The house became quieter as the afternoon moved toward evening.<\/p>\n
The officers were still present, but their movements were less constant.<\/p>\n
I could hear occasional voices near the entrance.<\/p>\n
Every so often, a radio crackled.<\/p>\n
Ethan sat beside me with his feet tucked beneath him.<\/p>\n
He had stopped asking when the police would leave.<\/p>\n
I wasn't sure whether that meant he felt calmer or had simply stopped expecting an answer.<\/p>\n
I wished I knew.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez returned and asked whether I was comfortable speaking with her again.<\/p>\n
I said yes.<\/p>\n
Ethan remained nearby.<\/p>\n
She told me she wanted to clarify a few details from our earlier conversation.<\/p>\n
I picked up the plastic cup and moved it aside to make room on the table.<\/p>\n
The small movement gave my hands something to do.<\/p>\n
The detective asked whether I could remember the barber's exact words when he first noticed the area behind Ethan's ear.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
I could remember the question about whether anyone had looked at it before.<\/p>\n
I could remember the concern in his voice.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't recall every word.<\/p>\n
"I remember him asking whether anyone had examined it," I said. "I don't remember anything more specific."<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez asked whether he had named a possible cause.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did he say it had been there for a long time?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did he tell you that someone had done something to Ethan?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The answers sounded stark when spoken one after another.<\/p>\n
I realized how much I had been allowing my imagination to supply.<\/p>\n
The barber had noticed something.<\/p>\n
He had been concerned.<\/p>\n
He had recommended that it be examined.<\/p>\n
That was what I could say.<\/p>\n
Everything else was a question.<\/p>\n
I looked at Detective Alvarez.<\/p>\n
"Do you think he knew something?"<\/p>\n
She paused before answering.<\/p>\n
"I don't want to assume what he knew or what he believed. We need to establish the facts."<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
It was a reasonable answer.<\/p>\n
I hated it anyway.<\/p>\n
The detective asked whether I had spoken with the barber after leaving the shop.<\/p>\n
I said I hadn't.<\/p>\n
I had brought Ethan home and tried to understand what I had seen.<\/p>\n
Then the officers had arrived.<\/p>\n
I hadn't called the shop.<\/p>\n
I hadn't returned.<\/p>\n
I had barely had time to think.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez noted that.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I remembered the name of the shop or had any information that would help identify the barber.<\/p>\n
I provided what I could.<\/p>\n
She didn't ask me to contact him.<\/p>\n
She explained that the officers would handle any necessary follow-up.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
I was relieved not to have to make that decision myself.<\/p>\n
I didn't trust my own judgment at that moment.<\/p>\n
I might have asked the wrong question.<\/p>\n
I might have misunderstood an answer.<\/p>\n
I might have allowed my fear to turn an ordinary statement into something it wasn't.<\/p>\n
I needed someone who could approach the situation without carrying the same fear.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez asked whether Ethan had been examined by a medical professional after the barber noticed the area.<\/p>\n
I told her that we had not yet done so.<\/p>\n
Everything had happened too quickly.<\/p>\n
She explained that the concern needed appropriate assessment and that we would discuss the next steps with the people responsible for guiding us through the process.<\/p>\n
I listened carefully.<\/p>\n
I wanted to make sure I understood what I was being told.<\/p>\n
I asked questions when I needed clarification.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I wrote a few things down myself.<\/p>\n
My handwriting looked unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
The letters leaned in different directions, and I had to stop twice because I had forgotten what I intended to write.<\/p>\n
Still, I continued.<\/p>\n
I didn't want fear to make me forget the practical information we needed.<\/p>\n
When I finished, I placed the paper beside the cup.<\/p>\n
Ethan watched me.<\/p>\n
"What are you writing?"<\/p>\n
"So I remember what we need to do."<\/p>\n
He considered that.<\/p>\n
"Are you going to forget?"<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
"I might forget some things. That's why I'm writing them down."<\/p>\n
He seemed satisfied with the answer.<\/p>\n
I hoped he could see that adults didn't have to pretend to know everything to be useful.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez asked Ethan whether he wanted to tell her anything else about the day.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
She asked whether he had any questions for her.<\/p>\n
He thought for a moment.<\/p>\n
"Did I do something wrong?"<\/p>\n
The detective answered immediately.<\/p>\n
"No. We're asking questions because we need to understand the concern. You're not being blamed for not knowing the answers."<\/p>\n
Ethan stared at her.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me loosen slightly.<\/p>\n
I had told him he wasn't in trouble, but perhaps he needed to hear it from someone else.<\/p>\n
The detective continued speaking gently.<\/p>\n
She explained that he didn't have to guess or invent an answer to make the adults happy.<\/p>\n
