{"id":17700,"date":"2026-09-23T15:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17700"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T15:00:53","slug":"part-36-a-letter-from-robert-arrived-after-months-of-silence-and-june-had-to-decide-whether-love-could-continue-without-another-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17700","title":{"rendered":"PART 36 \u2013 A Letter From Robert Arrived After Months of Silence, and June Had to Decide Whether Love Could Continue Without Another Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Three months passed without a letter from Robert.<\/p>\n<p>At first June did not notice.<\/p>\n<p>Then she noticed and deliberately did nothing.<\/p>\n<p>He had access to stamps.<\/p>\n<p>He knew her address.<\/p>\n<p>Their relationship did not require monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>Carol noticed sooner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you heard from him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJune?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould we call?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if something happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe prison has procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>June softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he were seriously ill and listed me for notification, they\u2019d call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did list you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol nodded.<\/p>\n<p>No emergency.<\/p>\n<p>No rescue.<\/p>\n<p>Another week passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then a letter arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Thicker than usual.<\/p>\n<p>June opened it after dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s handwriting had become shakier.<\/p>\n<p>June,<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been in the hospital unit for a while. Nothing dramatic enough to justify everyone panicking. Congestive heart failure. Appropriate, I suppose.<\/p>\n<p>June stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Her anger came instantly.<\/p>\n<p>Not at the illness.<\/p>\n<p>At the joke.<\/p>\n<p>She read on.<\/p>\n<p>That was a bad joke. The nurse already told me so.<\/p>\n<p>June almost smiled.<\/p>\n<p>Robert had developed worsening heart disease.<\/p>\n<p>Medication adjusted.<\/p>\n<p>Fluid controlled.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors expected him to return to the regular unit if improvement continued.<\/p>\n<p>He had not written because fatigue made concentration difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Then the real reason.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t want illness to become another way I made everyone come running.<\/p>\n<p>June set the page down.<\/p>\n<p>There.<\/p>\n<p>The danger of overcorrection.<\/p>\n<p>Refusing manipulation could become refusing legitimate care.<\/p>\n<p>Robert continued.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know the difference yet between asking for help and expecting rescue.<\/p>\n<p>June read slowly.<\/p>\n<p>I think Dad never knew either.<\/p>\n<p>He asked June one thing.<\/p>\n<p>Not money.<\/p>\n<p>Not intervention.<\/p>\n<p>A visit, when convenient, if she wanted.<\/p>\n<p>No urgency.<\/p>\n<p>June finished the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Then called the prison medical unit.<\/p>\n<p>Verification first.<\/p>\n<p>Robert was stable.<\/p>\n<p>Hospitalized.<\/p>\n<p>Visits available.<\/p>\n<p>No immediate danger.<\/p>\n<p>June booked one for the following Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Not the next morning.<\/p>\n<p>Not Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>She told Carol.<\/p>\n<p>Carol immediately said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you want to?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen arrange your own visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t want to go together?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we have different relationships with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol thought.<\/p>\n<p>Then nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That Saturday June drove alone.<\/p>\n<p>Robert looked frail.<\/p>\n<p>Oxygen tubing.<\/p>\n<p>Swollen hands.<\/p>\n<p>Hospital clothing.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing him like that pulled June backward to Grandpa.<\/p>\n<p>The body failing.<\/p>\n<p>Medication schedules.<\/p>\n<p>Fear disguised as irritation.<\/p>\n<p>For a second she became the Wednesday granddaughter again.<\/p>\n<p>Then Robert smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou didn\u2019t bring soup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrison security ruined my caregiving brand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed and coughed.<\/p>\n<p>June waited.<\/p>\n<p>The medical unit allowed direct conversation through monitored space rather than glass.<\/p>\n<p>No touching initially.<\/p>\n<p>Robert sat in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look scared,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He described symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>Shortness of breath.<\/p>\n<p>Fluid retention.<\/p>\n<p>Fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>He delayed reporting them two days.