My Father Mocked Me for Coming to Court Without a Lawyer, But the Judge Opened My File and the Whole Room Went Silent

see. The boards were warped. The nails bent. My right knee had been aching in that deep familiar way it did when weather shifted or memory got too close. After a certain point, it becomes difficult to tell which is which.

That was when the envelope arrived.

Thick. Official. White paper too expensive for good news.

Portsmouth County Civil Court.

I didn’t continue reading …