"So he hit someone. So what?" Sophia Zobel said dismissively. "Look at you, so spineless. Anyone who didn't know better would think Mona hit *your* son."
"Mom..." Nathaniel Lynch said in disbelief. "What kind of twisted logic is that? Mona hit a classmate. Are we supposed to give him an award for it?!" He was seething. "Mona turned out this way because you spoiled him!!"
"So you're saying it's my fault?!"
Sophia Zobel glared, and Nathaniel Lynch knew he had misspoken. He coughed weakly, his confidence gone. "Hitting someone is one thing, but he hit the kindergarten principal's nephew. Mona was completely unrepentant and refused to apologize. In the end, *I* was the one groveling, sweet-talking them. It was only settled after I had my older brother pull some strings."
