My daughter hadn't spoken more than a few words to me in three months when the judge asked her where she wanted to live.

Emma was thirteen.

She sat between me and her mother at the table, wearing the blue cardigan she always chose when she was nervous, her hands folded in her lap the way my late mother used to hold hers.

She hadn't looked at me once since we walked in.

I had stopped counting the number of times I'd tried to call her and gotten voicemail.

Sandra had primary custody and had made it very clear, through her attorney and through Emma herself, that my time was becoming inconvenient.

When Judge Holloway asked the question, Sandra was already halfway out of her seat.

"She should live with me.

I'm her mother."

"Mrs.

Ruder." The judge's voice was quiet but final.

"Please sit down."

Sandra sat.

Then Judge Holloway looked at Emma.

"Emma.

Where do you want to live?"

The room went completely still.

Sandra's attorney stopped writing.

My attorney stopped breathing.

I kept my eyes on Emma because I didn't want her to feel like she was being watched, which meant I was watching her more carefully than I ever had.

Emma stared at the table for a long moment.

Then she looked up at the judge and said, in a voice barely above a whisper:

"I want to live with Dad."

Sandra's chair scraped back so fast it startled the court reporter.

"Emma, no — you don't understand what you're saying—"

"Mrs.

Ruder."

"She's thirteen, Your Honor, she doesn't—"

"Mrs.

Ruder.

Sit down."

The silence that followed was the longest of my life.

Judge Holloway looked at Emma steadily.

"Is that what you want, Emma?

Take your time."

Emma nodded once.

Then she reached under the table and found my hand.

I hadn't expected that.

I had to look away for a moment because I couldn't afford to fall apart in a courtroom.

Sandra was speaking again, something about manipulation and influence, but her attorney was touching her arm and Judge Holloway had already turned back to her notes.

"It's completely her choice," the judge said, "who she wants to stay with."

Sandra stopped.

I felt Emma's fingers tighten around mine.

---

What did Sandra do after the judge's words silenced her?