Chapter 9
Theo woke before sunrise.
He asked for Lucas.
That surprised me.
Not because children stop loving parents after betrayal.
Because adults sometimes wish they did. It makes punishment emotionally cleaner.
Lucas crouched several feet away.
Theo stayed in Daniel’s arms.
“Dad?”
“I’m here.”
“Boat gone?”
“Yes.”
“You make me go later?”
Lucas started crying.
“No.”
Theo watched him carefully.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
I intervened.
“Lucas.”
He looked at me.
I hated doing it.
Still necessary.
“Do not promise what you have not earned the right to define.”
His face tightened.
Theo looked between us.
I simplified.
“Your dad is not taking you on that boat.”
That I could guarantee.
Theo relaxed slightly.
Then:
“Why he didn’t need me?”
Lucas broke.
He reached forward instinctively.
Theo pulled back.
My son stopped immediately.
Good.
Boundary noticed.
“I needed you,” Lucas whispered.
“Then why?”
The question again.
Children find the center while adults decorate the edges.
Lucas swallowed.
“Because I was scared.”
Theo frowned.
“Of boat?”
“No.”
“Of Grandma?”
I almost smiled.
Lucas almost did too.
“No.”
“Money?”
There.
Apparently someone had talked around him enough that he knew.
Lucas nodded.
“Yes.”
Theo thought for a long time.
Then:
“You give me for money.”
Every adult on the dock became still.
Lucas did not correct the wording.
Good.
“Yes.”
Theo’s bottom lip trembled.
“That was very wrong.”
“Yes.”
Simple.
No excuses.
Then Theo looked at me.
“Grandma?”
“Yes?”
“Can I go home?”
I took him into my arms.
“Yes.”
Lucas stood.
He did not ask to come.
May you like
Another correct choice.
For now.
