“No.”
“But you kept me.”
“I was older.”
“So?”
“I had therapy. A job. A safe home. People I trusted.”
He thought.
“Different mom.”
“Yes.”
“But you.”
“Yes.”
He frowned.
“That’s weird.”
The mother smiled.
“Humans are inconvenient.”
He accepted that.
Then asked:
“Does he think you love me more?”
The mother looked toward the hallway.
“I don’t know.”
The younger boy got out of bed.
“Where are you going?”
“To ask.”
“No.”
Too late.
He knocked on his brother’s door.
The older boy opened.
“What?”
“Do you think Mom loves me more?”
The older boy stared.
“What kind of bedtime question is that?”
“Answer.”
The mother arrived.
“This is not how we—”
The older boy interrupted.
“Yes.”
The younger child froze.
The mother felt pain.
The older boy continued.
“But I think she knows you better.”
The younger boy frowned.
“That’s not the same.”
“No.”
“Do you think she loves you?”
The older boy looked at the mother.
She said nothing.
His answer mattered more if it belonged to him.
Finally:
“I think she’s trying.”
The younger child nodded.
“That means yes.”
The older boy rolled his eyes.
“You’re eight.”
“Nine.”
“Worse.”
The younger boy hugged him and returned to bed.
The mother remained.
The older boy looked uncomfortable.
“What?”
She said, “Thank you for being honest.”
“You’re welcome?”
“And I’m sorry there are things between us that make you wonder.”
He shrugged.
“You don’t have to fix everything tonight.”
The mother almost laughed.
“That sounds like my therapist.”
“Maybe I’m smarter.”
“You absolutely believe that.”
He smiled.
Before closing the door, he said, “I do think you love me.”
The mother’s eyes filled.
He noticed.
“Don’t.”
“Sorry.”
“No crying in the hallway.”
“Rule?”
“Yes.”
She wiped her eyes.
“Good night.”
“Night.”
Six months later came the court hearing that legally established the mother as his guardian until adulthood.
The judge asked the older boy directly.
“Do you want this placement?”
He looked at the mother.
Then his brother.
Then his own attorney.
“Yes.”
“Do you feel pressured?”
“No.”
“Do you understand you are nearly eighteen and may have other options?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you want to remain?”
He looked irritated by the question.