Chapter 4
Meanwhile, Patricia’s case became more serious.
The county prosecutor filed charges including felony child endangerment and domestic violence.
Her attorney argued she never intended for Lily to fall.
The prosecutor agreed on one point.
She may not have intended the exact outcome.
But she deliberately struck someone holding a newborn.
Intent had consequences.
The security footage made denial nearly impossible.
Patricia was released before trial under strict conditions, including an order barring her from contacting me or approaching Lily.
Daniel moved out of Patricia’s house permanently.
So did I.
But we did not move together.
When Lily was discharged after twenty-six days, my older sister, Megan, drove from Indianapolis to help me move into a small two-bedroom apartment.
Daniel asked if he could come.
I told him he could help with the boxes.
Nothing more.
He accepted that.
For the first few months, our marriage existed mostly on paper.
Daniel started individual counseling.
He attended parenting classes without being ordered to.
He found steady work with an electrical contractor.
And every time he visited Lily, he respected the boundaries I set.
No surprise visits.
No discussing Patricia around Lily.
No pressure to reconcile.
One evening, about five months after the incident, Daniel sat across from me at the kitchen table.
“I used to think choosing between you and my mother was unfair,” he said.
I waited.
“But that wasn’t what was happening.”
“No.”
“You were asking me to protect our home.”
“Yes.”
“And I refused because refusing was easier.”
For once, he did not ask me to forgive him.
That mattered more than an apology.
Patricia eventually accepted a plea agreement after her attorney failed to exclude the security footage.
She pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment and misdemeanor domestic violence.
At sentencing, I gave a victim impact statement.
I did not talk about hatred.
I talked about facts.
Sleeping beside Lily’s hospital bed for nearly four weeks.
Watching my newborn undergo brain surgery before she was old enough to smile.
The therapy appointments.
Neurological evaluations.
The fear every time Lily slept too deeply.
Then Patricia addressed the court.
She cried.
She said she had lost her temper.
She said she never wanted to hurt Lily.
She said she wished she could take back one second of her life.
For the first time since I had known her, Patricia did not blame me.
The judge sentenced her to incarceration followed by supervised probation and ordered anger-management treatment.
A long-term protective order prohibited her from contacting me or Lily without court approval.
Daniel attended the sentencing.
May you like
He sat behind me.
Not beside his mother.
