Chapter 8 - Christopher Had Received a Strange Call From Sarah Two Weeks Earlier
My brother told me this at four in the morning.
We were in the pediatric ER waiting for paperwork.
Sarah was asleep under a warm blanket.
Carolyn had gone home after giving a statement.
Christopher sat beside me.
Then said:
“I need to tell you something.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Sarah called me.”
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“She asked if I was busy.”
“And?”
“I said kind of.”
He looked sick.
“She asked if kids could stay home alone at night.”
I stared.
“What did you say?”
“I thought she meant when she’s older.”
“Chris.”
“I know.”
“What exactly did she ask?”
He closed his eyes.
“She said, ‘How old do you have to be before it’s not bad?’”
My chest tightened.
“What did you say?”
“I told her different states have different rules and she should ask you or Melissa.”
Then:
“She said never mind.”
“Did you call her back?”
“No.”
“Did you call me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Christopher looked at Sarah.
“Because Melissa already thinks I interfere.”
There.
Adults again.
Protecting:
boundaries between adults
while a child was trying to describe a boundary that had disappeared.
Christopher whispered:
“I thought if it was serious, she’d say it clearly.”
I did not answer.
Because I had made the same mistake.
Children often do not deliver:
clear reports.
They test:
whether the adult wants to know.
Sarah had tested several of us.
May you like
We kept making her try again.
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