Chapter 26 - The birthday invitation
Eleven months after the ruined party, Primrose was still six.
Her seventh birthday was five weeks away.
She sat at the breakfast table making invitations.
No event planner.
No calligrapher.
Markers.
Stickers.
One invitation:
Felix — no fancy suit
Another:
Aunt Margot
Another:
Mateo and Isabel
Then she wrote:
Aunt Genevieve
I stopped.
“Do you want her there?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She can’t hurt my cake.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“She said sorry.”
“An apology doesn’t mean you have to invite someone.”
“I know.”
I waited.
Then:
“I want Felix there and he wants his mom.”
That was more complicated.
“You don’t have to invite his mom for him to come.”
“I know.”
She looked at me.
“I want to see if she can be normal.”
Six.
Brutal.
I spoke with Dr. Keene.
Then lawyers because probation/no-contact conditions required consent.
Structured plan:
Genevieve could attend for ninety minutes.
No legal papers.
No succession talk.
No alcohol.
No private contact with Primrose.
I would not confront her.
Security would handle boundary violations.
Why no alcohol? Not because she had alcohol issue. Could be unnecessarily controlling. Remove. Let's say ordinary party conditions, no special alcohol restriction. Good.
Then my own condition:
I would not touch Genevieve.
Not cake.
Not hand.
Not anything.
Because children should not need security from both adults.
Genevieve accepted in writing.
Then she sent a question through counsel:
“Can I bring a gift?”
Primrose said:
“Yes, but not money.”
I laughed.
“What kind?”
“Book.”
Genevieve agreed.
No trust contribution.
No jewelry.
No engraved heirloom.
May you like
A book.
The family had finally become small enough to manage.
