CHAPTER 12: A GRANDMOTHERS CONDITIONS
Lenora called me directly after her attorney received notice of the dispute. “We can handle this privately,” she said. “Think of the family reputation.” I asked which family she meant. She said I was being childish. Then she offered to let June remain in the family trust if I agreed not to contest Grant’s proposed management of it. I nearly laughed at the word let. “June is a beneficiary,” I said. “Her rights aren’t a favor you grant her.” Lenora changed tactics. She reminded me that she was seventy-five, that she had raised a son under difficult circumstances, and that the birthday party had been meant to celebrate her. I did not deny her feelings. I simply refused to place them above my child’s safety. “You walked past June to embrace Oliver,” I told her. “Do you know what she asked me afterward?” Silence. “She asked whether you liked boys better.” Lenora said she hadn’t meant to hurt her. “Intent doesn’t erase what a child hears,” I replied. For a moment she sounded old and tired. Then she asked whether I would at least return the drive. I ended the call. That request answered the question I had been holding: even after everything, the evidence mattered to her more than the granddaughter she had ignored.
