Chapter 13 - THE TRIP WASN'T THE WORST PART
Linda eventually admitted the slap.
Not in court.
In therapy.
She said Mia screamed when Linda tried to leave.
Clung to her suitcase.
Kicked the wall.
Threw a stuffed animal.
Linda was already furious at Paula for being late.
She slapped Mia.
Then immediately regretted it.
Why lock the room?
“I wanted her to stop following me.”
Why leave?
“My flight.”
Why not call Paula?
“I wanted Paula to feel what it was like when nobody rescued her.”
There.
That was the core.
The trip itself was not the worst part.
The worst part was using a three-year-old to punish another adult.
The therapist asked:
“Did you think Mia would be afraid?”
Linda cried.
“I thought they’d be home in minutes.”
“Were you willing to risk forty minutes?”
Linda had no answer.
Then:
“Why did you document Paula?”
“I thought she was taking my family.”
The therapist corrected:
“She was considering moving with her husband and daughter.”
Linda whispered:
“Same thing.”
That sentence revealed the whole problem.
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Linda did not experience Andrew’s family as separate from herself.
Boundaries felt like abandonment.
