Promises (TP 6)

35 - Guilty

This is the second of a double update.

Tessa was glad when Patrick stopped contacting her. David had sent her a sign to tell her what she did was wrong. She was angry with him for making all three of them sick. She had a harder time recovering than the girls. It was probably emotions more than a physical illness that was dragging her down, but she refused to acknowledge it.

The first of May, she spent a day reading scholarship essays. Her fear of not knowing which one was Hannah's was immediately eliminated. Hannah had written about her mother and who she really was. Tessa cried when she read about her mother's illness and death.

She felt guilty for tainting Hannah's family with an affair. She had sex with the girl's father. The husband of the woman the scholarship was honoring. She swept those thoughts aside. She could only go forward and hoped she wouldn't run into him soon.

She read all the essays but planned to recommend Hannah. Rachel offered her house for the meeting. Tessa agreed it was best not to have their discussion in public. She didn't know the other woman because her son was in fifth grade.

As soon as they sat down, Julia said, "I knew Erica. Not very well, but I remember that poor man and those children at her funeral."

"I'm friends with Patrick. He and Korra work closely. I knew her slightly, but she was already sick when we moved here."

Tessa felt the need to say something. She couldn't confess that she knew him intimately and had been in Erica's bedroom. "I just met the Bennett's, recently. I have talked with Dr. Bennett several times. I have also met the younger two, but not Hannah." She didn't technically lie.

Julia sat up straighter. "I'll just say it. We should choose Hannah."

Tessa nodded. Rachel put her hand up. "We need to justify our decision."

"But." Julie whined.

"I'm not against Hannah, but I know Patrick would want her chosen fair and square."

Tessa couldn't argue. They narrowed it down to three and spent an hour documenting why Hannah deserved it better than the other two.

Hannah's essay systematically laid out each trait the scholarship was looking for and explained how those traits differed from her mother and how she was like her.

According to Hannah, she may have excelled in math, but hated her career of analysing numbers at the insurance company. She only worked to support her husband through medical school. 'My mother was proud of his profession, so I plan to become a doctor to make her proud.' Hannah wrote, 'She may have been a true friend and a selfless individual, but her real priority was family. She is praised for contributing even when she was sick. She did that because she was in denial. From the beginning my parents knew that treatment could buy her time not recovery. They kept it a secret from everyone, including me and my siblings. She didn't want to ruin her children's lives, so she pretended. I never want to face the challenges my mother faced, but I am one reason she was who she was.'

As Rachel read it aloud, they all had tears. Rachel finally spoke. "She debunked the qualities we were looking for. She's not wrong. Rachel and I were there for Patrick when she was the sickest, and it was true. They lived three years with a death sentence hoping her days wouldn't run out."

Tessa thought of his heartfelt admission of his helplessness. "Does anyone have a reason it shouldn't be Hannah?"

Julia shook her head. Rachel paused. "The only thing this other offers is the goal of finance, but that was not what Erica loved."

Tessa added, "Apparently, it was just her skill."

As she left Rachel's she thought Kristi would be happy.