Harriett:  I think there are a couple things at work here.  Melvin, I think wanted to protect Mary Southerland and her child from whatever danger put her where they were. I think he was somewhat ashamed of the fact that he had known for years and had never told you. And I think he also wanted Maxine for himself. In his way of thinking, she still belonged to him as long as he was the only one who knew that she was alive. He had to be aware that you would see the will and know that she still lived. But he would never have to face you and admit how wrong he had been by not sharing this information with you. Melvin always had a tough time admitting he was wrong. He knew he was wrong by not accepting that you and Tina were life partners. He knew he was wrong when he did not accept your children as his grandchildren and he knew he was wrong to not tell you about Maxine or Mary Southerland or her child. And he just could not gather the strength to sit down and face to face tell you that he was wrong.

Tina:  And how do you know that he knew he was wrong?

Harriett:  After that trip to Los Angeles where you and Tina told him that you were expecting a baby, he came to see me. He sat in this living room and wept like a baby telling me that he was going to be a grandfather and what a wonderful spouse Elizabeth had. His words were: She is giving Elizabeth a child. The most precious gift a human can receive. A baby. I never imagined that would happen for Elizabeth.  He then went on to say he wondered if he would live long enough to see the baby. We then talked about Kit and her problems and how much her life had changed. He then told me that neither of you knew that Mary Southerland and her daughter were alive. I asked him why he had not told you. He said: “Too much time has passed. Elizabeth has made a life without her mother and to tell her now would be devastating. She would never speak to me again because I withheld the information for all these years and she will resent her mother because she was abandoned her at such a young age. And she will blame me. I cannot go through that Harriett. I just can’t. I don’t have too much longer to live. She will find out with the will. Then she can curse me all she wants. They both can.”  He then told me that he was making arrangements to move to Los Angeles so he could be near Kit and you. That took a few more months before he actually made the move. But he decided to terminate his treatments and just get treatments to keep him comfortable.