She and Brad had been struggling for a long time.
They believed Ethan was too young to understand.
He understood everything.
The family had started counseling.
Ethan was seeing someone individually as well.
The counselor asked him to draw a person who had made him feel safe.
He drew Owen.
Because he didn’t know Owen’s name, Ethan called him “the Spider-Man shirt guy.”
Brad had started counseling too.
For the first time, he talked about his own childhood and the father who had treated him harshly.
Nicole didn’t know whether their marriage would survive.
But she said things were changing.
Brad put his phone away when spending time with Ethan.
Nicole made an effort to truly listen.
And Ethan was sleeping better.
At the end of the letter, she thanked Owen for speaking up when silence would have been easier.
Then came a postscript.
Ethan had finished the Spider-Man movie with his dad.
