He sits down, opens his briefcase with panache, and brings out a pile of papers, which he consults only once before he recites the facts known to all parties in the case: that Aar was killed while on a UN tour of duty in Mogadiscio, in circumstances that lead one to believe that terrorists murdered him in cold blood; that he is survived by two children, both in their teens, an estranged wife who has lately turned up and whose intentions have been unclear, and Bella, his sister, who is present here.
Gunilla raises her hand as if she were a pupil in a classroom. “If I may ask you a question?”
“Go ahead, please.”
“What’s the latest with Valerie? You told me that she had initiated a claim. What have you made of it?”
“It’s definitive,” he says. “She and the deceased were married out of community of property, and Valerie is not legally entitled to anything. End of story.”
“So it was all a lot of hot air and a waste of time?”
“All that I am prepared to say is that it was unwise on her part to pay those two lawyers,” Godwin Wamiru says. “She is not entitled to the dust from two of Aar’s shillings rubbed together.”
Bella likes this lawyer, who doesn’t sound like one. He has a severe, intelligent face, which he uses to great effect, and occasionally he raises his voice a touch for emphasis, as if to convince any skeptics. After he’s spoken, you feel there are no grounds that you can challenge him on.
Now he says, “I took the deposition myself, in the presence of Valerie’s attorneys. Here is the notarized document she signed, two copies of it, one for each of you. In her deposition, Valerie declares that she has withdrawn all claims and that the case is closed. In a codicil, she forfeits the right to make any further claims regarding the custody of the children.”
“Why has she withdrawn her case?”
“She is indigent, unable to pay her legal fees.”
Bella receives the information with mixed feelings: relief, because she has been worried about the effect that a drawn-out legal dispute might ultimately have on her relationship with the children on the one hand, and on Valerie’s relationship with the children on the other. Still, she wonders how Valerie’s concessions might have affected her. A lioness is at her most dangerous when injured.
Bella reads the deposition, made all the more satisfying because Valerie has signed it and was fingerprinted for it.
Gunilla says, “Out of curiosity, did Valerie and her attorney come into your office to have the document signed or did you go to her attorney’s?”
Godwin Wamiru says, “The woman is broke. She and her attorney came to me because he wanted to put a stop to the clock running and the bill mounting since she was in no position to pay what she already owes.”
“How does he intend to recoup what is owed to him?” asks Bella.
“Maybe he will have her arrested.”
“And how much are we talking about?”
“Several thousand dollars.”
Gunilla takes down the details of Valerie’s Kenyan attorneys, aware that she needs these men to wrap up the case and leave no loose threads hanging. Then Godwin Wamiru takes his leave.
Not wanting to part yet, Bella and Gunilla extend their time together and go back to the Italian deli for the lunch that Godwin Wamiru interrupted, feeling more relaxed than before. And while neither is ready to celebrate victory yet, they admit to each other that Valerie is in a very weakened position, especially given her failure to pay her newly accrued legal fees.
All eyes follow their entry into the open-air restaurant, where they are led to a corner table. After they’ve ordered their meal, Gunilla remarks that something seems to be troubling Bella. “What is it, dear? A kroner for your thoughts.”
“I can’t bear the thought of having Valerie arrested for nonpayment of the attorney’s legal fees. And yet I would have difficulty justifying my own action if I paid for it.”
A sort of nervous energy descends on the two women as they assess the situation in their heads. The waitress brings sparkling water in bottles and some bread in a basket. Bella mixes balsamic vinegar with olive oil and then dips the bread in it and, as she chews in silence, wonders if Gunilla can bear to get involved in Aar’s affairs again on her behalf.
“I am afraid that, having lost her shirt now and her marbles many years before, Valerie may do something desperate,” Bella says. “She is mad, bad, and positively dangerous; and I am worried that we are back where we started: Valerie under threat of being locked up and needing to be bailed out.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I am thinking of discreetly settling this bill too.”
“I see where you are coming from, and I believe I can work out something with the two attorneys she owes legal fees to.”
“How?”
“They can forward their bills to me and we will tell them that we will settle their fees from Aar’s estate to save his good name,” says Gunilla.
“How wise you are, Gunilla.”
They are silent for a minute or so. When their meals come, they eat, neither speaking because Gunilla knows a couple of people sitting at the next table and she doesn’t want them to hear her confidential conversation with Bella.
Gunilla says, “I’d like to see the children.”
“Let me see what I can organize.”
Gunilla reaches for the bill. Bella says “the children” as if it is synonymous with “my worry,” the same way she says Valerie’s name as if it is a euphemism for “trouble.” They walk back together, Gunilla to her office and Bella to pick up her car from the parking lot.
—
All is well when Bella gets back home, lugging takeaway for an army. Valerie, Salif, Padmini, and Dahaba are in the living room playing Scrabble. Salif is the quickest at word games, and to give himself further advantage, he has imposed a time limit on each player’s turn, regulated with the kind of timer professional chess players use. He has put himself in charge of the clock, on occasion declaring that a player has lost a turn because he or she is late in making a move.
Bella heads straight for the kitchen, avoiding Valerie’s icy stare. As she unloads the food — curries, sushi, Thai veggies — onto the kitchen table, Bella hears Dahaba challenging a call, bawling, “I was just about to make my move!” Then Valerie shrieks, “No more time wasting, please!” And Salif calls out, “Cheaters!”
Bella goes up to her room, carrying her briefcase, determined to enjoy what peace she can find there. She changes into a housedress and finds a pair of flip-flops for her feet, remembering vaguely that Mahdi has offered to take the children to see a movie tonight. Truth be told, she is longing for some time to herself, but it is Valerie she no longer wants to spend a moment with, unlikely as that possibility seems. Indeed, even from up here, she can hear Valerie berating Salif. What has the poor fellow done now? she wonders.
She catches up on her e-mails, many of which contain belated condolence messages, including a few from Aar’s colleagues. When she sees a long one from Ngulu, she deletes it right away. Then she boots up Aar’s computer and opens his e-mail.
She skips the newer messages in his in-box for the time being, most of which appear to be junk mail, and starts with the messages from before he died. Nearly a third of the messages in his in-box are from Gunilla. Many of them are of an intimate nature, but a great number of them have to do with the management of his Nairobi account and other work-related ones. Bella checks his sent mail and finds many e-mails to Salif and Dahaba, about two a day to each of them, and others to Fatima about her cancer. In one Aar even offers to help financially if there is need.
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