Chapter 22 - ELI ASKS TO SEE LUKE
At fourteen, Eli asked:
“Can I see Dad?”
I did not answer immediately.
Luke had been incarcerated for years.
Completed treatment.
Sent accountability letters stored by the guardian.
No direct pressure.
Eli’s therapist said wanting contact was developmentally understandable.
Family court approved one supervised prison visit after evaluation.
I did not attend.
A specialist did.
Eli returned quiet.
“What did you ask?”
“The slap.”
Of course.
Luke told him:
“I hit you because I was scared you would tell the truth.”
No jealousy.
No acting out.
No excuses.
Eli asked:
“Would you have switched them back?”
Luke said yes.
“Then why not tell Mom first?”
“Because she would say no.”
Eli answered:
“Then you knew.”
That was all.
He did not hug Luke.
Did not call him Dad during the meeting after the first greeting.
Asked questions.
Left.
“Do you want another?”
“Not soon.”
Later, yes.
Once a year.
June did not want contact.
Her choice.
Rose’s guardian did not allow Luke direct contact until she was older.
Different children.
Different paths.
I stopped wanting one rule that proved I had protected them correctly.
May you like
Protection had become supporting informed choices within safe boundaries.
Not deciding feelings for them.
