“Jordan also thinks a twelve-dollar gaming skin is an investment.”
“True.”
Aaron continued.
“You have money saved.”
“That gives you opportunities.”
“It also comes from something painful.”
“You don’t have to feel guilty about using it for things your mother intended.”
Nia looked toward Danielle’s photograph.
“Would Mom care if I bought expensive shoes?”
Aaron smiled.
“Your mother spent two hundred thirty dollars on boots once and hid the receipt from me for three weeks.”
Nia’s eyes widened.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I found them.”
“Were you mad?”
“Yes.”
“What did Mom say?”
“That her feet had standards.”
Nia laughed so hard she almost fell from the chair.
The dead became human again.
Not a saint whose money had to be guarded with solemn guilt.
Danielle had bought ridiculous boots.
Burned grilled cheese.
Snored when exhausted.
Swore at traffic.
Loved Nia.
That mattered more than turning her into a perfect ghost.
When Nia turned sixteen, Aaron took her to meet Rebecca at the trust office.
Rebecca explained every document.
Current balance.
Investments.
Historic withdrawals.
Restitution.
Fees.
Nia read quietly.
Then found the old forensic-audit entry.
HARPER & ROWE — ATTEMPTED $3,846.17 — DECLINED.
She smiled faintly.
“That store.”
Aaron nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I remember.”
“I know.”
Nia looked at the statement.
“What happened to all the stuff?”
“Never purchased.”
“The stuff before that?”
“Some returned.”
“Some reimbursed.”
“Some long gone.”
She nodded.
Then:
“I used to think I cared about the shoes.”
Aaron looked toward her.
“You did care.”
“Yeah.”
“But not because they were shoes.”
“What was it?”
Nia thought.
“Everybody else got to want something.”
Aaron felt that sentence.
She continued.
“Jordan could say, ‘I want those.’”
“Layla could.”
“If I wanted something, there had to be a reason.”
“Need.”
“Price.”
“Mom’s money.”
“Fairness.”
She looked toward him.
“I think I just wanted to be allowed to want something without defending it.”
Aaron swallowed.
“I’m sorry.”
Nia smiled gently.
“You’ve said that.”
“I know.”
“I’ll probably keep saying it.”
“Okay.”
Then she looked toward Rebecca.
“Can trust money buy concert tickets?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Potentially, depending on the trust standard.”
Aaron groaned.
“I regret transparency.”
Nia laughed.
She bought two tickets with her own part-time-job money instead.
Took Layla.
They came home without voices.
Aaron considered that financially irresponsible too.
Nia graduated high school with no dramatic valedictorian speech.
Aaron was grateful.
She attended Ohio State.
Studied finance for one semester.
Hated it.
Switched to social work.