Chapter 10 - RYAN'S FAILURE
Ryan wanted to say:
I didn’t know.
Maya asked:
“Why not?”
He bristled.
“Because she hid it.”
“Did Lily ever tell you she didn’t want Grandma babysitting?”
Ryan remembered.
Three times.
Once Lily said:
“Grandma gets mean when you leave.”
Ryan answered:
“She’s strict because she loves you.”
Another time:
“I don’t like Grandma’s quiet game.”
Ryan thought it meant reading.
Then:
“Can I stay with Mrs. Carter next door instead?”
Ryan was late for work.
He said no.
He had translated discomfort into:
grief,
tantrums,
normal child preference.
Because Evelyn was Claire’s mother.
Because she helped.
Because Ryan needed help.
He had been exhausted.
Still.
He missed it.
That mattered.
In therapy Ryan said:
“I thought protecting Lily meant keeping family around her.”
Naomi answered:
“Sometimes protection means believing the child when family is the problem.”
May you like
That hurt.
He stopped using Evelyn’s grief as proof of safety.
