gone. I thought I was protecting you from worrying until I knew what was happening.”
“You taught our two-year-old to keep a secret from me.”
His face fell.
“I know.”
That sentence changed the entire conversation.
Whatever his intentions had been, secrecy around our daughter was not acceptable.
The next morning, I took Emma to her pediatrician myself.
Daniel came with us.
The doctor examined the rash, reviewed the dermatologist’s notes, and told us something important: we couldn’t assume what had caused it merely from the timing.
So we stopped guessing.
We changed Emma’s bath products, detergent, bedding, and skin-care routine according to medical advice and kept a written record of everything that touched her skin.
And I called my mother.
I didn’t accuse her.
I asked one question.
“Have you been using lavender bath oil on Emma?”
There was a pause.
Then she said:
“Only when she stays with
