I did not want to become the woman I feared as a child: forever checking, forever searching, always waiting for the next contradiction.

But avoiding that life did not require ignoring real contradictions.

Trust needed enough truth to stand without surveillance.

The guardianship packet came last.

I had brought the papers, and Beatrice explained which were draft forms, which were planning notes, and what she had discussed with the person helping her.

The printed court seal on a blank or draft form was not a grant of authority.

Christopher’s willingness to be considered mattered.