"When a mother lets year after year go by without writing to her son, do you think she cares?"
"You don't mean to say that you never receive a letter from your mother?"
"My mother has not written to me since I came to America. Suppose your mother did not write to you. Would you think she had a very deep affection for you?"
Esther's face grew wistful.
"Perhaps you do not know," she answered, "I have no living mother. She died when I was born."
"Forgive my thoughtless question," he said. "I did not know you had lost your mother. I was selfish."
"Oh, no," she said, "not selfish. You didn't know, that was all. We sometimes make mistakes, all of us, when we do not know. I lost my father when I was a very little child."
"And your grandfather reared you?"
"Yes, grandfather, assisted by my uncle and auntie."
"Tell me about your grandfather, I like to hear."