Gloriana had both of Tirzah’s little hands buried in the sink when I walked through the kitchen door.
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Chapter 26 / 27
Chapter 26 - THE NEXT CHILD
Tirzah became a mother at thirty-five.
A daughter.
Celeste.
Named after her mother.
My late wife.
That destroyed me emotionally for approximately six months.
When little Celeste was four, she refused dinner one night.
“No green beans.”
Tirzah said:
“Three bites.”
“No.”
“One.”
“No.”
Celeste crossed her arms.
I watched quietly.
Tirzah paused.
Then:
“Okay. No green beans. There’s chicken and rice.”
Later she called me.
“I heard Grandma in my head.”
“What did she say?”
“Make her obey.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
“Am I too soft?”
“No.”
“Would you say if I was?”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
Then:
“I don’t want food to become power.”
“It won’t if you keep noticing.”
May you like
Healing is often not what you do.
It is the inherited reflex you refuse to complete.
