My sister stood behind my six-year-old with a crystal wine glass in her hand while he held his brush over a blue lake he had spent three mornings painting for Grandpa

Spring brought the finalization of the divorce.

I sat next to David in Arthur’s office as the last papers were signed. Because of the break-in, Jessica had been charged with burglary and vandalism. In exchange for David dropping the felony charges down to a misdemeanor, Helen agreed to an uncontested divorce, waiving any right to alimony or a portion of the offshore trusts.

They were left with exactly what they had earned: the remaining equity in the main house, which barely covered their legal debts, and each other.

"It's done, David," Arthur said, sliding the finalized decree across the mahogany desk. "You're a free man."

David picked up the pen and signed his name with a steady, decisive flourish. He didn't look sad. He looked like a man who had been carrying a hundred-pound weight on his back for decades and had finally been allowed to put it down.

"Thank you, Arthur," David said, shaking his friend's hand.

As we walked out of the law firm and into the bright spring sunshine, David took a deep breath of the city air.

"How do you feel, Dad?" I asked, linking my arm through his.

"Light," he smiled. "Very light. Like I have the rest of my life ahead of me, and for the first time, I get to choose exactly how to spend it."

"I think Jacob has a plan for that," I laughed. "He was talking about building a treehouse this morning. He says he needs his 'Chief Engineer' to help him with the blueprints."

David's eyes crinkled with genuine joy. "A treehouse, huh? Well, we’ll need to survey the oaks in the back. Make sure the load-bearing branches are sound. We can't have subpar construction."

We drove back to the cabin with the windows down, the radio playing softly. For the first time in my life, the specter of my mother's disapproval and my sister's cruel jealousy was completely gone. They were no longer characters in our story. They had written themselves out, leaving behind a blank canvas for us to paint whatever we wanted.

When we pulled into the driveway, Jacob was sitting on the front porch, eagerly waiting for us, a smudge of dirt on his cheek and a bright, welcoming smile on his face. He ran down the steps and threw his arms around David's waist.