Through the billowing steam, Yvonne Lewis's refined features visibly froze for a moment.
'That's right. Holly is still just a child.'
'Holly has been obedient since she was young. She never talked back, no matter what I said.'
'So much so that I always thought Holly was mature for her age.'
'So mature that I eventually forgot she was still a child.'
She bit her lip, a pang of guilt washing over her. She had truly failed Holly Winslow; she hadn't fulfilled her duties as a mother. "Holly, I..."
Looking at Holly Winslow's expressionless face, she hesitated. After a dozen or so seconds, she said apologetically, "I neglected you."
Years of a mother's neglect, summed up in a single apology. Holly Winslow understood, more or less.
'Didn't I know this all along? That's why I'm not sad.'
She picked up a piece of tripe with her chopsticks and placed it in the simmering pot, stating calmly, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. You let Dad down."
