Chapter 22 - THE MEETING WITH HELOISE
Thora was twenty-two when she chose one meeting.
Neutral office.
Therapist nearby.
I was not in the room.
Her decision.
She told me later.
First question:
“Why did you slap me?”
Heloise answered:
“Because you sat in a chair after I told you not to.”
“That’s what happened. Why?”
Heloise took a long time.
“Because I needed you to understand that I controlled the house.”
“I was five.”
“I know.”
“Why maid clothes?”
“I wanted staff and relatives to begin treating you differently.”
Thora went still.
“So they would say I wasn’t family?”
“Yes.”
“Did you think that would really change trust?”
“I thought it would help prove residence.”
“Did lawyers tell you that?”
“Not exactly.”
There.
Heloise had built certainty from convenient interpretation.
“Why kitchen?”
“To make the story consistent.”
Thora breathed out.
“That’s horrible.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hate me?”
“No.”
“Worse.”
Heloise looked confused.
Thora explained:
“If you hated me, it would at least be about me. You used me because I was paperwork.”
Heloise cried.
Thora did not comfort her.
Then:
“Did Dad know?”
“No.”
“Did he miss things?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell me he approved?”
“Yes.”
That answer hurt Thora most.
Then:
“Do you want me to forgive you?”
“I would like it.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Heloise looked at her.
“No. I don’t think I’m entitled to ask.”
Good.
Meeting lasted forty minutes.
May you like
No hug.
No second meeting for years.
