Chapter 7
Elsie received the truth slowly.
Not in the bank.
Not in a police station.
Not from Dominic while he was angry.
A child psychologist helped them prepare.
Dominic sat beside Elsie in a quiet room with a Christmas tree small enough not to overwhelm her.
He said:
“Mommy did not forget you.”
Elsie stared at him.
“Is she dead?”
“No.”
The child psychologist watched Elsie’s hands.
They curled tightly into her dress.
“Where is she?”
“She is somewhere safe because some adults were dangerous.”
“Are you dangerous?”
Dominic closed his eyes once.
Then opened them.
“Yes. Sometimes my life has been dangerous.”
“Was Mommy hiding from you?”
He did not want to answer.
He did anyway.
“Partly.”
Elsie’s face changed.
That answer hurt.
It also prevented another lie from replacing the first.
“Did she send my presents?”
“Yes.”
“Did Aunt Geneva throw them away?”
“Some.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted us to think Mommy left and never looked back.”
Elsie began crying silently.
Dominic reached for her, then stopped.
“Can I hug you?”
She nodded.
Only then did he pull her close.
That moment became the beginning of a new kind of fatherhood.
Permission instead of assumption.
Truth instead of control.
May you like
It felt unnatural to him.
Good.
