Chapter 16 - SELLING WREN HOUSE
We prepared the house.
Repainted.
Fixed gutters.
Replaced a cracked window.
Removed the green powder-room wallpaper.
I almost cried.
Elowen would have objected.
The realtor said buyers would too if we left it.
Ysella packed her room herself.
Not because anyone took it.
Because she chose what moved.
Stuffed rabbit.
Books.
Dolls.
Lamp.
She put one old cardboard box near the door.
I froze.
She noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Daddy face.”
“What face?”
“Sad weird.”
Fair.
The box did not own the memory.
Drusilla had.
And she was not there.
The house listed at $3.35 million.
Sold for $3.28 million.
Mortgage paid.
Closing costs.
Capital considerations.
Net proceeds substantial.
Mine.
No Drusilla claim.
No hotel debt.
No secret family ownership.
I bought a smaller house near Ysella’s school.
Still nice.
No moral poverty performance.
Three bedrooms.
One office.
Backyard.
No detached storage shed.
Ysella inspected.
“Which mine?”
I pointed.
“Pick.”
She chose the room facing the backyard.
Not the biggest.
“Why?”
“Tree.”
Good.
Children choose with criteria adults forget.
We moved.
At the old house, I took down the ceramic WREN HOUSE tile.
Held it.
Then gave it to Claire.
Elowen’s sister cried.
She had a garden.
It went there.
Memory relocated.
No shrine required.
Then Drusilla completed the custodial portion of her financial sentence and began probation.
She lived in a rented apartment.
Not homeless.
She still had proceeds from Briar Crown sale and retirement assets after legal costs.
No business empire.
No family house.
She requested supervised contact with Ysella.
Family court required:
Therapist recommendation.
Proof of child-safety program completion.
No financial or housing discussions.
No criticism of Elowen.
No unsupervised visits.
Ysella said:
“Maybe letter first.”
So letters.
Drusilla complied.
For six months.
Then one letter contained:
I hope someday you understand that families sometimes require sacrifice.
Maya stopped.
Asked Ysella whether she wanted to continue.
“No.”
Correspondence paused.
Boundary.
Drusilla complained to court.
Court upheld pause.
That angered her.
May you like
She still had work to do.
And for the first time, her impatience no longer changed anyone else’s schedule.
