Diane’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.
That sentence hit me too, harder than I expected.
All day I’d carried the idea that keeping the peace between Levi and his mother was partly my job. Sitting there, I felt it lift.
“She’ll never have to put up with disrespect to keep peace between us again,” Levi said. “That’s on you now.”
Then he said the part that mattered.
That sentence hit me too
“You’re his grandmother. You’re not his parent. You don’t pick his name. You don’t overrule his mother. You don’t announce decisions we haven’t made. If you can’t respect that, then your own behavior decides how much time you get with him.”
Diane went white. “You’re erasing me from this family.”
“Nobody’s taking Grandma away,” Levi said. “Grandma and Mom are different jobs, Mom. You have to let her do hers.”
“You’re erasing me from this family.”
Diane didn’t apologize. Of course she didn’t.
She stood, shaking, face crumpling into fury and shame, gathered the BENJAMIN blanket to her chest, and walked out with her purse banging her hip.
I watched her go.
A week earlier, I would’ve chased her.
