Chapter 11 - Sophie Thought Food Had Rules
Two weeks after dinner, Sophie refused to reach for bread at my sister’s house.
“Why?”
“You go first.”
“I’m not hungry yet.”
She waited.
Then:
“Grandma first?”
Eleanor was not there.
“No.”
Sophie’s eyes filled.
“If wrong, people hit.”
My chest broke.
One slap had created a rule in her head.
Dr. Marissa Cole worked with both children.
Nothing elaborate.
Role play.
Dinner.
Turns.
Polite rules versus safety rules.
“Sometimes families let older people serve first because it’s respectful.”
“Does someone hit you if you forget?”
“No.”
“Does making a mistake mean someone can slap?”
“No.”
Noah’s fear was different.
House.
Every night:
“Are we sleeping here tomorrow?”
Richard had allowed me and children to remain temporarily while Greg moved into an apartment.
But I did not want to promise permanence.
So I said:
“We have a home for tomorrow.”
“Next week?”
“Yes.”
“Forever?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Children hate honest uncertainty.
Still better than false promise.
We marked thirty days on calendar.
Then renewed.
Housing became visible, not mysterious.
May you like
No adult whispered ownership around them again.
────────────────────
