Chapter 13 - IONE LOVES HER GRANDMOTHER
This was the part anger did not prepare me for.
Ione missed Mother.
She told Dr. Lila:
“Grandma did bad paper.”
Then:
“Grandma makes good pancakes.”
Both true.
She asked me:
“Can Grandma come birthday?”
Her birthday was three months away.
“I don’t know.”
“Why?”
“Because grown-ups are working on safety rules.”
“Paper isn’t dangerous.”
I sat beside her.
“Paper can matter if people use it to make choices for you.”
She frowned.
Then:
“Grandma didn’t hit.”
“No.”
“Did Aunt?”
“No.”
“Then why no see?”
Hard.
“Because Grandma tried to make a judge believe I agreed to something I did not agree to.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
She looked down.
Then:
“Do I get agree?”
“You get a voice. Grown-ups have to make some decisions.”
She nodded reluctantly.
Then:
“I want voice says I miss her.”
My chest hurt.
“I hear it.”
Good.
Then guardian Elise recommended limited therapeutic contact could eventually happen if court approved and Mother accepted boundaries.
Not yet.
Mother had to:
Acknowledge forgery.
Stop discussing guardianship with Ione.
Stop telling Ione her father abandoned her.
Accept that Theron is parent.
No relocation pressure through child.
Mother’s lawyer objected to the word “acknowledge.”
Mother herself said:
“I will.”
That surprised me.
Then first supervised video call.
Ten minutes.
Ione sat beside Lila.
Mother appeared.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Ione started crying immediately.
Mother did too.
Then Mother said:
“I am sorry I scared you about where you would live.”
Good.
Then:
“I was trying to keep you close.”
Lila interrupted gently.
“Melisande, apology without justification.”
Mother stopped.
Tried again.
“I was wrong to tell you the judge might keep you from Dad.”
Better.
Ione wiped her face.
“Did Dad leave?”
“No.”
There.
Mother finally said it.
“No.”
That one word mattered more than every legal argument.
Then:
“Can I visit?”
Mother looked at therapist.
“Not yet. Grown-ups decide.”
Good.
No promise.
After call, Ione said:
“Grandma looks old.”
“She is sixty-three.”
“That’s old.”
I laughed.
May you like
Normal returned for thirty seconds.
Good.
