The Perfect Son by Kyion S. Roebuck Page A

the house with the man.
    ‘Maybe this will help me trust him, after all.’
     
    ***
     
    At three o’clock sharp, Sister Mary Ava heard the doorbell. Assuming that it was Cody and Dr. Jacobs returning, she opened the door without asking who it was. Instead of the expected duo, she saw a tall, slim man that appeared to be in his early fifties with salt and pepper colored hair.
    “Hello, you must be Sister Mary Ava; I’m Dr. Jacobs. I’m here to see Cody,” he said pleasantly, and the sister’s mind went blank.
    “Excuse me?”
    “I’m here to see Cody Winters. This is the Winters Residence, is it not?” he asked, visibly unsure of himself as he looked at the numbers on the house, and then turned to look at the street sign. Meanwhile, Sister Mary Ava was feeling as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach.
    “Do you have some form of identification?” she asked, cautiously. A bit taken aback, but otherwise unbothered, the man quickly went about fulfilling her request.
    “Of course. Absolutely,” he said as he showed her his driver’s license, and sure enough, it identified him as fifty-two year old Daniel Jacobs.
    “I met with a Mrs. Kelly Winters two days ago, and she gave me this. On the back, she wrote this address. Am I in the right place?” he asked as he handed Sister Mary Ava a business card. One glance at it quickly revealed it to be one of Kelly’s, and when she flipped it over, it had the house’s address written out it Kelly’s handwriting. Upon seeing it, she had only one thought racing through her mind.
    ‘If this is Dr. Jacobs, who on Earth did I send Cody off with?’
     
    ***
     
    “This place was built as a symbol of happiness and prosperity for the town. Two very popular, powerful families were joining, and it was considered a sign of things to come. Of course, when a young man of twenty-two years weds a young woman of eighteen years, one of the things people expect to come is new life. Unfortunately for Frederick and Margaret, fertility issues loomed and nearly tore them apart.
    The first six years of their marriage produced three miscarriages and a stillborn daughter, and the townspeople began to wonder if their union was actually a bad omen. People were much more superstitious in those days, so eventually, the Sampsons’ private problems began to affect their fathers’ careers, and they spent long hours praying beside that fireplace you see over there,” the other Dr. Jacobs said as he walked through the expansive living room.
    ‘How the hell does he know all that?’ Cody thought as he followed, but didn’t voice his question. He knew that the more questions he asked, the longer the tour would take, so he decided to keep quiet.
    “In the spring of 1909 their prayers were answered, and the following winter Margaret gave birth to a healthy baby boy. They named him Kettering Sampson in honor of their union. Sadly, the labor was difficult, leaving Margaret essentially barren, but their one son made up for that in every way imaginable. He was considered a parent’s dream; he was well mannered, even tempered, very studious and had a rapt interest in current and past issues.
    Everyone in his family could tell that boy was bright, but once he began attending school, the entire town learned of his genius. From day one, he received perfect scores on every assignment, and by the age of fifteen, he was slated to graduate early, and then attend college: a supreme honor in those days. The room we’re standing in was his, by the way.”
    Hearing that, Cody dutifully observed the space, and then let his mind wander.
    ‘I’m glad Mom isn’t here to hear this. If she had proof that a perfect son had existed, I’d never get her off my back.’
    “As you can imagine, Kettering was his family’s greatest source of pride, and no one loved and admired him more than Frederick. He often wondered just how high the boy could go, so he constantly pushed him to be even greater. Not only did