It was Danny’s fifth birthday, and we all came to my house for the party. The room was filled with balloons, cake, and gifts, but Danny was in his usual spot, staring at the floor. I smiled at him, hoping he would respond a little bit but he stayed quiet until suddenly he walked over to me and looked me right in the eye! He spoke clearly; his first words changed everything.
I always knew my grandson was unique even before doctors confirmed it. To me, he wasn’t broken—just different! My special boy didn’t say anything until he turned five years old; when those first words finally came out of his mouth they hit us hard.
The room felt still as always. My daughter Louise was busy in the kitchen trying to slice the cake while Albert, my son-in-law sat in a corner with his phone working away as usual and Danny seemed lost in his own world again like always.
As I sipped my tea watching Danny run his tiny fingers through the carpet patterns suddenly he stood up and did something new; he made eye contact with me! You see, Danny never looked anyone directly in their eyes so this really surprised me as his grandma who wanted nothing more than for him to succeed.
Still amazed from feeling those sweet brown eyes meet mine when he said something.
“Grandma,” he said calmly “there is something I want to tell you.”
It felt like time stopped completely! Everyone turned their heads towards Danny. Louise dropped her knife on the floor but couldn’t pick it up because she was too shocked while Albert finally put down his phone.
“What is it sweetheart? What do you want to share?” I asked him gently even though my heart raced and hands shook a bit.
“Mommy has a secret,” said Danny.
Louise’s face went pale as she moved closer saying “Danny honey go play with your toys.”
But now that Danny had spoken up there was no stopping him.
“She told the man on the phone that she doesn’t love daddy and that something is wrong with me,” Danny said. His words felt like a sharp knife and he stood as still as ever, unaware of the chaos he caused.
“She wants to run away,” Danny said before he went back to playing with the carpet.
His words were more than any of us could handle at that moment.
Albert looked at Louise and she crashed. “Is that true?” he asked. Sobbing, Louise tried to reach his hand put he pulled it away. “It’s not like it sounds, honey,” she tried to explain.
“Did you really tell someone that something’s wrong with our son? Is that what you think of your own child?”
Louise, broken, confessed she said those words because she felt like she failed like a mother. Danny never said a word to her, he never looked her in the eyes, she was feeling guilty of not doing more for him.
But Albert didn’t want to listen or accept her excuses.
While the two argued, I asked if I could take Danny upstairs, and Albert allowed me. The boy had a smile on his face, not knowing that he threw a bomb and shattered the family apart.
In the days that followed, Albert filed for divorce.
My daughter seemed to be relieved with the outcome. She told me she never really wanted to be a mother, she only gave birth to a child because it was what Albert wanted. “I don’t know how to be a mother,” she told me. “I love Danny, I really do, and I’ve tried… but I just don’t feel it.”
Her words were heavy. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t forgive her for speaking of her own son like that, not then, not ever.
Eventually, she left her family, and Danny stayed with his father. I remained part of their life.
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