Chapter 14 - SOPHIE MEETS ELI
A year later, Sophie asked to see Eli.
Jenna and Rachel agreed after consulting the children’s therapists.
Neutral park.
Short visit.
Ryan was not there.
Sophie brought Eli a comic book.
He looked confused.
“What’s this for?”
“My dad said you like superheroes.”
Eli took it.
“Thanks.”
Silence.
Then Sophie asked:
“Did Dad hit you?”
Rachel’s stomach tightened.
Eli looked at her.
She did not answer for him.
“Yes.”
Sophie looked down.
“He never hit me.”
“I know.”
“Does that mean he loves me more?”
Eli stared.
Then said:
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”
Nine years old.
Already wiser than the adults who had turned behavior into a ranking of love.
The therapists later praised neither child for being “brave.”
They had simply told the truth.
That was enough.
Eli also eventually told Rachel something she did not expect.
“I did lie that night.”
Rachel looked at him.
“About homework?”
“Yes.”
“And I said the game was off when it wasn’t.”
Rachel nodded.
He watched her.
“Are you mad?”
“Yes.”
He looked down.
Then she added:
“And none of that made hitting you okay.”
Eli nodded slowly.
That distinction had been blurred by every adult around him.
If he behaved badly, Patricia treated harm as earned.
Rachel initially overcorrected by wanting to describe him as completely innocent.
May you like
He was innocent of deserving violence.
He did not need to be innocent of every childhood mistake.
