The return address was printed in clear dark lettering: Mid-Ohio Financial Debt Recovery, Services Division, Downtown Columbus.

Stamped across the center in red ink were the words urgent past due notice.

I didn’t break the seal, but I turned the envelope over in my hands.

The paper was thick, and the postmark showed it had been delivered three days ago.

I smoothed my cardigan down with both thumbs and set the letter back exactly where I had found it, covering the red stamp with the top car pamphlet.

At a quarter past seven, the three of us sat down to dinner at the long quartz table in the dining room.