Chapter 9 - CLAIRE'S SLAP
Claire had been right about the DNA.
She had also slapped Michael in front of children.
That mattered.
Her anger did not erase it.
In counseling, she said:
“He called Ryan his real son after Ryan humiliated Emma.”
The therapist nodded.
“And?”
“I lost it.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew he wasn’t Ryan’s biological father.”
The therapist waited.
Claire understood.
“That still doesn’t make hitting him right.”
“No.”
Claire later apologized to Emma first.
“I hit Dad.”
Emma said:
“He was being mean.”
“He was.”
“So why are you sorry?”
“Because being angry does not make every action okay.”
Emma looked at the ruined cake photos on Claire’s phone.
“What Ryan did wasn’t okay either.”
“No.”
“Is he still family?”
Claire answered carefully.
“Yes.”
“Even if Dad isn’t his dad?”
“Yes.”
Emma frowned.
“Then why did Dad say real son?”
Claire’s chest hurt.
“Because Dad has some things to fix in how he thinks about sons and daughters.”
Emma looked down.
“Am I real?”
Claire pulled her close.
“You never had to compete for that.”
Claire then apologized to Michael.
Not for revealing the test.
For the slap.
He accepted the apology.
Did not use it to avoid his own wrongdoing.
Two truths.
Same room.
Michael’s apology to Emma took several attempts.
The first was terrible.
“I’m sorry you felt second.”
Emma stared.
Claire closed her eyes.
Michael heard it too.
He corrected:
“No. That sounded wrong.”
Emma waited.
“I made you second sometimes.”
Her face changed.
“That was me. Not your feeling.”
Better.
Then:
“I was guilty about not being with Ryan all week, so I overcompensated when he was here.”
Emma asked:
“Why did I have to pay for that?”
Michael swallowed.
“You shouldn’t have.”
He also admitted Margaret’s praise of sons affected him.
“I told myself I didn’t believe her.”
“Did you?”
“Not consciously.”
Emma frowned.
“That sounds fake.”
Michael almost laughed.
May you like
“It means I thought I was different from her while still acting like some of her ideas mattered.”
That answer she understood more.
