Chapter 13 - Rachel’s children were not the problem
I invited Noah and Lily to meet Iris when she was three weeks old.
Not Diane.
Not Rachel at first.
Ben picked them up with Mark’s permission during his parenting weekend.
Why?
Because I needed to prove something to myself.
I was not angry at children.
Noah entered holding a stuffed giraffe.
“For Iris.”
Lily whispered:
“Can babies eat applesauce?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she has no idea what food is yet.”
Lily looked disappointed.
They sat beside me.
Noah asked if he could hold her.
We washed hands.
He did.
His face softened.
“Her head is weird.”
“Thank you.”
I laughed.
The entire family conflict had used these children as moral currency.
Yet they knew almost nothing about the money.
Good.
They should not.
When Rachel heard they had visited, she called me.
“You invited my children without me?”
“Mark had them.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is?”
She struggled.
Then:
“You’re separating us.”
No.
The system had fused Rachel and her children whenever resources were needed.
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I was learning to separate adult conduct from child relationships.
Noah and Lily could remain my niece and nephew even if I never paid Rachel’s credit card again.
