"I was wrong," I said.
Elise’s eyes filled with tears at once.
I made myself keep going.
"You were trying to protect my right to choose. I let him convince me that you were trying to take it away."
Peter hugged me first.
Then Elise did.
In the weeks that followed, I changed the locks and removed Harold from every emergency form I had added him to.
The guests stayed for lunch. We removed the cake topper and served the cake anyway. Nora sat with us and answered what she could. She said Harold had done versions of this before, never this deeply, always collecting facts until he could sound like he belonged in someone else’s life.
In the weeks that followed, I changed the locks and removed Harold from every emergency form I had added him to. My children helped, but they didn't take over. Every signature was mine. Every decision was mine.
