“Sign the contractor work authorization on page three before we leave for the retreat on Friday,” he said, sliding the folder across the placemat.

I picked up my pen and opened the folder while he went back to carving the meat.

Page one listed the drywall square footage and the eight-hundred-dollar labor estimate.

Page two listed the primer brands and the codes for the nontoxic paint.

On page three, below the contractor’s signature block, three paragraphs of dense legal text were printed in light gray eight-point type.

I read the legal terms twice, checking the exact section references.