The final hearing concerning my placement was held months before my eighteenth birthday.

By then the court’s priorities had shifted toward stability, school, and a realistic transition to adulthood.

The people involved had documented Dad’s compliance with his obligations and my continuing wish to live with Colleen.

No one asked me to forget the past in exchange for a predictable future.

Afterward Dad asked to speak with me outside, with my lawyer nearby.

He had brought a small cardboard box.