PART 23 – When I Looked Toward the Examination Room Again, I Knew I Could No Longer Allow My Fear of Conflict to Decide What Happened Next

I was tired of waiting.

But I wasn't going to rush the staff.

I knew Tommy needed proper attention.

I knew there were things that had to be handled carefully.

I also knew that whatever happened after that evening would require patience.

There would be questions.

There would be conversations.

There might be difficult decisions.

I couldn't predict any of them.

I could only decide how I would respond.

I thought about Lauren's explanation.

She had said Tommy fell in the bathroom.

I wanted to know when it happened.

I wanted to know what she had seen.

I wanted to know why she hadn't told me when she dropped him off.

Those were reasonable questions.

But I didn't want to ask them in anger.

I wanted answers that could be checked.

Not another argument in which each of us accused the other of having bad intentions.

I looked toward the officer.

He was still present.

I hoped he understood that I wasn't trying to use the police to punish my former wife.

I had called because my son was in serious pain.

That was the reason.

I thought about the sentence Tommy had said before the ambulance arrived.

He had believed I would go to jail.

I wished I could take that fear away immediately.

But I knew it wouldn't disappear because I told him not to worry.

I would have to show him, over time, that he could tell me things.

That I would listen.

That I would take him seriously.

And that asking for help was never something he needed to feel guilty about.

I looked toward the room again.

I was ready to see him whenever the staff allowed it.

I didn't know what the next conversation would be.

But I knew I would listen differently.

Click here to continue reading: PART 24: The Promise I Made to My Son That Sunday Was Not the End of Our Struggle, but It Was the Beginning of Me Finally Listening