She was not confused, and she was not being dramatic, and she was not, whatever Zachary said, being manipulated.

She was simply reporting the weather of her own life, plainly, the way a child does, and the weather was this: Dad only wants Tristan. If I had needed anything more than what I already had to be certain of my decision — and I did not — those four words would have been more than enough.

Because a mother can survive a great deal for the sake of an intact family.

But she cannot, if she is worth anything at all, go on handing her child to a house the child has already, correctly, understood does not want her.