Chapter 15 - The Day Fletcher Got More Than One Choice
Six months after the birthday party, Fletcher ate cake again.
Not strawberry.
Chocolate.
He sat at a picnic table in Loose Park in Kansas City wearing a navy sweatshirt and dinosaur sneakers.
Four candles leaned crookedly across the frosting because his birthday had already passed, but Eli said they deserved a replacement party.
Greer disagreed with the word replacement.
So Fletcher chose another.
“Do-over.”
It was a small gathering.
Eli.
Greer.
Rick.
Dana.
Fletcher’s therapist had advised against turning family repair into a spectacle.
Sabine was not there yet.
Her supervised contact visits occurred separately.
The guardianship modification had been approved two months earlier after the court reviewed Eli’s paternity, recovery history, home assessment and transition plan.
Eli had not received instant permanent custody.
Instead, Fletcher’s time with him increased in stages.
For the first several weeks, Eli stayed in Kansas City.
Then came short overnight visits.
Then weekends.
He was preparing to relocate permanently rather than move Fletcher abruptly to North Carolina.
Sabine no longer controlled Fletcher’s medical care, preschool access or contact with Eli.
She continued therapy.
She had apologized to Fletcher in language his therapist helped her prepare.
She did not ask him to forgive her.
Rick’s relationship with Greer changed more slowly.
He stopped saying he had only wanted to protect her.
He started saying what he had actually done.
“I lied because I was scared.”
That distinction mattered.
Greer returned to a full course load at KU.
She did not move home to raise Fletcher.
That mattered too.
She visited.
She babysat.
She answered video calls.
She remained his sister.
It was enough.
At the picnic table, Fletcher inspected the chocolate cake suspiciously.
“You don’t gotta eat it,” Eli said.
Fletcher looked at him.
“Even birthday?”
“Even birthday.”
Fletcher considered that.
Then he stuck one finger into the frosting.
Greer laughed.
“No forks?” Fletcher asked.
Eli looked at Greer.
“No forks unless you want one.”
Fletcher licked the frosting from his finger.
Then he ate half a slice.
Nobody applauded.
That had been another therapist recommendation.
Food was food.
Not obedience.
Not victory.
Not proof of love.
After cake, Fletcher chased bubbles across the grass while Rick tried unsuccessfully to keep up.
Eli sat beside Greer.
“I got the apartment.”
“In Overland Park?”
“Ten minutes from preschool.”
“That’s good.”
He looked toward Fletcher.
“I keep waiting to feel like his dad.”
Greer smiled faintly.
“You’re asking the wrong person. I’ve been his sister for four years and half the time I feel like an emergency contact with opinions.”
Eli laughed.
Then his expression softened.
“Thank you.”
Greer shook her head.
“Don’t make me the hero.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Good.”
She looked across the park.
“I hit someone in front of him. Dad lied. You disappeared into drugs before he was born. Sabine did what she did. Mom left everybody instructions while she was terrified and sick.”
Eli nodded slowly.
“Messy family.”
“Very.”
A week later, Greer drove Fletcher to one of his supervised visits with Sabine.
The meeting happened at a family-services center.
Sabine was already waiting near a shelf of puzzles.
She looked nervous.
Fletcher stopped beside Greer.
Sabine did not rush toward him.
That was new.
“Hi, buddy,” she said.
Fletcher looked up at Greer.
Greer crouched.
“You can go in if you want.”
Fletcher thought about it.
Then he walked toward Sabine.
She knelt.
He did not hug her.
She did not ask.
Instead he picked up a wooden puzzle and carried it to the table.
Sabine followed.
For forty-five minutes, they played.
When the visit ended, Fletcher put on his coat.
Sabine stayed several feet away.
“Bye, Fletcher.”
He took Greer’s hand.
“Bye, Sabine.”
Her face tightened at the name.
But she smiled.
“See you next week.”
Fletcher and Greer reached the hallway.
Then Fletcher stopped.
He looked back.
Sabine was still standing beside the puzzle table.
For one uncertain second, neither of them moved.
Fletcher lifted his hand.
Sabine lifted hers.
Then Greer opened the door, and Fletcher walked out beside her.
May you like
She did not ask what the wave meant.
For once, nobody in Fletcher’s family decided his feelings for him.
