Chapter 22 - WHAT I TOLD ROSIE ABOUT MY HANDRosie asked about the slap six months later.
Children remember the parts adults hope they didn’t see.
We were making pancakes.
She said:
“You hit Aunt Bethany.”
“Yes.”
“Because she hurt me.”
“I was angry because she hurt you.”
“So hitting is okay when somebody hurts?”
There it was.
Four-year-old logic exposing adult hypocrisy.
I turned off the stove.
“No.”
She looked confused.
“But you did.”
“I did.”
“Was it bad?”
“Yes.”
“Are you bad?”
“No. But I did something I should not have done.”
She considered that.
“What should you do?”
“Pick you up. Leave. Call for help.”
“That’s what you did after.”
“Yes.”
She went back to stirring batter.
Then:
“Grandpa threw the cup.”
“Glass.”
“Glass.”
“Yes.”
“You covered me.”
“Yes.”
“That was good.”
May you like
“Yes.”
A child could hold both truths more easily than most adults.
Related Stories
Chapter 23 - BETHANY’S LETTERBethany was allowed to send a letter after nearly a year.
Chapter 24 - MY PARENTSMom apologized before Dad.
Chapter 25 - ROSIE TURNS SIXRosie’s sixth birthday was deliberately small.
Chapter 26 - THE LAST FAMILY MEETINGTwo years and seven months after the party, I agreed to one final mediated meeting with Mom and Dad.
Chapter 27 - The EndExactly three years after Caleb’s seventh birthday, Rosie was seven.
