“Except what he left in the apartment.”
“No life insurance, no payout on the car, no bank accounts, no superannuation?”
“They would have been in his legal name.”
“Which Danika would have got. Her and Cami. Kim, I know this isn’t a good time to bring it up, but ethically, you should have received a share of that money. Has Danika ever mentioned it?”
“No. We never really talked about it. And I don’t want to. I was the other woman to her. Bella and I are the other family. The second family, not the first.”
“But equal. Not lesser.”
“I don’t need that money. I’m doing okay.”
“You are not less than Danika.” Her mum grips Kim’s shoulders and gives her a small shake. “You were with Chris for nearly ten years. Ten years! That was not a casual affair. You were his partner, his de facto wife. That does not make you less than Danika.”
Kim is silent for a moment. “I know you’re right. It would have been different if I had gone into the relationship knowing about Danika. But a part of me feels I should have known, and a part of me feels I cheated Danika, and a big part of me feels I shouldn’t benefit from Chris’s death in this way.”
“Bollocks,” her mother says inelegantly. “That’s total and utter fucking bollocks. If you don’t want a share of the money, that’s fine. But think of Bella. I’m sure Cami received money—either willed to her directly, or if, as I’m starting to wonder, Chris didn’t leave a will, then something would have come by court order.”
“I have enough for Bella.” Kim’s stomach clenches. Money. Why does it always come down to bloody money?
“You do now,” Amanda agrees. “But what if you get sick? What if Bella wants a real pony, not just that stuffed horse’s head on a broomstick? If you and Danika continue to grow your relationship, how will Bella feel if she learns Cami got money from Chris and she got nothing? For she will learn. Things like that always come out.”
Kim picks at a seam on her loose pants. The red thread is fraying. “I’m not going to ask. The law would have been on her side.”
“Would it?” Amanda asks. “If there was a will that was finalised before Danika knew about you, maybe the settlement would be invalid. I don’t know; I’m not a lawyer. If he died intestate, the court should have included you in the settlement. You could consult a family lawyer.”
“No.”
“It could be a lot of money. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be. Can you justify depriving Bella of what should be hers?”
Kim has been dry-eyed all day: when she talked about Chris, even when Bella did. But now, her mind jumbles with her mother’s words, and what spills out is anger: at Chris—again—for putting them in this situation. But also, at Danika. Maybe she does have the law on her side; Kim has no idea, but her mum is right: ethically, Bella should receive the same as Cami, whatever that is.
She blinks fiercely and swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I wish you hadn’t mentioned this.”
Amanda pats her hand. “Mentioned it now, or mentioned it at all?”
“Part of me wishes at all. Because now you have, I have to at least investigate, for Bella’s sake.” She stares down at her hands, white-knuckled in her lap. “But I don’t want to believe Danika would deliberately keep that from us.”
“She’s had a lot to contend with. Both of you have. She may not have considered it. Or, we may be wrong, and her Chris left a valid will which didn’t mention you or Bella. You could still challenge that—at least for Bella.”
The tears fall freely now. “I don’t want to do that. Danika and I…we’re building something together. Something for our girls.A family of sorts. And”—she whispers the words jammed in her chest, close to her heart—“maybe something between us.”
Her mother is silent. “Remember what I said about bonding over difficult experiences?”
“I haven’t forgotten. And it may only ever be a close friendship. Danika identifies as straight.”
“But you want it to be more?”
“I care for her, and I think she cares for me.”
“Then I wish you every luck in the world. But I’m giving you a mother’s advice: don’t let that get in the way of what’s best for Bella.”
It’s been two weeks since Chris’s celebration of life. Two weeks since Kim has seen Danika. Oh, they’ve talked on the phone, but neither of them has come up with any firm plan to get together again.
Maybe Danika has her reasons for being as hesitant as Kim.
Maybe her mother is right, and Danika is avoiding Kim because of money.
