After weeks of Grant making absolute declarations, precision felt like kindness.

At the same time, the divorce process required financial disclosure.

David asked me for documentation of my editing income, the payments I’d made toward household and business expenses, and any accounts I controlled.

He also sought information about Grant’s business assets and debts through the proper process.

I wanted to hide nothing.

I had spent too many years not knowing the whole picture to repeat that habit myself.

One evening, after organizing receipts, I found the old pawn ticket from my mother’s gold bracelet.