Iris had itemized everything.

Every property-tax payment Ernest and I had made. Every HOA fee.

Every emergency plumbing bill they’d forwarded to me. Every month of market rent they’d absorbed for free.

The total, in bold red ink at the bottom: $418,000.

Below the number was an addendum Iris had written but that echoed my voice: The owner of this property does not demand repayment of this sum. It is presented solely as a mirror, so you may finally understand the weight of the life you have consumed.

Going forward, you are no longer family living in a spare room. You are tenants.