“That is a formality for the county.

Paperwork moves through a lot of hands.”

“And we notarize here,” he said.

“Ellen in the back has done our signings since ninety-eight.

It saves you a trip to the bank, and she knows which line takes which stamp.”

He said it the way you would mention a good mechanic.

Near the bottom of the stack was a page with a photocopied seal on it, faint gray, and Arthur moved that one to the back of his own folder before I could read the date in the corner.

“That one is ours,” he said.