Chapter 49 - The Money with Conditions
Bellweather agreed to stop accepting further acknowledgments through Vivienne’s profile while the authority was reviewed.
That sounded like a victory.
It was one.
It was also the beginning of a new argument about where the next payment should go.
Vivienne’s attorney proposed holding distributions against the estate’s alleged obligations.
Camille proposed a neutral arrangement for the disputed sums and direct payment of clearly undisputed amounts once entitlement was confirmed.
The accountant proposed that everyone stop using the word distribution to describe six different movements of money.
I liked her proposal best.
Her name was Rachel Stein.
Until then, I had mostly thought of her as the accountant.
I realized that was unfair.
She had spent days turning other people’s reassuring descriptions into numbers that could be checked.
I asked whether she wanted coffee.
She said yes.
Then she continued dismantling the ledger.
The recent twenty-seven thousand six hundred dollars had not all remained untouched.
Part had been applied to management charges.
Part to archival administration.
Part to a legal reserve.
The reserve’s stated purpose included responding to claims concerning Elena’s materials.
Claims made by me.
I read the line three times.
“They made me finance the room where they told me I owed them.”
Rachel did not soften it.
“The records support asking why beneficiary funds were used for that purpose.”
Camille requested the authorizations.
Vivienne’s response described a long-standing practice.
I had begun to hate that phrase.
A long-standing practice could mean something worked.
It could also mean nobody had been able to afford making it stop.
At the studio, Marisol showed me the autumn budget.
The scholarship program remained funded under its established arrangements.
The professional production was separate.
The royalty inquiry was separate again.
I understood why she had printed three sheets.
Still, seeing the money arranged that way made me anxious.
“What if a donor reads the dispute and worries?”
“Then we answer the donor.”
“What if they don’t believe us?”
“Then we don’t give them the children as proof.”
I looked up.
Marisol held my gaze.
She knew me well enough to recognize the dangerous form my panic took.
Be useful.
Perform.
Make people certain.
I nodded.
“No performances for reassurance.”
“Excellent. I’ll add it to the employee handbook.”
That afternoon, Rosa arrived to collect Ruby.
She waited until the children were out of hearing.
“Is the school in trouble?”
I felt the answer rise too quickly.
No.
Nothing was wrong.
Everything was safe.
Instead, I asked what she had heard.
A parent had seen an article about disputed royalties and assumed the studio might lose its funding.
I explained the actual structure.
The school’s operations were not being financed from the contested account.
The personal inquiry did not give Vivienne authority over the school.
If anything changed that affected families, we would tell them.
Rosa listened.
Then she nodded.
“I’d rather hear that than promises nobody can make.”
After she left, I sat at the desk.
There had been a time when honesty felt like a luxury rich people could afford after paying the bills.
Now I understood it was also a kind of work.
Sometimes expensive work.
Necessary anyway.
That evening, Alexander asked whether I wanted to use his family’s venue for the wedding rehearsal dinner.
I asked about the conditions.
He laughed.
“There are chairs.”
“Dangerous.”
“And a woman who has strong views about the table linen.”
“Your mother.”
“Yes.”
“Does she know I have views?”
“She has been warned.”
I smiled.
For a little while, we discussed music and food.
Then Camille called.
Bellweather had produced the original beneficiary schedule.
My name appeared beneath Elena’s.
Beside it was an allocation described as a minor’s support account.
Below that, in my mother’s handwriting, someone had added an instruction.
No management setoff against Lena’s portion.
The page was dated before I turned fourteen.
I looked at the words until my eyes blurred.
May you like
My mother had tried to keep one small part of the money beyond their reach.
The ledger showed they had reached it anyway.
