At three forty-five I was standing at the marble counter in Community First Credit Union.

A teller named Sarah pulled up my personal file and tapped her keyboard three times.

“I need to take out four thousand dollars for a legal retainer,” I said.

Sarah looked at the green screen and then up at me with a frown.

“Which account do you want the withdrawal from?” she asked.

“The joint savings account,” I said.

“The one my mother and I opened after my husband, Michael, died.”

Sarah cleared her throat and dropped her voice behind the glass.