Jacquelyn Mitchard’s The Good Son – A Test for Mother’s Love
When Thea Demetriou thought about her son’s future, prison was never anything she envisioned. But here she is, standing outside the gates to Belle Collins Correctional Facility to bring Stefan home. After his girlfriend, Belinda, was brutally murdered, Stefan was held responsible for her death. Because he was high on drugs at the time, he remembered nothing of what happened and was charged with involuntary manslaughter. With an unblemished record in jail, he is released after serving two years and nine months of a five year sentence.
Thea survived those years of Stefan’s incarceration, visiting him regularly. But as they drive away from the prison, she realizes the tough part has just started. As an ex-felon, Stefan now must rejoin society – continue college, find a job, create a social life, and, worse of all, deal with the constant anger and harassment from those who believe he doesn’t deserve to live while Belinda is still dead. Shortly after Belinda’s death, her mother, Jill McCormack started SAY – Stop Abuse Young – whose members gather regularly in front of the Demetriou home holding placards and chanting “Say her name – Belinda.”
Stefan is not the only one being ostracized. Other parents judge Thea, not believing she didn’t know that Stefan was abusing Belinda. A tenured professor at Thornton Wilder College, among peers Thea is “popular, published, and respected.” While Stefan was in prison, her colleagues were supportive. Now that he’s out, however, having her on the faculty is making fellow professors uneasy. When her department chair, Keith Fu, suggests she take a sabbatical to write a book, Thea is hurt and outraged. Ultimately, she decides to take Keith up on the proposal, realizing that working at home will give her more time to be with Stefan.
In contrast to Thea’s situation, Jep, Stefan’s father, doesn’t lose a step with his job as a college sports coach. And while he’s glad to have Stefan home, he’s less involved in his son’s transition to a normal life. Other relatives, however, come forward to help, including an uncle who gives Stefan a job at his lumberyard. Unfortunately, after suffering an attack by several workers, Stefan is forced to leave.
The beating adds to Thea’s anxiety that her son is in danger. For quite some time she’s been getting phone calls from a distraught young woman who says she knows what really happened the night Belinda died and pleads with Thea to have Stefan keep quiet. But whenever Thea suggests they meet, she hangs up and disappears for a time. Thea keeps the phone calls to herself, but when a mysterious figure, wearing a hoodie, shows up as an ominous presence, her fears increase and she confides in her friend, Julie, and a police office Pete Sunday.
Stefan, oblivious to what his mother is thinking, takes great strides moving forward with his life. Besides establishing a booming landscape business, he also launches a non-profit, The Healing Project, as a way for himself and others to give back to those they have harmed. Thea, however, finds it hard to focus on Stefan’s future when there are still so many questions about his past. She has always held out hope that Stefan is innocent and the mystery woman’s phone calls renew that belief. “Be careful what you wish for,” however, is in the back of her mind. What if she finds out she doesn’t really know her son and that he really is capable of violence?
Jacquelyn Mitchard has a talent for creating situations that tap into our deepest anxieties, in this case, parental fear for a child. Whether a child is the victim of a crime or the perpetrator, changes a parent’s life forever. How Thea manages to navigate this difficult terrain makes for an absorbing read.
The Good Son
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Top photo of Jacquelyn Mitchard courtesy of the author
