Chapter 9 - ETHAN'S QUESTION
Ethan asked Claire that night:
“Is Grandma bad?”
Claire sat on the edge of his bed.
“No.”
He frowned.
“But she hit me.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s bad.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
Claire thought.
“People can do bad things without becoming only one thing.”
Ethan looked unconvinced.
“Are you mad at her?”
“Very.”
“Forever?”
“I don’t know.”
He picked at the blanket.
Then:
“Dad loved her.”
“Yes.”
“If I’m mad at her, is Dad mad at me?”
Claire’s throat tightened.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
She nearly said:
Because your father would never want this.
Then stopped.
That was exactly what Margaret had been doing.
Recruiting Michael into arguments he could no longer answer.
Claire said:
“I don’t know what Dad would think about every situation.”
Ethan looked surprised.
She continued:
“But you are allowed to feel how you feel without getting permission from someone who died.”
Ethan leaned into her.
That was the first rule Claire changed.
The dead would no longer vote.
The grandparent mediation letter frightened Ethan when he overheard Claire talking to her attorney.
“Is Grandma taking me?”
“No.”
“Can she?”
Claire crouched beside him.
“No one is deciding anything without adults looking at what’s safe and what you need.”
He asked:
“Do I have to talk to a judge?”
“Probably not.”
“Do I have to pick?”
“No.”
May you like
That answer mattered.
Children in family disputes are often terrified adults will turn love into a vote.
