For two years a piece of paper decided who my mother was allowed to be.

Then it expired, and I found out what my father had been keeping in the bottom of the tackle box for thirty-one years.

Ninety Days’ Notice

The letter from Meg Doyle came on a Tuesday in August, and it was two paragraphs long, and it undid me more thoroughly than anything my mother has ever said to my face.

Whitney — your two-year order of protection expires November 14.

If you wish to seek renewal, we must file no later than September 15 and demonstrate continued need.