All The Love You Can Not See

Description

Oil on Canvas

60cm (W) x 120cm (H) x 3.5cm (D)

Part of my series focusing on the tactics used to turn a child against their parent during the process of parental alienation.

CHLOE’S STORY:

Chloe’s Dad adores her. When he and Chloe’s Mum split
up he wanted Chloe to have everything she needed, so he set up his own home with a bedroom for Chloe, he bought her clothes and toys to have at his house and gave their old house to Chloe’s Mum to keep so that Chloe could keep her home there too. He also agreed to pay for all of Chloe’s school, clothes, food and everything she needed until she was grown up. Chloe’s Dad promised to look after her in his old house and in his new house, for as long as she needed.

But Chloe and her Mum see things differently. Chloe saw her
Mum struggle for two years to get through ‘the settlement’.
That was all Chloe’s Mum talked about because she said
that Dad was going to make her go to court and she couldn’t
believe how he could do this to her. Chloe could see that her
Dad was always making her Mum angry and frustrated and
he kept refusing to put Chloe’s needs rst when her Mum let
her decide where she wanted to live. Chloe’s Mum agreed
with her that it was best if she didn’t live with her Dad until he could improve his behaviour. He just couldn’t get anything right and so her Mum would have to spend days and days writing him emails to explain what he needed to do. Chloe’s Mum could never play with her or help her because her stupid father was always causing trouble and just being a child. Chloe’s Mum told her that she was doing everything she could to protect her in case Dad went off with his new girlfriend and left them with no money, which he probably would because he only ever really cared about himself.

Chloe was so sad at seeing her Mum so upset all the time. Sometimes it was so bad her Mum would go to the shower and scream for hours and call Dad all sorts of names because he was being such a bastard. But Chloe’s Mum told her not to worry. She said she would always take care of her and take her on a holiday to Hawaii to make up for all the stress they were going through. And she would make sure that her Dad bought her the all things that a normal parent would give a child they cared for – like a computer and a phone and money for the holiday with Mum.

Even at Christmas and Chloe’s birthday her Mum would have to tell her Dad what Chloe wanted. Otherwise he would get her something stupid that she didn’t even want. Chloe’s Nanna was just the same. She would buy her lots of presents too but Chloe knew that they were both just trying and trick her into forgiving them after being so mean to her Mum. Chloe even had to go to dumb birthday dinners to get the presents but it wasn’t too bad because Mum made sure that Chloe’s Auntie went to the dinner and arranged things so that Chloe didn’t have to sit next to her Dad and talk to him.

Chloe’s Dad sends her a text every night to tell her how much he loves her. He asks to see Chloe for dinner or an outing every week. But at the moment Chloe’s Mum knows that his behaviour is all a facade and that until he can communicate with her respectfully that he is not going to have any luck in mending his relation- ship with his daughter.