When Dr. Green asked about significant relationships in his life and in Ava's life. He told her about Clare. He said her name without hesitation without the protective qualifier of best friend or colleague and described her presence in their lives honestly. How she'd been part of Ava's world for years.
How the relationship had recently changed. What that change looked like in practice. He did not oversell it or stage manage it. He simply told the truth. Dr.
Green made notes. She was unreadable, which was either a professional trait or a judgment he was not being given access to. The evaluation concluded. Renee would receive the report in 3 weeks. Malcolm drove home and did not call anyone or check his phone or research custody evaluation outcomes on legal websites.
He drove home and he picked Ava up from his mother's. And he made dinner and he helped with homework and he did the bedtime routine. With the same deliberate presence he tried to bring to oo every bedtime routine. Because Ava deserved a father who showed up fully at 8:00 on a Tuesday night, just as much as she deserved one who showed up in a courthouse. After she was asleep, he texted Clare.
Evaluations done. "How'd it go?" "I told the truth." A pause. "Then that's always the right answer."
"I told her about you." Another pause. Longer. "What did you tell her?" He looked at the ceiling.
Then he typed "The truth about that too." Three dots disappear. Three dots again. Then, "Okay." And then, 30 seconds later, "Thank you."
He put the phone down and felt the solid quiet. "Okay." Again. The same thing he had felt the morning after the kitchen table. The same groundholding.
It was becoming familiar now. He was beginning to trust it. The twist that arrived 3 weeks later was not the one Malcolm had been bracing for. He had been bracing for the evaluation report. He had been bracing for another communication from Diane's attorney.