Chapter 8 - MY FIRST MISTAKE
Dr. Melissa Grant asked me:
“When did Patricia first oppose Max?”
“Immediately.”
“When did she first oppose Emily becoming more independent?”
I looked at her.
“That’s not how she said it.”
“How did she say it?”
Emily should not walk to the corner alone.
Emily should not attend sleepovers.
Emily should not manage her own pill organizer.
Emily should not learn the microwave because seizures.
Emily should not shower with the bathroom door locked.
Emily should not carry her own rescue medication.
Each sounded protective.
Together—
containment.
“Why didn’t you push harder?”
“I did.”
“Then?”
“I was tired.”
There.
I was widowed.
Working.
Managing neurology visits.
Insurance.
Grief.
A child who woke screaming some nights because she dreamed her father died again.
Patricia offered help.
I took it.
Then paid for it in authority.
“I thought she was anxious.”
“Maybe she was.”
“About Emily?”
“Possibly.”
“That doesn’t make the control fake.”
May you like
No.
It made it more complicated.
