Chapter 12 - I DIDN’T GET CUSTODY IMMEDIATELYThis part surprised people.
They assumed once DNA proved I was Sam’s mother and Charles’s deception surfaced, Sam would simply come home.
That is not how damaged childhoods work.
The court focused on Sam.
He had not lived with me since birth.
I was essentially a stranger.
So reunification was gradual.
Supervised visits.
Then unsupervised afternoons.
Then weekends.
Therapy.
Home study.
Background checks.
Sam got a voice.
At first, he did not want to sleep at our house.
Too nice.
Too quiet.
He said he felt like he would break something.
The first weekend, I found him asleep on the floor beside the bed.
“Why?”
“Beds make noise.”
I didn’t understand.
Later I learned one foster placement punished children for waking adults at night.
So he learned to sleep lightly.
Near exits.
On floors.
You cannot love habits like that away in a weekend.
May you like
You prove safety repeatedly.
Night after night.
