance company with branches all over the world, and he should be getting his share of the profits instead of taking care of dead people. So here we are, living a life neither of us wanted and you have the nerve to tell me that getting pregnant out of wedlock doesn’t carry any consequences. It does, Sherrilyn. It will haunt you to the day you die.”
Her mother’s face was pale and pasty with perspiration trickling down. Sherri had never seen her looking so wrought up. She went to the dispenser in the corner of the room and filled a paper cup with cold water. Her mother brushed it away but Sherri insisted that she take it.
“This is why I was so happy when Trevor called,” her mother went on. “This way you can erase the stain on your child by marrying her father. You don’t want to have one of those marriages where all the children look like strangers. If you marry somebody else and have another child, God knows what it will look like. Now all your children will look alike and nobody can say that your child is a bastard because you and her father will be husband and wife under God. Don’t you see that this is the best answer for everyone?”
Sherri sat down heavily in the chair she’d vacated. “What I see is that you’ve had way too much time to think about this, Mother. You should have gotten counseling instead of letting all this fester inside you for all these years. I always wondered what made you tick, and now I know. You’ve always blamed me for everything that went wrong in your life, haven’t you? And when I got pregnant and didn’t burst into flames, it pissed you off, didn’t it? You were furious because I was able to keep pushing and finish my education and fulfill my ambitions and that’s why you always treated Sydney like a stray puppy that wandered into your yard.” She shook her head slowly as she rose from the chair.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about either of us anymore, Mother Stratton, because I’m done.” She picked up her purse and walked out of the office, never turning back.
Chapter 16
By the time she got home, Sherri was exhausted. She’d stopped by the church daycare center to pick up Sydney, and they decided to pick up a rotisserie chicken and a salad for dinner, with ice cream for dessert. Sydney was in her usual bubbly mood and Sherri was glad to see her that way. She was still angry about the scene with her mother, although a part of her felt sorry for the woman. No wonder she’d been such a cold, empty shell of a mother, Sherri thought.
Sydney went off to hang up her backpack and wash her hands so she could help with dinner and Sherri went to the kitchen to put away the few groceries she’d bought. Her mind was still racing when her cell phone rang. It was Lucas, which made her smile.
“What are you ladies doing for dinner?” he wanted to know.
“We picked up a rotisserie chicken and some salad,” she replied. “Want to join us?”
“I’d love to,” he said. “But why don’t you hold the chicken until tomorrow and I’ll bring dinner? I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes, okay?”
After the call ended, Sherri let Sydney know about their change in plans, and she was thrilled to be seeing Lucas, as usual. They went out on the deck to water their flowering plants and the small plot of strawberries they were carefully growing. When Lucas arrived, Sydney was so excited that she ran through the condo leaving muddy footprints all the way. Sherri laughed as she got out the mop to clean it up.
“Lucas, make her take those shoes off and leave them on the mat,” she called when she heard his voice.
She was finishing the mopping when he entered the kitchen and he grabbed her around the waist for a kiss. Everything felt so warm and homey that she was touched to her heart. This was normal; this was like being in a