I Arrived at My Beach House to Find It Under Construction. By Morning, They Were Knocking at 6 a.m.

colors, cabinet styles, tile types. Vince consulted me on everything, and slowly, the house became whole again.

Two weeks after filing suit, Gregory called. “Matthew wants to negotiate. He’s offering ten thousand if you drop the lawsuit. Says it’s all he can get.”

“The debt is thirty-five thousand.”

“I know. But he argues he doesn’t have more, that he’ll continue reading …