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“Unless he did something illegal,” suggested Jaya.
“Well, we’re about to find out,” said Reeva. “Satya Auntie’s here.”
—
The sisters lookedexpectantly at their aunt. She put down the bank statement and smiled at her nieces. “Congratulations. That’s a lot of money.”
“Do you know where it came from?” asked Reeva.
“She means, what did Dad do to get it?” corrected Jaya. “And we’re fine with it being illegal. You can tell us anything.”
Satya Auntie laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but as far as I know, Hemant was just very careful with his money.”
“You’re saying this came from his salary?” clarified Sita.
Satya Auntie nodded. “Yes, I think so. I had no idea how much money he had. But, girls, your dad hardly ever spent anything on himself. His whole purpose in life was to work for you. It doesn’t surprise me he accumulated so much.”
Reeva frowned in confusion. “But... I don’t understand. He didn’t need to earn money for us. Mum always supported us. And she obviously had plenty of money.”
“I think he did need to,” said Satya Auntie gently. “It was his way of being a father. It made him feel better, knowing that he was leaving you all with this security. He and I spoke about it once—he sat me down to tell me that his inheritance was going to you three, and not to me. He hoped I wouldn’t mind, and of course I didn’t. It was his way of making it all up to you—his physical absence.”
“It was his way of... loving us?” asked Reeva.
“Exactly,” said Satya Auntie. “Everyone shows it in different ways, remember?”
“His love language was money,” cried Jaya. “This makes total sense now! To be honest, I relate—mine is gifts.”
“Wait, but how did he get it all?” asked Sita. “He would have had to have saved everything he earned fordecadesto get this much money.”
Satya Auntie paused and dabbed her eyes. “That’s exactly what he did. It makes me emotional, because he denied himself everything. He only ever spent money on the absolute basics. He saved it all. For you. For years.”
Reeva felt her eyes watering up too. Her dad’s old clothes. His basic furniture. He never treated himself to anything—he was saving it all for his daughters. His whole life he’d been keeping tabs on themandtrying to provide for them.
“Please tell me he still treated himself too,” said Jaya, looking pale. “To, like, holidays and stuff?”
“I don’t think he ever traveled,” said Satya Auntie. “But he had quite simple needs. He was from a different generation and culture.”
“The vouchers—the food processer,” cried Sita. “Fuck!”
“Did... any of it come from Mum?” asked Reeva. “In cash maybe? She does love undeclared income.”
Satya Auntie shook her head. “I don’t think so. Your dad did say she offered, but he never accepted it. It was his pride. Remember, he grew up in a world where men were expected to provide. This was his way.” She paused. “And, well, I think he also did it out of some kind of penance. He had a lot of guilt.”
“Because he had an affair?” asked Sita. “An affair that devastated Mum and tore our family apart?”
Satya Auntie looked taken aback. “He had an affair?”
“It’s a theory we’re working on,” explained Jaya.
“Ah,” said Satya Auntie. “Well, I can’t say I can confirm that. As I told Reeva, he never told me exactly what it was that led to him leaving your lives. I always got the sense there was so muchshame surrounding it for him. So he found it too hard to talk about.”
“Shame and affairs are massively linked,” said Jaya knowingly. “It’s a thing.”
Reeva found her cheeks burning. She needed to change the topic. “Uh, Satya Auntie, we also found a folder he’d kept. He knew all about us. Did you know about that?”
Her aunt nodded. “Oh yes, he was so proud of you all! He’d share everything with me. ‘Oh, Sita’s had twins,’ or ‘Reeva’s been promoted.’ I was always so glad to hear it, but I wished he could have been in your life to hear it firsthand, not off Facebook.”
Reeva felt her eyes water up. Her dad had beenproudof her. He was turning out to be exactly the kind of man she’d always dreamed of. Her sisters’ affair theory was nonsense—their father was far too devoted to his family to risk it all for a bit of passion.
