"You are no longer a child, Carl. You are growing up, and you know life is not always beautiful." Laurel tried to choose her words carefully.
Carl had gone through so much, and she couldn't blame him entirely for his involvement with the wrong crowd. Neither she nor James was there to be with him when they went through a nasty divorce.
Knowing James, he must have only made things harder for Carl, which pushed him away even more.
"What you have done hurt me; I feel that I've failed to be your mother." Laurel took his hand as he lowered his head to hide his tears, but they fell freely on the back of her hands. "I forgive you. I don't think I am really angry with you, but I can't stay in contact with you… for now."
Laurel felt a tightness in her throat; she was on the verge of tears as well. She wished it would end differently. She wished she could become wiser and grow as a person so she could accept him back into her life.
