Chapter 20 - The First Supervised ConversationFinn was twelve when he asked to speak to Garrett.
Not meet.
Speak.
Video call.
Maren’s first instinct was no.
She did not say it immediately.
That was growth.
“Why?”
Finn shrugged.
“I have questions.”
“What questions?”
“Mine.”
Fair.
Dr. Park helped prepare.
The call would last twenty minutes.
Maren nearby but out of frame.
Dr. Park present.
Finn could end it anytime.
Garrett appeared on screen.
He looked nervous.
“Hi, Finn.”
“Hi.”
Silence.
Garrett did not fill it.
Finn asked:
“Why did you hate Grandpa?”
Garrett blinked.
“I didn’t.”
Finn frowned.
“You said bad stuff.”
“I resented him.”
“What’s that?”
“I felt angry that he had power I didn’t have.”
“Money?”
“Yes.”
“House?”
“Yes.”
“Mom?”
Garrett looked down.
“In a way.”
Finn’s expression tightened.
“You wanted to control Mom?”
“I wanted to feel like she chose me over him.”
Finn thought.
“That’s stupid.”
Garrett almost smiled.
“Yes.”
Finn asked:
“Did you hate me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you hurt me?”
Garrett took a long breath.
“Because you were smaller than me and I believed I could make you obey when I couldn’t control anything else.”
Finn stared.
“That’s worse.”
“Yes.”
No excuse.
No “but.”
Finn continued.
“Did you really want me at boarding school?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Partly because I thought distance would make it easier to keep you from telling your grandfather things.”
Finn’s eyes filled.
“And partly?”
Garrett swallowed.
“I convinced myself structure would be good for you.”
“Was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask me.”
“No.”
Finn nodded.
“You wanted my trust money too?”
Garrett looked surprised.
Maren shifted outside the frame.
Dr. Park remained calm.
Finn had learned some financial facts gradually.
Garrett answered.
“I wanted access to money I believed could solve problems.”
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“Did you think it belonged to you?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Garrett closed his eyes.
“Because I started believing needing something gave me a right to it.”
Finn frowned.
“That’s also stupid.”
“Yes.”
There was something powerful about an adult accepting a child’s blunt judgment.
Garrett did not demand nuance.
The nuance belonged to adults.
Finn could call it stupid.
At minute seventeen, Garrett said:
“I’m sorry.”
Finn nodded.
“I know.”
Not forgiveness.
Acknowledgment.
Then:
“I don’t want to see you in person.”
Garrett’s face tightened.
“Okay.”
“Maybe later.”
“Okay.”
“Stop saying okay.”
Garrett almost laughed.
“I’m practicing not arguing.”
Finn smiled despite himself.
The call ended.
Maren entered fully.
“How do you feel?”
“Tired.”
Dr. Park nodded.
“That’s normal.”
Finn looked at his mother.
“Did I make a mistake?”
“No.”
“You looked scared.”
“I was.”
“Because of him?”
“Yes.”
Finn waited.
Maren continued:
“But my fear doesn’t decide for you forever.”
Finn leaned against her.
That sentence had taken years to earn.
Leonard listened later without interrupting.
When Finn finished, Leonard said:
“I hate it.”
Finn laughed.
“I knew it.”
“But I’m proud of you.”
“For talking to him?”
“For knowing you could stop.”
Finn nodded.
Control reversed.
The child who once begged Garrett to stop now controlled when the conversation ended.
Nobody celebrated that loudly.
It was too tender.
But everyone understood.
Garrett did not request another call.
Six months passed.
Finn eventually asked again.
This time fifteen minutes.
Then months later, a supervised in-person meeting in Dr. Park’s office.
No hug.
Garrett did not ask.
They talked about baseball.
School.
Pancakes.
Finn said:
“Your pancakes were good.”
Garrett laughed through tears.
“Thank you.”
Finn immediately added:
“Mom’s still bad.”
From the observation room, Maren gasped.
Leonard nearly choked laughing.
Ordinary humor entered the relationship.
Not reconciliation.
Something smaller.
Possibly safer.
Garrett would never be Finn’s father.
That role had never been his to own.
But perhaps he could become a person Finn once knew, later understood, and chose to speak to occasionally.
That future remained open.
Not promised.
Finn preferred it that way.
May you like
The biggest change was that nobody called uncertainty disloyal.
Maybe had become a safe word.
Related Stories
