The next day, the social worker asked to speak with me again.<\/p>\n
I had just helped comfort Paige while a nurse checked her.<\/p>\n
She had been more alert that morning.<\/p>\n
She watched me when I spoke.<\/p>\n
Once, she made a soft little noise that sounded almost like the beginning of a laugh.<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
"There's my girl."<\/p>\n
The nurse smiled too.<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, I forgot the investigation.<\/p>\n
I was simply happy to see my niece responding.<\/p>\n
Then the social worker appeared at the doorway.<\/p>\n
I knew from her expression that she wanted to discuss something important.<\/p>\n
I followed her into the quiet room.<\/p>\n
She sat across from me.<\/p>\n
She explained that Paige's medical team was planning for the next stage of her recovery.<\/p>\n
Her fractures would require follow-up care.<\/p>\n
She would need gentle handling.<\/p>\n
Her pain would need monitoring.<\/p>\n
And the people caring for her would need to understand the instructions.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"I can learn."<\/p>\n
The social worker looked at me.<\/p>\n
"We've continued assessing the possibility of you providing temporary care."<\/p>\n
I felt my heart beat faster.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
She explained that the appropriate professionals were reviewing my home and circumstances.<\/p>\n
No arrangement could begin until the necessary approval was complete.<\/p>\n
But my willingness to help remained important.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"I still want to."<\/p>\n
She asked whether I'd spoken with Kate about it.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"How did she respond?"<\/p>\n
I thought about my sister crying beside the bed.<\/p>\n
The fear in her voice.<\/p>\n
The question about whether Paige would be taken away.<\/p>\n
"She's frightened," I said.<\/p>\n
"She doesn't want to be separated from Paige."<\/p>\n
The social worker nodded.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
"I don't want that either, if it isn't necessary."<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
"But I want Paige safe."<\/p>\n
She asked whether I understood that a temporary arrangement could involve rules about contact with Kate and Ryan.<\/p>\n
I said yes.<\/p>\n
She explained that any visits or contact would depend on the plan approved by the responsible authorities.<\/p>\n
I listened closely.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to make promises I couldn't keep.<\/p>\n
I knew that if Paige came to stay with me, I would have to follow the arrangements exactly.<\/p>\n
Even if Kate became upset.<\/p>\n
Even if Ryan disagreed.<\/p>\n
Even if the rules were uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
That was part of keeping Paige safe.<\/p>\n
The social worker asked whether I was prepared for that.<\/p>\n
I thought for a moment.<\/p>\n
Then I answered.<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
I wasn't saying it would be easy.<\/p>\n
I was saying I would do it.<\/p>\n
She asked whether I had any questions.<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
"Do you know what happened to her?"<\/p>\n
The social worker paused.<\/p>\n
"The investigation is continuing."<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
That was the answer I'd expected.<\/p>\n
But I had to ask.<\/p>\n
I wanted to know whether the injuries had finally been explained.<\/p>\n
Whether the concealer had been identified.<\/p>\n
Whether anyone had admitted knowing about the bruising.<\/p>\n
I wanted something certain.<\/p>\n
Instead, the social worker explained that medical care and safety planning could move forward even while some investigative questions remained unresolved.<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Paige couldn't remain in a hospital bed indefinitely simply because adults hadn't finished explaining themselves.<\/p>\n
Her needs didn't stop while an investigation continued.<\/p>\n
When our conversation ended, I returned to Paige.<\/p>\n
Kate was standing beside the bed.<\/p>\n
Ryan wasn't there.<\/p>\n
My sister looked at me.<\/p>\n
"Was that about her coming to your house?"<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"They're still reviewing everything."<\/p>\n
Kate sat down.<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
I moved closer.<\/p>\n
"I'm not trying to take her from you."<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Then she said,<\/p>\n
"I just want to hold my baby without somebody watching me."<\/p>\n
I felt my chest tighten.<\/p>\n
I understood the longing behind those words.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't promise it would happen soon.<\/p>\n
