Chapter 15 - The house sells
We sold the house before the criminal trial.
Not because the prosecution needed the kitchen.
Police had already documented measurements and photographs.
Defense had access.
No preservation need for entire property.
Closing:
$618,500 final after inspection concessions.
Mortgage payoff.
Realtor/closing costs.
Net:
Approximately $272,000.
Held in marital escrow pending divorce settlement.
I rented a two-bedroom apartment.
Emily chose the smaller room because it had better light.
The first night she slept six hours without waking.
Then seven.
No kitchen island.
No hallway where Michael once stood.
I underestimated architecture.
Then divorce settlement proposal.
I received:
55% of house escrow?
Why not equal? Based on temporary support/property equalization maybe. Better keep roughly equal after adjusting retirement.
We agreed:
House net split equally after credit for my larger recent carrying costs.
I received about $144,000.
Michael about $128,000.
Retirement equalized through order.
Brokerage split.
No spousal support long term due similar earning capacity.
Temporary support ended after settlement.
Custody reserved pending criminal case.
Marriage could legally dissolve while parenting issues remained? Yes, court can bifurcate in some jurisdictions; to avoid jurisdiction details, say divorce decree held until custody. Keep active.
Then Emily’s surgery follow-up.
Eight weeks.
Incisions healed.
Weight recovering.
No bowel obstruction.
No chronic infection.
She could resume low-impact exercise.
Soccer later if stamina returns.
She did not want soccer.
“Because Dad coached?”
Maybe.
She said:
“I just don’t.”
Fair.
Then one complication:
Scar sensitivity.
Normal.
Dr. Shah recommended massage/desensitization after full healing.
No permanent disability expected.
Then school.
Grades dropped from A/B to B/C temporarily.
No dramatic academic collapse.
504-style temporary accommodations:
Extra time.
Bathroom access.
Reduced physical activity.
Counselor check-ins.
Then Emily told Dr. Morris she sometimes wished Michael “would disappear.”
Therapist assessed.
Did she mean self-harm or harm toward him?
No.
She wanted absence.
No safety crisis.
Words matter.
Then Michael’s brother Kevin asked to see Emily.
She liked Uncle Kevin.
Would allowing contact be indirect contact with Michael?
Court order prohibited using third parties to communicate.
Kevin agreed:
No messages.
No photos sent to Michael without Emily’s consent.
They met for lunch with me nearby.
Kevin said:
“I’m sorry I didn’t call your mom Monday.”
Emily stared.
“You knew?”
“Your dad texted me.”
“You told him to go to ER.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you call Mom?”
Kevin cried.
“Because I thought he would listen.”
There.
Another adult assumption.
Emily said:
“Everyone thinks he’ll listen.”
Then got up and went to bathroom.
Kevin looked at me.
“I failed her.”
“Yes.”
Specific.
Not:
May you like
You’re only human.
Adults needed to own their pieces.
