Chapter 10 - Why June Was Included
Margaret admitted this later.
She originally planned only the adult collar.
Then I refused an overnight.
June was three weeks old.
Margaret asked:
“When can she stay with me?”
I laughed because I thought she was joking.
“She is breastfeeding every two hours.”
“I can bottle feed.”
“We’re not doing overnights.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Not anytime soon.”
Margaret’s face changed.
She said:
“Wesley stayed with Patricia at two weeks.”
“Okay.”
“Family bonds need opportunity.”
“She’s a newborn.”
Then:
“You’re already gatekeeping.”
That word.
A parent saying no to overnight newborn separation became control.
Two days later, Margaret added June’s collar.
According to group chat:
If Mama pup won’t share, baby pup joins initiation too.
There.
A punishment disguised as inclusion.
She felt excluded from granddaughter.
So she created ritual asserting:
You both belong to us.
Not Nora alone.
She would later insist:
“I never meant possession.”
Maybe not consciously.
May you like
Still what act communicated.
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