THE
GOOD
SON
Carolyn Huizinga Mills
THE
GOOD
SON
a novel
Copyright © 2021 Carolyn Huizinga Mills
This edition copyright © 2021 Cormorant Books Inc.
This is a first edition.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1.800.893.5777.
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for its publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities, and the Government of Ontario through Ontario Creates, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Culture, and the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit Program.
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Title: The good son / a novel by Carolyn Huizinga Mills.
Names: Mills, Carolyn Huizinga, author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200238418 | Canadiana (ebook) 20200238426 |
ISBN 9781770865921 (softcover) | ISBN 9781770865938 (html)
Classification: LCC PS8626.I4563 g66 2021 | DDC c813/.6—dc23
Cover photo and design: Angel Guerra / Archetype
Interior text design: Tannice Goddard, tannicegdesigns.ca
Printer: Friesens
Printed and bound in Canada.
CORMORANT BOOKS INC.
260 Spadina Avenue, Suite 502, Toronto, ON M5T 2E4
www.cormorantbooks.com
To Scott – for encouraging me, always,to follow my dreams.
Contents
Part One
Part One / Chapter One
Part One / Chapter Two
Part One / Chapter Three
Part One / Chapter Four
Part One / Chapter Five
Part One / Chapter Six
Part One / Chapter Seven
Part Two
Part Two / Chapter One
Part Two / Chapter Two
Part Two / Chapter Three
Part Two / Chapter Four
Part Two / Chapter Five
Part Two / Chapter Six
Part Two / Chapter Seven
Part Three
Part Three / Chapter One
Part Three/ Chapter Two
Part Three / Chapter Three
Part Three / Chapter Four
Part Three / Chapter Five
Part Three / Chapter Six
Part Three / Chapter Seven
Part Three / Chapter Eight
Part Three Chapter Nine
Part Four
Part Four / Chapter One
Part Four / Chapter Two
Part Four / Chapter Three
Part Four / Chapter Four
Part Four / Chapter Five
Part Four / Chapter Six
Part Four / Chapter Seven
Part Four / Chapter Eight
Part Four / Chapter Nine
Part Four / Chapter Ten
Part Four / Chapter Eleven
Part Five
Part Five / Chapter One
Part Five /Chapter Two
Part Five / Chapter Three
Part Five / Chapter Four
Part Five / Chapter Five
Acknowledgements
Landmarks
Cover
Copyright
Start of Content
Acknowledgements
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*The page links in this ebook correspond to the page numbers in print edition ISBN 978-1-77086-592-1, ©2021 Carolyn Huizinga Mills.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
•
I DIDN’T ALWAYS HATE MY big brother. There was a period of my life, in fact, when I looked up to him with something close to admiration. But I was a little girl then and it was easy to be impressed by him. Ricky’s fooled a lot of people in his forty-six years — just ask any of the other pissed-off women in his life. We make a surprisingly long list.
NOW THAT WE’RE ADULTS, I generally avoid talking to him, which isn’t hard given the fact that he lives in Toronto, over a hundred kilometres away; but, since today is his birthday, I have done the sisterly thing and called him. Already, I regret it. He is describing some woman named Dee Dee. And as I listen to him explain how amazing she is, I have an overwhelming desire to tell him that he’s boring me to the edge of violence, to the point of wanting to punch him. Lucky for him, I have plans tonight, so he’s safe — he always is — ensconced in his swanky townhouse, far removed from Dunford and all his secrets hidden here.
I switch the phone to my other ear and glance at Jason to see if he’s annoyed with how long this call is taking, but he’s sitting on my couch, quite relaxed, flipping through last month’s edition of Maclean’s. If he’s feeling at all impatient, he’s doing a good job hiding it. We were just getting ready to head out the door when I remembered I hadn’t acknowledged Ricky’s birthday, so I decided to make what was meant to be a quick call just to get it out of the way. And now Ricky seems to think I should be just as excited as he is about Dee Dee, even while he insists things are