"Maybe one day this will be behind us," I said.<\/p>\n
"But right now they have to make sure she's safe."<\/p>\n
Kate wiped her face.<\/p>\n
She didn't argue.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether she was beginning to understand that the questions wouldn't disappear simply because the family wanted them to.<\/p>\n
A little later, the investigator arrived.<\/p>\n
She asked to speak with Kate.<\/p>\n
My sister followed her.<\/p>\n
I stayed beside Paige.<\/p>\n
I didn't ask what the conversation was about.<\/p>\n
I had already learned that every interview needed to be given carefully.<\/p>\n
I didn't want Kate repeating something because she thought I wanted to hear it.<\/p>\n
I wanted her to speak honestly.<\/p>\n
About the crying.<\/p>\n
About the nights she hadn't understood.<\/p>\n
About Ryan helping with Paige.<\/p>\n
About the morning change.<\/p>\n
And about the concealer.<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige's hand.<\/p>\n
Her fingers moved against the blanket.<\/p>\n
I placed mine nearby.<\/p>\n
She reached toward it.<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
"Hi, baby."<\/p>\n
She made another soft sound.<\/p>\n
I felt tears rise.<\/p>\n
That small response meant everything after the days we'd spent hearing her cry.<\/p>\n
Later, Kate came back.<\/p>\n
She looked pale.<\/p>\n
She sat beside me.<\/p>\n
For a while, she said nothing.<\/p>\n
Then she spoke.<\/p>\n
"Ryan told them something about the makeup."<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
She wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
"He said he used it."<\/p>\n
I felt my whole body go still.<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige.<\/p>\n
Then back at Kate.<\/p>\n
"On her leg?"<\/p>\n
Kate nodded.<\/p>\n
I couldn't speak.<\/p>\n
For days, both parents had denied putting anything on Paige's thigh.<\/p>\n
The doctors had documented the coating.<\/p>\n
The investigator had found concealer in the diaper bag.<\/p>\n
And now Kate was telling me Ryan had acknowledged applying it.<\/p>\n
I tried to keep my voice steady.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
Kate looked down.<\/p>\n
"He said he noticed the bruise Saturday morning."<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
"He noticed it?"<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
"He said he thought it looked bad."<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
That explanation seemed painfully inadequate.<\/p>\n
Paige had been crying.<\/p>\n
Her thigh was swollen.<\/p>\n
The bruise was dark enough that someone had apparently wanted to cover it.<\/p>\n
And Ryan had known it was there before bringing her to my house.<\/p>\n
I took a breath.<\/p>\n
"What else did he say?"<\/p>\n
Kate wiped her face again.<\/p>\n
"He said he didn't know how she got hurt."<\/p>\n
I looked down.<\/p>\n
That still didn't explain the fracture.<\/p>\n
Or the rib injury.<\/p>\n
Or why he'd initially denied using makeup.<\/p>\n
I tried not to let my thoughts race ahead.<\/p>\n
I hadn't heard Ryan's statement directly.<\/p>\n
Kate was telling me what she'd learned.<\/p>\n
I needed to let the investigator establish exactly what he had said.<\/p>\n
"Did he explain why he covered it?"<\/p>\n
Kate looked toward Paige.<\/p>\n
"He said he didn't want me getting upset."<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
"Did you know about the bruise?"<\/p>\n
Kate shook her head.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
"He said he thought maybe she'd bumped something."<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige's left leg.<\/p>\n
She was six months old.<\/p>\n
She couldn't walk.<\/p>\n
She couldn't climb.<\/p>\n
She couldn't easily cause herself the kinds of injuries the doctors had described.<\/p>\n
And even if Ryan had believed the bruise was accidental, covering it instead of seeking help was something I couldn't understand.<\/p>\n
I pressed my hands together.<\/p>\n
"Kate, did he tell them everything?"<\/p>\n
She started crying.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
That was the truth.<\/p>\n
She didn't know.<\/p>\n
Neither did I.<\/p>\n
Ryan's reported admission helped explain the cosmetic coating.<\/p>\n
It didn't establish how the bones were injured.<\/p>\n
It didn't tell us whether he had seen an accident.<\/p>\n
It didn't explain the earlier rib injury.<\/p>\n
But it changed something important.<\/p>\n
Someone had apparently noticed the bruise before Paige reached my house.<\/p>\n
And rather than telling me, he had tried to hide its appearance.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the doorway.<\/p>\n
I wanted to speak with Ryan.<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask why.<\/p>\n
