“Since you use the casita bathroom water, Mom, it makes sense for you to cover the pump fee,” Daniel said.

He didn’t ask whether I had four hundred dollars to spare in my Tucson checking account.

He stood by the wooden gate with his arms folded across his chest while the plumber took a carbon invoice pad from his back pocket.

“Do you accept personal checks?” I asked the plumber.

“As long as the address matches your driver’s license,” the man said.

I took my checkbook out of my sweater pocket, leaned on the fence post, and made out a check for four hundred and twelve dollars to Valley Plumbing Solutions.