Between Us, Still

Dear Vic,

Sometimes I wonder - when they offer to take Kenzo out, is it purely out of love, or is there something unspoken beneath it? Is it the warmth of family they want to give, or the part of him that carries everything you left behind?

I was with you for twenty years - eighteen before Kenzo was even born. We stood together through thick and thin. Just because we weren’t together when you passed doesn’t make my grief any less real than theirs.

Maybe they resent that you named me as Kenzo’s legal guardian, or that the executor reminded them decisions about your house rest with me. Maybe it’s because, after a year of caring for you, you still left everything to our son. I can see how that might sting, but the truth is, when you were younger, they weren’t always there. Other priorities came first. Important moments were missed. And there was a time - even when I was carrying our child - when I was told I wasn’t good enough for you.

Before the executor stepped in, I was told some of your belongings were “assets” I’d have to return - yet others were taken or used without hesitation. I stayed silent then, because they held the paperwork, and with it, the power to decide what mattered and what didn’t.

Even now, I suspect nothing I do will ever be enough in their eyes. But I no longer need their approval to honour you or to raise our son well. Kenzo will grow up knowing the truth of who his father was - the good, the kind, the strong. He will know the love you had for him, and he will carry it forward. And in that way, you’ll always be here, living quietly between us, in every choice I make for him.

— N

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