Chapter 13 - SNOW IS NOT A PUNISHMENT
Dr. Pike did not tell me to keep Bodie indoors until spring.
Avoidance can harden fear.
Instead:
Choice.
Layers.
Short exposure.
Safe exit.
No forced bravery.
First attempt:
Front porch.
Coat.
Snow pants.
Boots.
Hat.
Gloves.
Moose tucked under one arm.
I opened door.
Bodie froze.
“No.”
“Okay.”
We closed it.
That was session one.
Two days later:
Door open.
We stood inside.
Snow visible.
Three minutes.
Then closed.
Third:
One step onto porch.
Back inside.
Fourth:
He touched snow with glove.
Immediately asked:
“Door lock?”
“No.”
“Can I open?”
I gave him handle.
He opened.
Closed.
Opened.
Control.
Then:
“Can Daddy come?”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Daddy needs learn.”
Dr. Pike said supervised therapy session could include Stellan.
We arranged.
Stellan arrived wearing winter clothes.
No gifts.
Bodie pointed to door.
“You open.”
Stellan opened.
“Again.”
He did.
“Lock.”
Stellan locked.
Bodie’s breathing changed.
“Open.”
Stellan opened immediately.
“Again.”
For ten minutes.
Bodie controlled sequence.
Then:
“Why you didn’t?”
Stellan knelt.
“The bad day?”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid to fight Grandma.”
“Why?”
“I was weak.”
Dr. Pike later corrected language.
Calling oneself weak can make child responsible for testing strength.
Better:
“I made the wrong choice.”
Stellan corrected.
“I made the wrong choice.”
“Now?”
“Now I open the door.”
Bodie looked at snow.
Then stepped outside with him.
Two minutes.
Came back.
Progress.
Meanwhile Gretchen’s trial approached.
Prosecutor offered plea:
Child endangerment.
Unlawful restraint.
Dismiss lesser counts.
Custodial sentence recommendation within range.
Gretchen refused.
She wanted trial.
Why?
She believed the restraint count exaggerated because chain? There was no chain. Locked door could still be restraint, but child was outside not confined indoors; unlawful restraint statutes might require restricting movement, and he was technically free to walk away, though cold and no shoes made it unsafe. Prosecutor adjusted.
Better charges:
Reckless endangerment of a child.
Child cruelty/neglect.
Endangering welfare of child.
No unlawful restraint if not legally fit.
She also faced tampering? location staging maybe no. So trial could be about child endangerment + neglect + coercive discipline, not property scheme.
Good.
Then child services concluded Stellan assessment:
Substantiated failure to protect.
Not removal of parental rights.
Required parenting education.
Therapy.
Supervised visits.
Future expansion based on Bodie.
Leland:
Substantiated failure to protect.
No unsupervised caregiving initially.
Gretchen:
Substantiated abuse/endangerment.
No contact.
My assessment:
No neglect.
One concern noted:
Use of physical aggression against another adult in child’s presence.
I accepted.
No saint report.
Then Snowline.
Without cabin collateral, Meridian Ridge declined extension.
Hearthstone project entered formal restructuring.
Not immediate bankruptcy of everyone.
A receiver? Private lender workout.
Snowline sold a smaller successful property to pay down debt.
Stellan lost most of his equity.
Partners retained business under revised ownership after he resigned management role.
Employees at Hearthstone kept working under new asset manager.
No revenge collapse.
Stellan took a job with a construction-management firm after court approval? No restriction.
His personal financial life damaged.
Not destroyed.
He sold his sports car.
Moved to modest apartment.
Good.
Then Everett Sloan called me.
“Do you want to sue Stellan over joint money?”
“I’m already addressing in divorce.”
“Snowline wants a release.”
Of what?
Potential claim I was misled into contributing household funds.
My divorce forensic accountant calculated:
$55,000 of joint assets diverted under misleading descriptions.
Stellan agreed to credit that amount to me in marital settlement.
No giant civil war.
Then we discovered a separate payment:
$18,000 from Leland to Snowline.
His own money.
Gretchen had not known.
Another reason she felt household finances slipping.
Again.
Everyone hiding.
Then trial date.
Bodie would not testify live if avoidable.
Door-camera footage.
Medical records.
Smart-lock logs.
Leland.
Stellan.
Me.
Potentially Bodie’s recorded forensic interview under child-hearsay rules if judge allowed limited portions.
Gretchen would face evidence without the child sitting ten feet away.
Good.
The night before trial, Bodie asked:
“Grandma go jail?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because me?”
“No.”
“Because door?”
“Because of choices adults made.”
He nodded.
Then:
“Can snow be fun?”
I looked outside.
“Sometimes.”
The next day after court, we would find out.
May you like
Not by forcing.
By asking.
