Chapter 23 - The second birthday in the same kitchen
Lucas’s seventh birthday was the first we hosted at home again.
His sixth had been at a trampoline center because I could not tolerate the idea of our kitchen.
By seven, I was tired of letting architecture decide.
Balloons.
Cake.
Six children.
The same pantry.
Different locks? Pantry itself not locked. Medications no longer stored there at all. Good.
No adult medicine anywhere accessible.
Normal child-safety practice.
Robert checked once.
I checked once.
Then stopped.
My mother Elaine arrived.
Henry and Patricia came.
Megan was not invited to the full party yet.
That was okay.
No punishment speech.
Lucas wanted friends.
At 3:20, one child spilled fruit punch.
At 3:35, another cried because he lost a game.
At 4:05, Lucas disappeared.
My heart jumped.
Then he emerged from the pantry holding crackers.
“Mom, can I?”
I froze for half a second.
Pantry.
Small box.
Floor.
Ambulance.
Then:
“Yes.”
He opened crackers.
Ate.
Nothing happened.
May you like
The room did not know a trauma milestone had just occurred.
Perfect.
