Chapter 10 - My Slap
The foyer video captured everything.
Margaret above Noah.
Her foot moving.
Noah falling.
Me entering.
Running.
Lifting him.
Margaret descending.
Her words were partly audible.
Then my movement toward her.
The slap.
Margaret falling.
No one needed to argue about what I did.
I did it.
After Noah was away from her.
After immediate danger had stopped.
The prosecutor reviewing the case later separated the conduct carefully.
My intervention with Noah:
Protection.
Calling emergency services:
Necessary.
Slapping Margaret:
Retaliation.
My mother's crime did not erase mine.
I entered a diversion arrangement for misdemeanor assault.
No incarceration.
No dramatic courtroom speech.
Anger-management counseling.
Community service.
Compliance.
If completed successfully, the charge would be dismissed under the applicable program.
Some relatives were furious.
At the prosecutor.
Not me.
“Your mother kicked a baby down stairs.”
“Yes.”
“And they're making you take anger management?”
“Yes.”
“That's insane.”
“No.”
They stared.
I answered:
“I want Noah growing up knowing danger can be stopped without revenge becoming the next step.”
May you like
That sentence sounded mature.
It took months of counseling before I actually felt it.
