Chapter 24 - THE MEETING
Mireya was twenty-two when she met Tove.
Public therapist’s office.
Her choice.
I waited at a coffee shop.
Not outside the door like a bodyguard.
Mireya told me afterward.
First question:
“Why did you laugh?”
Tove knew exactly which moment.
“Because I had convinced myself you were pretending, and laughing made me feel certain.”
“Did you know I was scared?”
“Yes.”
“Did that matter?”
“Not enough in that moment.”
Good.
Then:
“Did you want to be my mom?”
Tove cried.
“Yes.”
“Even though I had Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because after Annelise died, helping raise you became the most important thing in my life. I started believing importance gave me a claim.”
Mireya asked:
“Did you hate Dad?”
“No.”
“Then why try to take me?”
“I thought I could be better for you.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
Silence.
Then Mireya asked:
“Do you still think anxiety means asthma fake?”
Tove almost smiled.
“No.”
“Good.”
No hug.
At the end, Tove asked:
“Can we meet again?”
Mireya said:
“Maybe.”
She did.
Six months later.
Then a year later.
Relationship became limited.
Adult.
No caregiving authority.
No medical access.
No rewriting history.
May you like
They sometimes had lunch.
That was enough.
