Free A Perfect Husband by Aphrodite Jones Page A

gentle and respectful Kathleen was with them, as they shared stories about Kathleen’s kind ways, their mother began to set her hard feelings aside. Michael and the children backed Kathleen one hundred percent, and eventually Patricia conceded that Kathleen had become a central figure in the Peterson family.
    It had taken years, but Patricia had come to understand that Michael and Kathleen were entrenched with the children, that they all enjoyed having an American life. Michael was relieved about that. Michael admired Kathleen for seeming to have endless patience in the war that went on during the first few years of their relationship, but finally the whole situation with Patricia, all the fighting, all the struggle with the kids, was over. After so many years of working on things, of working things out, Michael and Kathleen had it all together. Their own relationship was tight. And their life with their patchwork family—their sons, their daughters—had become the ultimate and quintessential American dream.
    Not that any of that mattered anymore.
    Whatever family wounds there had been, whatever peace Patricia had made with Michael and Kathleen, was no longer relevant. Kathleen had died so quickly, so tragically. Her children, including Caitlin, regardless of having other parents in their lives, regardless of being young adults, would still have a hard time fending for themselves.
    Everyone knew that Kathleen worked so hard to keep the Peterson household together. Everyone knew how much Kathleen had gone out of her way for her kids, making five-course family dinners, insisting that all of them sit together for her home-cooked meals But now with Kathleen’s death, all any of them could feel was sorrow.
    Kathleen was gone, and the Peterson kids would begin to wonder how they would actually manage without her. They had that big house, and there were so many responsibilities to think about. It wasn’t that they weren’t willing . . . but they had all moved away. Except for Todd, they each had their separate lives in other parts of the country. The kids knew Michael would never be able to keep up such a big household by himself. The kids knew Kathleen had always taken on the family chores, the nitty-gritty work behind the scenes. Kathleen had always done all the social arrangements for the family get-togethers, she had always handled the shopping, the baking, all the extras that only a mom could do.
    Now, with Michael all alone, of course, things would be different. Even the basics would be difficult for him. And the frills, the holiday gatherings and charity events, those things would be out of the question.
    With Kathleen no longer there to run things, everyone felt ill at ease. Kathleen was the glue that held them all together. Even Michael, who was a fabulous dad to his children, who was loved and respected by all of them, would never be able to equal Kathleen. There was all the love she put into things, all the handmade care that Kathleen devoted to the family. Kathleen was a one-of-a-kind woman, a breadwinner, a supermom and homemaker. Michael would always be the first to tell people that.

Nine
    â€œWe stayed in this hotel room, and we were all talking about how sad we were,” Caitlin recalled, speaking of the first night back in Durham with Margaret and Martha. “We hadn’t seen each other in three months, and we all had those random stories that would pop into our heads about Mom.”
    The three sisters wanted to share anecdotes about happy times. They were leaning on their pillows, still distraught, but they needed to calm themselves down. Remembering happy things, the little mottoes Kathleen had, the way she advised them about boys, those were the types of things the girls wanted to talk about. But no matter how many stories they told about shopping sprees, no matter how many comments they would make about their experiences with Kathleen at home in Durham, or with Kathleen in