Any future contact with the children will require Marcus’s agreement and clear boundaries.
For now, there are no visits.
Marcus is attending counseling, and so am I.
We’ve begun having conversations that would have seemed impossible a year ago.
Sometimes he still gets defensive when I mention Emily’s plans.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that loving my son doesn’t require me to agree with him.
Last Sunday, he brought the children over for dinner.
Afterward, Lily asked whether she could see one of her mother’s letters.
Marcus looked at me, then nodded.
We chose the one Emily had written about Lily’s first day at school.
I watched my granddaughter trace her mother’s handwriting with one finger.
“She remembered my first day of school,” Lily said.
“She was very proud of you,” Marcus answered.
Lily smiled.
It was such a small moment, but I hadn’t seen her look that peaceful in weeks.
