It saves us three hours on the phone if an inspector asks about the parking spot.”

“The Buick is parked inside the lines,” I said.

“The homeowners association has rules about unregistered vehicles in driveways,” Renee said.

She shut off the tap and dried her hands on a linen towel.

“It’s better if Daniel takes care of the state files.”

Daniel came back in three minutes later, carrying the long yellow legal envelope that held my car title and my purchase receipt from 1999.

He slipped the envelope into the leather side pocket of the briefcase sitting on the counter chair.