Chapter 16 - The Staff Meeting
I gathered the household staff after the case stabilized.
Rosa.
Emily.
Driver.
Property manager.
Security supervisor.
I apologized.
Not because any of them had caused Margaret's behavior.
Because I had created confusion about authority.
My mother lived in the house.
People assumed she could direct staff.
Historically, I allowed it.
Sometimes encouraged it.
Then when Noah was born, nobody received a clear boundary.
Margaret said:
Send Emily home.
Staff wondered:
Does she speak for Daniel?
Margaret said:
Move Noah's things.
They wondered:
Is this a family instruction?
Ambiguity helped her.
So we changed policies.
Childcare instructions came from me or designated guardians.
No other relative.
Transportation required written authorization.
Nobody removed Noah from the property because a grandparent insisted.
Visitors had unique access codes.
Codes expired.
No master family code circulating for twenty years.
The security supervisor looked embarrassed.
“We should've done that already.”
May you like
“So should I.”
Systems are often built after someone learns why they were needed.
