Aunt Lydia was on the phone talking to someone in a urgent, hushed tone as I walked over to the living room to retrieve the Switch. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, as she appeared to have lowered her voice after noticing I had stepped out of the bedroom. I tried to keep my mind clear of thoughts about what the custody battle would mean for me, as I laid back down on the bed to play with the gaming system and enjoy temporary distraction it provided.
My first foray into public wasn’t going as well as I had hoped it would. The hospital stay didn’t count. And I’d hardly ever left home in the year preceding it.