“I don’t see what we have to talk about,” I say.
“Please. It’s important.”
It’s then I notice the thick legal envelope in his hands. “Here.” I hand Pilar her son, and she takes him over to the mat to play with Nayeli and Miles.
“We can go into my office,” I say to Dad and lead him there. He takes a seat in front of me. I clasp my hands and lean back in my chair. “Well? What did you want to talk about?”
“This.” He lets the envelope fall with a thud onto my desk. I take it.
“What is it?” I say as I empty the contents.
“Your dowry.”
“My what?”
“I am legally obligated to give you your dowry.”
I scan the paperwork, at least the first couple of pages, and the pieces of paper confirm what he is saying, but nothing explains why I’m getting it now. I’ve been married over a decade.
“Why now?”
“Believe me, if it were up to me, you wouldn’t be getting it.”
“Thanks? I guess . . .”
“You can thank your great-grandma for that.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
“I never told you girls, for obvious reasons, that there were two pathways to getting the trust fund.”
“Trust fund?”
“Yeah. We called it a dowry to ensure you and Pilar made acceptable matches, but marriage wasn’t the only way to get the money. If my grandfather had his way, and I had my way, it would be the only way, but my grandmother felt differently. Most of the family money came from her side of the family, so she had significant control over its destiny.”
“I don’t understand,” I repeat. None of this makes sense.
“She felt that a woman could start a good life either in marriage or in business. My grandfather insisted that with the marriage clause, the father had to approve. Grandma only conceded that the clause could be overturned if the recipient of the funds started a business. She felt a woman should have success in either married life or business life and that the funds would ensure that either way.”
“Oh,” I say, realization hitting me. I opened up my gym this year. Rory and I saved for nearly a decade to start this business. He wanted my dreams to come true as well, and we’ve skimped but have finally gotten here. His salary as a doctor helped loads, and I coached during that time. “My gym,” I say finally.
“Yes. Your gym made you eligible for the funds.”
“Dad, we don’t need anything. We’re doing fine.”
“I know,” he says. “But it’s not about that. Your grandmother protected you and any daughters you have and their daughters. I can’t do anything about it. Legally, she left that to you.”
“I guess I can finally pay Pilar what’s left of my debt to her,” I say.
“She won’t care about that.”
“I know.”
“Have your lawyers look over the documents. You’ll want to give them account information so that the money can be wired. There’s also preliminary paperwork for your children’s trust funds.”
“What?”
“You adopted them, right?”