Why would he put makeup on an injured baby's leg?<\/p>\n
Why would he leave her with me without warning me?<\/p>\n
Why would he let me believe her crying was caused by teething?<\/p>\n
But I stayed in my chair.<\/p>\n
I knew anger wouldn't make the facts clearer.<\/p>\n
The investigator was already asking those questions.<\/p>\n
I didn't need to create another confrontation beside Paige's bed.<\/p>\n
Kate leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"I didn't know he did that."<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
Her face was wet with tears.<\/p>\n
I wanted to comfort her.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't tell her what I didn't know.<\/p>\n
"I believe you're telling me you didn't know," I said.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
"I didn't."<\/p>\n
I looked down.<\/p>\n
"Then tell the investigator everything you remember."<\/p>\n
"I have."<\/p>\n
I took her hand.<\/p>\n
For a moment, we sat together.<\/p>\n
We were sisters.<\/p>\n
We had been sisters long before Ryan or Paige came into our lives.<\/p>\n
I remembered Kate helping me with homework when I was little.<\/p>\n
I remembered arguments over clothes.<\/p>\n
Shared meals.<\/p>\n
Birthdays.<\/p>\n
Ordinary family memories.<\/p>\n
I didn't want any of those memories destroyed.<\/p>\n
But I couldn't let them decide what was true.<\/p>\n
Paige had been hurt.<\/p>\n
Someone had concealed the bruising.<\/p>\n
And the hospital was trying to make sure she wasn't sent back into an unsafe situation.<\/p>\n
That had to matter more.<\/p>\n
Later that afternoon, the investigator confirmed to me that additional information about the cosmetic substance had been obtained.<\/p>\n
She didn't share every detail of Ryan's interview.<\/p>\n
She explained that the review of how Paige was injured remained ongoing.<\/p>\n
I appreciated the distinction.<\/p>\n
A reported admission about the makeup was not an explanation for every injury.<\/p>\n
The investigators still needed evidence.<\/p>\n
They still needed to establish timing.<\/p>\n
They still needed to consider the medical findings and the accounts from everyone involved.<\/p>\n
I asked whether Paige would be safe.<\/p>\n
The investigator explained that the hospital and relevant agencies were continuing to coordinate an appropriate arrangement.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
I wanted her to tell me everything had been solved.<\/p>\n
But the most important thing at that moment wasn't whether every question had an answer.<\/p>\n
It was whether Paige would be protected.<\/p>\n
Near the end of the day, the social worker returned with more information.<\/p>\n
My home had been considered as a possible temporary placement.<\/p>\n
The necessary approval process was moving forward.<\/p>\n
She explained that no transfer would happen until all required steps were complete.<\/p>\n
I listened carefully.<\/p>\n
I didn't celebrate.<\/p>\n
It didn't feel like something to celebrate.<\/p>\n
The possibility of Paige staying with me existed because she'd been seriously injured.<\/p>\n
Because her parents couldn't yet provide an adequate explanation.<\/p>\n
Because professionals were concerned about her safety.<\/p>\n
I wished none of that had happened.<\/p>\n
I wished the Saturday shopping trip had been ordinary.<\/p>\n
I wished Kate had returned to my house a few hours later and taken home a happy, comfortable baby.<\/p>\n
But those wishes couldn't change what we knew.<\/p>\n
I looked at Paige.<\/p>\n
She was resting.<\/p>\n
Her face was calmer than it had been when I first carried her into the hospital.<\/p>\n
I leaned toward her.<\/p>\n
"You're getting better, sweetheart."<\/p>\n
She moved her hand.<\/p>\n
I touched her fingers.<\/p>\n
I knew her bones still needed healing.<\/p>\n
And I knew the family had a long way to go.<\/p>\n
The investigation wasn't finished.<\/p>\n
No one had provided a complete account of how Paige suffered her injuries.<\/p>\n
But one question about the makeup finally had an answer that investigators could examine.<\/p>\n
And the people responsible for Paige's safety were no longer willing to rely only on promises that she would be fine.<\/p>\n
The next day, the social worker asked to speak with me again. I had just helped comfort Paige while a nurse checked her. She had been more alert that morning. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37703","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\/37703","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=37703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37723,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37703\/revisions\/37723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}