265 ON HER INSISTENCE

"What?" Henry was stunned. His mother was intentionally baiting him or whatever it was she was doing. Henry was certain his mother was up to some mischief. Henry glanced at Shiva who had refused to raise her head since the earlier confrontation. "Mum, can I see you now?" "Why? Of course, my son." He grabbed her right hand, dragging her out of the library and into the long aisle that the library door led to. "Mum, what are you doing? You are not only embarrassing me but yourself and that poor girl. She looked like the ground should open up and swallow her." He was trying to reason with his mother in a general sense of reasoning; his mother was too much of a persuader for him to let go too easily. His mother huffed in impatience. "Henry, no one is embarrassed, okay? Is there something going on that you are not telling me?" Henry counted one to ten backwards before answering his mother; he tended to get frustrated easily and his mother was pressing all the right buttons. "M