I listened without defending myself.
When the meeting ended, I asked the counselor to send me copies of the school’s communications and any records relevant to Sofia’s welfare.
I also asked that all future communication come directly to me.
Then I returned to my brother’s house.
Sofia was sitting on the sofa, watching television with the sound turned low.
“How was school?” she asked.
“Your teachers care about you,” I said. “They were worried.”
She looked at the screen.
“I didn’t want them to think our family was bad.”
I sat beside her.
“Families aren’t defined by whether they look perfect from the outside. They’re defined by how people treat one another when nobody is watching.”
She considered that for a moment.
“Are you going to divorce Patricia?”
The question caught me off guard.
I had been thinking about legal protection, evidence, and what I would do when Patricia returned. I had not yet allowed myself to think about the marriage itself.
