Chapter 17 - THERESA’S DEPOSITION
Theresa testified in the civil protective proceeding.
Calm.
Pearls.
Always pearls.
“Did you put Nora in the kennel?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She was defiant.”
“About shoes?”
“About authority.”
There.
“Whose authority?”
“Mine, while I was responsible for her.”
“Were you her legal guardian?”
“No.”
“Parent?”
“No.”
“Did Gabriele authorize kennel confinement?”
“No.”
“Did Audrey?”
“No.”
Then care delegation.
“Did you expect Gabriele to sign it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Audrey could not manage.”
Audrey’s attorney objected to characterization.
Theresa corrected:
“Because Audrey was medically limited.”
Then:
“Did you plan for Nora to remain at the estate if Audrey recovered?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Stability.”
“Whose?”
Theresa’s face changed.
“Everyone’s.”
Then the central motive.
“Did you want to raise Nora?”
Theresa did not answer for eleven seconds.
“Yes.”
There.
“Why not say that?”
“I did.”
“To whom?”
“Myself.”
A strange honest answer.
Then:
“Did you believe Audrey was a good mother?”
Theresa looked toward the video monitor where Audrey participated remotely.
“Yes.”
That surprised us.
“Then why replace her?”
“I did not think I was replacing her.”
“What did you think?”
“Supporting what she could no longer do.”
Audrey spoke through her attorney only.
No interruption.
Then the shoe account.
“Why deny a $45 pair?”
“I wanted Nora to stop learning that every request reached Gabriele and became yes.”
“Why was that a problem?”
“Because children need limits.”
“Was the shoe medically or financially unreasonable?”
“No.”
“Then the limit was about asking?”
“Yes.”
There.
Control.
Not budget.
Then Theresa said the thing that explained her without excusing her.
“I spent my life being useful to this family. The moment Audrey became ill, I knew what needed doing. Everyone thanked me until I expected the authority that comes with responsibility.”
That was the belief.
Responsibility purchased authority.
No consent required.
No legal line.
No parental line.
Do enough for people and eventually own the right to decide.
May you like
Our family had rewarded that philosophy for decades.
Until it reached a kennel.
