Protection made me something better and more formidable: my daughter’s guardian, indifferent to George except as an obstacle to be removed from her path.

He wanted, I think, to be my nemesis, a figure of drama in my story.

I denied him even that.

He was not my enemy.

He was simply a danger to my child, and I was a mother, and mothers, when their children are threatened, do not seek revenge.

They eliminate the threat.

And then they go home, and fill the refrigerator, and heal what was hurt.

Chapter 11 — The Footage Wasn’t Lost