Three-three

There was a letter Michael Peterson had written to Margaret Blair, dated July 18, 1990, which made his intentions quite clear. At the time, there had been a misunderstanding about the girls, and Michael was enraged about it. By then, Patricia and Michael were separated, they were fighting over the children, and Patricia had somehow led Margaret Blair to believe that the Ratliff girls could stay, permanently, in Rhode Island.

Michael’s letter to Elizabeth’s sister was lengthy, and it covered a number of points. He was very thankful that Margaret Blair had hosted the Ratliff girls for part of the summer, but he was angered by the heavy dose of religion that the girls had been subjected to. Michael mentioned that, being raised in an Italian Catholic home, he understood Blair’s Irish Catholic background, but he felt that Margaret Blair’s religious beliefs bordered on fundamentalist fanaticism. He didn’t agree with Margaret’s teachings. He didn’t feel it was appropriate for her to be telling the Ratliff girls what to believe, and he wrote that her slight “fanaticism” was something that Liz had been utterly against.

Michael Peterson disagreed completely with the ideas Margaret Blair had, not only regarding religion, but also with her parenting style in general. He found nothing wrong with Margaret and Martha watching TV shows such as The Simpsons, or movies such as Gremlins. The prejudice against these innocent forms of entertainment was a good example of how religious righteousness could become controlling and unhealthy. Michael was specific about the fact that he didn’t like the way Margaret and Martha had returned to Durham—suddenly filled with a “smug” belief in God. Michael didn’t want his girls going around quizzing people on their religious beliefs.

It wasn’t that he was trying to sever Margaret Blair’s relationship with her nieces. That was not his intention. But Michael had thought long and hard about the Ratliff girls, and things were going to be different. After much soul-searching, Michael wrote, he had determined he would accompany his wife, Patty, back to Germany. Patricia Peterson had accepted her old job as a second-grade teacher for the Department of Defense, and Michael and Patty and the four children would be living together as a family. Michael explained that the matter of giving the Ratliff girls to Margaret Blair for adoption had become a moot point.

There were many reasons Michael had for deciding against any possible adoption. Of course he didn’t really need to explain himself, because Elizabeth Ratliff’s will, on file in Matagorda County in Bay City, Texas, was very clear. But still, Michael realized that Margaret Blair had grown so attached to the girls, she deserved some kind of reasoning behind his decision.

Peterson wrote that he had been the “sole male figure” in the girls’ lives ever since the time their father, George Ratliff, had died. For seven years, Michael claimed, he had been their active father. He had taken care of Margaret and Martha from the time they were babies, from the time Martha was just an infant. And then after Elizabeth had died, Michael had become the “sole continuous link” in their lives.

Peterson talked about George Ratliff’s will, which had also designated him to be the guardian of the two girls. Upon George’s death, Elizabeth had changed the order of the guardians—it was something she had done after examining all the possibilities of the guardianship. It was Elizabeth’s conscious choice, as verified in her will, that Michael and Patricia Peterson become the girls’ guardians, excluding any family.

Michael wrote that he considered this guardianship a sacred trust. He outlined how, for five years since Liz’s death, he had acted in Margaret and Martha’s best interests, loving them, comforting them, nursing them, and counseling them. Not only had he taken them to doctors and dentists, he had been to their recitals and plays, he had sat on the school board and had attended the PTA.

Even though Michael never legally adopted the Ratliff girls, as their guardian, he considered them his children. He had been there to listen to their sorrows, to laugh at their jokes—he had overseen all the aspects of their lives. Michael thought it would be terribly harmful if the Ratliff girls were made to feel like a commodity, if they felt like they could be adopted by someone else, just passed on, losing all sense of continuity in their lives.

Peterson believed that all of the girls’ aunts and uncles—George Ratliff’s brothers and sister, as well as Elizabeth’s sisters—were playing an important role in the girls’ lives. He wanted those connections to remain in place. But none of those distant relatives, he felt, could provide that function of “anchor” as well as he had. No matter what special bond the girls had developed with Margaret Blair, or any other family member, Margaret and Martha needed the stability and love that only he had given to them. Michael had become an integral part of their lives, and he felt it was his duty and honor to continue to act as their dad.

Michael was happy that both sides of the girls’ family—Elizabeth’s and George’s—had tried so hard to become a presence in Margaret and Martha’s lives. He was appreciative of that, and grateful for their support. But Michael hoped that Margaret Blair and the rest of the relatives were appreciative of his efforts also. Michael had a special commitment to the girls. It was a commitment that nobody would ever be able to understand.

Deep in his heart, Michael believed he was the best choice to raise the Ratliff girls. He was the right person to guide them. And he loved them.