She Walked Out, and Ten Years Later She Showed Up With Expensive Gifts at a Twelfth Birthday Dinner

“They don’t update the title index until the second transfer gets recorded at the circuit court.”

“Why didn’t you get it recorded ten years ago?” Mark asked.

“Because the filing fee was sixty-five dollars,” I said.

“And back then, sixty-five dollars was three weeks of groceries for you and your brothers.”

Mark stood stock-still, staring down at the scarred wooden top of the dining table.

“So she’s got nothing?” Mark asked.

“She’s got a rental car that got dragged off on a flatbed tow truck,” I said.

“And she’s got a pile of pink past-due notices sitting in her trash can.”