Ana held her mother's hand. She hadn't let go since they got to the hospital. "Is daddy going to be ok," she asked. Loraine lied, told her he would be fine. "Why is daddy sick," Ana asked, squeezing Loraine's hand tighter. Loraine thought about how to answer. "Well honey," she started. "Your daddy has self esteem issues." "What's selfa steam," Ana asked. "It's how you feel about yourself," her mother explained. "How much you like yourself. You like yourself, don't you honey?" Ana krinkled her nose, thought about that for a second. Then she said "I think so." Loraine squeezed her hand back, then said "Well, your daddy doesn't like himself very much. So when other people tell him what to do, he does it. Because he wants to make them happy. So they'll like him." Ana krinkled her nose again. "Is that why he ate my toys," she asked, a little confused. "Pretty much," Loraine answered. "His friends dared him to, and he thought they wouldn't like him if he didn't. So he did. He didn't think about you, or me, or even himself. Just what they thought of him." Loraine sighed, suddenly frustrated about so many things. Is that why you deeforced him," Ana asked. "Pretty much," her Mom said. Larger one here.