<\/p>\n<p>June\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert looked ashamed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought asking would look manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing sick isn\u2019t manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot reporting symptoms does not make you accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He smiled weakly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>There were consequences to learning the wrong lesson too completely.<\/p>\n<p>A person who had used helplessness strategically might later believe all helplessness was dishonest.<\/p>\n<p>Robert needed boundaries.<\/p>\n<p>Not abandonment.<\/p>\n<p>June understood that distinction because of Grandpa.<\/p>\n<p>She asked what doctors said.<\/p>\n<p>Manageable.<\/p>\n<p>Chronic.<\/p>\n<p>No certainty.<\/p>\n<p>They spoke about ordinary matters.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s field.<\/p>\n<p>Carol.<\/p>\n<p>Mark\u2019s daughter finishing nursing school prerequisites.<\/p>\n<p>Daylight.<\/p>\n<p>Robert asked about the Caldwell claim.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe evidence didn\u2019t support it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said that last time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Dad would\u2019ve paid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe might.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe hated people being angry at him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June considered.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa also tolerated anger plenty.<\/p>\n<p>But when anger touched guilt, money became his anesthetic.<\/p>\n<p>Robert looked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was angry at you for giving everything away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June had never heard that directly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause part of me thought it was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven after what you did?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He did not pretend logic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad\u2019s money felt like proof I still belonged to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June understood more than she wanted to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd when he gave it to you, it felt like he replaced me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t give it to me because he loved me more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe trusted me with a task.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBadly designed task.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat didn\u2019t help either of you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For a while they watched snow beginning outside.<\/p>\n<p>Then Robert said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m afraid to die here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June\u2019s throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Not a request.<\/p>\n<p>A fact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI keep thinking Dad died at home after all those years on the farm. Samuel died there. Anna died there. Even Raymond died somewhere he chose to be buried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June listened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll die in a prison hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI deserve consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still hate this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t think that\u2019s inconsistent?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That seemed to relieve him.<\/p>\n<p>Punishment did not require enjoying punishment.<\/p>\n<p>Accountability did not erase fear.<\/p>\n<p>Robert whispered:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to ask if there\u2019s anything you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June\u2019s body tightened.<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>The old pattern approaching.<\/p>\n<p>He saw her expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not asking you to pull strings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you asking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf my health gets much worse, there are compassionate-release procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June stayed still.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could apply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know if I should.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Another decision placed in her hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert looked confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not deciding whether you should apply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m asking what you think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re asking your daughter to tell you whether you morally deserve to die outside prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat can you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalk to your lawyer. Doctors. Understand the legal criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf officials ask for my factual view, I\u2019ll give it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould you oppose me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWould you support me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert looked hurt.<\/p>\n<p>June continued before he could retreat into that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not punishing you by saying I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf circumstances change, I\u2019ll look at them then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert breathed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was boundary.