Chapter 23 - STELLAN AS A FATHER
Stellan became a better father than husband.
That is not an insult.
It is history.
He showed up.
Read forms.
Asked questions.
Never signed school paperwork without understanding it.
Bodie once joked:
“Dad reads app updates.”
Trauma-informed bureaucracy.
At fifteen, Bodie wanted to visit White Pine.
Not sleep.
Day trip.
Stellan took him.
Professional property manager knew.
No Gretchen.
They walked trails.
Saw the restored historic cabins.
Visited the new Alder Crest lodge.
Bodie texted me one photo.
Snow.
Stuffed moose tied to backpack.
Caption:
I brought backup.
I laughed.
He stayed four hours.
Left.
No panic.
No dramatic claiming of land.
At graduation, he hugged Stellan.
Then me.
Then my second husband, Noah Ellis, whom I married when Bodie was thirteen.
No ranking.
Family got larger.
May you like
Not cleaner.
Better.
