Page 242 of The Moment We Know

David nodded slowly, half of his brain already racing ahead to the evening’s activities, which would indeed be worth the wait, while the other half of his brain had but one thought: that he was the luckiest man on the planet.

Chapter 94

“Look what came in the mail today,” Paige said to David, handing him an envelope that had already been opened.

It was shortly after the new year, and despite Jacob now being in pre-kindergarten, Paige was still staying at home. When he started school, she’d thought about looking for another job, but it was a fleeting thought, and as the months passed, so did any real desire to work outside the home.

David had been able to take advantage of her being around during the day by coming upstairs to have lunch several times a week with her (and when the stars aligned, engage in an energetic quickie). Today, however, based on her rigid posture and dark expression, the stars were not aligning.

Wondering what he was going to find, David took the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper, along with a check made payable to Paige in the amount of $16,000 dollars. He actually looked at it twice, to make sure of the amount.

Opening the folded paper, he began to read.

Paige:

Congratulations on your wedding last summer. I wish you and David all the best in your marriage.

I know you don’t want to see me, and as such, I’ll respect your wishes, but that doesn’t mean I won’t hope you change your mind someday. I realize how wrong it was for me to show up like I did, unannounced on your birthday, and I apologize for that.

One thing I’d wanted to talk to you about that day, but didn’t get the chance, was the financial settlement of Carter’s estate. After everything was sold and liquidated, it turned out to be a fairly substantial amount, after taxes. Given how upset you are with me, I can only assume you’re not going to be receptive to accepting this check, but I’m going to give it to you, anyway. I’ll be gifting you the maximum amount that I can (in accordance with tax guidelines) every year, until there isn’t any left. Should I die before then, per the trust I’ve had drawn up, you will receive the rest of it—as well as any of my remaining assets—as my sole beneficiary.

I want you to have this money, to spend in any way you choose. In the event you do refuse it, however, know that the money will simply go into an investment account, which will then become yours when I die.

I know the mistakes I’ve made. I do. And while I can hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me for how badly I treated you, I don’t expect you to, especially since I won’t ever be able to forgive myself.

I truly wish you every happiness, and implore you to take this money. Do something good with it for yourself and your new family.

I love you,

Claire

After David read the note, he folded it, put it back in the envelope, and set it on the counter with the check. He then went to Paige and held her from behind, waiting for her to speak.

“I don’t want to take it,” she finally said. “She’s giving it to me to alleviate her guilt.”

“Maybe.” At her quick twist to look at him with disbelief, he amended it to, “Probably.”

“Well, I don’t want to help alleviate her guilt in any way. I want it to burn inside her with the heat of a thousand suns for all of eternity.”

“So do I. But, I don’t think taking a little bit of money from her once a year is going to make a dent in her guilt.”

“So, you think I should take the money,” Paige murmured.

“Well, she’s apparently going to give it to you one way or the other, so taking some of it every year doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. That being said, I totally understand why you wouldn’t want to take the money, but I can also see the benefits if you were to take it. For one, you did say you should’ve sent Claire the bill for your extra therapy, right?”

Paige released a short, amused breath. “I did say that. And that check just about covers it.”

“Then you should totally cash the check because she owes you for that.” He paused for a few seconds, before continuing. “And I know it’s Carter’s money, but it could be used for something good, like Claire said. It could be used for anything, to do whatever you wanted. You could take your deserving family on an amazing trip once a year, anywhere in the world. You could get a large, ornate tattoo of your husband’s name on your body …” he trailed off to slide his hand down to just above where the groomed line of her pubic hair was. “I’m thinking here would be the perfect spot, so I could see my name every time I go down on you.”

“Hmm. That’s certainly an interesting idea … one I probably never would’ve thought of on my own.”

“I’m full of them, actually.”

“Oh, really? Well, why don’t you lay a few more on me, then?”

After another brief pause, he told her, “If you ever felt like going back to work, you could start your own business as a wedding consultant. We could convert the upstairs floor into an office for you—after getting rid of a bunch of shit, obviously. You could hire Andrea to be your assistant, Kim to be your part-time photographer, and your woman-owned, woman-employed business would drive a stake in Linda’s cold, black heart and put her out of business.”

“Hmm, that actually would be really appealing. And I mean all of it, not just the part about Linda.”

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