Chapter 14 - Nora calls me Ryan
Our first planned visit happened at Paige’s house.
Two hours.
No overnight.
No pressure.
Ethan came for the final thirty minutes only.
At the beginning, Nora hid behind Paige.
I stood in the living room holding a stuffed rabbit I had been advised not to make too expensive.
“Hi.”
She stared.
“Hi.”
Then:
“Are you Daddy?”
My throat closed.
I answered carefully.
“My name is Ryan. The test says I’m your biological dad.”
She looked at Paige.
“What’s biological?”
Paige looked at the therapist.
The therapist answered:
“It means Ryan helped make you when you were a baby, like Leah helped make you.”
Nora frowned.
“Mommy made me.”
“Yes.”
“Ryan didn’t know.”
I nodded.
“I didn’t.”
“Why?”
There are no child-sized answers for adult secrecy.
“Because the grown-ups did not share information they should have shared.”
Good.
No blaming Claire to a five-year-old.
Nora looked at me.
“Can I call you Daddy?”
Every cell in my body screamed yes.
I said:
“You can call me Ryan, Daddy, or whatever feels comfortable.”
She chose:
“Ryan.”
It hurt.
Good.
Pain does not mean wrong.
At the end, Ethan arrived.
He was nervous.
Nora looked at him.
“You gave bread.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“Are you my sister?”
Nora shrugged.
Apparently court procedure had not impressed her.
The therapist said:
“You two share a dad.”
Ethan grinned.
“So yes.”
Nora considered.
“Okay.”
Children sometimes reach a legal conclusion faster than adults.
Then they played with blocks for twenty-two minutes.
No profound sibling bond.
Ethan got annoyed because Nora knocked over his tower.
May you like
Normal.
Beautiful.
