They had planned for everyone who mattered to them.
Abigail simply had not made the list.
My father tried to argue that they expected me to come quickly once the location was sent.
I asked whether he would leave either of my nephews standing beside that road.
He did not answer.
My mother took the phone again and said, “This is exactly what I meant about making a scene.”
I felt something in me settle.
For years, I had confused keeping peace with keeping a family together.
They were not the same thing.
Sometimes peace simply meant nobody challenged the person causing the damage.
I told my mother that from that moment forward, there would be no unsupervised contact with Abigail.
She laughed once in disbelief.
“You’re taking our granddaughter away because she got carsick?”
“No,” I said. “I’m changing your access to her because you abandoned her beside a highway.”
