Chapter 4

That night, Calvin gave me a thumbs-up.

He said, "You're incredible, Ms. Sheraton. You actually got my mom under control. This is the first holiday feast I've ever enjoyed this much. Get some sleep. We'll be visiting my dad's grave tomorrow."

Calvin had always been a thoughtful son. His father had originally been buried back in their village, but after Calvin made it big, he moved his father's remains to a prime cemetery plot in the city.

…

We were up before dawn the next morning.

I was wondering why we would need to leave so early when Mrs. Hearth said, "It's a long walk through the hills. We have to start early."

It was only then that I realized she was planning to walk to the cemetery despite having seven or eight cars parked in the garage.

"The soles on my shoes are lambskin, Mrs. Hearth. They'll be ruined if they get wet. I'm not walking. I'll be taking the car," I said.

Calvin chimed in immediately, "That's right, Mom. Beryl grew up with chauffeurs taking her everywhere. You should just ride with us."

Mrs. Hearth shook her head. "Absolutely not. Do you know how expensive gas is? I walked everywhere back in the village. I'm used to it. You young people just don't exercise enough. Sitting in cars all day is ruining your health."

I didn't bother arguing with her. If she wanted to walk, that was her choice. "Alright then, Mrs. Hearth. Go ahead and walk if you want. Calvin and I will drive there and wait for you."

Right before getting into the car, Calvin asked again, "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Mom? The gas costs the same no matter how many people are in the car. You might as well ride with us."

But Mrs. Hearth refused to come no matter what. She waved us off and told us to leave first.

Calvin looked torn, but he closed the car door and drove off at my insistence.

We arrived at the cemetery gate fairly quickly. After killing the engine, we sat in the car and waited for Mrs. Hearth to arrive.

But she didn't show up no matter how long we waited.

At first, I assumed Mrs. Hearth was just slow on her feet. But even as noon approached, she still hadn't appeared.

Even when Calvin called her seven to eight times, she didn't answer.

"She probably didn't charge her phone to save electricity and must have left it at home," he muttered, frustrated.

After a few more attempts, the call finally went through. Someone answered on the other end of the line. "Are you the family of this phone's owner? She fell on the mountain trail and was brought to our hospital. Please get here quickly."

We couldn't be bothered to visit the grave anymore. We jumped into the car and sped down the mountain toward the hospital.

"It's all my fault. She wouldn't have fallen if I'd gone up with her," Calvin said, wallowing in guilt as he sat in the passenger seat. "I should just let her be frugal all she wants. She's my only family. It wasn't easy for her to raise me either."

His anxiety skyrocketed the moment he heard about Mrs. Hearth's fall. He couldn't even be bothered to keep up with his act anymore.

It probably wasn't the first time this had happened. Calvin might've tried to correct her stubborn habit before, but he softened immediately after seeing her hurt.

He said, "Maybe we should just forget about this whole partnership, Ms. Sheraton. I just can't bring myself to be harsh with my mom when she's like this now."