Chapter 5 - THE GOOD-SISTER CHARTMartha found the chart.
It was behind the pantry door.
Not hidden exactly.
Just placed where Thomas never looked.
At the top:
GOOD-SISTER POINTS
Bright colors.
Stars.
Smiley faces.
It looked like a parenting tool.
Then Thomas read the rules.
+1 — Let Lucas choose television.
+1 — Share personal items without complaining.
+2 — Help Lucas clean his room.
+2 — Apologize immediately if Lucas cries.
+3 — Spend one hour playing whatever Lucas chooses.
Negative points:
-2 — Mention “Mom” during family time.
Thomas froze.
Mom.
Olivia.
His late wife.
Emily’s mother.
-3 — Say “Lucas isn’t my real brother.”
Fair enough to discourage.
But then:
-2 — Refuse Lucas access to toys or keepsakes.
-3 — Tell Dad negative things about Rachel.
Thomas’s hand tightened.
At bottom:
Below 0 = consequence chosen by Mom.
Mom.
Rachel had labeled herself “Mom” on Emily’s punishment chart.
Martha stood silently.
“Did you know?”
Thomas asked.
Her eyes filled.
“Not all of it.”
“What did you know?”
“That Rachel used behavior charts.”
“You saw this.”
“Once.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Martha looked ashamed.
“I asked Rachel about the line involving Olivia.”
“And?”
“She said Emily’s therapist recommended reducing grief fixation.”
“Did a therapist?”
“I assumed.”
Thomas stared at her.
Another adult relying on Rachel’s explanation.
“What happened after you asked?”
“She told me my hours might be reduced because the children needed more family privacy.”
Martha had worked for Thomas for eleven years.
Since before Emily was born.
“Did you believe she could fire you?”
“No.”
“Then why stay quiet?”
Martha looked toward the children.
“Because I thought if I left, no one would be here when you traveled.”
Thomas felt the answer like a blow.
Martha had remained partly to watch them.
“Did you see physical punishments?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“I saw Emily doing wall sits once.”
“What did Rachel say?”
“Exercise challenge.”
“You believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
Honest.
Painful.
Thomas photographed the chart.
Eleanor told him not to destroy anything.
The line that hurt most remained:
Mention Mom during family time: -2.
Thomas had created Olivia’s memory room because he wanted Emily to keep her mother.
Rachel had turned remembering Olivia into misconduct.
Later Thomas sat beside Emily.
“I found the chart.”
Her face changed.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“I had minus nine.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.”
“Why?”
“Rachel said minus ten means Redwood.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“How long has she said that?”
“Since June.”
Three months.
“Did you know what Redwood was?”
“A school for dangerous kids.”
Thomas struggled to stay calm.
“You are not dangerous.”
Emily looked skeptical.
“Rachel says everybody says that before they go there.”
The sophistication of the manipulation stunned him.
Every reassurance could be reframed as denial.
“What do you think you did wrong?”
Emily whispered:
“I don’t like Lucas touching Mom’s things.”
“That is allowed.”
Her head lifted.
“What?”
“You are allowed to have things that are yours.”
“But family shares.”
“Sometimes.”
“Not everything.”
Emily stared.
Thomas continued.
“You are allowed to say no.”
Her face twisted.
Rachel had taught her that “no” was evidence of selfishness.
Thomas asked:
“Do you love Lucas?”
Emily began crying.
“Yes.”
“But sometimes I hate him.”
Thomas almost smiled sadly.
“That sounds like siblings.”
She looked surprised.
“I hated Aunt Rebecca twice a week when we were kids.”
“You did?”
“Sometimes more.”
Emily gave a tiny laugh.
Then:
“Rachel says I’m broken because I still want Mom.”
Thomas could not answer immediately.
He moved closer.
“You’re ten.”
“You lost your mother.”
“Missing her is not broken.”
Emily began sobbing.
Thomas held her.
Across the room, Lucas watched from the doorway.
He looked sad.
Then whispered:
“I miss my old dad sometimes.”
Rachel had told Thomas Lucas barely remembered his biological father.
Maybe that was another simplification.
Thomas opened his arm.
Lucas hesitated.
May you like
Then came over.
For the first time in months, the three sat together without Rachel defining what any feeling meant.
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