Chapter 15 - Marriage Counseling
I said:
“You protected your mother’s feelings.”
Roderick said:
“I protected myself from your anger.”
That hurt.
Then I had to hear it.
Counselor asked:
“What would Coralie have done if you told her Friday?”
Roderick:
“She would have confronted Mom immediately.”
Correct.
“Would that have been unsafe?”
“No.”
“Uncomfortable?”
“Yes.”
There.
He avoided discomfort.
Then me.
“Would you have listened if Roderick said he had one percent doubt?”
I wanted to say yes.
Paused.
“Eventually.”
Counselor smiled slightly.
“Meaning?”
“I would have exploded first.”
Fair.
Roderick looked at me.
“That's what I feared.”
I said:
“And by avoiding one explosion, you allowed a worse one.”
“Yes.”
Both.
Then my threat at party.
“Cut entire family out.”
Did I mean it?
In that moment.
Yes.
Would that include Roderick?
Maybe.
That scared him too.
We had a family where conflict escalated to absolute language.
Eugenia:
Not really one of us.
Me:
Entire family gone.
Roderick:
Silence.
Three bad responses.
We needed fourth.
Clear boundaries without erasure.
Marriage survived.
Not because counseling fixes betrayal.
May you like
Because Roderick repeatedly chose transparency afterward.
That would take years to mean something.
