Chapter 8 - AVA’S FIRST INTERVIEW
Family court appointed a child and family investigator because Elise’s parenting-time petition overlapped with Daniel’s divorce allegations.
Ava was interviewed without us.
Good.
She returned furious.
“They asked if Dad tells me what to say.”
Daniel answered first.
“That’s inappropriate.”
I looked at him.
Ava did too.
Maybe she noticed.
She said:
“I told them no.”
Daniel relaxed.
Then Ava added:
“But you do tell me what not to say.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Daniel snapped:
“Kate.”
Ava looked at me.
“Like Mom.”
Elise.
“You said if I tell people I miss her, they’ll make me live with her.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“I said courts may misunderstand.”
“You said I could be sent away.”
“I was explaining consequences.”
Ava laughed bitterly.
“You always explain consequences.”
Then she went upstairs.
Daniel stared after her.
“See what you’ve done?”
There.
Automatic.
I almost answered.
Stopped.
“What I’ve done?”
“She was stable before you started digging.”
“Stable or uninformed?”
He came close.
“You think truth automatically helps children.”
“No.”
“Then stop.”
“I think lying definitely hurts them.”
“You don’t know what Elise was like.”
“You’re right.”
That surprised him.
“I don’t.”
Then:
“But you don’t get to rewrite court orders.”
He walked away.
The conversation ended without resolution.
May you like
That became common.
Once I stopped accepting his final sentence as the final sentence, Daniel had fewer tools.
