Chapter 18
Life did not become perfect.
It became ours.
Dad started coming home for dinner.
At first, he checked his phone every three minutes.
Then every ten.
Then he left it in the other room.
Clara teased him that he was learning basic human behavior.
He said she was lucky Mia liked her.
I said he was lucky too.
He agreed.
The company survived.
The audit found damage, but not enough to destroy it.
Dad removed everyone Eric had planted.
He created a family protection clause so no future spouse or relative could make decisions about me without court approval and my consent when I was old enough.
I did not understand all of it.
But I understood this.
No one could sign me away.
Dad also created a foundation in Mom’s name for children caught in custody and financial abuse cases.
The Laura Harlow Trust.
When he asked if I wanted my name on it too, I said no.
“Mom first,” I told him.
He nodded.
“Mom first.”
Adrian helped prosecutors trace Vanessa’s stolen money.
Then he moved to Oregon to start over.
Before he left, he sent me a letter.
Not long.
Just one page.
You were braver at nine than I was as an adult. I am trying to become someone who would have helped you sooner.
I kept it in my notebook.
Clara stayed with us.
But her role changed.
She became Dad’s legal affairs coordinator for the foundation.
She still made grilled cheese for me because some traditions are too important for job titles.
One evening, I found Dad in the garden pruning Mom’s roses badly.
“You’re hurting them,” I said.
“I am following instructions.”
“Whose?”
He looked at the crumpled paper.
“Internet.”
I took the shears.
“Clara knows plants.”
“Of course she does,” he said. “Is there anything Clara does not know?”
I thought about it.
“Maybe how to relax.”
From the porch, Clara called, “I heard that.”
Dad and I laughed.
May you like
The roses grew anyway.
So did we.
