Chapter 465. Tribulations

Paddy

He could sense her presence even before he heard her. His eyelids fluttered as he did his best to blink, and he felt hands on him, examining him. With a sense of wonder, he thought, they are checking to see if I am alive!

But then the voice of the woman he loved the most, his mother in every sense but one, sounded close by.

Proserpina Delano.

She was here.

She was beside him.

He tried to speak but his voice was not strong enough. The words would not form. She seemed to understand. Her hand, soft and cool, rested on his forehead and then stroked his face.

“It is all going to be all right, son,’ she said softly and he smiled.

If Mumma had said it, then it was going to be all right, he thought as he slipped back into a deep slumber.

***

Tara

She checked her phone surreptitiously on her way to school. She was very fond of Maddie but she was beginning to resent having to share her ph