This time there were no surprises. No dramatic evidence. No purple tablet. Just reports from the visitation center, notes from Lily’s therapist, progress summaries. Mark’s visitation remained supervised, though the court allowed discussion of gradual adjustments if consistency and emotional safety improved. I sat in that same courtroom feeling very different from the woman who had first walked in. Still anxious, yes. Still wounded. But no longer unmoored.
When the hearing ended, Judge Tanner looked at Lily, who had not been required to speak this time but had attended briefly at the recommendation of her therapist.
“You doing all right, young lady?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“You still like drawing?”
“Yes, sir.”
He smiled faintly. “Good. Keep doing that.”
In the car afterward, Lily said, “He remembered.”
“He did.”
“That means he listened before,” she said, almost to herself.
I thought about that all the way home.