Chapter 44 - The Woman Who Stayed
Dorothy had worked for Elena Moretti before Leo was born. She didn't want praise or a newspaper profile. She wanted the house to function without constant interruptions from lawyers.
When I asked whether she needed anything, she said, “I need people to stop calling Leo's schedule a staffing issue.”
She told me about a morning after Elena's death when the little boy had carried his mother's scarf through the hallway, searching every room. The adults had rushed to arrange funeral flights and financial transfers. Dorothy had sat with him on the carpet for almost an hour.
“Were you afraid you'd say the wrong thing?” I asked.
“Terrified. So I didn't say very much.”
She'd stayed because leaving felt impossible then, and because she loved the boy now.
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I asked whether she had independent support. There was a care coordinator, but no regular respite for Dorothy herself. I passed that concern to Noah, who said caregiver stability belonged in the welfare plan.
That night I wrote Dorothy a thank-you note. Not a check, not an offer to manage her. Just a note telling her that Leo was lucky someone had kept showing up after the house filled with officials.
