Read "The Prodigal Parents" by Sinclair Lewis online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
'Poor kid! I know--I know! Howard, the poor kid, he's never had to take anything seriously, not even his marriage. I guess it does jar him to see us running out on him. I've got a hunch it's been our fault; we never worked much at teaching him to stand on his own feet. Maybe he'll learn now. And then someday he'll want to get a little acquainted with himself, too, and maybe he'll have to run away from Little Nero!'
He had been trying to comfort Hazel, down in their stateroom, but out of all his chatter nothing was distinct except 'Poor kid'. In a few days, he assured her, they would forget Howard and enjoy being wrecked on the mobile desert island that is a ship.