I was stone cold silent over dinner. Nana started up on Rex's paintings again.
'You should call the lawyer and see if you have any entitlement to those paintings,' she said.
'Which paintings?' Tate asked.
'Some paintings your father owns. Your mother probably should have gotten half of them in the settlement. They're worth a lot of money,' nana said.
'How come he got to keep all of them?' Tate asked.
'I'm pretty sure there was a no future claim clause we signed,' mum said. 'I remember putting it in there so he could have no claim on future earnings of my business.'
Nana shook her head.
'How much are they worth?' Tate asked.
'Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands,' nana said.
'Selfish,' Tate stated.
'We'll probably inherit them,' I said. 'What's the difference anyway?'
'Who says you'll inherit them?' nana asked. 'He'll sell them off. They'll help buy this apartment of his.'
'He should give you half the paintings,' Tate said, looking doll-eyed at my mother. 'I'll tell him,' he said, 'next time we talk on the phone.' Mum cocked her head to the side and smiled gratefully.
'You're the sweetest, you know?' she said to him. Their eyes clung to each other. My father may have kept the paintings, but mum got to keep Tate. And he gave her more satisfaction than anything.
'I've got homework to do,' I said, putting my fork down. 'Thanks for dinner.'
'You're excused,' nana said.
YOU ARE READING
A Reason to Exist
Teen FictionSometimes falling in love is the most dangerous trick to land ... Macy always follows the rules. For years, her mother has warned her that the world is full of toxins and accidents waiting to happen. Tucker lives next door. He doesn't follow any rul...
