Chapter 8 - A New Normal
Adjusting to our new life in Seattle took time, but the pieces slowly began to lock into place. Mark transferred to the Seattle branch of his firm, and I used the money from selling my old bakery to open a small café near Sarah’s neighborhood.
We established a beautiful, unconventional co-parenting dynamic. While Sarah had full legal custody, she treated me as an essential pillar in Lily’s life. I picked Lily up from school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, helped her with her art projects, and baked with her on the weekends.
Therapy became a cornerstone for all of us. Lily saw a child psychologist who specialized in trauma and identity, helping her navigate the complex feelings of loving two mothers—one who gave birth to her, and one who was in prison.
Slowly, Lily blossomed.
One Saturday afternoon, while we were at the park, Lily was climbing on the jungle gym while Sarah and I sat on a bench, drinking coffee.
"Mom! Auntie Em! Watch this!" Lily yelled, hanging upside down from the monkey bars.
Sarah and I both cheered, but my breath hitched slightly. It was the first time she had called Sarah "Mom" with such casual ease.
I looked at Sarah, expecting her to be crying, but she was just beaming with pride. "She did that yesterday, too," Sarah whispered to me. "Just casually asked 'Mom' to pass the salt. I almost fainted."
"I'm so happy for you, Sarah," I said genuinely, squeezing her arm.
"We wouldn't be here without you, Emily," Sarah replied, turning to look at me. "You didn't let the darkness consume your family. You chose truth. I will never, ever take that for granted."
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As the months passed, Lily’s night terrors faded. She made friends at her new school. She started taking ballet and joined a local soccer league. The scared little barefoot girl in the shed was replaced by a vibrant, confident child who knew exactly who she was and how fiercely she was loved.
Even Kate, from behind bars, seemed to be finding some semblance of peace. I finally started accepting her letters. She wrote about her psychiatric treatments, her deep remorse, and her acceptance of her sentence. She never asked to speak to Lily, knowing it would only disrupt the child's healing. In her own tragic way, staying away was the first real act of motherly love Kate had ever shown her.
