CHAPTER 10 — THE FINAL CONFRONTATION
A week later, Evelyn returned.
She stood outside our gate.
I walked out.
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk to Hannah.”
“No.”
“I am the grandmother of that child.”
“Being a grandmother isn't a license to hurt his mother.”
She stared at me.
“You're really turning against your own mother because of her?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“I'm standing against the version of myself that allowed you to do all of this.”
She said nothing.
I handed her a box.
Inside were the things she had given me over the years.
My watch.
A family tie pin.
Several heirlooms.
“Take them.”
“What are you doing?”
“I don't want anything that makes me feel indebted to you.”
She stared at the box.
“I will raise my son differently.”
“I will teach him that family isn't simply about blood.”
“Family is about the people who make you feel safe.”
Evelyn looked away.
I closed the gate.
For the first time...
May you like
I didn't feel guilty.