<\/p>\n<p>Not refusal to care.<\/p>\n<p>Not promise to rescue.<\/p>\n<p>Later, his attorney did pursue medical review.<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s condition improved enough that immediate compassionate release was not recommended.<\/p>\n<p>The application did not proceed.<\/p>\n<p>June felt relief.<\/p>\n<p>Then guilt about feeling relief.<\/p>\n<p>Then rejected the guilt.<\/p>\n<p>A deferred decision was easier.<\/p>\n<p>That was human.<\/p>\n<p>Months later Robert returned to the regular unit.<\/p>\n<p>His letters resumed.<\/p>\n<p>Shorter.<\/p>\n<p>More tired.<\/p>\n<p>One included a joke:<\/p>\n<p>Doctors say low sodium. Harold wins from beyond the grave.<\/p>\n<p>June laughed.<\/p>\n<p>She sent him a birthday card.<\/p>\n<p>No money.<\/p>\n<p>Inside:<\/p>\n<p>Try not to make medical staff regret saving you.<\/p>\n<p>Robert wrote back:<\/p>\n<p>Genetic sarcasm confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>June kept that letter.<\/p>\n<p>Not archive.<\/p>\n<p>Home.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Thomas\u2019s thirty acres became a regular family picnic place.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah came more often.<\/p>\n<p>Still avoided Daylight.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody pressured her.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas planted six apple trees.<\/p>\n<p>June objected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy apples?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrchard symbolism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause the nursery had them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One tree died immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas replaced it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo deeper meaning,\u201d he told June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mark helped install irrigation.<\/p>\n<p>Paid for his labor.<\/p>\n<p>Carol brought sandwiches.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s grandchildren named the pond Harold.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas changed the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t need him owning water posthumously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They renamed it Frog Pond.<\/p>\n<p>Children approved.<\/p>\n<p>Daylight\u2019s current programs expanded.<\/p>\n<p>The elder financial-abuse initiative began training bank staff to recognize coercive account activity.<\/p>\n<p>Vernon agreed to speak at one training.<\/p>\n<p>He told young bankers:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a client asks you to hide something because it is a family matter, remember that family matters can still be fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June heard about it from Nia.<\/p>\n<p>She approved.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Albright contributed to continuing legal-ethics education using Walter\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p>Not centered on his own virtue.<\/p>\n<p>Records.<\/p>\n<p>Decision points.<\/p>\n<p>How professional loyalty becomes complicity.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen declined involvement.<\/p>\n<p>That was his choice.<\/p>\n<p>Daylight did not pressure.<\/p>\n<p>One surviving Walter-era partner had once argued against restitution.<\/p>\n<p>Years later, he donated additional funds anonymously.<\/p>\n<p>The anonymity leaked.<\/p>\n<p>June disliked the public praise that followed.<\/p>\n<p>But she did not control it.<\/p>\n<p>Another lesson.<\/p>\n<p>Not every narrative required correction from her.<\/p>\n<p>Then Mae died.<\/p>\n<p>Peacefully.<\/p>\n<p>Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>Ninety.<\/p>\n<p>June learned from Mae\u2019s daughter, who found June\u2019s number in her phone.<\/p>\n<p>Mae left no dramatic instructions.<\/p>\n<p>No secret archive.<\/p>\n<p>One sentence in her will:<\/p>\n<p>Rhubarb recipe to June Parker if she wants it.<\/p>\n<p>June laughed until she cried.<\/p>\n<p>The daughter mailed it.<\/p>\n<p>June read the recipe.<\/p>\n<p>It used too much sugar.<\/p>\n<p>No wonder the pie tasted terrible.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas demanded she make one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoundary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol volunteered.<\/p>\n<p>They baked it at June\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>Somehow worse.<\/p>\n<p>Mae\u2019s recipe card ended with:<\/p>\n<p>Harold hated this. Serve accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>They ate it anyway.<\/p>\n<p>June put the recipe in her kitchen drawer.<\/p>\n<p>Not Daylight.<\/p>\n<p>Mae had known Harold.<\/p>\n<p>But the recipe belonged to June now.<\/p>\n<p>Private relationships deserved private relics.<\/p>\n<p>On the second anniversary of Daylight\u2019s opening, Nia invited June to speak.<\/p>\n<p>June declined.<\/p>\n<p>Nia did not ask twice.<\/p>\n<p>Perfect.<\/p>\n<p>She attended anonymously anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Sat in the back.<\/p>\n<p>A former scholarship student spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Emily Albright.<\/p>\n<p>Now in college studying public administration.<\/p>\n<p>June smiled when she saw the program.<\/p>\n<p>Emily discussed institutional ethics.<\/p>\n<p>Not her family for most of it.<\/p>\n<p>Near the end, she said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used to think my surname entered the room before I did. Then I learned institutions should remember history so individuals do not have to embody all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June felt proud.