Chapter 11 - EMMA’S FIRST QUESTION
Emma asked:
“Did Celeste want Birdie?”
We were staying at my sister Amelia’s house.
I refused to return to the Hawthorne family floor immediately.
Not because the hotel was unsafe.
Because Emma did not want another hallway vent.
Amelia had a small colonial home with squeaky stairs and no service passages.
Perfect.
I answered:
“She wanted something that was hidden inside Birdie.”
“Black thing?”
“Yes.”
“Mine?”
“No.”
“Birdie mine.”
“Yes.”
“So inside mine.”
Four-year-old property law.
I considered.
“The doll is yours. The things were put there by an adult who needed Daddy to see them.”
“Without ask?”
“Yes.”
She frowned.
“Bad?”
“Not a good choice.”
I would not turn Dana into hero in front of Emma.
She had used my daughter’s comfort object as an evidence hiding place without permission.
Her motive was serious.
The choice still burdened a child.
“Did Celeste know?”
“She guessed.”
“Why put me wall?”
I had practiced this with Dr. Naomi Wells, Emma’s child therapist.
“Because Celeste was scared about what Daddy might learn, and she made a very wrong choice to scare you so you would tell her.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
“She dumb?”
“No.”
“Why do dumb thing?”
I almost smiled.
“Smart people make terrible choices when they decide fear is more important than rules.”
Too adult.
Emma hugged Birdie.
Maren had repaired the seam.
This time with bright purple thread because Emma chose it.
Nothing hidden.
We checked together once.
May you like
Then I promised we would not keep opening the doll.
Safety can become another form of violation if adults keep proving it by tearing things apart.
