Chapter 11 - THE GUARDIAN CLASS
Guardian education was four hours on a Saturday.
I expected bureaucracy.
I got humbled.
Topics:
School stability.
Medical consent.
Child grief.
Financial separation.
Contact with extended family.
The instructor said:
“You are not replacing the dead parent.”
I wrote that down.
Then:
“A guardian’s job is not to win loyalty.”
I wrote that too.
Then:
“Do not make the child retell trauma to reassure you.”
That one hurt.
Because I had already asked Esmond three times:
“Did Ulric ever scare you before?”
He answered differently each time.
Not because he lied.
Because he was five.
I stopped.
Then finances.
The trustee paid for:
Esmond’s health costs.
Education expenses.
Reasonable child support supplementation.
Not my rent generally unless the trustee approved a housing arrangement benefiting Esmond.
I had my own income.
Construction project management.
Steady.
Not rich.
Enough.
Then the house.
Trustee proposed:
Allow Esmond to remain in Tavian’s house if I moved there under a formal occupancy agreement, with the trust paying property tax and major maintenance while I covered utilities and routine household costs.
That would preserve school and neighborhood.
Did I want to move into my dead brother’s house?
No.
Did Esmond want to?
“Yes.”
Immediately.
That mattered.
I asked for time.
No one rushed.
Then guardian instructor asked:
“What happens if you dislike a relative but the child loves them?”
You separate safety from resentment.
Ulric had scared him.
No contact now.
But forever?
Not necessarily.
May you like
I hated the possibility.
Still wrote it down.
