Part 62

"There are studies showing the effects of a divorce on children, all kinds," Gail said. "Some on children caught in custody battles."

"I know," Zander said. "Alexis and Quinn - she was the nurse on my case in ICU - brought me some stuff about that to read."

"What did you learn from that?"

"Something about sadness and loss. There was this study that if you were about 6-9 when it happened, you would be very sad. Which Pete never was, that I can remember. It worries me. Sometimes he is – too happy, I think. It could be a cover. Could that be?"

"Possibly. You wouldn't have read the chapter on the 11 years olds, would you have?" Gail smiled.

"A little," he answered. "It was that they get angry. I already knew. I know I'm angry. And that I might take a side. And there was a lot about how the parent who abducts you supposedly poisons your mind against the other parent. And that wasn't true for us."

"Your father didn't put your mother down in front of you?"

"No."

"It does sound like they didn't communicate with you much. Didn't tell you much about the divorce. Did they reassure you they still loved you if not each other?"

"No. I don't think either of them ever thought of that."

"Did you think your father was angry at your mother when he took you to Moscow?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe he couldn't see us and that was his way of fixing it, but I don't know really how he felt about it all. He gave up a lot to have us like that. We had some peace from all the back and forth and the courts and cops."

"Did he assure you it was all right if you still loved your mother?"

"No. But he didn't say not to."

"Same with your mother?"

"I'm not sure. I can't remember her saying it was not all right to love my father, or be with him. I think it was true, though. From all the cops and the arguments I heard then. It was easy to draw the conclusion she thought we should not be around him."

"Ideally, I would have her on the counseling program, too. I would like to meet her on her own and then with you."

"Yeah. No way will she do that."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty much. She's a know-it-all. If she came, she'd tell you how it supposed to be."