Chapter 9 - THE HOUSE GOT SMALLER
Chadworth changed the mansion.
Not physically at first.
Operationally.
Fewer staff.
Fewer evenings out.
No rotating team of caregivers unless necessary.
He learned school pickup.
Poorly.
The first time, he waited at the wrong entrance for twenty minutes.
Gemma found him.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Lower school pickup is there.”
She pointed halfway across campus.
“I knew that.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“No.”
Progress.
---
He learned Lorelai hated crusts.
Not because Rosamund manipulated her.
Because she genuinely disliked them.
He learned Gemma loved astronomy but pretended not to because Sabina called it “nerdy.”
He bought no telescope immediately.
Old Chadworth would have.
Instead, he asked:
“Would you like one?”
Gemma said:
“Maybe.”
They researched them together.
That mattered more.
---
Sabina attempted to repair her reputation.
Her attorney sent letters.
She returned several gifts.
Claimed stress.
Claimed jealousy.
Eventually wrote individual apologies to the girls.
Chadworth discussed them with a child therapist before deciding whether to share them.
Gemma chose to read hers.
Lorelai did not.
Neither was forced.
Sabina did not regain access.
An apology could be useful without becoming a key.
Chadworth had learned that too.
---
Months later, Gemma asked:
“Can Rosie visit?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Will you make it weird?”
Chadworth stared.
“I am forty-four years old.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He sighed.
“I’ll try not to.”
---
Rosamund arrived on a Saturday.
Not in uniform.
Jeans.
Camel sweater.
Hair loose.
The girls nearly knocked her over.
Chadworth watched from the doorway.
Something inside him tightened.
Not jealousy.
Not ownership.
Recognition.
This woman had helped raise his daughters while he had been busy believing provision was the same thing as presence.
He walked over.
“Rosamund.”
“Mr. Prescott.”
Gemma groaned.
“You two are weird.”
Accurate.
---
Rosamund had enrolled in school.
Night courses.
The foundation committee awarded partial tuition.
Not full.
She worked at a small private preschool during the day.
She looked happier.
That mattered.
Chadworth asked:
“Do you miss the mansion?”
“No.”
Fast.
He laughed.
“At least pretend.”
“I miss them.”
She nodded toward the girls.
“Not the marble.”
May you like
Fair.
---
