Chapter 3: Grandparents’ Rights
I didn’t sleep. At five a.m. I got up, made coffee, and started a list. It’s what I do.
At the top was the birthday party.
It was supposed to be at Linda and Ron’s house, because they had the big backyard and the swing set Ron built. Linda had already ordered a cake from the bakery on Elm with LILY in pink roses. She’d bought a bouncy castle rental. She’d invited her church friends, her bridge club and her neighbor from across the street, mostly so they could all see her granddaughter.
I called the bakery when it opened and moved the cake order to our address. I texted the guest list I actually cared about: our friends, Lily’s daycare buddies, Amy.
Change of plans! Lily’s party is moving to our house, same day, same time. Can’t wait to see you.
Then I wrote Linda an email. I kept it short, because I’d read that long emails give people too many places to argue.
Linda. You planned to cut Lily’s hair against our clear instructions, and you did it while I was at a medical appointment. The party will not be at your house. We need time away from you. Please don’t contact me or Lily until I reach out. — Kate
Ben read it over my shoulder in his boxers and said, “Jesus, Kate.”
“You saw the text.”
“I saw it.” He rubbed his face. “She’s my mom. She’s going to lose her mind.”
“She already lost it. Two weeks ago. With her good scissors.”
He didn’t argue. He didn’t agree either. He went to take a shower, and I heard him on the phone in the bathroom with the fan on, which is where Ben makes the calls he doesn’t want me to hear.
Linda lost her mind in stages, like Ben said.
First came the phone calls. Eleven of them before nine o’clock. Then the texts.
How DARE you cancel MY party at MY house.
I bought a BOUNCY CASTLE.
I am her GRANDMOTHER. You cannot keep her from me over a HAIRCUT.
Then, around noon, a long one. Linda had calmed down, which was worse.
I have spoken to an attorney about grandparents’ rights. He says this state recognizes the bond between a grandparent and grandchild, and that a mother who cuts off a loving grandmother out of spite is not acting in the child’s best interests. You will be hearing from him. I’m doing this for Lily.
I sat on the edge of our bed with the phone in my lap.
Grandparents’ rights. I’d seen it on the news, a couple of times. I didn’t know what it meant. I didn’t know if it was real. I pictured a judge in a robe, looking at a two-minute video of Linda crying, then at me. Over a haircut, Mrs. Hollis?
I called a family lawyer my friend Tasha had used in her divorce. Marcy Feld. Her assistant said Marcy could see me Monday.
“Do me a favor before Monday,” the assistant said. “Don’t delete anything. Screenshot every text. Every email. Every voicemail. Even the nice ones.”
So I did. I sat on the floor of Lily’s room while she napped and went back through three years of messages. Easter. The Fourth. Rat’s nest. I found things I’d forgotten. A text from last August that I’d skimmed and never answered.
I was halfway through screenshotting it when my phone rang.
It was Little Acorns, Lily’s daycare. Lily was home with me, asleep. They never called on a Saturday.
“Mrs. Hollis? It’s Gloria at Little Acorns. I’m sorry to bother you on a weekend. We’re doing a family open house today, and I’m afraid there’s a slight issue.” She lowered her voice. “Your mother-in-law is here in the lobby. She has a gift bag and she’s asking which day Lily will be in next week so she can pick her up early. She says she’s on your approved list.”
I looked at my sleeping daughter.
Linda was on the list. I’d put her there myself, last fall, as an emergency contact.
