Bile rises in her throat once more. How come she didn’t notice these similarities when she and Kim shared photos on their phones?
Because Amanda is right—then, she wasn’t looking for these things. Then, she was sure she was the main person in Chris’s life, hiswife, and despite Kim’s de facto status, Danika was sure she was the most important.
So not so.
She catches up with Cami, Bella, and Jorie. They’re looking at a photo of Chris hanging one of Bella’s finger-paintings on the wall. It’s still there; Danika noticed it in the hall.
Cami comes over and leans against Danika’s side. “Bella says Daddy told her it should hang in the big gallery in Melbourne. Just like he said about mine!” There’s a smile in her voice, and it’s all Danika can do to keep the shake out of her voice as she says, “That’s because you and Bella are both equally good at painting.”
The little things pile up until Danika feels smothered. How come she had never noticed them before? The answer leaps out at her. At first, she was too stunned, too disbelieving that Chris would do that to her. Then, when she and Kim shared photographic glimpses into each other’s lives, they were curated glimpses. And it seems that Kim, like Danika, picked general photos to share, not ones that would drive home their importance. And why did she do that?
The answer rolls over her like the tide. Because even then, she was empathetic to Kim and the situation they were in. Even then, she didn’t want to hurt her by parading the important parts of her and Cami’s lives with the man they had inadvertently shared. And, it seems, Kim did the same. But now, at thiscelebration of life, of course the milestones are being celebrated and remembered.
Danika forces herself to continue on around the photos, letting Cami chatter away, pointing out Chris in all sorts of places, the goofy look she knew so well. It hurts, but not much.
The dominant emotion churning in her mind is rage.
Chapter Thirty
Kim
Amanda hugs Bella to her side as Bella chatters on about the day, about Cami, about how nervous she was talking in front of everyone.
“You were wonderful,” Kim says.
It’s dinnertime, and everyone has left except for her parents. Kim asked what time they were meeting their friends, but her dad just said they were having lunch with them tomorrow instead.
“I promised Bella we’d get fish and chips,” Kim says. “Are you staying?”
“We’d like that.” Her mum smooths down her skirt and shoots her dad a long look.
He lumbers to his feet and holds his hand out to Bella. “You were going to let me meet Cloudy.”
Bella’s eyes light up, and she takes her grandfather’s hand, and they leave the room to find Bella’s hobby horse.
Kim’s nerves jangle. It’s obvious her parents planned for her mum to talk to Kim alone. It’s equally obvious Amanda is going to mention something difficult. “Spit it out. I’m not going to like it, am I?”
Amanda pats the couch next to her. “Danika is a lovely person, and I love seeing how close Bella is to Camille. But I wonder?—”
“Mum, please, whatever you’re going to say, please don’t. Not today.”
“What are you expecting?” Her mum cocks her head like a bird.
Kim lifts a shoulder. “Something about Danika and me. How we shouldn’t get too close. How difficult shared experiences can make emotions run high.”
Amanda’s eyebrows arch. “That wasn’t at all what I was going to say.” She nods slowly. “Now that you mention it, though… Is that the way it’s going?”
“No comment.” Kim manages a smile. “So if not that, what do you need to say?”
“It is about Danika. She’s carrying a lot of anger, directed at Chris. Not at you. But she mentioned that it was lucky the house they shared came to her. It seemed a strange comment, given that her Chris was the legally recognised one. I asked more, but she prevaricated. Kim, you are lucky that you never put Chris on the title of your apartment. Imagine the difficulties there would have been sorting that out.”
“I offered once. We’d been together about four years, and he was giving me a contribution to the mortgage every month. He said there was no need; he trusted me. Ha! Imagine that.”
“Hiding in plain sight.” Amanda presses her lips together. “And no valid will.”
“No will, full stop.”
“So you got nothing?”