<\/p>\n<p>Then immediately corrected herself.<\/p>\n<p>Emily\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>Emily\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n<p>June could appreciate without claiming.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward Emily spotted her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said no to speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emily smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She had not lost the directness.<\/p>\n<p>June asked about school.<\/p>\n<p>Hard.<\/p>\n<p>Expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Interesting.<\/p>\n<p>Scholarship helpful.<\/p>\n<p>No moral drama.<\/p>\n<p>Then Emily said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dad still hates Daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe thinks the Albright contribution was too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not going to defend it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he want to file something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen he can hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emily laughed.<\/p>\n<p>That was freedom too.<\/p>\n<p>Institutions could withstand disapproval.<\/p>\n<p>Families too.<\/p>\n<p>That winter, Carol experienced a minor stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Not severe.<\/p>\n<p>Speech briefly affected.<\/p>\n<p>Full recovery expected.<\/p>\n<p>June received the hospital call at work.<\/p>\n<p>For one terrible second, time collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>Grandpa.<\/p>\n<p>Ambulance.<\/p>\n<p>Medication.<\/p>\n<p>Then she moved.<\/p>\n<p>Not alone.<\/p>\n<p>She called Mark.<\/p>\n<p>Carol\u2019s neighbors.<\/p>\n<p>Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Shared responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>At the hospital, Mark said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can stay tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll take tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No martyrdom.<\/p>\n<p>No silent resentment.<\/p>\n<p>No assuming June would do it because June always did.<\/p>\n<p>Carol noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou two made a schedule?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAm I dying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen stop organizing me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGenetic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol recovered.<\/p>\n<p>During rehab she complained constantly.<\/p>\n<p>Mark told her:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound like Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carol threatened to disown him.<\/p>\n<p>June said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll need a one-dollar clause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All three laughed.<\/p>\n<p>The joke would once have hurt.<\/p>\n<p>Now it belonged to them differently.<\/p>\n<p>A month later June received another prison call.<\/p>\n<p>Robert\u2019s health had worsened again.<\/p>\n<p>This time the prison had initiated medical compassionate-release review independently.<\/p>\n<p>No request from Robert.<\/p>\n<p>No request from June.<\/p>\n<p>Formal process.<\/p>\n<p>June received notice as a victim-family member.<\/p>\n<p>She could submit a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing would consider medical condition, public-safety assessment, sentence served, statutory criteria and release plan.<\/p>\n<p>June read everything.<\/p>\n<p>Then sat at her kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>This was the question Robert had tried to hand her earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Now it was real.<\/p>\n<p>But still not hers alone.<\/p>\n<p>She could support.<\/p>\n<p>Oppose.<\/p>\n<p>Remain neutral.<\/p>\n<p>Carol called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want him home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June expected that.<\/p>\n<p>Mark called later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever you submit, make it yours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June took three days.<\/p>\n<p>Then wrote.<\/p>\n<p>I do not ask the board to release Robert Parker because he is my father, and I do not ask the board to keep him incarcerated because I am angry. His conduct caused grave harm. His medical condition is now serious. I ask the board to apply its lawful criteria based on current evidence, safety and accountability. If he is released, I am willing to have limited family contact. I am not willing to manage his finances, housing, medication or legal affairs.<\/p>\n<p>She read the final sentence twice.<\/p>\n<p>That was the important part.<\/p>\n<p>Love without rescue.<\/p>\n<p>Contact without control.<\/p>\n<p>Care without becoming the system beneath him.<\/p>\n<p>She submitted it.<\/p>\n<p>Then turned off her phone.<\/p>\n<p>The board would decide.<\/p>\n<p>Not June.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=17701\">Click here to continue reading: PART 37: Robert\u2019s Release Hearing Gave June No Clean Answer, and the Man Who Came Home Was Not the Father She Remembered<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three months passed without a letter from Robert. At first June did not notice. Then she noticed and deliberately did nothing. He had access to stamps. He knew her address. &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17750,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17700\/revisions\/17750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}