Madeline made an irritated noise, but short of throwing the woman out of her home by force, there wasn't much she could do besides remain at her son's side, offering her support, so she just kept her hand covering Bobby's on the railing.

Bobby blinked a few times as he tried to take in what John's mother was saying. "He...what?" A strange mix of hope and anger thrilled through him at her words. "Why--why would he think that?"

Madeline saw the spark of hope in Bobby's eyes and looked away, her own stomach knotting uncomfortably as she realized that her hopes for Bobby eventually moving on from this whole mess and settling down with a nice young woman were withering right in front of her eyes with every word Ellen spoke.