Chapter 24 - LILY ASKS ABOUT THE BANDAGEA year after the pool, Lily asked me:
“Do you still remember my shoulder?”
She was seven.
We were coloring at my kitchen table.
“Yes.”
“Emma saw it.”
“She did.”
“She’s nosy.”
Emma shouted from the living room:
“I HEARD THAT.”
Lily laughed.
Then became serious.
“Did I get Mom in trouble?”
The same question Emma once asked.
“No.”
“But she had court.”
“Yes.”
“Because I told?”
“Because adults made choices before you told.”
She thought.
“Grant said sorry.”
“I know.”
“Do I have to see him?”
“No.”
“Mom sees him.”
“Yes.”
Sarah and Grant had begun seeing each other again cautiously.
Separate homes.
Couples therapy.
No Lily contact.
Lily asked:
“Is Mom bad?”
“No.”
“Was she wrong?”
“Yes.”
That seemed to confuse her less than adults expected.
“Can both?”
May you like
“Yes.”
Children understand mixed truths when adults stop forcing them into teams.
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