Chapter 22 - Tyler’s guilt
Tyler had his own problem.
He believed the slap happened because he offered the hot dog.
“If I didn’t give it, Grandma wouldn’t hit her.”
Michael answered:
“Grandma decided what her hand did.”
“But I gave it.”
“Yes.”
“That started it.”
“No.”
Tyler frowned.
Michael used the same analogy we had used in therapy.
“If I leave my shoes in the hall and Mom trips, I helped create the situation. If Mom gets angry and throws the shoes through a window, did I make her throw them?”
Tyler laughed.
“Mom wouldn’t.”
“Correct. Because she controls her hands.”
I said:
“Usually.”
Michael looked at me.
Fair.
My slap mattered here too.
So I told Tyler:
“I also chose what my hand did when I hit Grandma.”
“Was that bad?”
“Yes.”
“Even because Olivia?”
“Yes.”
May you like
He absorbed the consistency.
That was worth more than having him think one kind of violence became righteous because he liked the person using it.
