I Let Her Ruin Herself Chapter 36
On the tenth anniversary of First Light, the foundation held a small commemorative event.
There were no celebrities and no massive publicity campaign.
The people in attendance were young adults who had once been helped by the program, along with lawyers, social workers, and project staff.
I was sitting in the back row when I saw Taylor’s oldest daughter walk onto the stage.
She had graduated from a community college legal assistant program and chosen to stay with the project as a legal aid coordinator.
She didn’t talk about her parents. She only spoke about the winter she first received support.
“At the time, I thought that because my parents had committed crimes, my life had to end with theirs.”
“Later, one of the project attorneys told me that children do not have to serve a sentence for the adults in their lives.”
Applause broke out across the room.
Hannah’s eyes were red.
I handed her a tissue.
“Hannah, be mindful of the COO’s public image.”
She shot me a look, then laughed.
When the event ended, our two kids came running over and hugged us.
Our daughter was already in high school, and our son was nearly as tall as I was, but they still argued over who got the front passenger seat, just like when they were little.
My parents and Linda had just gotten back from a trip and were waiting for us at home.
A hot meal, family jokes, and complaints about who forgot to buy milk—this was the life I treasured most.
On the drive home, Hannah sat in the passenger seat and suddenly asked, “If you had to choose again, would you still make yourself sick that day when you were eighteen?”
The light ahead turned green.
“Yes.”
I would still avoid that trail. I would still make sure a kind girl named Hannah took the main road. And I would still take my life back from Taylor’s choices.
But I would not spend so many years after that watching my enemies, waiting for them to be punished.
What truly set me free was not staying in the past with them.
It was my parents, safe and alive. My wife beside me. My children with futures of their own.
It was being able to move forward, no longer sacrificing my body and my life for other people’s mistakes.
City lights streamed through the car windows.
Hannah took my hand. In the back seat, the kids were debating which pizza place to order from.
I pressed the gas and drove toward home.
In this life, my life is my own.
The End