Chapter 6 - Securing Rhett
“Can they take him from the park office before I arrive?”
“Tell security in writing that you do not authorize his release to them. Ask for confirmation.”
I did exactly that. Within ten minutes, a guest safety supervisor emailed me written confirmation that Rhett would remain in their secure office until I arrived or provided alternative authorization.
My mother called twice while I moved through airport security. I declined both calls. She sent another message.
Mom: You need to call me before you do something that damages this family permanently.
May you like
I read the sentence three times. Not before I did something that affected Rhett. Not because she was worried about him. Because she was worried that I might damage the family.
In my mother’s world, the family was not the people inside it. The family was the image she controlled. It was Sunday dinners where everyone smiled in photographs. It was coordinated holiday outfits. It was a carefully edited social media page filled with captions about gratitude, tradition, and togetherness. It was never the private cost of maintaining those appearances.