If he remembered something, he could say so.<\/p>\n
If he didn't remember, that was an honest answer too.<\/p>\n
Ethan nodded.<\/p>\n
I watched his shoulders settle a little.<\/p>\n
It wasn't a dramatic change.<\/p>\n
He didn't suddenly become cheerful.<\/p>\n
But he seemed less concerned about finding the correct response to every question.<\/p>\n
I was grateful for that.<\/p>\n
After the detective stepped away, I sat with him in silence.<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask whether he had been afraid that he had done something wrong.<\/p>\n
I wanted to know why the question had come to him so quickly.<\/p>\n
But I decided not to turn his uncertainty into another interrogation.<\/p>\n
Instead, I asked whether he wanted to sit somewhere more comfortable.<\/p>\n
He said he wanted to stay on the couch.<\/p>\n
So we stayed.<\/p>\n
I thought about the morning again.<\/p>\n
I had been impatient about the haircut.<\/p>\n
Not angry, exactly.<\/p>\n
Just determined to get one ordinary task finished.<\/p>\n
Ethan had hesitated.<\/p>\n
I had offered a practical explanation and moved on.<\/p>\n
Now I wondered whether I should have asked him more.<\/p>\n
Then I reminded myself that I had no evidence that his reluctance had anything to do with what the barber noticed.<\/p>\n
It was possible that the two things were unrelated.<\/p>\n
I couldn't know.<\/p>\n
That became the thought I returned to whenever my mind began building a story out of scraps.<\/p>\n
I couldn't know.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez came back to explain that the officers were continuing to assess the situation.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I had remembered anything else.<\/p>\n
I told her about the morning hesitation again, making clear that I didn't know whether it mattered.<\/p>\n
She thanked me for sharing it.<\/p>\n
I asked whether the officers were concerned about something specific.<\/p>\n
She explained that they were taking the situation seriously but could not give me a definite explanation at that stage.<\/p>\n
I felt the old frustration rise.<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell her that I was his mother and had a right to know.<\/p>\n
Then I realized she wasn't withholding a simple answer merely to make things difficult.<\/p>\n
She was being careful.<\/p>\n
I needed her to be careful.<\/p>\n
I just wished careful could also mean quick.<\/p>\n
Ethan asked whether we could turn on the television.<\/p>\n
I glanced at the detective.<\/p>\n
She said that a short break was fine while the officers continued their work.<\/p>\n
I picked up the remote.<\/p>\n
The screen lit the room with familiar colors.<\/p>\n
Ethan watched for a few minutes.<\/p>\n
I watched him more than I watched the television.<\/p>\n
He seemed to be trying to settle into something familiar.<\/p>\n
I let him.<\/p>\n
I didn't ask him to explain his feelings.<\/p>\n
I didn't tell him to stop worrying.<\/p>\n
I simply sat beside him, close enough that he could reach for my hand if he wanted.<\/p>\n
After a while, he did.<\/p>\n
I placed my hand over his.<\/p>\n
The television continued playing.<\/p>\n
The sound of a radio came from the hallway.<\/p>\n
For a few minutes, both sounds existed together.<\/p>\n
I thought about how strange it was that ordinary life continued even when you felt as if your own life had stopped.<\/p>\n
The clock kept ticking.<\/p>\n
The television kept playing.<\/p>\n
Someone outside closed a car door.<\/p>\n
None of those things answered the question behind my son's ear.<\/p>\n
But they reminded me that I could still do the next small thing.<\/p>\n
I could make sure he ate.<\/p>\n
I could answer questions honestly.<\/p>\n
I could write down what the detective told me.<\/p>\n
I could stay beside him.<\/p>\n
Those were not solutions.<\/p>\n
They were responsibilities I could meet while we waited for more information.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Ethan asked whether he could have his favorite sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
I brought it from his room.<\/p>\n
He pulled it over his head and tucked his hands into the sleeves.<\/p>\n
The gesture was so familiar that I had to look away for a moment.<\/p>\n
I had spent the day searching for an explanation.<\/p>\n
Now I wanted to protect the small pieces of comfort that remained available to him.<\/p>\n
I sat back down.<\/p>\n
He rested against me.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
Detective Alvarez approached a little later and told me she would update me when she had information I needed.<\/p>\n
I thanked her.<\/p>\n
It was all I could do.<\/p>\n
I didn't know what the officers would discover.<\/p>\n
I didn't know what the barber had noticed beyond the fact that something concerned him.<\/p>\n
I didn't know whether the mark would lead to an explanation we could understand.<\/p>\n
But I knew that guessing would not help.<\/p>\n
I turned toward Ethan and smoothed the hair away from his forehead.<\/p>\n
He looked up at me.<\/p>\n
I gave him a small smile.<\/p>\n
This time, I didn't try to make it look as if nothing was wrong.<\/p>\n
I simply let him see that I was there.<\/p>\n
The house became quieter as the afternoon moved toward evening. The officers were still present, but their movements were less constant. I could hear occasional voices near the entrance. Every … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36884","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\/36884","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=36884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36904,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36884\/revisions\/36904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}