Chapter 3 - What Mia Remembered
By morning, Lucy’s temperature had stabilized, but the doctors wanted to keep her under observation. Mia was allowed to sit in a chair beside her sister’s bed, wearing borrowed pajamas decorated with yellow stars.
Elena had not slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the front door of her parents’ house shutting between her daughters and the warmth inside.
Naomi returned with coffee and a folder. “Child services will open an assessment,” she said. “That does not mean they are removing the girls from you.”
“My mother is trying to make that happen.”
“Your mother has made an allegation. Allegations must be assessed.”
Elena looked through the glass toward Daniel’s intensive care room. “I left them with my parents.”
“You believed they were safe.”
“Believing isn’t the same as making sure.”
Naomi set the coffee down. “Guilt can be useful if it helps you act responsibly. It becomes dangerous when it lets another person define what happened.”
Mia had been listening. “Grandma has been angry at Mom for a long time.”
Elena turned. “Mia, you don’t need to talk about this now.”
“I want to.”
Naomi pulled a chair closer. “Only if you feel ready.”
Mia rubbed the edge of her blanket. “Grandma gets angry when Mom says no.”
“No to what?”
“Coming over. Giving her money. Letting her keep Lucy overnight.”
Elena felt heat rise in her face. “I never knew she asked to keep Lucy overnight.”
Mia frowned. “She asked in October. Mom said Lucy was too young.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Grandma said you would be upset, and then Daddy would blame her.”
Daniel’s name seemed to pull a thread through the room.
“Did your father say anything about your grandmother?” Naomi asked.
Mia nodded. “He told Mom not to sign anything.”
Elena stared at her. “When?”
“At Thanksgiving. They were whispering in the kitchen.”
“What did you hear?”
“Daddy said, ‘This is not help if she has to lose control to receive it.’”
Elena remembered that evening. Margaret had brought three casseroles and a thick envelope. Elena had been busy keeping Lucy away from the dog. Daniel had seemed tense, but when Elena asked what was wrong, he had kissed her temple and said, “Your mother is worried about us.”
Elena had accepted that explanation because it was easier than asking for the truth.
“Did Grandma ever say she wanted you to live with her?” Elena asked.
Mia lowered her voice. “She said if Mom and Daddy ever got tired, we could stay with her.”
“Did she say your parents were tired?”
“She said Mom was always tired.”
Lucy opened her eyes. “Grandma said Mommy forgets things.”
Elena leaned toward her. “What things?”
Lucy counted on her fingers. “The birthday paper. The blue envelope. The red book.”
Naomi and Elena exchanged a look.
“What birthday paper?” Naomi asked gently.
Lucy’s attention drifted toward a stuffed rabbit on the chair. “The paper Mommy colored.”
Mia interrupted. “It was the drawing Mom made for Grandma.”
“Why would Grandma keep it?” Elena asked.
Mia’s face tightened. “Because she said Mom had promised something.”
Before Elena could ask more, her father appeared at the doorway.
Richard Vale looked smaller than he had the previous night. He held his hat against his chest and kept glancing toward the hall as if Margaret might follow him.
“May I see them?”
Elena stood. “You watched them leave.”
“I know.”
“You could have opened the door.”
“I know.”
“You could have called me.”
Richard’s eyes filled. “I know.”
Mia looked at him. “Why didn’t you help us?”
He sat down heavily. “Because I was afraid your grandmother would do something worse.”
“Worse than letting us freeze?” Mia asked.
Richard had no answer.
Elena’s phone vibrated. A text from an unknown number read: Your mother is telling people you left the children at the house and ran.
Another message followed: Do not speak to reporters. Do not sign anything without counsel.
Naomi read the messages. “Who is the sender?”
“I don’t know.”
Officer Bell entered before Elena could reply. “We found a camera across the street from your parents’ house,” he said. “The homeowner is checking the footage.”
Richard rose. “Margaret will erase it.”
Elena turned toward him. “Why would you say that?”
He looked at the girls, then at the floor. “Because she has erased things before.”
“What things?”
Richard gripped his hat until the brim bent. “Records. Letters. Anything that proves she changed her mind.”
“About what?”
He met Elena’s eyes at last. “About giving you back.”
The words seemed to drain the warmth from the room.
“What does that mean?”
Richard’s phone began ringing. Margaret’s name flashed on the screen.
He stared at it but did not answer.
Then a second call came from a number Elena recognized: the family lawyer’s office.
Richard stepped into the hall to answer.
May you like
When he returned, his face was gray.
“Your mother has filed for temporary custody,” he said. “The hearing is tomorrow morning.”
