Chapter 11 - Helen Saw Lucy Again Only After Lucy Asked
Eight months passed before Lucy mentioned:
Helen.
Not:
“Can Grandma come over?”
First:
“Does Grandma still go to therapy?”
“Yes.”
“Does she still want the house?”
“She still thinks selling someday might be smart.”
Lucy frowned.
“So she didn’t change.”
“People can change some things without agreeing with us about everything.”
That seemed suspicious to:
her.
Then:
“Does she still think I’m a brat?”
“I don’t know. You can ask her someday if you want.”
Two weeks later:
“I want to see her.”
We arranged a one-hour meeting at a family therapist’s office.
Neutral.
No lake house.
No storage room.
No property documents.
Helen arrived first.
Lucy came in holding my hand.
Helen stood.
Then stopped herself from approaching.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Lucy did not answer immediately.
Then:
“Hi.”
We sat.
After ten minutes of ordinary conversation, Lucy asked:
“Why did you lock me in?”
Helen had prepared.
The therapist still made her answer in her own words.
“Because I was angry you found Grandpa’s letter and I wanted to stop you from bringing it to your dad.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid your dad would learn things about the house that I had not told him.”
“Were they bad?”
“They made me look dishonest.”
“Were you?”
Helen took a breath.
“Yes, about some things.”
Then Lucy asked:
“Did you want me scared?”
Helen closed her eyes briefly.
“At that moment, yes.”
I hated hearing:
it.
But truth was better than:
softening.
“Why?”
“Because I thought if you were scared, you would stop arguing.”
Lucy thought about that.
Then:
“Did it work?”
Helen almost laughed sadly.
“No.”
Correct.
Then Lucy said:
“Dad locked you too.”
“Yes.”
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like it?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
There.
No adult speech could have done better.
Then Helen said:
“I am sorry.”
Lucy nodded but did not say:
I forgive you.
The meeting ended.
No hug.
In the car Lucy asked:
“Was Grandma telling the truth?”
“I think so.”
“Can I see her again?”
“If you want.”
“I’ll decide later.”
Good.
Then she asked:
“Can we still have the lake house?”
“For now.”
“When I’m grown?”
“That depends on what makes sense then.”
“Grandpa said I could bring my kids.”
“You can if the house still exists and you want to.”
She seemed satisfied.
No guarantee of:
forever.
Then, three months later, Lucy saw Helen again.
This time at a park.
Then lunch.
Then a school performance.
Slow.
One day Lucy hugged her first.
Helen cried afterward.
Not in front of:
Lucy.
Good.
Then Helen asked whether she could return to Clearwater for one supervised afternoon with us.
Lucy said:
yes.
May you like
That became the next test.
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