I've been thinking about adding a little more backstory, like perhaps she was an absent mother in her time too - a scene where there's a more symbolic elephant in the room, where she can't say anything about him leaving his son as she'd done the same thing. But you know, once it's done, sometimes it's done.
Thanks so much for poppiing by. Engagement on HIVE has been so silly slow of late and the things I put some passion and time in get crickets whilst crapping on about engagement gets engagement. Facepalm.
Haven't seen you areound - where have you been my love?
I like those ideas a lot. I wondered, as I read your story, what she may have done or been a part of that caused her son (only? eldest? weird?) to be able to leave his baby, one old enough to very much notice he is gone.
Yeah, it's hard isn't it, as you don't want to spell the whole fucking thing out to the reader as it's boring (and then, and then, and then) and you want to leave some mystery, but there is definitely some story there. Also, where's the mother? Do we care?
I did wonder, but maybe leaving her out altogether would be interesting
I think we assume a lot when mothers are absent - but when fathers are absent we don't notice as much. For me I see my son parenting more than his partner (only because I see him more - she's a fantastic mum) so these days when I think 'parent' I think 'father'.