Chapter 21 - Lily and separation
The hardest problem after the case was not the backyard.
It was leaving me.
Lily panicked when Sophie arrived.
Cried when I moved toward the door.
Held my leg.
“Daddy stay.”
My first instinct:
Stay.
Cancel.
Never leave.
Then Dr. Maya Ellison, Lily’s child therapist, said something I needed.
“Diane taught her separation could become punishment.”
“Yes.”
“If you respond by making separation impossible, Diane still defines the system.”
I hated that.
“What do I do?”
“Predictable departures. Predictable returns. No tricks.”
So:
I said goodbye.
Every time.
No sneaking out.
Ten minutes at first.
Then thirty.
Then work morning.
Sophie sent one update.
Not twenty.
I came back when promised.
Lily learned:
Dad leaves.
Dad returns.
No kennel appears in between.
At first she still cried.
Then less.
Then one afternoon she pushed me toward the door.
“Go work.”
Humbling.
May you like
Recovery rarely announces itself with music.
Sometimes your child just gets tired of you hovering.
