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Chapter 76
Lauren gave Jacob a warm smile as she leaned toward him on the loveseat, resting her forearms on her knees. “So, you’re probably wondering why we’re meeting tonight,” she said.
Jacob nodded, fidgeting a little in the chair he was perched on.
“Well, part of the reason is because I wanted to see how you’ve been since our last visit, and the other part is because there’s something your dad and I need to talk to you about.”
Jacob’s expression took on a hint of wariness. “What is it?”
“It’s about your mom,” David said gently, “and why you haven’t had any visitations with her for a while.”
Jacob’s eyes rounded in fear. “Is she mad because I told on Liam?”
“No,” Lauren assured him quickly. “She’s not mad at you. You not staying with her has nothing to do with that, okay?”
After swallowing hard, he said, “Okay.”
Lauren then switched gears. “Jacob, do you remember when we talked about super powers? How everyone has at least one, and it’s usually something they do really well?”
He nodded.
“Well,” she went on, “everyone also has at least one thing they’re not good at … like the opposite of a super power. Does that make sense?”
Jacob nodded again.
“Some people aren’t good at swimming, or singing, or climbing trees, or cooking. Simple things like that. But some people aren’t good at more complicated things … like being a mom or a dad. Now, we know your dad is really good at being a dad, because he does things with you, like going to the park and reading bedtime stories, and taking care of you.” Lauren held Jacob’s gaze for a moment before asking gently, “However, your mom wasn’t very good at those things, was she?”
Jacob looked down at his lap for several long moments, then very slowly, shook his head.
“That doesn’t mean she’s not a good person,” Lauren told him, when he finally looked up. “It just means that being a good mom isn’t one of her super powers. It wasn’t one of my mom’s, either.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No, it wasn’t. She wasn’t good at taking care of me, or protecting me. And sometimes it made me mad—and a little sad—but I told myself it wasn’t my fault. Because it wasn’t. Just like it wasn’t necessarily hers, but she did make some bad decisions and those decisions were her fault.
“Your mom has made some bad decisions, too, and those ended up getting you hurt. She brought Liam into your life without knowing what kind of a person he was, and she shouldn’t have done that, because he’s a bad person who did bad things. She also didn’t tell your dad about Liam, and keeping him a secret was wrong, because it kept your dad from being able to protect you from Liam and the bad things he was doing to you.
“Fortunately, though, there was another person who was able to protect you from Liam and the bad things he was doing to you.” Lauren tilted her head. “And do you know who that courageous person was?”
Jacob’s eyebrows drew together as he thought about the answer, but then shook his head. “No.”
She gave him a soft smile. “It was you.”
“Me?” He blinked in surprise, clearly not believing her.
“Yes, you. You protected yourself when you told me what he was doing, and that was a very brave thing to do.”
“It was?”
“Yes, it was. And you know what that means?”
“What?”
“It means we can add bravery to your list of super powers, of course.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Not everyone is brave … especially not at such a young age.”
