When You Were Young

As Molly stacked the last of the pans, she heard Joey erupt into a sneezing fit. He threw down the broom and doubled over. Molly rushed over to his side, patting him on the back. "Joey, what's wrong dear?"

"Dust," he said between sneezes. She led him out of the cabin, sitting him down on a log. He continued to sneeze, each one punctuated by a wheeze as he struggled to breathe. When she saw the tips of his ears turning blue, she looked about her for help, but there was no one. Veronica and David had gone off and the rest were little children with no memories. God, please help him, she thought.

His sneezing came under control after a few minutes. His breathing returned to normal and the blue faded from his ears. He sagged against her, panting with exhaustion. She stroked his hair and whispered reassurances to him. He really is a delicate child, she thought. Veronica shouldn't have brought him here.

"He doesn't belong with us," Molly had told her friend. "He's lived in Seabrooke all his life."

"I'm his aunt," Veronica said. "He belongs with me."

"What about his father?"

"His father hardly sees him as it is. He'll be much happier with us in our new world. You'll see."

Molly wiped the snot and tears from Joey's face with her apron. No, little Joey was not happier here. And Samantha, Prudence, and Wendell had been so unhappy they ran away from their new home. They ran away from her. It's my fault, Molly thought. She had thought her talk with Samantha had smoothed everything over, but clearly she had failed.

She touched the bruise over her left eye. Veronica had been right to hit her for her incompetence. When Veronica had proposed her plan to remake Eternity into a wondrous new paradise, Molly thought she could do as well with the children as Samantha or Rebecca. I'm a failure, she thought.

Joey looked up at her and said, "Do you remember Mommy?"

"No, dear, I never met her."

"What about Aunt Veronica?"

"Oh yes, she knew your mother. They're sisters of a sort."

"Really? Will she tell me about Mommy if I ask?"

"I don't see why not. We'll ask her when she gets back."

"Do you think she'll find Samantha and the others?"

"Of course she will, dear. Why, I'm sure they're all coming home right now. That's why we've got to get the house nice and clean for them."

"Why did Aunt Veronica hit Samantha last night?"

"Sometimes people do things they shouldn't when they get angry. Your aunt is very sorry about hitting Samantha."