“Every bill I tried to mail that came back marked return to sender.”

“I know, Mom,” I said.

I sat down on the quilt next to her and watched the golden sunlight stretch across the wooden floor.

The probate judge had formally signed the order voiding the fraudulent 1990 death record and restoring Claire Rowan’s legal parenthood.

I had chosen to put the original custody affidavit before the court instead of taking Gene’s money.

Gene went back to his hardware business without a share of the estate, while Claire moved her belongings into my guest room in Oak Creek.