Chapter 6 - Permission Slips

At eight the next morning, I was sitting in the school office with Lucy's principal, Mrs. Hart, and a copy of the pickup form between us.

"This was submitted electronically last night," she said. "Mr. Ellis confirmed it by email."

"And I'm telling you Celia is not authorized to take Lucy."

Mrs. Hart folded her hands. "We have two parents giving conflicting instructions. Until that's resolved, we'll take extra precautions and contact both of you before releasing Lucy to anyone new."

I appreciated the caution, even though it made my stomach twist. With no custody order in place, Ben still had parental rights. Lila had warned me not to mistake a school memo for a legal shield.

Lucy was staying with Dana today. She said she felt sick, and I believed her.

Outside the office I called Ben.

"Why did you sign that form?"

"Mom offered to take Lucy to her dentist."

"It says unrestricted pickup."

"I didn't read every box."

"Then read this one: our daughter is scared of her."

He sighed. "Mara, you're using Lucy to punish Mom."

For the first time I understood that arguing with him about the same facts would never produce a new answer. He had seen the same chair move. He had heard the same scream. He was choosing what those things meant.

"I'll talk to you through Lila," I said.

At lunch, my boss approved emergency leave without asking for details. I had spent eleven years managing repairs for a commercial building company. I was the person people called when a pipe burst at midnight or a roof collapsed under snow. I knew how to stay calm in a disaster.

I did not know how to stay calm when the disaster called itself Grandma.

That afternoon, Lucy drew a picture of a square black plate beneath a huge gray cloud. Beside it stood a stick figure wearing a yellow dress, alone behind a locked door.

"Who is that?" I asked gently.

"Me last Saturday."

"What door?"

She pressed her lips together. "The pantry door. Grandma said I had to stay until I was grateful."

I put the drawing down before she could see my hands shaking.

"Did somebody lock you inside?"

Lucy nodded. "I knocked. Grandpa came, but he didn't open it."

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Then she whispered something that made my blood turn cold.

"Grandma said Daddy used to stay there, too."