Chapter 4 - What Pierce told Lenora
That evening Pierce and Lenora spoke alone.
He later admitted the conversation.
Pierce:
“Cade cannot melt down again tomorrow.”
Lenora:
“Then let me handle him.”
Pierce:
“Mom.”
Lenora:
“You and Adair indulge the fear.”
Pierce:
“We’re working with a therapist.”
Lenora laughed.
Then:
“Give me an hour.”
Pierce said:
“I need him comfortable enough to come back without crying.”
Lenora:
“Then don’t expect me to bring him back until he is.”
And Pierce said:
“Fine.”
That was the sentence Cade overheard.
Not:
Push him into the ocean.
Not:
Remove his vest.
But permission to take control.
Pierce knew exactly how Lenora believed fear should be handled.
He had grown up with her.
Cold showers for whining.
Locked closets for tantrums? Too harsh, unnecessary.
Better:
Repeated forced diving practice.
When Pierce was eight and afraid of diving, Lenora made him stand on the board until he jumped.
When he was eleven and afraid of sailing in strong wind, she put him in a boat with an instructor anyway.
He called it:
“How we learned.”
May you like
I called it:
A warning.
