The rest of it took two more years, an uncashed check, and a woman in accounts payable who noticed.

End of Part One.

Part Two

Chapter 12 — Dolores

The email came in on a Thursday in March, two years and four months after I left Atlanta, to an address on my company bio page.

Ms. Whitlock — I hope this reaches you. I worked with Everett Whitlock at Apex Solutions. I don’t know how to ask this so I’m going to just ask it.

In September two years ago I wrote a check for four hundred dollars to a collection Everett organized for your treatment in Boston. It was never cashed.

I checked with my bank last month for an unrelated reason and there it was, still outstanding after all this time.