Chapter 15 - A Child's Own Words
A child-protection worker met with us the following week after the school report. She explained what she could and couldn't do, then spoke with Maya privately. We didn't coach her. We didn't sit outside the door listening for the story we wanted to hear.
I waited in the hall beside Kelly. We had spent years thinking co-parenting meant dividing responsibilities neatly. Now the best thing we could do was sit together without trying to control what our daughter said.
When the meeting ended, Maya came out holding a paper cup of water. "I told her some days were good," she said.
"That's okay," Kelly answered.
"I said Tiffany helped me learn how to cook eggs. I said I liked that."
"That's okay too," I told her.
"I said the other days made me scared to go home."
We both wanted to hug her. We asked first. She said yes to Kelly and not yet to me. I stayed beside them until she reached for my hand.
The worker made no instant pronouncement. The school continued its review. Lena pursued the digital records and the business materials through lawful channels. The pace frustrated me until I thought about how long Maya had lived with adults demanding quick answers.
That night, Kelly and I asked where she wanted to sleep. Maya chose Ruth's, with the dog and her sketchbook. We didn't debate it.
Later, she came downstairs in her pajamas while I was sorting travel receipts. She stood by the kitchen doorway, fingers tucked into her sleeves.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, sweetheart?"
"If things get normal again, will you start traveling all the time?"
I wanted to promise her I'd never board another plane. That would have been another easy sentence she couldn't trust.
"I don't know every trip I'll need to take," I said. "I do know I have to change my life, not just say I'm sorry."
May you like
She nodded once. Then she asked a question that stopped me cold.
"Can we have a regular Thursday, even when nothing bad happens?"
