I told her I remembered.
She asked whether Florence had been arrested.
I explained that a deputy had taken her statement and a property-damage report.
The decision about charges rested with the authorities, not with us.
Hazel wanted Florence to pay for the damage and apologize publicly.
I agreed about restitution but asked whether a public apology would make the situation safer.
“Maybe it would make her think first next time.”
“Maybe,” I admitted.
That night Hazel found a replacement mailbox online in the same shape and color.
It cost more than Florence’s check.
I offered to pay the difference.
Hazel refused.
She wanted Florence to see the full estimate.
“If she chooses to make something right, she should know what it costs,” she said.
I admired her clarity.
The next day Florence came to our porch with Elliot.
She reviewed the replacement estimate without arguing.
She wrote a new check and asked whether Hazel wanted to choose the paint.
Hazel said she would paint it herself.
Florence accepted that boundary.
Then she offered an unexpected detail about Ruth.
“Your mother used to paint signs for the charity fairs,” she told Hazel.
“She always let the children choose the colors.”
Hazel looked at the picture on the refrigerator.
“I wish I could have known her.”
Florence’s face crumpled.
“She would have loved you.”
I felt a sudden resentment toward all the adults who had possessed fragments of my mother’s story while we had grown up without her.
Their fear had been understandable.
The years it cost us were still gone.
Chapter 16: A Carefully Written Letter
Adrian Pike contacted me through an attorney on Thursday.
The letter accused me of interfering with the recovery of property belonging to the Pike estate.
It also demanded that I stop contacting current and former contractors.
Naomi read the letter and highlighted several unsupported statements.
“This is not a court order,” she said.
“You can respond through counsel without accepting any of its claims.”
I asked whether Adrian could sue me.
“Anyone can file a lawsuit,” she answered.
“That does not mean the allegations are true.”
She prepared a response requesting identification of the allegedly missing property and the legal basis for claiming it.
She also demanded that Pike Heritage stop entering my land without permission.
Meanwhile, Claire requested records from the charity’s former accountants.
One retired accountant replied that several old boxes had been delivered to him after Malcolm’s death.
He could not provide them immediately because his records were in storage.
