I put it down before answering.
“You called when you realized you needed help. That’s exactly what I want you to do.”
“Even if somebody says not to?”
“If you or Miles aren’t safe, yes.”
She thought about that.
“What if they’re mad?”
“Then the adult can be mad at me.”
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
That finally got a tiny smile out of her.
The future of the adult relationship did not resolve in one argument.
There was no big speech that repaired trust.
There was no morning when I woke up and suddenly stopped remembering the kitchen floor.
Their mother and I separated our daily routines while we figured out what responsibility and contact would look like going forward.
She stopped seeing R.
I didn’t treat that as proof that everything was fixed.
The harder part was rebuilding the children’s confidence that an adult would actually be there when one was supposed to be there.
