Chapter 14 - The First Time Mom Didn’t Decide for Me
Several weeks later, Mom asked to visit.
She came alone.
No Dad.
No Arthur.
No gifts.
Gigi sat nearby coloring.
Mom watched her for a long time.
“I was afraid Marianne would hurt you.”
“I believe you.”
She looked surprised.
“But believing your fear doesn’t mean agreeing with what you did.”
Mom nodded slowly.
“I don’t know how to apologize for thirty-two years.”
“You don’t apologize once.”
She looked at me.
“You tell the truth every time lying would be easier.”
Then came the question she had clearly been afraid to ask.
“Is Marianne going to meet Gigi?”
“Yes.”
Mom’s expression tightened.
I watched the old instinct arrive.
Fear.
Control.
The need to decide.
She opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Finally:
“I’m scared.”
I nodded.
“You’re allowed to be.”
Her eyes moved toward Gigi.
“But I’m not allowed to decide.”
“No.”
Mom lowered her head.
May you like
It was a tiny moment.
But after thirty-two years, it was the first time Victoria Bennett had admitted that loving me did not give her ownership of my choices.
