I took out the certified copy of the 1990 custody ruling, printed on crisp white bond paper with a red legal seal pressed into the bottom corner.

I ran my thumb over the raised ridges of the court stamp.

Beneath the formal legal heading, the judge’s ruling set out the truth in three short, blunt sentences.

Sole legal and physical custody of Mara Rowan was granted to Claire Rowan on October 28, 1990.

At the foot of the page was the thick, bold signature of Circuit Judge Arthur Vance, written in dark fountain pen ink thirty-four years before.

At eight the next morning I pulled into Frank’s gravel driveway to pick up my childhood photo albums from the hall closet.