I had not wanted to need his agreement before I trusted my own memory of what happened.

Yet for five years, I had heard the courthouse version of our life in my head: everything agreed, everything final, nothing left to discuss.

In his letter, he admitted that final had not meant fair.

I kept reading.

He explained the original three thousand dollars and the trust he had established later.

He had committed to contributing five thousand dollars a month.

He said the money would remain available even if I never requested it.