If anyone sought a change, they would use the court’s process.

It was slower than simply drawing a line through a sentence.

It was also the way to keep a temporary protection from becoming an inaccurate record.

The investigation continued on separate tracks.

The children’s placement, the parents’ access, the reported threats, the financial records, and the roadside decision did not all require the same answer at the same time.

I had to learn to stop treating every new page as the page that would finish everything.

At the hospital, the boy began taking feeds more consistently.