“You lied”, I said. You told me you were taking him to the museum. ”
“I know”, he said. It’s just that I didn’t know how else to explain it without making things worse. ”
“Did you think lying to me, hiding and introducing our daughter to a therapist was the best option? ”
“Worse?! ”
“She started having nightmares”, he said. “After you started working weekends. ”
It stopped me in my tracks.
“She woke up crying. She didn’t understand why Saturdays were different. She told me she thought you didn’t want to be near her anymore. ”
I covered my mouth.
It stopped me in my tracks.
“I didn’t want her to think that”, he continued. I didn’t want her to grow up blaming you for doing what you had to do for us. So, I tried to fill the void. I made up little stories, I tried to make Saturdays special, but… it wasn’t enough. ”
Molly added: “Your daughter was showing signs of anxiety. And it wasn’t just because he missed you — it was confusion. She thought she had done something wrong. ”
“So, I tried to fill the void. ”
“But why didn’t you tell me? We could have gone together. Talk about it with family. ”
“Because you were exhausted every night. You weren’t laughing anymore. You barely ate. I didn’t want to be another problem you had to solve. ”
“So you hid the truth from me. ”
“You barely ate. ”
“And I’m sorry. I didn’t think carefully. ”
Ruby, feeling the tension, approached me. She wrapped her little arms around my legs.
“I didn’t want you to be sad, Mom”, she said.
I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms. “Oh, baby. I’m not sad because of you. I’m sad because I didn’t see how much pain you were in. ”
“And I’m sorry. ”
“I want us all to be together”, she said. “As before. ”
“Me too. ”
Molly waited a moment, then said, “I can replace today’s session with a family consultation, if that’s okay with you. ”
I hesitated, then looked at Dan.
He nodded.
