“I think so, Doctor.”
“Then face this question in your own heart.” The doctor had his gold pince-nez in his hand, and used them as if to pin Lanny down. “Would you be jealous if your mother were to love some man?”
“Yes, sir — I'm afraid maybe I would.”
“But ask yourself this: when the time comes that you fall in love with some woman — as you will before many years are past — will you expect your mother to be jealous of that woman?”
“Would she?” asked the boy, surprised.
“She may have a strong impulse to do it, and it will mean a moral struggle to put her son's welfare ahead of her own. My point is that you may have to face such a struggle — to put your mother's welfare ahead of yours. Do you think you could do it?”
“I suppose I could, if it was the right sort of man.”
“Of course, if your mother fell in love with a worthless man, for example a drunkard, you would urge her against it, as any of her friends would. But you must face the fact that your mother is more apt to know what sort of man can make her happy than her son is.”
“Yes, sir, I suppose so,” admitted the son.
“Understand again, I know nothing about your mother's affairs. I am just discussing ordinary human behavior. The most likely situation is that your mother has a lover and is keeping it a secret from you because she thinks it would shock you.”