My Son And His Wife Went On A Cruise, Leaving Me To Babysit My 8-Year-Old Grandson Who Had Never Spoken Around Us. As Soon As The Door Clicked Shut, He Stopped Rocking, Looked Straight In The Eye, And Whispered In A Clear Voice: “Grandma, Don’t Drink The Tea Mom Made For You… Not Yet.” A Chill Ran Through Me…

“I have you,” I told him. “And you’re the smartest, bravest person I’ve ever met.”

A smile—the first genuine smile I’d seen from him in years—spread across his face. “What are we going to do?”

I looked around my kitchen, this comfortable space that had always felt like the heart of my home.

The afternoon light was beginning to fade, and soon it would be evening. Dean and Nyla were somewhere in the middle of the ocean, probably toasting their cleverness while they waited for news that their problem had solved itself. “We’re going to be very careful,” I said.

“We’re going to document everything, and we’re going to make sure that when this week is over, your mother faces the consequences of what she’s tried to do to both of us.”

“But how?” Damian asked. “Adults never believe kids, especially kids like me who aren’t supposed to be able to talk.”

It was a valid concern. The very disability that Nyla had forced upon him would make his testimony suspect.

But I had an advantage she didn’t know about. “Leave that to me,” I said. “Your job is to keep being exactly who you’ve been pretending to be when other people are around.

Can you do that?”

“I’ve been doing it for eight years,” he said, with a confidence that broke my heart and filled me with pride simultaneously. As we finished our lunch, I began to formulate a plan. Nyla had made one critical mistake.

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