“But I would regret staying tied to the whole life more.”

We had negotiated a sequence: if he could not refinance the joint car within the deadline, it would be sold or surrendered under the agreement’s procedures and any remaining balance allocated as specified.

It was not a promise that there would be no loss.

It was a clear plan for a problem that otherwise might have drifted for years.

My sister shook her head.

“I thought divorce was supposed to separate everything.”