He began counseling and took steps toward consistent contact under arrangements that respected the girls' comfort and safety.
I didn't call that redemption, because turning toward responsibility was only the beginning of a much longer road.
Our mother wrote apologies to Chloe and Mara without asking for forgiveness, and I insisted she respect their choices about responding.
She also wrote to Sadie, but Mara kept the letter until her daughter felt ready to decide whether she wanted it.
One afternoon, Sadie asked me whether I still loved Julian, and the question caught me completely unprepared.
I told her that loving someone and trusting them were different things, and that disappointment didn't erase the years we'd shared.
She nodded thoughtfully, then said she could miss her father without wanting to see him every time he asked.
I told her she was allowed both feelings, and that no adult could demand she forgive before she was ready.
