How fast can someone move on from grief? For my brother Peter, it took just eight months to go from a widower to a remarried father. In his rush to rebuild his life, he forced his children into a situation they never asked for. When they broke under the weight of it all, he didn’t try to fix it. Instead, he came to me with a request that left me speechless.
You think you know your family. You grow up with them, share meals, and laugh at the same jokes. You believe certain lines can’t be crossed, but one day, someone steps over them like they never existed. Suddenly, you’re looking at someone you thought you knew and asking, “Who are you?” For me, that moment came when Peter sat across from me and made a shocking request about his children.
Four years ago, Peter lost his wife, Matilda, to cancer. It shattered all of us, but Peter grieved quickly. Eight months later, he met Sophie at a widow’s support group, and within weeks, they were together. Before long, he moved her in, ignoring his children’s grief. Maeve and Jake, still reeling from losing their mother, withdrew further with each passing day. Peter’s quick remarriage and Sophie’s pregnancy only made matters worse, creating a new family that Maeve and Jake felt they didn’t belong in.
